Rear tire tearing away from bead I noticed recently that my rear tire seems to be tearing on the right side. The bead is firmly attached inside the wheel but the wall/fabric are tearing away. The bike and tire are only 3 years old. I’m wondering if one of the following might be causing this:


I ride most weekdays with a rear pannier on the left carrying 5–10 pounds of weight. On rarer occasions I’ll carry more weight.
A month or so ago, I had a flat caused by a sharp sliver of unknown material poking through the rear tire. I removed the intruder and patched the tube. (It’s possible the tube is slightly bulged due to the patch, although I’m not sure the location corresponds exactly with this tear.)


Would anything else reasonably cause such a tear? It looks as though the tube is causing the tire to bulge out a bit where it’s torn, but I wouldn’t say that I normally have the tubes overinflated — if anything, probably underinflated.
Underinflation is bad for tyres.  Your pannier won't have caused this, other than adding more weight to an underinflated tyre.

Its likely that riding underinflated, combined with stresses of changing the tube last month, have damaged the tyre.  Possibly a tyre lever used wrong may have contribited too.   

You should replace this tyre, and inspect the front tyre for similar damage.



I see a moderately knobbly tyre - if you're riding roads then consider more of a neutral commuter tyre tread for easier riding.