Lots of punctures - replace with solid or puncture resistant

I was riding slowly on a path and there must have been lots of three corner jacks because both my tires are filled with about 30 causing many, many punctures. Some broke off leaving the spikes in there which are hard to remove.

I was thinking would it be a good idea to go to a solid tyre or some type of puncture resistant tyre or lining so this won't happen again.
The tyre type is 700x360 and it was an all weather city tyre with up to 75psi pressure (I wouldn't want to go to a lower pressure type because I'd loose efficiency.)

A quick search revealed this website for example.
http://www.tannus.com.au/


But I wouldn't have the skill to install solid tyres myself.
What would be the best way forward to prevent this happening again?

The bike is a 240w geared mid drive motor pedelec type with front suspension.

I'm in Adelaide South Australia.

Solid tires don't ride good, except maybe at -5 mph.

You just got unlucky. Yet, you can improve puncture resistance. Better (bigger) tires, thicker tubes, lower PSI (even lower with wider rims), and slime. Green slime is very good and you don't need much.

Schwalbe Marathon Plus have excellent flat resistance.

titusmc said:

Schwalbe Marathon Plus have excellent flat resistance.

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I second this. Albuquerque is lousy with goatheads. When I was commuting every day ( just 10 mi. RT) I was averaging around 1.5 punctures per week...most weeks I'd have one, some weeks 2-3.

The Marathon Plus tires got this down to one puncture every few months. Actually, now that I am no longer commuting, I can't remember the last one...It has honestly been so long since I had one of the tubes in my hands that I can't even recall if I am running puncture resistant tubes, but I don't think so. I do know I have slime in them though.

If you can run wider tires at a bit lower pressure, that seems to help too. With less pressure there is less force available to drive the thorn through the tire, and the slime works bette at lower PSI. When I put the Marathons on, I went from a 32mm tire to a 45...so that may be part of the equation.

Tannus tires are good, and the common stereotypes about solid tires don't apply. I say it is worth trying.

I use slime in my rear tire. With a large tube, it works pretty well for smaller holes. I had a 3 penny nail in there for a few days before I figured out I was losing pressure.

Something with a thick belt in the tire (like Marathon plus) could work if you feel this is an ongoing problem.

Solid tires suck. If you really just want to try them because you've had it with flats, then try the Tannus. It's the best of suck. You'll have the fewest reasons to hate it, compared to some of the worst examples of solid tires, but it still is going to suck. Solid tires are a bad idea.

I could bore you with physics and reasons, but really, go ride on one. one ride is all it takes to convince people of how bad they are. There are some very good reasons why they aren't popular, and one ride is all it will take.

If you're just looking to prevent flats, there are several of us here who deal with large thorns and have found ways to handle them nearly flat free over decades. Here's my list of steps and some reasoning behind them:
- Run a larger tire. larger tires have a larger contact patch than smaller tires, meaning less pressure per square centimeter of tire against the ground. Or against a thorn. that makes it less likely that a thorn can get pressed into the tire. You will also be able to run a larger tire at lower pressure, meaning the tire can conform to irregularities in the road, and get less flats.
- Run a thick tire, puncture resistant strip is optional. High TPI counts give better performance, but low TPI counts are actually more puncture resistant.
- Run a thick walled, mountain bike tube of the correct size. Using a thin walled tube, or one that has to stretch to fit is going to puncture easy. if the tube says 700C X 20-36, then it's going to be stretched very thin on a 36mm tire.
- Run Slime. Not the Slime brand tubes, they suck, but real Slime in a real tube. It's better to do this with a Schrader valve tube, and it may be worth your time to drill the rim to accept one. If you use a Presta valve tube, you may need to find one with the removable valve core, and the tool to remove it. Not every Presta valve has a removable core, unlike Schrader tubes, which are all removable. You have to remove the core to get the slime in the tube, but it's worth it.

And as noted in a few of the other tire / puncture threads, you can also use old tires and tubes as liners.

Cut the bead off a slick tire that is slightly smaller than your existing tire, and put the whole thing inside your tire, then your tube inside that.

Or cut the valve stem off an old thick tube, slit that tube along it's inner circumference, and put that inside the tire, then your tube inside that.

Or if you get really long thorns, do both.

You can also use the tire liner strips between the outer tire and the inner tire or inner tube liner, and then not have to worry about your tube being cut by the liner.


Then you still have the benefit of pneumatic tires (vs "solid" ones) even though there is higher rolling resistance it's not nearly as bad as the solid tires.

Also, it'll help prevent the destruction of the wheel itself that can happen with the solid tires (it's way harder on the wheel than pneumatic ones). I've used solid tires on wheels and had them actually beaten up to the point of bent and wobbly rims, broken spokes, etc, when pneumatics in the same application and wheel before that did not.

I've also had solid tires fail to really fill up a tire properly, and destroy the sidewall and bead and have the tire actually disintegrate off the rim, over only dozens of miles.

I've tried all of these options, and the multi-liner approach works well enough in most cases, without having as big an impact on rideability and wheel-damage.


I'm using the double-tire and doulbe-tube + liner on my heavy-duty cargo trailer, and it works well enough--the only flats I've had so far were caused by a defective valve core and a bad patch on an old tube.

For my trike I'm using the double tube on the front wheel and moped tires on the rear, and have had no failures so far, but moped tires are not possible on all bike wheels and are pretty heavy for a "normal" bike. (practical for my heavy trike...)

Drunkskunk said:

If you use a Presta valve tube, you may need to find one with the removable valve core, and the tool to remove it. Not every Presta valve has a removable core, unlike Schrader tubes, which are all removable. You have to remove the core to get the slime in the tube, but it's worth it.

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There is a tool for that? I always used a little crescent wrench or a pair of pliers if I was away from the big tool stash.

With a plain-jane presta, you can dremmel the mushroom off the end of the threaded stud, remove the knurled nut, (and don't lose track of it!) and drop the core into the tube. Hold it in position (through the walls of the tube) so you don't lose track of it while you install the slime with your other two hands. Then (working blind, by feel) feed the core back out through the valve stem. Sounds fussy, but it was harder to write that than to do it. After you put the nut back on, you can either mash the end with vice grips, apply a drop of epoxy, or just take care not to thread it all the way off when airing up the tires.

If you let the valve core get very far from the stem, it is a bit of a hassle to work it back around, but way easier than putting the drawstring back in the waist of a pair of sweatpants.

As others have said, solid tires don't ride well.

I have very good success with dual ply downhill tires and gone tubeless. I think if you look into dual ply 29inch tires, there may be some choices like Maxxis minions/holly rollers.
My bike sees almost weekly offroad and commuting 24 miles round trip. I live in a desert environment with lots of thorns and have yet to get a flat after over a year on tubeless/dual ply downhill tires.
Before a ride, I take a long nose plier and pluck the thorns out.
Heavy setup, but no issue with e-bikes.

O yeah, some have success with the green slime (the offroad kind, not the bicycle stuff). However, I have gotten flats with green slime--I use Stans no tube sealant.

kevbo said:

Drunkskunk said:

If you use a Presta valve tube, you may need to find one with the removable valve core, and the tool to remove it. Not every Presta valve has a removable core, unlike Schrader tubes, which are all removable. You have to remove the core to get the slime in the tube, but it's worth it.

Click to expand...

There is a tool for that? I always used a little crescent wrench or a pair of pliers if I was away from the big tool stash.

With a plain-jane presta, you can dremmel the mushroom off the end of the threaded stud, remove the knurled nut, (and don't lose track of it!) and drop the core into the tube. Hold it in position (through the walls of the tube) so you don't lose track of it while you install the slime with your other two hands. Then (working blind, by feel) feed the core back out through the valve stem. Sounds fussy, but it was harder to write that than to do it. After you put the nut back on, you can either mash the end with vice grips, apply a drop of epoxy, or just take care not to thread it all the way off when airing up the tires.

If you let the valve core get very far from the stem, it is a bit of a hassle to work it back around, but way easier than putting the drawstring back in the waist of a pair of sweatpants.

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Yeah, the big end on the Park tool and Stan's No Tube valve stem remover, and a few other brands of that design is for the Presta.

That's some awesome advice. I'll have to try that on a few of my bikes.

Don't do a solid tire on an electric bike. I tried it and it didn't work. It can seriously injure you if your going fast. Just my two cents.

Ok thanks so I won't go for a solid tire.

I'm not sure if I should just take it to the local bike shop or order something in and try to install it myself.

The tire I had was a CST Traveller City Classic 40-622 700x360.
So I'm not sure if that's good or not, I could just get new inner tubes of course.

This CST tire has done its time. The recommendation that some previous posts mentioned, to replace it with a Schwaalbe Marathon is appropriate for your size, and a much better tire construction. There are many other good choices of tires in that size, but many ebikers are using the Marathon with success for its puncture resistance. Use a thick tube with shreader valve, add 3 oz of green slime, and avoid riding it at its max PSI spec. That should give you the best chances to ride in peace.

Ok but the cst is actually nearly new I've only ridden a few times.

Could new inner tubes with some sort of puncture resistant liner strips be an acceptable option for now?

There are several options listed here:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=86959&p=1271457#p1271367
and in other tire / tube / puncture / flat prevention threads around the forum.

Forte makes an inexpensive copy of the Marathon Plus that I think is as good as the original;

http://www.performancebike.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10052_10551_1168305_-1___

CST is the low quality, cheap branch of MAXXIS tires. That is why I recommend to replace it.

Many tire manufacturers do the same. They have a cheap series and a quality series under two different names. For some tires, they even use the same mold design, only filling it with crap and giving it another brand name.

I have found that the Maxxis tires I've used have had problems, or failed in a non-wear way, while the CST tires have lasted until they wore out as expected.

So...if they are the same manufacturer, I am not convinced that the one is the basic and the other the premium.

The cheap stuff from the same company as Maxxis and CST is branded Cheng Shin. And even that isn't uniformly crappy​.

I've been impressed by some CST tires, while I've never come across a Maxxis tire that I thought was a particularly good value at retail price. For example, I'm happy with the 29 x 2.5" Maxxis Grifter tires I have, but if I could get CST Cyclops in the same size at a better price, I'd do that.

I've sold a ton of CST Cyclops, Crucible, Salvo, Caldera, Selecta, Ciudad, Operative, Copperhead, Corporal, and Czar tires. They all seemed be equal in quality to premium brand tires, but less expensive. Nothing wrong with that.

With a problem as severe as what you are describing, it might be worth investigating if DOT tires would work for you.17-inch and 19-inch moped seem to be the most common diameters, with the best selection. Of course 16, 18, and 21-inch exist. Some will fit on a bicycle rim, others might require completely converting the rim to moped also, which negates the possibility of rim-brakes...

Chalo said:

I've sold a ton of CST Cyclops, Crucible, Salvo, Caldera, Selecta, Ciudad, Operative, Copperhead, Corporal, and Czar tires. They all seemed be equal in quality to premium brand tires, but less expensive. Nothing wrong with that.

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Good for you that you sold a ton of tires. I personnally saw only half a ton in 50 years, but I did ride them all fast and hard, on and off road. There are some brands of tires I don't ride anymore, because they are not safe to speed, and even less to corner on the rough. I don't sell any tires but If I was, I wouldn't be telling my clients that riding any tire wouldn't do much difference.

I've had bad luck with tire liners. Flats caused from the liners themselves.

I'm a big fan of the Schwalbe Marathon Plus (I have them on all my motorized wheels now). You could also put a thick (Throne Resistant) tube inside one and slime the inside of that. I don't think you could make a more puncture resistant tire than that combo. But it would be harder to spin up... but with a motor you probably wouldn't notice. I'd imagine a solid tire wouldn't be very fun to ride.

And carry a C02 Cartridge pump. Small pumps are a pain when servicing a tire out on the road.

Recumbent Bicycle Source said:

And carry a C02 Cartridge pump. Small pumps are a pain when servicing a tire out on the road.

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I agree, the bulk of frame mounted pumps are not fun. But then I discovered this style, and have put them on most
of my bikes:
https://www.amazon.com/Schwinn-Mini-Frame-Floor-Pump/dp/B00F2DG3KQ

That Schwinn one is a brand I don't personally own, but I bought one and installed it on a friends bike, and used it to fix her flat,
and it worked as good as more expensive ones...maybe it was a tad heavier.

There are several brands, and high and low pressure versions of the same basic idea: Foot braced with a flexible hose. It isn't
quite as good as the "real" pump at home, but it really does a fine job.

Back from the dead.

My experience was so/so. At first I was quite happy with the Tannus tire. It provided piece of mind knowing that no flats were possible, however a few things I disliked made me go back to reg tire and tubes.
1. They ride harsher
2. In emergency braking with the rear wheel locks up....flat spots were created quite easily.
3 Braking is not inspiring since the tire is far narrower than my balloon tires.
4 Since my bike is a DIY(BBS02HD) ebike the wear on the rear tire was much more that expected.
5 Since I cruise at 30+MPH on my bike the tire developed a high point was would shake the bike, not badly but annoyingly.

After the wear on the rear was bad I had to make a decision and I did. I went with regular 2.125 tires and STANS in the tubes and couldn't be happier. I hope the flats are minimized with the STANS in there but we'll see.

Thanks for your report, but the solid rubber tires being crappy wasn't a huge surprise

I live in Utah and my flat rate is about once every other ride.
Went through about $400 worth of various bicycle tires and sealants and tire liners and..
When Schwalbe marathons filled with stans no tubes don't work, it's time to hang it up.

The only answer is more rubber.
The best bicycle tire i can find measured 7mm thick right in the center ( marathon plus ). I'm sure that the second you sit on the bike, that 7mm becomes 5mm. The biggest goathead i've measured was 11mm long.

The thickest motorcycle tire i've seen measured about 13mm, but i have only measured a few. I'm sure it gets burlier than that. The thinnest i've seen is 8mm on a vee rubber 16 x 2.0 tire. ( but this tire had a hard compound, which is more likely to deflect or snap a goathead in half )

I have never seen a goathead fragment in any of my car tires, but have picked literally THOUSANDS of them out of my bike tires.

The only way a bike can handle this kind of environmental damage is..
1) run scooter/motorcycle tires.
2) run the skinniest 700c tire you can get away with and pump it to max PSI at all times. The round shape will fling most of the goatheads off. Only one which you roll over at dead center of the tire ( chances of this are lower the narrower the tire patch is ) will pop it.