randomduck

While riding to the DC for Democracy picnic yesterday, my front tire blew out on a steep, downhill section of road in Adams Morgan. I managed to stop myself without wiping out or causing any damage to the wheel or tire, but it was discouraging.

I suffered a similar blowout on New Year’s day while riding laps at Hains Point. I’ve essentially narrowed down the culprit to one of three things (from most likely to least likely):

1. the brake post is flexing, and the pads aren’t aligned quite right, so the brake pad wore a hole in the sidewall of the tire
2. there’s something sharp in my rim
3. sharp road debris (e.g. glass shards, tacks, thorns, etc. - typical for Adams Morgan roads)
4. excessive heat from braking and the air temperature combining with possibly a tad too much air pressue in the tire (it was 91 degrees outside)

So tonight I get to do a little sleuthing while I change out my tire and tube. It’s too bad: the tire is a Michelin Pro Race, which has many accolades from the cycling bulletin boards and from fellow cycling friends. Hopefully, it wasn’t a sidewall blowout - I really like the ride quality of the Pro Race.

I ended up getting a Specialized Mondo Pro to replace it, having heard quite a few good things about its performance. I’ve long used Specialized tires on my mountain bike (from the original Ground Control back in the mid-1980s), and this tire has a good blend of performance and puncture resistance. We’ll see how it goes.

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