Conti Trail Attack Tread Separation

davnjud · Jan 4, 2014

6 month old GSA with original conti trail attack 7k miles.

1/2 mile from home Experienced a severe bumping from front wheel and thought i had a flat but tyre pressure sensors said ok. Checked front tyre when home and discovered a soft blister patch in the road contact area the size of my hand where I could press the tread down to the the solid belts underneath about 5mm or more at its high point, as soft as bike inner tube inflated out of a tyre. The tread is separating from the belt underneath while the belts contain the pressure for now. Terrifying to think what would have happened if this blew out at high motorway speeds minutes earlier, which I understand is what happens next as these separations develop. The tyre has at least another 3k miles of tread left.

Obviously i will bring this up as a warranty claim and serious safety issue with BMW on Monday. Anyone heard of or experienced the like of this ?

Smug · Jan 4, 2014

A picture would be good

John Armstrong · Jan 4, 2014

I'll guess the dealers will refer you to Continental customer service as it's not exactly a BM bit, even if it did come with the bike.

Good reason to keep having a check of they tyres on a regular basis.

davnjud · Jan 4, 2014

Smug said:
A picture would be good

Has to be felt rather than seen missus but I'll have a go

davnjud · Jan 4, 2014

John Armstrong said:
I'll guess the dealers will refer you to Continental customer service as it's not exactly a BM bit, even if it did come with the bike.

Good reason to keep having a check of they tyres on a regular basis.

so are tyres excluded from warranty claims - ie defective not normal wear and tear ?

John Armstrong · Jan 4, 2014

davnjud said:
so are tyres excluded from warranty claims - ie defective not normal wear and tear ?

I don't know as I don't have a BM warranty book to habd, but they might pull the it's done 7000 miles how do we know you haven't hit something / abused them etc etc especially as it is an item that does wear.

columbus · Jan 4, 2014

I'm on my third set of contis and never had a problem or heard of anything like this

Giles · Jan 4, 2014

Is it a brand new new bike? I'd be surprised if your BM dealer doesn't sort it for you. Whilst it's not 'their' tyre, I'd be amazed if they didn't stick a new tyre on free of charge and then take up the issue with conti themselves.

And I'm sure Conti will want to see the tyre and would bend over backwards to accommodate you and /or BMW. It's in every bodies interest to work together and give a good service. BM to you, conti to BM .... :thumb2

Nice 'n' Fat · Jan 5, 2014

I've had Conti Trail Attacks wear with high & low spots to such an extent that you get the handlebars shimmy in your hands as the bike decelerates through 30 to 20mph. It's never really bothered me and the shimmy is cured by rebalancing the wheel

If your tyre has done 7k and you reckon there's another 3k of life left in it you may get just get offered contribution of 30% towards a replacement tyre. After all, it is a wear part :comfort

Wilsdorf · Jan 5, 2014

Sounds quite scary. The GP guys seem to cope of with some bits of tyre delaminating sometimes, but no doubt it could have been v dangerous.

I use Conti Road attack and find them excellent. Fingers crossed I don't have an issue, or your contact with them will sort any issues.

Rusty Bolts · Jan 5, 2014

Nice 'n' Fat said:
I've had Conti Trail Attacks wear with high & low spots to such an extent that you get the handlebars shimmy in your hands as the bike decelerates through 30 to 20mph. It's never really bothered me and the shimmy is cured by rebalancing the wheel

I have just fitted a new set of Conti Trail Attacks (date stamped 42-12) bought online from M&P I think. I had them fitted and balanced by Pro tyre in Exeter. I too have a bar 'shimmy' in the 25-35mph bracket but no really noticeable vibration at any other speeds. Having read some of the other posts about similar problems I thought I would speak to Conti about it. Their website says that you should in the first instance with the vendor, this I assume is M&P. But in the OPs case that would be the dealer. If the dealer also fits Conti tyres then it should be returned to them (Conti) in line with their returns policy that is published on their website.
In my case I will try Mr Fat's suggestion of a rebalance to see if that works.

Pukmeister · Jan 5, 2014

I returned a 70% worn front Tourance to Metzeler-Pirelli a few years ago due to sidewall cracking, via my local Protyre depot.

I had to initially purchase the replacement tyre, but was later fully refunded by Metzeler (again via Protyre) despite the 70% wear.

I asked what was wrong with the tyre, but told they don't provide any feedback from the manufacturer.

davnjud · Jan 5, 2014

Here are some photos. You can just about see the blister from the side. I have highlighted the affected area with grease on the front view. all of this area has separated from the band underneath.

Wilsdorf · Jan 5, 2014

Doesn't look too good. Hopefully they will replace your tyres and track down the batch - I just hope it is limited to that batch, as we use Conti trail and road attacks on our bikes.

Please keep us informed.

Sgt Bilco · Jan 5, 2014

I suspect the dealer will refer your to the manufacturer and I would think they will take it away for checking. If you get a replacement, you've rung the bell especially after 7k!!

I take it the bike was supplied with this tyre from new?

davnjud · Jan 5, 2014

Yes this the original tyre supplied with the new bike in July. the detached part does seem quite thin so I am guessing wear is a factor but as you can see from the pics there is still some tread left.

Smug · Jan 5, 2014

It looks like the blister area has worn thinner suggesting that the delamination has occurred a while back allowing the blister area to wear at a higher rate than the rest of the tyre. You are lucky that the whole area had not ballooned and jammed against the mudguard.

eonbkuk · Jan 6, 2014

I took mine in for a service and the dealer asked if i had any handling problems then pointed out that the tyres were delaminating and being that they had put them on in january and it was now march they said they were going to change them FOC and put tourances on, i hadn't any issues with the handling at the time so i suppose i have been lucky

davnjud · Jan 6, 2014

BMW assist recovery to dealers today. Not a known problem with conti trail attack according to dealer Also same confirmed by local tyre dealer who was concerned that he has supplied a lot of these tyres. Lucky old me to be the one with the problem ! Also £251 for new pr3's fitted but thought I should go through a dealer investigation - may establish some goodwill for future problems, alert riders/ BMW to a potential safety issue, and can afford to be without the bike for now. will update outcome in due course.

Wilsdorf · Jan 6, 2014

eonbkuk said:
I took mine in for a service and the dealer asked if i had any handling problems then pointed out that the tyres were delaminating and being that they had put them on in january and it was now march they said they were going to change them FOC and put tourances on, i hadn't any issues with the handling at the time so i suppose i have been lucky

Was that Conti TrailAttacks / trailattack 2's?

Conti Trail Attack Tread Separation

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