Sidewall Blowout on Specialized Borough CX Armadillo Elite

[kitsapken]

Anyone experience sidewall blowout on Specialized tires? I have a 2013 Specialized Tricross Elite, purchased 2 weeks ago, with Specialized Borough CX Armadillo Elite, 120TPI, aramid bead, 700x32 tires. I have 250 miles on it so far.

Yesterday the sidewall blew out on the bike path. Instinctively I applied the brakes and almost immediately the rim ground into the asphalt (doh)! Luckily weather was nice and there was a Performance Bike shop only a 2 mile walk away. Was able to fix the rim sufficiently enough to put a new tire and tube on and get back to my vehicle.

Today I took the Tricross into my LBS where I bought it. I showed them the tire and rim and they said the Specialized warranty guy would be in Monday and most likely would replace wheel and tire.

I was told these were really good tires so surprised the failure within the first 250 miles. Is there a known issue with Specialized tires with Armadillo technology? Curious if I should replace these to avoid another failure, or worse, a potential injury sustaining accident.

[Kerry Irons]

Anyone experience sidewall blowout on Specialized tires? I have a 2013 Specialized Tricross Elite, purchased 2 weeks ago, with Specialized Borough CX Armadillo Elite, 120TPI, aramid bead, 700x32 tires. I have 250 miles on it so far.

Yesterday the sidewall blew out on the bike path. Instinctively I applied the brakes and almost immediately the rim ground into the asphalt (doh)! Luckily weather was nice and there was a Performance Bike shop only a 2 mile walk away. Was able to fix the rim sufficiently enough to put a new tire and tube on and get back to my vehicle.

Today I took the Tricross into my LBS where I bought it. I showed them the tire and rim and they said the Specialized warranty guy would be in Monday and most likely would replace wheel and tire.

I was told these were really good tires so surprised the failure within the first 250 miles. Is there a known issue with Specialized tires with Armadillo technology? Curious if I should replace these to avoid another failure, or worse, a potential injury sustaining accident.

Any time you have a sidewall failure it's good to look for the cause. For example, a wearing away right at the rim edge suggests maybe a brake pad adjusted incorrectly so that it is above the brake track and contacts the sidewall. Cuts from road debris are not always easy to spot but certainly glass or sharp metal will leave a clear cut mark. But sidewalls do just fail without external damage and if it is on a new tire then that's a strong suggestion of a defect.

[tripintiger]

I had the same thing happen twice, on the rear of my tandem. I loved the puncture resistance and do-all nature of these tires. Since it was on a tandem, I did not even think about asking for a warranty. The sidewalls are pretty thin and would abrade right where they meet the rim. I switched to the Borough CX Sport. I do have an occasional puncture, but they are cheaper, more durable and reliable.

[SauronHimself]

That seems very unusual for those tires. I had 700x23 Armadillo tires on my first road bike, and there was nothing you could do to destroy them.

[kitsapken]

Specialized replaced the wheel and tire. I now have about 400 miles on the new tire and no problems. Just a defective tire I guess.

[bisoncyclist]

I also bought a Specialized Tricross Elite 2013. I got mine in October and just had the sidewall on the rear tire blowout as well. This happened after about 1,200 miles but luckily it happened on the street near my house. I wasn't lucky enough to get it replaced by Specialized. Bought a new tire out of pocket.