Schwalbe Tyre Problem

[S.Giles]

Your fenders can help define the problem. From the outset, I noticed a lateral wobble of the tread of my front Schwalbe Pickup as I rode, viewing it past the end of the fender. With the bike on the center stand, I found no such runout on the back tire.

For a rough measurement, I held a felt tip marker against the front fender to leave a line along the center of the tread. It was about 3 mm. It surprised me that I didn't feel it when I rode. The beads looked even all the way around, but some e-bike beads can appear to be seated but not be quite right, so I like to inflate to maybe 5 psi and ride a few yards to squish everything into place before inflating fully. I must have skipped this step when I installed that tire. I drew off pressure, rode a few yards, and reinflated. The runout was gone.

If your tread is eccentric, I guess you could detect it by bracing your finger against the edge of the fender and letting it drag the center of the tread.

If the leak wasn't too big, a rechargeable pump could have gotten you home.

The tyre was hissing like a snake! lol

 

[jabberwocky]

The tyres look good, and have the correct tread, reflective line and other markings (see photos above). I never did find whatever caused the puncture, but it must have been big and very sharp because it made a visible (though small) hole in the tyre and inner tube. I could even see that the protective woven layers had been pierced.

I guess some people get all the luck, and in my case that's mainly bad luck! lol

I'm not familiar with how common it is and I don't see much fake Schwalbe stuff on Ali so its (hopefully) unlikely.

 

[S.Giles]

I'm not familiar with how common it is and I don't see much fake Schwalbe stuff on Ali so its (hopefully) unlikely.

In a way I'd prefer if they were fake because then at least I could buy two genuine ones and my faith in Schwalbe would be restored. At the moment I don't feel very confident on them, and I have the same opinion of both the Schwalbe company and their products. Avoid!

Steve

 

[S.Giles]

I don't remember the tread looking like this when I fitted the tyre.

 

[jabberwocky]

Heat distortion? The only time I've seen a tire like that was when a friend transported her MTB and didn't realize her trunk rack held the front tire in front of the exhaust.

 

[S.Giles]

There are a few reasons that I don't think it's heat distortion:

• The tyre has never been subjected to abnormally high temperatures since it has been in my possession (ie, since new).
• The appearance of the tread returned to normal when I deflated the tyre and took it off the bike.
• That bubble-looking thing is so extremely thin that a pencil or similar object could easily be pushed through it. No sign of mesh either.
• The tyre deformation seemed to be getting progressively worse with use/time.

I think it's definitely a manufacturing defect. If I had to take a guess, I'd say there's a region where there is little or no mesh in the tyre and that's what is allowing the tyre to bulge out in that area. The inside of the tyre has cracks in the rubber (but only in that region).

I'm really glad the tyre didn't completely blow out while I was riding it. Apart from the danger, there have been a couple of occasions where I've been as far as 20 miles from home.

I'm busy at the moment, but later I plan to cut a cross-section through the tyre where the fault is, to try and find out what's going on. My chances of returning the tyre for a refund are practically zero at this point so I have nothing to lose.

Steve

 

[EMGX]

My first thought is that it is a stone bruise causing damage to the internal plies and bulging of the overlying rubber compound. Regarding Schwalbe warranty, I had a 2 year old OEM Schwalbe G-one with a couple thousand miles on it, but with substantial remaining tread, that developed cracks in the rubber carcass exposing the fabric plies along the circumference of the tread. I contacted Schwalbe who requested images of the damage as well as the factory markings on the inside of the tire. They sent me a new tire. You might want to contact them before destroying the tire yourself.

 

[spokewrench]

You've had a catastrophic puncture in one and the cords are letting go in the other. I suspect counterfeits.

In 2023 the Aventon Abound came out with Innova 1A-2128 20 x 2.4 tires. Reviewers struggled to say something nice about them. One said they resembled another make and model known to be good tires. Another said he didn't have any trouble in his road test. I liked the tires until I had a puncture within 30 miles. That might have been okay, but the cause looked like a grain of sand. (In fact, it was glass, but it was tiny and rounded from being run over countless times.) What was essentially a grain of sand had not only punctured the tire: it had cut at least one cord. I ordered Schwalbe Pickups.

Except size, Innova doesn't list specs for their tire. I assume that means it was designed for makers of kids' bikes who wanted the lowest possible price. I cut one open and as well as I could count, found only 25 threads per inch. That's asking for trouble. My Schwalbes have 2 plies of 67 tpi. Yours should have 2 plies of 73 tpi, like Pickups newer than mine. Two high-count plies should provide excellent protection against deformities and, I think, puncture by something large enough to keep you from pumping up and riding home.

Your Schwalbe model number is 1159604. Did whoever made your tires get that right?

 

[S.Giles]

I just received another Moto-X tyre that I purchased as a replacement. It came from a UK Ebay vendor and it looks identical in every respect to the first two.

I fitted it and have ridden about twelve miles on it. There are no issues as yet.

The cardboard information strip that came attached to the tyre is also identical to the first ones and they all bear the model number ''11159604''. This number isn't printed anywhere on the faulty tyre, but there is another longer number printed in white on the inside of that tyre.

 

[S.Giles]

My first thought is that it is a stone bruise causing damage to the internal plies and bulging of the overlying rubber compound. Regarding Schwalbe warranty, I had a 2 year old OEM Schwalbe G-one with a couple thousand miles on it, but with substantial remaining tread, that developed cracks in the rubber carcass exposing the fabric plies along the circumference of the tread. I contacted Schwalbe who requested images of the damage as well as the factory markings on the inside of the tire. They sent me a new tire. You might want to contact them before destroying the tire yourself.

I do ride on stony surfaces a lot, but I take it easy and haven't noticed anything happen that might have caused a problem.

I sent that photo of the distorted tread pattern to Schwalbe but haven't yet received a reply. They don't seem to be the least bit interested.

Steve

 

[6zfshdb]

Not much help for your current situation but I've used more than a dozen Schwalbe tires on my bikes so far. I did have trouble with minor cosmetic issues when buying from aftermarket vendors like Amazon and Ali. I think these vendors buy factory seconds and resell at cheaper prices.

I switched to buying directly from Schwalbe and have had no issues since. Costs a bit more but to me anyway, it's worth it to avoid any hassle.

 

[EMGX]

I do ride on stony surfaces a lot, but I take it easy and haven't noticed anything happen that might have caused a problem.

I sent that photo of the distorted tread pattern to Schwalbe but haven't yet received a reply. They don't seem to be the least bit interested.

Steve

When I submitted a warranty claim they sent a automatic confirmation email and contacted me back and resolved the claim shortly. Maybe warranty isn't applicable in your case since it is a North America warranty and you purchased from UK "we offer a comprehensive warranty policy on all Schwalbe product purchased within North America."

Warranty Policy | Schwalbe Tires North America

Schwalbe Tires North America, Inc. is a daughter company of Ralf Bohle GmbH, the owner and manufacturer of Schwalbe brand products. Schwalbe Tires North America, Inc. is the exclusive importer/exporter of the Schwalbe brand for North and South America.

www.schwalbetires.com

 

[S.Giles]

I lived in the USA for a while and know there's a heck of a difference in customer service standards between USA and UK/Europe. The faulty tyre came from a vendor in The Netherlands, so I was dealing with Schwalbe in Germany.

I have encountered many problems dealing with German companies regarding customer issues, to the point where I try to avoid dealing with them if at all possible. I don't know what's going on there, but it seems like more than mere coincidence.

I live in Bulgaria now and you don't even want to know what passes for customer service here!

Steve

 

[spokewrench]

Not much help for your current situation but I've used more than a dozen Schwalbe tires on my bikes so far. I did have trouble with minor cosmetic issues when buying from aftermarket vendors like Amazon and Ali. I think these vendors buy factory seconds and resell at cheaper prices.

I switched to buying directly from Schwalbe and have had no issues since. Costs a bit more but to me anyway, it's worth it to avoid any hassle.

I ordered through Amazon, but they came from affiliates. The first had the Amazon storefront "cargomart," which is actually Quest Cycles, 20 miles south of Carlsbad, California. The second was from 356 Cycles in Keene, New Hampshire. I didn't see any blemishes.