Any one else running this set up and experiencing a lot of pinch flats ?

I’ve been running this set up for 5 months now and I’ve had 3 UST tyres all split on the rim/bead after what I would class as innocuous knocks.

I started with a Hutchinson Cougar (crap all round… came with the bike) then went to a Maxxis UST Advantage and then went to a Maxxis UST Ardent. All three have split just above the wheel rim.

Either I’m desperately unlucky or there’s an issue with the rims. It’s costing me a bloody fortune, not least a shit load of mess trail side putting a tube in amongst the Stan’s that spills all over the place !

Tried going back to the place you bought it from?

Done a search to see if anyone else has these problems?

Are you leaving the bike alone for ages with no air in the tyres?

What’s a knock? What pressures are you running, and how heavy are you?

Not gone back to the shop YET.

Can’t find anything else on the net but haven’t looked that hard yet (third pinch was yesterday afternoon).

Ride the bike every weekend.

The last ‘knock’ was a jump over a small stream and landed the front wheel on the opposite bank, but not hard. The other 2 ‘knocks’ weren’t even noticeable they were just there at the bottom of a descent. I do run high pressures and I’m just over 11 stone….. not a recipe for pinch flats !

I also ran UST Highrollers on a Mavic Crossmax XT rim for 18 months on a previous bike and only had one flat which was a result of some over exuberance at Coed Y Brenin !

I’ve split quite a few UST tyres near the bead, never ridden ea90s. Are you using same tyres, pressures, trails and bike as with the old setup? If you got these wheels with a new bike that enables/encourages you to ride faster over bigger rocks you may need to up pressures.

Maybe rims are stronger, I used to run 317 rims, when I got over exuberant the rim dinged but I rarely punctured, just bent the rim back into shape at home with adjustable spanner. When I switched to tougher rims that didn’t ding I got a lot more flats 🙁

I’m running the same wheels with Schwalbe UST RR & NN’s … no problems with pinch flats.

What are your thoughts on the rear hub? Mine’s running rough after only 4 or 5 months.

POPARTPOEM…. ditto, I’ve just had to have the bearings replaced in the rear hub and I’m just 5 months in ! I was told that the wet summer and the amount I ride doesn’t warrant a warranty claim !

DONK… thanks for the advice. You could be right. I do ride a lot faster and harder and come to think of it I did dint the Mavic Rims (once), I suspect the Easton’s are a lot stronger, they have a taller profile so will be more rigid in a horizontal impact. I am running the new set at high pressures though. Maybe the Schwalbe tyres on the answer. It’s a pitty because the Ardent on the front and Advantage on the rear is one of the best tyre set ups I’ve had.

Right…. new Ardent bought for the front and tyres pumped to 55 psi. Maximum load is 60 psi. Next stop knarly shit to see if that keeps the buggers from splitting.

I’ve just had to have the bearings replaced in the rear hub and I’m just 5 months in ! I was told that the wet summer and the amount I ride doesn’t warrant a warranty claim !

Wet summer? I wonder what they’d have said if you bought them in Winter … Jeez … more like a claim for “not fit for purpose”. Does the small print say that you can’t ride on the wheels, ‘cos if you do, the warranty is void?
Not very constructive I know, but the more you pay, the more it seems you should expect problems.

Right…. new Ardent bought for the front and tyres pumped to 55 psi. Maximum load is 60 psi. Next stop knarly shit to see if that keeps the buggers from splitting.

Struth…, I run my front Ardent at 25psi, anymore it just feels wrong.

55psi for bedding in the rim over night, lowered to 40 psi for the ride but don’t think I can go any lower given the splits I’ve been having. At 40psi there is plenty of movement in the tyre still.
I prefer a harder tyre anyway, tend to roll faster so you can get your speed up and float over the knarly stuff as opposed to trying to ride it all, I also think the grip works better at higher pressures, you can feel the tread doing it’s job !

Check your pressures with a different pump or pressure gauge. I was going to offer more advice but after reading this you’re beyond help!

I also think the grip works better at higher pressures, you can feel the tread doing it’s job !

Perhaps I need to change my user name so people don’t think I’m 5 and I’ve just bought a Raleigh Grifter !

d45yth – My point is this… having been riding now for many years I’ve been through quite a few tyres all with different designs for different conditions. IMO all tyres have a point of equilibrium where the tread is working to the best of it’s designed ability and often this is with a higher pressure rather than a lower pressure. If the pressure’s too low the tread gets swallowed up into the tyre, rolls around and creates drag with very little grip, too high and the tread doesn’t get chance to grip the surface. Again IMO, some people often make the mistake of trying to achieve more grip by lowering pressures when in actual fact they are compensating for a poor set up on the bike. The suspension should be set up to take as many hits as possible thereby leaving the wheel in contact with the surface as much as possible and if the tyre is at it’s equilibrium point then the tread will give it’s maximum grip. On a similar point in my experience when it comes to muddy conditions a fat tyre at low pressure will simply sink as it tries to float where as a thinner tyre at a higher pressure will carve through the mud.

d45yth Now I’ve had a rant I would welcome your advice on my current problem. I’d been running the UST tyres on the Easton wheels at about 30 to 35 psi but I’ve suffered 3 flats where the UST tyre has split just above the rim. I suspect Donk made a valid point in that the rims are a lot stronger than the Mavic’s on my old bike and the bike is a lot more aggressive, as is my riding. Hence having bought a new Ardent (because I was very pleased with the grip, at a fairly high pressure) I’m going to try running them at 40 psi in an attempt to try and resist the flats I’ve been getting. A viable solution or am I still beyond help…. ‘Help me d45yth, you’re my only hope’

I find it to be a problem with all UST tyres, nothing to do with the brand. Have gone through a fair few tyres over the years everything from downhill high rollers to conti rubber queens all UST.

I have had a similar problem with Maxxis, but I find the Rubber Queens run at 30psi are fine, though not indestructible 😀

Mavic rims and Hope hubs though.

Hi again, sorry if I wound you up. Have you checked your pressures with more than one gauge? If you’re getting pinch punctures like this it’s because the tyre probably is too soft. The pressure’s you’re giving though seem too high to me, especially if you’re only 11st. You say with 40psi in that there’s still plenty of give…when you’re on the bike or squeezing with your fingers? 40psi should be quite hard either way.
I’ve had a similar problem in the past and like you say it’s annoying/expensive. I run 28psi up front, 30psi rear these days and I’m probably just over 11st with gear on. Now I can’t remember the last time I got a puncture and when I do it’s because the tyre’s are about worn out. They see plenty of rocks (live in the Lakes) and that’s with Maxxis tyres too.
I see that the internal rim width of your rims is 19mm, the same as my Stan’s Arches and my old Crossmax ST’s. So I wouldn’t have thought it’s your rims unless you’re a particulary hard rider, if thats the case a wider rim would give the tyre a better profile which would be less prone to pinching.
Hope you get things sorted out.

Were the maxxis tyres the LUST versions? If so, I’d be blaming them, not the rims. They always go at the bead, and pretty quickly in my experience.

d45yth – Don’t worry I wasn’t wound up and I enjoy the banter. I actually thought your reply was very funny. You’re not the first to think I’m beyond hope, ask my wife !
Thanks for the advice. Checked the gauge, in fact I’ve bought a new floor pump as the last one was on it’s last legs. When I say ‘some give at 40 psi’ I don’t mean very much and I actually mean a small amount of give. Enough to see a bit of compression when you push down on the bike and below the point when the tyres rattle your teeth when your testing out on tarmac.
Here’s the other thing. A lot of my riding is in the Lakes and all three of the splits on the bead have been up there (Kentmere and Woodland Fell twice !) so plenty of hard knarly stuff tested but it’s been on the tame parts when I’ve picked up the splits, for instance I came down the Nan Bield last weekend after all the hard drops etc and then picked up the split hopping over a stream just before The Heights in Kentmere, and this was running the tyres at similar pressures to yours.
I’m coming to the conclusion that it’s the depth of the rim as opposed to the width of the rim that might be causing the problem. Physics would mean the rim is very rigid and perhaps digging against a bead which is (maybe) prone to splitting (although I ran the Maxxis on a pair of Crossmax XT’s with only one split when I too was just pushing the tread for one more ride) on impact which is making for a poor and expensive combination… and all this just so Easton could big writing on the rim !
Back up to the Lakes this weekend for a test at the higher pressure, that’s as long as it’s not underwater by then.