Tubeless tire hernia solution

[Roger Rabbit]

I've seen tubeless tires with Stans sealant get a hernia a few times now. Something causes the inner casing to separate and the tread blows a bulge on the outside. The condition progresses rapidly during a ride, starting with a small bump and within minutes the bulge is too large to allow the rear tire to rotate through the frame.
In the past this has meant a walk out.
last week it happened to a friend mid ride. His back tire. He has a Maverick fork with massive clearance so we thought we would switch front for rear and at least he could ride out.
Then we decided to put a tube in it just for good measure but with little expectation of success.
Surprisingly the tube cured the hernia completely and the ride was saved.
So it must be air getting between the laminates of the tire and not a tear in the inner reinforcement of the tire.
Stans appears to be the culprit. Any one know of a different sealant that doesn't do this?

[dubjay]

Any chance this was a Maxxis tire? If so, I had the same thing happen.

My Maxxis Ignitor has an acne problem

[Lefty Kev]

I have seen pictures of this condition on STR before but it's never happened to me personally. I use Kenda tubeless tires exclusively now and the Kenda warranty is voided with the use of Stan's but it's not a common enough problem for me to worry about.

If I ever did get a "herniated" tire due to Stan's use, I'd change the brand of tire rather than discontinue the sealer as there's no better product for preventing flats in my opinion

[UR2KLOS]

(usual disclainer: I've never used stans or tubeless tires.)

More likely the tires themselves are to blame. Tubeless tires are relatively new and I'm guessing most manufactureres make the smallest design changes possible to their tube tires to come up with tubeless models. Some are better than others.

It could be that the conditions which cause a pinch flat with tube tires can cause a tiny hole in the inner casing of the tubeless tire. However, unlike pinch flats, the bulge could take a while to form.

Most people with tubeless tires use stans so the statistics on failures won't tell you much.

Also, talk to the stans manufacturer. I'm sure they can come up interesting ways to blame the tire manufacturer.

[Roger Rabbit]

Until this last incident I would have said it's just Maxxis as I ride the Larsen TTs but my friend was riding another brand. I am not sure exactly which one so I hesitate to guess here.
With the TTs the delamination usually occurs at about he time I'm ready to replace anyway. On his, he said he had added some fairly recently but his tread was well worn anyway.
I like Stans and Maxxis. The problem is infrequent enough and the solution is at hand so ride on!

[osmarandsara]

I would recommend using one of these on your tire...sounds like it comes in different sizes (S-M-L) so it should even take care of 29rs:

http://www.walgreens.com/store/produ...id=prod3275792#

However, wearing a hernia belt on your tire will not cause a hernia to resolve, but it can be a stopgap while waiting for permanent repair. In the instance of minor repairs, a surgery appointment may not be readily available, in which case the hernia belt will make a big difference in positive rolling resistance. While wearing the support garment, the tire may need to be attended periodically to check on the status of the hernia.

[RustyIron]

I've had it happen on two Specialized 2Bliss tires. Both tires were purchased at the same time, so it wouldn't be a stretch to assume they were manufactured in the same batch. Neither time did the condition result in a failure that ended the ride, and Specialized replaced both.

[Phishin Paul]

Maxxis tires+Stans+heat=bulge. If you store your bike in the garage or if you keep your bike in your car when it gets toasty Stans warms up and creates bubbles in the tires. I had this issues with Ignitor tires and I have heard many people having same issue.

[goldrunner]

This bad boy was discovered on the descent of San Juan.