Schwalbe Snow Stud, Continental Tube - Woe is Me

I just tried fitting a Schwalbe Snow Stud Tyre 700x38c (40-622) to my Alex Rims wheel (17-622). This rim had previously had a Specialized Borough XC 700x45c (44-622) as original equipment.

I fitted the tyre ultra carefully. I fully checked both sides for visible rim tape and inflated the tyre in stages using a Topeak digital pressure gauge to check pressure, in addition to the gauge on the track pump. When I reached 70psi the tyre blew off the rim and destroyed the tube. 70psi is the max rated pressure of the tyre for road use.

I refitted the original tire using a new Continental "Tour 28 All" tube (32/47-622/642). To add insult to injury the tube held 60psi (the tyre is rated to 85psi) and then developed a small hole or split in the seam on the inside of the tube in a ribbed section. (The rim tape is perfect - it's a bad tube).

The Alex Rim is marked:
CTD double wall
622x17
6061-T6
700
but I can't find it on the web (I know 6061-T6 is the alloy). It was OE on a Specialized Crosstrail.

The tyre has very little in the way of a raised bead. There doesn't seem to be much to hold it onto the rim. Much less than on the Borough XC.

The Continental tube is much smaller that the OE Kenda 45c tube that it replaced. Even though it can nominally cope with a larger size.

Have I picked the two worst products, or where am I going wrong?

I am so sad I have gone from a fully working bike to a dead one having used my spare tube. I have some more Continental tubes on order, but what's the point if they are no good. I thought Continental were supposed to be a top make. Likewise the tyre. Is it possible it was damaged by being shipped folded into a box? It doesn't seem damaged in that way.

paging Dr Hippy.....

Time to get some wider rims. Personally, I wouldn't run anything bigger than 700x32 on a rim with an internal width of 17mm. Putting very wide tyres on very narrow rims stresses the rim, makes blow offs more likely due to the direction in which the casing pulls the bead and forces you to run excessive pressure to get stability from a sidewall whose base is supported at a much narrower point than the tread width. With the exception of some mud tyres run on over-wide rims which can close up the spaces between knobs, every report I've read about by people switching to wider rims has spoken in glowing terms about the increase in stability and grip.

I have found continental to vary very much in quality, I had a brand new tyre split at the sidewall and the tubes arent as good as schwalbe, michelin or vittoria/geax, (but better than spesh).
if you can get out west tomorrow, I can find you a tube to fit if you're desperate

Well, if I were starting from scratch I would probably have got wider rims, but on the other hand it has been the fashion for years to have wide tyres on narrow rims. I don't agree or disagree with this, but I have observed it. The tyre I took off was 44mm and the tyre I put on was 40mm. How was I to know :-)

It seems a pity that Specialized, who make bikes, can make a more versatile tyre than Schwalbe. I also had no problems with 47mm Marathons on a 17mm rim, on a MTB. Maybe the smaller wheel helps.

I would appreciate any recommendations (and links!) (or offers) for wide 700c disc brake wheelsets, 8/9 speed freehub. Likewise wide 700c double fixed wheelsets. Nothing too dear as these are going to be my winter wheels.

I have found continental to vary very much in quality, I had a brand new tyre split at the sidewall and the tubes arent as good as schwalbe, michelin or vittoria/geax, (but better than spesh).
if you can get out west tomorrow, I can find you a tube to fit if you're desperate

Thanks for the kind offer. But I am not too desperate. I was just keen to whizz up the road on the ice. Thanks for the info about the tubes.

I would appreciate any recommendations (and links!) (or offers) for wide 700c disc brake wheelsets...Nothing too dear as these are going to be my winter wheels.

I've spent much of the evening searching for a nice wide 29er rim for my own project, and keep coming back to the Salsa Gordo, but at £75-£85 each they might be a bit much for you, and at 35mm it does pretty much limit you to really big tyres.

These WTB rims at £27 and 28mm have a good rep as a mid range option. http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=54400 £16 rear hub and http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=48622 £11 front hub and you could have a pair of wheels for under a ton, or a little over if you have to pay somebody else to build them.

I really rate mavic tn719s
good, solid disc specific rims.
get excellent reviews, not let me down so far.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=54400 £16 rear hub and http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=48622 £11 front hub and you could have a pair of wheels for under a ton, or a little over if you have to pay somebody else to build them.

Are these hubs any good? Might get a front for my new bike.
I notice there's a 'sealed' option - Do you think it really is sealed?

I've spent much of the evening searching for a nice wide 29er rim for my own project...

Thanks for a very helpful, comprehensive reply. You have certainly got me thinking. Any recommendation for spokes? I find going at these things cold the range of choices is overwhelming.

Are 32h wheels strong enough for 100kg big boys like me? I was very interested by the hubs.

I notice there's a 'sealed' option - Do you think it really is sealed?

Sealed as well as any 2RS cartridge bearing, I doubt there's any secondary seal. They're just generic Taiwan hubs, but so are loads of OEM hubs on mid range bikes and it's very rarely your hubs that break.

Are 32h wheels strong enough for 100kg big boys like me?

85kg Paris Roubaix contenders use 32 spokes on skinny Ambrosio tubular rims, on big rims you'll be fine. I'm 100kg and have ridden off road on 20/24 spoke Shimano R500s.

Most budget builds on here get done with ACI double butted spokes as they are way cheaper than DT and the difference in quality is very small. Some builders actually rate them above DT Competition. FWIW, my wheels are going to be built with DT Alpine III, but they are over 3 times the price for only a very marginal gain.

I've spent much of the evening searching for a nice wide 29er rim for my own project, and keep coming back to the Salsa Gordo, but at £75-£85 each they might be a bit much for you, and at 35mm it does pretty much limit you to really big tyres.

These WTB rims at £27 and 28mm have a good rep as a mid range option. http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=54400 £16 rear hub and http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=48622 £11 front hub and you could have a pair of wheels for under a ton, or a little over if you have to pay somebody else to build them.

The gordos are a bit too wide I think. The WTB rims look good, but are only 21mm (bead seat, rather than overall). I would prefer a couple of mm more, but I will get one in the new year if I can't find anything better. I bought the hubs and they seem ok. The front doesn't spin quite as well as I expected for a sealed bearing unit: it's a bit rough. The rear is great.

Salsa Semi is the 30mm wide rim you seek, listed at £62.99 here, but considerably more pricey than the WTB for the sake of an extra 2mm. I'd be OK with tyres from 28 to 42 on a rim with an outside width of 28mm, and plenty of people will happily run up to 60-622 Big Apples on such rims.

Wide 29er rim

http://twentynineinches.com/2010/12/22/top-ten-29er-products-of-2010-velocity-p-35-rim/

Though I'd be surprised if you had missed it

Salsa Semi is the 30mm wide rim you seek, listed at £62.99 here, but considerably more pricey than the WTB for the sake of an extra 2mm. I'd be OK with tyres from 28 to 42 on a rim with an outside width of 28mm, and plenty of people will happily run up to 60-622 Big Apples on such rims.

OK, you've convinced me :-)

Wide 29er rim

Same width as the Gordo, but sleeve jointed rather than welded. Velocity have rubbish UK distribution, so if you end up buying from the States they come out just as expensive as Gordos. If you could get them, there is also their Psycho at 31.5mm

Personally, I'm veering towards the even more stupidly wide (38mm) Kris Holm XC rim, which is probably not as good as a Gordo (definitely a lot heavier) but half the price.

1 Attachment

I recently fitted some Nokian W106s to my road wheel with no problems at all so far. They are 35mm wide with carbide pins and grip the ice really nicely. Thoroughly recommend these tyres.

I contacted Chain Reaction cycles, who sold me the tyres. They said that the Schwalbe Snow Stud is particularly troublesome to fit (I must say that they have been very helpful in general). Of course Schwalbe think the tyre should fit fine just fine.

Having played with the two tyres on the rim it is clear that the Specialized one hooks on readily and firmly. The Schwalbe doesn't: the wire "hook" built into the bead just isn't that pronounced.

I have ordered the WTB rim. I note it has an "International Bead Seat", which is supposed to help hold the tyre on the rim. We shall see.