We just received my brand new Vika+ Flex. On our very first test drive around the neighborhood block, the back tire suddenly made a few clicking sound then a loud pop. The tire blew out. I took it to the local shop for repair, and they saw no nail, glasses, or sign of penetration and found a manufacture defect (see photo). Is this a known issue?
Blix Vika+ Flex tire blowout, anyone has same issue?
- Thread starter icw
- Start date
harryS
Well-Known Member
I don't think that's a defect, I've seen some stray rubber at the edge of tires (bead) often, Still, there may some defect/weakness in the bead that doesn't show in the picture that causes the tire to pop off.
Let me ask. Was the inner tube blown, or did the tire just pop off? Did they sell you a new tire and tube, or just the tire? Hope they got the axle nuts tight, They need to be tighter than a normal bike with axle nuts, Not monster tight,
Sure, send the info to Blix. They may pick up the cost of repair for the tire. They won't pay if the wheel if comes loose.
Let me ask. Was the inner tube blown, or did the tire just pop off? Did they sell you a new tire and tube, or just the tire? Hope they got the axle nuts tight, They need to be tighter than a normal bike with axle nuts, Not monster tight,
Sure, send the info to Blix. They may pick up the cost of repair for the tire. They won't pay if the wheel if comes loose.
I believe the inner tube was blown when it made this huge pop sound like gunshot. The tire didn't come off; it just went flat. The bike shop will replace both tire and tube. It's a good local bike shop that I have worked with on my other bicycles and has really good reputation, so I do trust their assessment. I've contacted Blix but no response yet, but to be fair it's Friday so I'll wait for few more business days to hear from them. Thanks.
harryS
Well-Known Member
AH, it's hard to see that's a broken wire coming out of your tire bead?
All explained here in the 4th post down. You should be getting re-imbursed for your troubles. Have fun!
All explained here in the 4th post down. You should be getting re-imbursed for your troubles. Have fun!
Blix Vika+ Rear Wheel Clicking Noises - Bike Forums
Electric Bikes - Blix Vika+ Rear Wheel Clicking Noises - Hello, I own a Blix Vika+ folding ebike for around 2 months now and at this point a major issue occured with it and I'm lost to be frank. When I pedal or just cruise without pedaling, rear wheel makes annoying clicking noise, almost at...
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Santa Cruz Jeff
New Member
- Region
- USA
I had the same problem on my Vika+ Flex in the same timeframe. I got it on 9/5/21 and put it together that evening, putting 50 PSI in each tire. My plan was to do first ride on 9/6 but that morning at 8am I heard a loud bang and found that the back tire blew out. I had not even sat on the bike at that point --- The bike had just sat on my living room floor for the night. I checked my pressure gauge with 2 other gauges and it was right on. I ordered a replacement tire from Blix which took a few weeks to come in.
Meanwhile I rode the bike with an Amazon replacement tire at 40 PSI for 70 miles without a problem.
When I got the replacement Blix tire I had it mounted on the back tire and put in 35 PSI of air. It worked fine for several rides so I increased the pressure to 40 PSI and took it for a 3 mile ride around town and then 3 miles out of town on a paved bike path. Then I rested a bit, had a snack at picnic table, and was preparing to ride back 3 miles to my car. After sitting at the picnic table for about 2 minutes I was about ready to get back on bike when I heard a loud bang and noticed the back tire had blown and tube was sticking out of tire. This left me 3 miles from my car with the only option to walk back -- not much fun.
Both tires failed because the wire bead separated from the tire casing and the failures happened when no one was riding or sitting on the bike. This is a very dangerous situation because it indicates that the blowout can happen at any time. I have since replaced both tires with Amazon replacements because I don't trust the Blix tires at all. I have strongly recommended to Blix that they recall the Vika+ Flex tires and replace them with a higher quality tire. Imagine the injury if a customer was riding around a corner on pavement at 15 mph and the front tire blew out -- some serious injury could happen.
Pictures of the tires are attached.
Meanwhile I rode the bike with an Amazon replacement tire at 40 PSI for 70 miles without a problem.
When I got the replacement Blix tire I had it mounted on the back tire and put in 35 PSI of air. It worked fine for several rides so I increased the pressure to 40 PSI and took it for a 3 mile ride around town and then 3 miles out of town on a paved bike path. Then I rested a bit, had a snack at picnic table, and was preparing to ride back 3 miles to my car. After sitting at the picnic table for about 2 minutes I was about ready to get back on bike when I heard a loud bang and noticed the back tire had blown and tube was sticking out of tire. This left me 3 miles from my car with the only option to walk back -- not much fun.
Both tires failed because the wire bead separated from the tire casing and the failures happened when no one was riding or sitting on the bike. This is a very dangerous situation because it indicates that the blowout can happen at any time. I have since replaced both tires with Amazon replacements because I don't trust the Blix tires at all. I have strongly recommended to Blix that they recall the Vika+ Flex tires and replace them with a higher quality tire. Imagine the injury if a customer was riding around a corner on pavement at 15 mph and the front tire blew out -- some serious injury could happen.
Pictures of the tires are attached.
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JLicharson
New Member
- Region
- Canada
Does anyone know if Blix has addressed this tire quality issue? I have a Flex+ on order and look forward to receiving it.
However, we are in the midst of a horror show with my wife's new Carbo-X received two days ago and would not look forward to anything comparable on my Flex+.
However, we are in the midst of a horror show with my wife's new Carbo-X received two days ago and would not look forward to anything comparable on my Flex+.
Santa Cruz Jeff
New Member
- Region
- USA
After 2 Blix tire fails as described above I put on Amazon replacement tires and have ridden 100 miles with 50psi and have not had any problems. This tells me the problem was definitely the Blix tires. You should call the Blix help line and find out if they have switched vendors for their tires. Good luck.
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