Patched a tube the other day, put it in the tire and back on the wheel,
and was pumping it up, when BANG! the tube blew, with a noise like a
gunshot. I had partially pumped up and then deflated the thing, too,
before giving it the normal pump-up. Did I create a pinch flat, or what?
The patch was still intact, but there was a long rip in the tube where it
had split. Along the center line of this rip was an odd, butterfly-shaped
hole, looking something like this:
|\ /|
| \/ |
| || |
| /\ |
|/ \|
I put on a new tube and made sure it was well-centered and well into the
tire, then pumped it up cautiously (while wearing earplugs, just in case):
No problem. Any clues as to what happened the first time? I had ridden on
the exploding tube for a while, and the puncture I fixed was a tiny hole.
One last detail: the tube might had been a little wet, from the
find-the-leak procedure. But I've never heard of water causing a
blowout.
Sheesh, that kind of thing can give you a start...
AMG