Alpinist CLX sold as tubeless and a crash

[TobinHatesYou]

so he never looked at his own wheels in mid 2021 or replaced tires since then ?

I mean the stock tape in effect says non-tubeless.

IIRC some wheels sent to reviewers (perhaps even sold?) with tape that said "tubeless ready."

[spdntrxi]

so he never looked at his own wheels in mid 2021 or replaced tires since then ?

I mean the stock tape in effect says non-tubeless.

IIRC some wheels sent to reviewers (perhaps even sold?) with tape that said "tubeless ready."

then he can sue Spesh

[CasualRider]

Hey thanks for the reply. My friend was riding his alpinist clx wheels that his bike shop suggested he purchase for his Athos. They were set up tubeless by the shop. He was riding with a group and was going 30+mph as they were going for a town line sprint. Everyone there heard what sounded like an explosion. His front tire blew off his wheel and he tumbled over the handlebars getting hit by the rider behind him. Wheel buckled and bike trashed as well as several broken ribs, separated shoulder and several other broken bones. Lots of road rash. He had no idea the wheels were not tubeless ready wheels since the shop recommended them, set them up tubeless and installed them on his bike. The wheels were purchased in mid 2021. He's in US. There was not a pothole or sketchy roads. Everyone that witnessed the accident said it was a failure. Thanks for everyone's input. He's just trying to come to grips with everything he's been through.

Do you happen to know what tires he was running and at what pressure? Was it the tire failure or wheel failure? Was the wheel intact when the tire blew off? All this will help us understand the situation better. The fact that the rider didn't notice that he was running tubeless tires is concerning. The scary part is I know people like that. It's hard to imagine that he didn't have "a flat" with signs of sealant in 12 months of riding.

The last time I saw a tire blown off was when the rider was walking his bike to the start line before the race so tire failure happens even when not riding. I'm riding a new Conti 5k S TR, they are hard to mount and the fact that you can seat them with a regular pump and no sealant tells it shouldn't happen. But I know not all tires are like that.

[Huskies91]

so he never looked at his own wheels in mid 2021 or replaced tires since then ?

I mean the stock tape in effect says non-tubeless.

Not sure why it's so hard to believe someone would have a shop do work on their bike and put the tubeless wheels on for them. What exactly would he be looking for? A sticker on the inside of the wheel that he never saw since the shop put them on? Not all people do work on their bikes. Just like not all people change their own car oil. I have an uncle that can't believe I don't change my own brake pads. So yeah, he never looked at the tape on his wheels.

[Huskies91]

Do you happen to know what tires he was running and at what pressure? Was it the tire failure or wheel failure? Was the wheel intact when the tire blew off? All this will help us understand the situation better. The fact that the rider didn't notice that he was running tubeless tires is concerning. The scary part is I know people like that. It's hard to imagine that he didn't have "a flat" with signs of sealant in 12 months of riding.

The last time I saw a tire blown off was when the rider was walking his bike to the start line before the race so tire failure happens even when not riding. I'm riding a new Conti 5k S TR, they are hard to mount and the fact that you can seat them with a regular pump and no sealant tells it shouldn't happen. But I know not all tires are like that.
[/quote]

He knew that they were tubeless tires with sealant. He did not know that the wheels were not tubeless ready wheels. Shop owner recommended them and set them up tubeless for him. Never a mention of that they should NOT be run tubeless. I know he has Conti 5000 til on his other bikes. Not sure about the Athos.

[ghostinthemachine]

so he never looked at his own wheels in mid 2021 or replaced tires since then ?

I mean the stock tape in effect says non-tubeless.

Almost a certainty. Nerding out over kit like you are on here is most definitely not the norm.
Regularly see customers with bikes that cost them €8-10-12000 with tires down to the canvas who have no idea when they were fitted, who did the work or how many km they've done. Or "gears that don't work" who just shrug when you ask them exactly how they don't work.

[Karvalo]

This is the 4th instance of a tubeless tire blowing off a first gen Alpinist/Rapide CLX while JRA I've heard about, though the first involving an Alpinist. The other three were mentioned to me by someone who works at a large former Specialized dealer.

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[C36]

If one guy from one shop had direct knowledge of three failures of this type then they'd be failing everywhere all the time, and that doesn't seem to be happening.

On the other side we talk about a setup that should not be used so no, you shouldn’t hear about it all the time.
I asked this morning a Spe dealer for 25 years and he mentioned when the first gen came, he looked at spoke tension drop when installing TL and it was quite more than on other wheels (may support Tobin’s point). Then he did test them and got the rear tire popout putting power out of the saddle on straight line with a “rather high pressure” to test the limits. He didn’t made a big fuss of it since it was not suppose to be set up like this.

[Usernamealex]

This is why people who run tubeless to take a very good look at the rims, tires, psi, rider weight combination with great detail.

Know the minimum and maximum psi for your setup. Tire compatibility if you run on hookless. Review tire pressure recommendation charts on wheel manufacturer website.



Sent from my SM-G977N using Tapatalk

[Usernamealex]

This is why people who run tubeless need to take a very good look at the rims, tires, psi, rider weight combination with great detail.

Know the minimum and maximum psi for your setup. Tire compatibility if you run on hookless. Review tire pressure recommendation charts on wheel manufacturer website.



Sent from my SM-G977N using Tapatalk

[Mr.Gib]

Hey thanks for the reply. My friend was riding his alpinist clx wheels that his bike shop suggested he purchase for his Athos. They were set up tubeless by the shop. He was riding with a group and was going 30+mph as they were going for a town line sprint. Everyone there heard what sounded like an explosion. His front tire blew off his wheel and he tumbled over the handlebars getting hit by the rider behind him. Wheel buckled and bike trashed as well as several broken ribs, separated shoulder and several other broken bones. Lots of road rash. He had no idea the wheels were not tubeless ready wheels since the shop recommended them, set them up tubeless and installed them on his bike. The wheels were purchased in mid 2021. He's in US. There was not a pothole or sketchy roads. Everyone that witnessed the accident said it was a failure. Thanks for everyone's input. He's just trying to come to grips with everything he's been through.

Thanks for the detail. It sounds like the shop is at fault. Your friend will have to credibly prove/argue that he took due care and took all precautions that a reasonable person would be expected to take with regard to the maintenance of the equipment, (tire pressure, tire condition, etc). He has many witnesses to the event which is good. He should start with a personal injury lawyer and go after the shop to see if he can extract a quick settlement. Suing Specialized is altogether more complicated and costly. Perhaps your friend can find a lawyer who is also a cyclist. Maybe go to a Pinarello dealer and ask around.

[Orlok]

Hey thanks for the reply. My friend was riding his alpinist clx wheels that his bike shop suggested he purchase for his Athos. They were set up tubeless by the shop. He was riding with a group and was going 30+mph as they were going for a town line sprint. Everyone there heard what sounded like an explosion. His front tire blew off his wheel and he tumbled over the handlebars getting hit by the rider behind him. Wheel buckled and bike trashed as well as several broken ribs, separated shoulder and several other broken bones. Lots of road rash. He had no idea the wheels were not tubeless ready wheels since the shop recommended them, set them up tubeless and installed them on his bike. The wheels were purchased in mid 2021. He's in US. There was not a pothole or sketchy roads. Everyone that witnessed the accident said it was a failure. Thanks for everyone's input. He's just trying to come to grips with everything he's been through.

Thanks for the detail. It sounds like the shop is at fault. Your friend will have to credibly prove/argue that he took due care and took all precautions that a reasonable person would be expected to take with regard to the maintenance of the equipment, (tire pressure, tire condition, etc). He has many witnesses to the event which is good. He should start with a personal injury lawyer and go after the shop to see if he can extract a quick settlement. Suing Specialized is altogether more complicated and costly. Perhaps your friend can find a lawyer who is also a cyclist. Maybe go to a Pinarello dealer and ask around.

I wish the friend good luck in this case that the wheels purchased and setup tubeless were not tubeless ready and caused a crash because my first question will be that if the wheels were tubeless ready and the initial setup tubeless by the shop middle in the year 2021 was correct give that him the garantie that half way the year 2022 no blow-off can procure riding with a group at 30+mph as they were going for a town line sprint.?

[Hexsense]

This is the 4th instance of a tubeless tire blowing off a first gen Alpinist/Rapide CLX while JRA I've heard about, though the first involving an Alpinist. The other three were mentioned to me by someone who works at a large former Specialized dealer.

Chinese whispers aren't usually a reliable source of information. If one guy from one shop had direct knowledge of three failures of this type then they'd be failing everywhere all the time, and that doesn't seem to be happening.

It doesn't happen everywhere because people know to not set up non-tubeless wheel tubeless. It happen in spots where someone in the club/shop say it can be setup tubeless and people around them follow.

[alanyu]

It doesn't happen everywhere because people know to not set up non-tubeless wheel tubeless. It happen in spots where someone in the club/shop say it can be setup tubeless and people around them follow.

A shop owner (also a frequent poster) on this forum has claimed several times that the 1st gen Rapide and Alpinist can be set up as tubeless, and he also claimed that he had done a lot to his customers. Apparently he can see / has read this thread. Let's guess if he would post something here. Cross finger to his customers.

[ryanw]

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