What is that whap whap whap?
Last week I started hearing something peculiar whenever I was riding at least 10 mph or so: A constant whap whap whap. You know that annoying sound, when something is hitting against a wheel, like a pannier strap, or perhaps a brake shoe that is not properly adjusted. Only thing is, when I got off the bike to examine it and spin the wheels, everything looked fine. Brakes were fine. Nothing was flapping against the front or rear wheels. My husband checked, too. Nothing. But the noise was there: A whap whap whap whenever I was riding. It sounded like it was on the back wheel.
Today my work took me to south St. Louis. On a quiet side street I got off the bike to investigate again. I finally saw it:
Worn rubber on rear tire
The road side of the rear tire has developed a bulbous surface about an inch or so long. It’s swollen and pushes in easily. It pops right back out.
Ah, well. Winds were out of the south today, fighting me as I rode from my Central West End home to Grand and Gravois. I had looked forward to zooming home with the wind at my back. But now that I was aware of this tire problem, a speedy route home down Grand Boulevard was out of the question.
However, when you’re on a bicycle, there’s always a bright side. I used quiet side streets to get home. I marveled over a tulip tree at the corner of Spring and Hartford. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” commented a women walking by. “I was just looking at it myself.”
I got to stop in Tower Grove Park to check on another tree planted in memory of a friend and fervent believer in a bright future for non-motorized transportation. Julia Orth was 24 years old when she lost her life in a 2006 car accident. A vision that she had while riding in that car is well worth reading.
My bad tire also helped me discover another advantage to being slow: Even though I couldn’t discern the problem immediately, I could hear it. Would I have heard a tire on my car that had developed a tender worn spot? And my bike’s tire didn’t cause any damage to me or others by blowing out at a high speed.
Time for new tires!
Just another tulip tree on the first day of Spring
Willow oak tree (branches in foreground) planted by the St. Louis Homeschool Network in October 2006 in memory of Julia Orth
Hi Karen, I’m glad your tire didn’t fail on your ride.
I’ve had a tire blow out almost instantly on one occasion shortly after I started out from home but it wasn’t for the reason you describe. It was because the brake blocks were misaligned and rubbing on the side of the tire. When I applied the brakes they wore through the tire and burst the inner tube with a bang. Since then, I try and ensure the brake blocks are centered on the rim, not towards the wheel spindle nor the outer edge and towards the tire.
If you’re thinking of getting new tires I recommend the high pressure ones of German manufacture by Continental called UltraGatorskin and rated at 120 psi. They are almost completely smooth with a barely visible pattern on the side-walls and you’d think they’d be horrible in wet weather but they actually work fine. I assume it’s either because there’s more tire in contact with the road than a conventional tire with a tread pattern or because of the rubber formulation, or both. Try one to see if you like it if you don’t want to commit because they are more expensive than the standard tire.
On Thursday I took the bike to Karl, my bike mechanic. When we looked on the tread for what can best be described as a blister, it was gone! Karl knows I’m not crazy (but looked at me like I was anyway). He said that the tire does not need replacing. Upon reflection, I think that the blister developed enough of a hole to “pop,” and now the tire seems normal again.
I beg to differ with Karl. But as a Good-Year employee some years ago in the car tire business – that tire does not look healthy at all. Looks like broken cords or belts under the tread that can & will lead to tread seperation. If you can still find the spot on the tire, mark it with chalk or something, drop just a few pounds of air out of the tire & firmly push down on that spot & others around it. If the other spots seem firm & that spot feels “squishy” at all – you’ve got a bad tire.