GP5000 - manufacturing fault or damage?

[emicen]

First run on the new carbon wheels yesterday with the new GP5000s also getting their first run. Cleaned the bike today to find this:







That you can see the cotton construction through the sidewall rubber coating at that point makes me wonder if this is a thin part of the construction and it’s failed?

If it’s just bad luck and I need to suck it up, so be it. Quite disappointing all the same, knackered after one 78km road ride which wasn’t exactly Paris-Roubaix.

[anonymous-user]

Looks like damage to me, widest part of the tyre, doesn’t take much to kill a sidewall these days.

[CheesecakeRunner]

I’m inclined towards damage as well, although I’m surprised something big enough to tear a sidewall like that didn’t also mark your rim.

Personally, I think there’s still a bit too much winter crap on the roads where I am to put my GP5000s back on. I’m running the GP 4 Seasons until the clocks change.

One other possibility…. I know Conti tyres come folded with a sort of zip tie around them. Any chance the tyre was damaged when that was cut off?

[emicen]

CheesecakeRunner said:

I’m inclined towards damage as well, although I’m surprised something big enough to tear a sidewall like that didn’t also mark your rim.

Personally, I think there’s still a bit too much winter crap on the roads where I am to put my GP5000s back on. I’m running the GP 4 Seasons until the clocks change.

One other possibility…. I know Conti tyres come folded with a sort of zip tie around them. Any chance the tyre was damaged when that was cut off?

That’s really why I’m asking. Find it a bit amazing I didn’t feel anything through the bike or see anything on the ground that could have done it. Also given the profile of the sidewall in relation to the rim (see below), it’s pretty incredible something managing to slice the sidewall and not even glance the rim.

Definitely not damaged before or during fitting.

Very much a downer, bike felt mega but I don’t have the disposable to throw away many £75 tyres after a single ride. More worryingly, everything I rode yesterday was in similar condition to the roads on Etape Loch Ness coming up in April.

[PastelNata]

Damage in my opinion. I've seen a few different tyres over the years get cut by sharp stuff on the road. Just bad luck.

Just to add: I'm not surprised the rim never got hit - those nicks are often from the odd small, sharp stones embedded in rough tarred roads.

Edited by PastelNata on Sunday 5th March 18:41

[outnumbered]

Unlucky to get that damage but very lucky you didn’t have a sudden blowout, so I guess the tube is still just about being retained. You could always just chuck a tyre boot in there and keep riding it, that’s what I’d do.

[emicen]

outnumbered said:

Unlucky to get that damage but very lucky you didn’t have a sudden blowout, so I guess the tube is still just about being retained. You could always just chuck a tyre boot in there and keep riding it, that’s what I’d do.

They’re set up tubeless, so probably upgrade that to very lucky not to get a blowout

[addey]

Google "gp5000 sidewall failure" and it seems to be fairly common! I had one go a few years back, only noticed when I stopped and the tube was bulging out! They do seem to be susceptible to sidewall damage, there's evidently a weakness there, even if it is indirectly caused by impact or similar. I've never had it happen on any other tyres in well over 50,000 miles.....