Considerations for Figure-8 folding a wire bead tire

Some wire-bead tires may arrive folded into a compact "figure-8" shape to facilitate the use of a smaller box for shipping. This can leave the tire looking wrinkled or kinked when you first take it out of the box.

Where possible Schwalbe North America does not ship tires folded into a figure-8 shape from our own facility primarily for appearance and not for any technical or safety concerns.

We encourage resellers to also avoid folding tires if possible, but in the event they choose to do so, the tire should not be folded with excessive force resulting in a kinked or bent wire bead core.

Figure-8 folding a wire bead tire does not affect the tire's structural integrity, reliability, or pose any additional risk of tire failure provided the following steps are taken:

Check the bead for any tight bends or kinks, straighten these by hand (using as much force as required) until the bead is again roughly circular with any acute (tight) bends/kinks in the bead 'straightened' out.
Mount and inflate as normal (please see installation instructions). Any wrinkles/folds in the tire are temporary and will be resolved upon installation/inflation and initial use.

If you install the tire after following the steps above and still have concerns please contact Schwalbe Tires North America.

In the below video the tire was simply twisted in a figure 8 and then naturally (without any resistance) fell into two overlapping circles.

The below tires were folded or kinked with excessive force and visible deformation has resulted.

Aggressive kinks that are 90 degrees or greater may not be able to be bent back into shape. If they can't be straightened out by hand (without the use of tools), it is not advised to use the tire until further consultation with Schwalbe Tires North America or a local bike shop.	Flat folding (end over end) of wire bead tires is not a approved way of shipping and storing tires.

Updated on: 09/03/2026

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