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Ugly puncture on my 11" tire, Slime saved the day?

I couldn't do it. I'm a fraud, haha. This was nothing like the e-bike tires I changed before. This thing is insanely stiff—to the point that it's frustrating and honestly disappointing.

I removed the brake disc, heated the tire with a heat gun, and fought with it for a while, but eventually I decided to stop. It was a mess. The rim protectors kept popping out every few seconds. At least I didn't damage anything, so I guess that's a win.
Looks like I'll have to leave this one to the professionals.

It took me another half hour just to put the wheel back on. I thought it had some kind of hooks or locking tabs to keep it in place once installed, but it turns out the initial positioning was held entirely by the swingarm clamping pressure.
I'm really tired right now and pretty disappointed. I don't know if there will be a second round... :cry:
 

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99t4 said:
OR:
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:oop: Wow, thank you so much—that thing looks pretty good. I might consider it later, since I also wanted to remove the front tire to clean out the Slime and switch to FlatOut.

I like the price; that’s probably what a scooter shop would charge me for just one tire anyway, and I could still use it for future maintenance. Right now I’m just tired from all of this, so I’ll see what I do later.
 
Another thing that happened is that I got tired of the rim protectors. I think they were too big and I probably should have trimmed them a bit. I also tried working without them, just a little, and ended up leaving some small scratches on the outer rim.

That’s another reason I stopped, because I obviously didn’t like doing that to it. I put something under the tire to hold it against the swingarm, but I think it would have been better to just place it on the ground and let gravity do its job, hehe.

Edit: Let’s see if I get motivated for a second round, this time with the rim protectors trimmed and more patience. I wouldn’t try it without them again. I’ll also probably open up the deck to disconnect this thing from the ports so I can work on it more comfortably.
 
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In my experience, those small tyres can be an absolute menace if you don't make 100% absolutely sure you push the bead into the center rim channel. Having changed them maybe a dozen times on my Xiaomi, when I started, i was sure i needed super heavy duty auto levers, and almost bent them. Now I can change them with almost no force required - by slowly and dilligently allowing the tyre to move around the rim and lubricating heavily.
 
bananu7 said:
In my experience, those small tyres can be an absolute menace if you don't make 100% absolutely sure you push the bead into the center rim channel. Having changed them maybe a dozen times on my Xiaomi, when I started, i was sure i needed super heavy duty auto levers, and almost bent them. Now I can change them with almost no force required - by slowly and dilligently allowing the tyre to move around the rim and lubricating heavily.
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Hey thanks for the info, it motivated me a bit that I already felt underneath with my fingers the screws that open the deck, without forcing glued parts to make them visible like apparently on several scooters, so better I’ll isolate just the tire itself on this second round. (Edited: They are actually hex nuts, which means...)

I need to think more about whether it would be better to fully remove those two swingarm axle bolts, since it gave me a little trouble putting the wheel axle back in.
Having said all this, I’ll cut the rim protectors to 2 or 3 inches. An AI had told me there would be no problem, but I think they were oversized and it’s better to cut them down. Also I felt it was really hard to insert those tire spoons I bought. I have a lot of long flathead screwdrivers, I’d like to try them too, I think they could be better, I’ll try both.

I was also thinking that if I can’t remove the damn tire, I can cut it with a Dremel, using a tire spoon as rim protector, many people have escaped prison with a lot of patience digging for years with a simple spoon. How much could it cost me to mess up this tire carefully using a pretty powerful technological tool? Of course nothing guarantees I’ll be able to install the new one either, I need more experience, we’ll see what happens, I wouldn’t want to do that cutting thing, only as a last option. Obviously it would be more useful for me to just learn it properly for the future. I hope to see some progress on my eventual second attempt/attack hehe.

Thinking that there are rims that split in half by unscrewing them, making tire mounting way easier, that should be the standard. :cautious:(n)

To be honest, these are tough times. I'm a recovering addict, money is tight, and it would be great if I could handle this on my own. At this point, I've taken it personally! :mrgreen:
 
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DosCom32 said:
it would be great if I could handle this on my own
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Having a helper might make it possible.

DosCom32 said:
I was also thinking that if I can’t remove the damn tire, I can cut it with a Dremel
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That can work but can take a long time, gets stinky, and breaks a lot of cutoff wheels. Reciprocating saw w. fine tooth metal cutting blade worked better/faster for me but have to stand on the tire to keep it from flobbering up and down with the blade.

So you end up removing the old tire by cutting it apart. But then what will you do to get the new tire mounted?
 
99t4 said:
So you end up removing the old tire by cutting it apart. But then what will you do to get the new tire mounted?
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That's why I didn't want to rely on that option. I'd rather try to learn how to do it myself. As for mounting the new tire, maybe those tricks with zip ties, heat, and lubrication will work in my favor. I'd like to play around with it a bit more before giving up after just one attempt. Thanks for the tip.
 
No problem. In my experience, mounting those small tires is no easier than dismounting them. Having a helper makes a difference-- they can hold a tire iron or two while you work a third.
 
DosCom32 said:
heated the tire with a heat gun
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No. Hot sunny day might help. No heat gun please.
DosCom32 said:
The rim protectors kept popping out every few seconds.
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Stop being silly. If you scratch the rim so what. Is scooter going to a museum? I use duct tape on anything I don't want to scratch.
DosCom32 said:
leave this one to the professionals
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After this episode you will be a professional.
bananu7 said:
super heavy duty auto levers
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I got a nice collection from Moped Guy who died. Can't have too many.
bananu7 said:
push the bead into the center rim channel
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YES. THIS IS IMPORTANT.
bananu7 said:
lubricating heavily
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Called tire lube. Could also use Murphy’s Oil Soap or what ever ya got.
DosCom32 said:
disconnect this thing from the ports so I can work on it more comfortably
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Yes please. Lets concentrate on tires and not what it's attached to.
99t4 said:
Having a helper
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This is why God gives us 2 legs and 2 arms. Use your feet. I have done these little tires my self. Large belly might help show the tire who is the boss. Eat more sugar and fat. 2nd person with a good brain might help with motivation?

Small engine people can do this with their eyes closed. Watch every YouTube video on snowblower, go cart, scooter, tire change. Please never watch YouTube idiots who hold phone vertical and do not know how to do things.
 
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marty said:
First match. Tire won. Practice will help to win more fights.
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It looks like there won't be a second round or a chance to get the hang of this through practice. I just can't afford to damage the rim right now, since money is pretty tight, as I mentioned earlier. That's also why doing it myself would have been a big help.

A family member has offered to take the wheel to a shop and have the tire mounted without any more hassle, so that's probably what I'll do. I'll definitely keep learning and studying this stuff, though, because I'd really like to be able to do it myself in the future, when damaging something while learning won't hit me like a bucket of cold water.

Thanks again, everyone, for all the advice and help!
 
DosCom32 said:
It looks like there won't be a second round or a chance to get the hang of this through practice. I just can't afford to damage the rim right now, since money is pretty tight, as I mentioned earlier. That's also why doing it myself would have been a big help.

A family member has offered to take the wheel to a shop and have the tire mounted without any more hassle, so that's probably what I'll do. I'll definitely keep learning and studying this stuff, though, because I'd really like to be able to do it myself in the future, when damaging something while learning won't hit me like a bucket of cold water.

Thanks again, everyone, for all the advice and help!
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Noooooo! Please garbage pick a snowblower, wheelbarrow, or anything with small tires. Get some big tire irons and practice. I got a nice, extra large, industrial, rusty, wagon. Needs 4 new tires. Anyone in Buffalo NY want some small tire excitement? More fun then cage fighting.
 
marty said:
Noooooo! Please garbage pick a snowblower, wheelbarrow, or anything with small tires. Get some big tire irons and practice.
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I'm honestly speechless, I never would have thought of that. I'll go ahead with what I said in my previous post, but I also really like the idea of getting a spare tire and rim to use as a practice setup. That way I can get good at this over time and eventually master this man's game :), thanks.
 
I was planning to open the deck just to disconnect the wheel for easier transport to the shop, and while I was at it, remove the tire by cutting it with a Dremel. I actually already cut a good part of one bead, using one of the three long “luxury” tire spoons from my kit as a rim protector, which you can probably imagine how it ended up. There’s still more left to do, I haven’t finished yet.

All of this was to make sure that Slime gets cleaned out (by me) and possibly reduce the cost of the process. I didn’t want any Slime left on the rim since I’ll be using FlatOut, and I’m not sure how much that residue could affect it.

It’s a shame that this tire won’t be useful anymore for future practice on a sacrificial used rim I might get later. I’ll need to use my heat gun to open the deck, since the screws are under the grip tape. The good thing is that the deck screws are right along the edge of the grip tape. I should only need to peel back a small area around each screw using some heat, and then apply a little adhesive when I'm done.
 

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My landlord (65) knows about what happened to my scooter tire and everything that came with it, and he gave me a pretty discouraging opinion. He advised me to switch to a solid tire because the streets don't forgive, and it would put an end to these problems with an effective solution. I think he actually has a point. I'll look into that down the road. If I do it, it'll definitely be a job for a shop since solid tires are much harder to install.

On the other hand, besides the new tubeless tire, I also have FlatOut now, so we'll see what kind of challenges it can handle.

For riding at the legal speed limit on the street, solid tires should be fine, right? This scooter tops out at 30 mph, which isn't super fast. From what I've heard, it's at higher speeds where solid tires generally aren't recommended.
 
DosCom32 said:
For riding at the legal speed limit on the street, solid tires should be fine, right? This scooter tops out at 30 mph, which isn't super fast. From what I've heard, it's at higher speeds where solid tires generally aren't recommended.
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No. For reasons of handling, comfort, performance. Smarter people than you or I have been trying to solve the problems (punctures, flats) of pneumatic tires for decades. Why aren't we seeing solid tires on all kinds of vehicles? No More Flats! Why not?

My first bike was a kid's bike from the 50s, solid tire. It's solid tires made it horrible to ride, even at slow speeds. Plus, it was a fixie.
 
marty said:
30 MPH = Fast
Solid tire = Stupid
Fast + Stupid = Death, injury, or worse.
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99t4 said:
No. For reasons of handling, comfort, performance. Smarter people than you or I have been trying to solve the problems (punctures, flats) of pneumatic tires for decades. Why aren't we seeing solid tires on all kinds of vehicles? No More Flats! Why not?

My first bike was a kid's bike from the 50s, solid tire. It's solid tires made it horrible to ride, even at slow speeds. Plus, it was a fixie.
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I see. I thought they just weren't recommended above 60 mph, since I remember reading that from someone once. It's good to know, though, I don't see buying the new tire and FlatOut as a waste anymore. Thanks.
 
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