When warranties work

You may have remembered that last month I replaced the rear Schwalbe Delta Cruiser tire on the Raleigh Wayfarer. The tire was getting long in the tooth and I knew it would need to be replaced, so I went ahead and ordered a new one. When I removed the old tire, I noticed that the wire bead was way broken:

I thought it was odd, since I never saw a bead break like that before. But I didn't think much beyond it...until I came across this blog post on Bike Tinker. Philip also had a broken bead on his Schwalbe Big Apple, and Schwalbe replaced it under warranty. And he wasn't even the original owner! 

So I went ahead and contacted Schwalbe. And they agreed to warrant it! Tuesday I received the package.

Now I have an extra creme Delta Cruiser tire. I don't have any immediate need, but I'm going to keep it as a backup for when one of the tires on the Wayfarer need replacing. Creme Delta Cruisers aren't always easy to find, and throwing on a different tire will be quite noticeable. Originally I thought I would put creme Delta Cruisers on the Rudge Sports, as the white tire would contrast the black frame, but I've grown to like the gumwall tires.