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F3 tubeless blew off the rim??

2K views 22 replies 8 participants last post by  NWS Alpine 
#1 · (Edited)
I've been running fusion 3 tubeless for about 5 months, On my second rear that had approximatly 600 miles on it. After a brisk (my standards) 56 mile ride:D & stopped by the lbs for bbq & supplies. I had put my bike inside the cab of my truck while in the store, when I returned to the truck the rear tire had blown off one side of the rim:confused:!
The rims are Dura-ace wh-7900 tubeless wheels, running hutchinson max protect sealant. the tire was inflated to 104 psi before the ride & it was a hot day 93* probably quite a bit hotter inside the truck.

So what do you think happened? did it get too hot & break the bead? the bead on that side is way stretched out!

Should this be a warranty issiue?

Thanks in advance for you replies!
 
#2 ·
I've heard of this same thing happening quite a bit here in the Boise area. I saw a car that had a mountain bike in it, with tires pumped full of slime. Easily the biggest mess I have ever seen inside of a car.
But yes, if the inside of your car was hot enough, it could blow the rim off the tire. This is the first time Ive heard of it happening to tubeless though.
 
#3 ·
I went through a pair of tubeless fusion 3's a couple months ago. They were mounted on a pair of 2012 Campy Eurus 2 way fit wheels running stans sealant. These tires ran flat free throughout the duration of the tires. I ran these tires at 85/90 psi. They were properly mounted and serviced by myself many times without any issues.

My experience with these tubeless tires was fantastic, so I purchased a second set of fusion 3's. I rode the new set on two 50 mile rides at various speeds up to 40 mph. with no issues. On the third ride just five miles into the ride I came to a short climb (riding approx. 10 MPH). Just before clearing the hill BANG! The first thing that came to my mind was a gun shot but shortly realized my rear wheel wasn't moving anymore because part of the rear tire was off the rim and obstructing the chain stays. And guess what else? Yeah, Stan's sealant all over my legs, rim and bike, what a mess. I always carry a spare tube with me (Thank God), I installed the tube and tire like a conventional clincher thinking i could continue the ride. Well, after adding 30-50 psi the bead looked deformed and looked loose and I mean very loose It looked like it was going to blow off again. I dropped the psi to around 40 and road back home very slowly.

Took the tires off contacted the vendor, explained the issue and shipped them back to them. After they inspected the tire they concluded it was a defected tire and not an installation issue. They quickly refunded my money and too my surprise they shipped me two free new fusion 3 tires for the inconvenience

Well, this incident might have been a rare occasion but regardless my confidence level for this particular tire has dropped. I have two fusion tubeless tires currently sitting on a self and not sure if I will be installing them in the near future. I think back on how tragic it might have been on those first two rides going 40 mph down hill.

I haven't ditched tubeless in general I love the comfort, handling and most important riding flat free for the entire life of tire. I'v been riding on Intensives for a few months now, no flats so far. They do fit allot tighter and are harder to mount than the 3's, so I would think they have a less chance of blowing off, at least I hope so.
 
#6 ·
I also have gone away from Hutchinson and am running the Bontrager R3s now. I had what seems to be a common experience in these forums - ran Fusion 3s successfully and then recently had issues with a new batch of tires which were Atoms in my case. I didn't have blow-offs but rather blow-outs from hitting road debris that shouldn't have caused catastrophic failure in the casings.

At any rate, it seems like there are too many complaints/issues with Hutchinson tubeless tires these days. The blowoff is very scary though, glad it happened in the truck and not out on the road.
 
#7 ·
They simply cannot blow off the rim. You were using the non-tubeless model, which is dangerous. There are two types of Fusion 3, regular and Road Tubeless. It's easy to mix them up.

If the tire does not have Road Tubeless printed on it, then it's not safe to use without tubes.
 
#8 ·
It would be good if it turned out to be the case that the OP had the wrong Fusion 3. My LBS ordered the non-tubeless version for me once and I didn't catch their mistake until I got home and was getting ready to mount up the tires.

I believe it is possible to blow a tire off the rim but I doubt it would happen unless the tire was defective or was being used incorrectly like the dude that put road tires on his MTB wheels and then was surprised when they blew off.
 
#12 ·
The bead failed. They don't stretch. They either stay or snap. I have heard of this happening before if the tire was installed with some levers as it can damage the bead to where it eventually pops.

You might be able to get a replacement from Hutchinson so I would contact them. Tire is done though.
 
#13 ·
The bead failed. They don't stretch. They either stay or snap. I have heard of this happening before if the tire was installed with some levers as it can damage the bead to where it eventually pops.
{Their is no way possible to install F3 tubeless on WH-7900 Dura-ace wheels without using levers PERIOD!}


You might be able to get a replacement from Hutchinson so I would contact them. Tire is done though.
{Their is no way possible to install F3 tubeless on WH-7900 Dura-ace wheels without using levers PERIOD!}

{ I have contacted Hutchinson about this & have not heard back yet!}
& you are correct they are useless now!:aureola:
 
#16 ·
I use the Pedro's levers too - but I put my F3s on Campy Zonda wheels - not too difficult and only needed the lever to gently ease on the last bit of bead. Once or twice I've gotten a tubeless tire mounted without the lever at all. There's nothing in the tire instructions indicating levers shouldn't be used, and I think you'd have to use quite a bit of force to damage the carbon bead on the Fusions.
 
#23 ·
Thanks for the feedback. I have been waiting for my fusions to get a flat that it can't seal but no luck so far. I really want to justify getting the R3 tubeless. It sounds like a great tire from the reviews so far. I like that they are true to size vs the Hutchinsons which were undersize.
 
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