The story of my hand. And my stroller.
My stroller wheels are being replaced, after which time I can start devising a stroller-related fitness plan.
Why do I need to replace my stroller wheels? Well, not all of them. One rear 16″ inflatable wheel, and the front 12″ inflatble wheel.
On Saturday, my mother in law and I set out to take Sami for a walk in her stroller. As we passed the neighborhood gas station, it occurred to me to add a little air to my stroller tires. I inflated the rear tire to a tender yet satisfactory pressure, and moved on to the front tire.
Said front tire exploded about two seconds into inflation. Not only were the inner tube and rubber tire blown out, but the galvanized black plastic wheel frame itself was cracked, along with my index finger severely bruised and the skin next to and under my middle finger nail punctured. (I have a picture of that nail before draining; I will assume that no one wants to see it. Gnarly.
I realized later that 35 psi in a tire about a quarter of the size of my bike tire and 35 psi in a car tire are the same, yet different. Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t try to pump each tire for very long with the industrial pump. It was psst, psst, psst, done.
Well. An hour after we got home, parked the stroller behind an overstuffed chair, washed up my hand and were about to sit down to dinner, the rear tire exploded too. Also cracking the wheel hub as well as blowing out the inner tube.
I know that I certainly, unintentionally exceeded the pressure limitations of the tires. It just never occurred to me how little inflation effort is required to achieve 35 psi in a tire that small. I suspect it’s a mistake that others must make from time to time as well.
It’s not shocking that overinflating the tube resulted in the tube bursting. What I find shocking is that a) the force was sufficient to break the hard plastic wheel itself and b) that there isn’t some kind of pressure-safety release valve to ensure that parents and children are not injured making the same mistake I made.
My hand was minorly and annoyingly injured, but otherwise, no one sustained any injuries. No big deal in the end. And the stroller manufacturer, after re-iterating that the pressure limitations are mentioned in the manual and on the tire, is shipping me replacement wheels. So all will be well that ends well.
The stroller is the BOB Revolution, for those who are interested, and let the record show that I am satisfied with the company’s response, and otherwise quite happy with my stroller. I don’t recommend against the stroller, as long as tire inflation guidelines are followed.
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