Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyre disintegrating

[Flinders]

My OH has one of these tyres, he's had it about 18 months (I think) and it only gets very light use, once a week of a journey of about 12 miles return trip at most, and not in the winter.
It has suddenly started to disintegrate, the tread (not the sidewall) is cracked right down to the blue layer inside in several places and the cracks are opening up several millimeters. The cracks are inches long and run longitudinally. I've never seen anything like it.
Anyone else had this happen?

I can't imagine what could have caused it.

The other tyre on his bike is a different brand but is completely fine, so it can hardly be that he's ridden through some nasty chemical.

[Brucey]

if they didn't put enough of the right additives into the rubber then this will happen. I've seen it happen often with Schwalbe tyres in recent times. I'd take it back to the dealer and see what they say. If it happened within a short time I'd describe the tyre as 'of unmerchantable quality'. I'm not sure how well you will get on after 18 months though.

cheers

[CREPELLO]

if they didn't put enough of the right additives into the rubber then this will happen. I've seen it happen often with Schwalbe tyres in recent times. I'd take it back to the dealer and see what they say. If it happened within a short time I'd describe the tyre as 'of unmerchantable quality'. I'm not sure how well you will get on after 18 months though.

cheers

"Not fit for purpose" I'm pretty sure that consumer law allows you up to around 6 years to aurgue that the product isn't fit for purpose. Somebody more knowledgable will be able to confirm this.

[Bicycler]

if they didn't put enough of the right additives into the rubber then this will happen. I've seen it happen often with Schwalbe tyres in recent times. I'd take it back to the dealer and see what they say. If it happened within a short time I'd describe the tyre as 'of unmerchantable quality'. I'm not sure how well you will get on after 18 months though.

cheers

"Not fit for purpose" I'm pretty sure that consumer law allows you up to around 6 years to aurgue that the product isn't fit for purpose. Somebody more knowledgable will be able to confirm this.

You can argue it up to 6 years but the statutory presumption in the Sale of Goods Act 1979 that a fault was present on sale only extends 6 months, so it is up to you to provide evidence of it being faulty on sale. If the retailer accepts that there was a fault they could legitimately choose to only issue you with a partial refund accounting for the 18 months use you made of the tyre. That is their minimum legal obligation. Any warranty commitments the retailer and manufacturer have made above and beyond these obligations are also legally binding upon them. The legal technicalities are a bit irrelevant though because you are not really going to go through the Small Claims Procedure to retrieve the cost of a bike tyre. In practice you can only try the retailer and Schwalbe and see what they say.

In the past I have been pleasantly surprised by how happily some companies have replaced stuff long after sale. Unfortunately I have also come up against a couple brick walls as well

[PT1029]

Could be faulty. Alternatively, how often did the tyre pressure get checked and topped up? If topped up monthly, and pressure checked with a pressure guage to the correct pressure, then quite likely a faulty tyre.
I have also seen quite alot of Marathon+ that FEEL hard using the squeeze with your fingers test, but when checked with a pressure guage are literally 1/2 the recommended pressure. The puncture liner/tread is so thick/inflexible that very soft tyres will still feel hard using the finger test. I think the instructions somewhere say something to that effect.
If the inner tube looks rough/abraided/has canvas cloth like markings (from rubbing the inside of the tyre), that is a sign of prolonged riding with inadequate tyre pressure.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Like said, bad rubber I have had this happen on some cheap tyres after just several months..................................

Schwalbes aren't that good..........compared with say Conti's, what you are describing has probably happened to my conti's on my 1996 bike with original tyres that I still ride..............and still trust............

[D363]

I've had the same thing happen with an armadillo tyre, for no obvious or apparent reason. I didn't make efforts to return it though I'm sure you could, just decided to use a different brand next time ... marathon plus probably.

[Bikefayre]

Usually this sugggests water damage as bikes abandoned in the garden suffer from this. Now cannot imagine why a bike that's cared for and runs decent tyres should do this. My own Schwalbe has only started to crack after thre years, the damage was caused by an electric battery kit. The only other thing can cause this is a weak tube or one with a slow puncture. Water damage in a new branded tyre is a puzzle as have only found this on abandoned or dumped bikes with poor quality cheap branded tyres.

[Flinders]

Thanks for the comments, all.
To clarify, the tyre pressures are checked regularly with a gauge, the cracks are in the tread not the sidewalls, and the bike is kept indoors, so always dry and frost-free.

One question, though, what do you mean when you say you had a tyre damaged by an electric battery kit, Bikefayre?

[DaveP]

Usually this sugggests water damage as bikes abandoned in the garden suffer from this.

Are you sure about this? I've always put it down to sunlight and UV.

[Heltor Chasca]

Usually this sugggests water damage as bikes abandoned in the garden suffer from this.

Are you sure about this? I've always put it down to sunlight and UV.

Not a betting man but UV would be my guess...hc