PUNCTURES-- how to prevent????

[Tench]

I have rode enduro bikes since the mid eighties and ebikes for the last year, never had a punture!! i have always used the green slime, the type with the rubber nogs in. This stuff is so good it can seal the valve up and prevent you putting air in, i have on occasion had to remove the valve core and poke the hole clear then refit the core and carry on inflating it. I too spend most of my miles on the ebike on the cycle path network around here which is often paths with hawthorn hedges alongside, it was a worry at first but it has not happened, no punctures. I do use heavy duty tubes and use more than the recomended amount of slime, about 180ml per tyre (2.4x24) and i have never noticed any out of balance feeling from the wheels, which where balanced with stick on weights before the slime was added, i think this is important as an out of balance wheel may not distribute the slime evenly, it could exagerate the out of balanceness (made up word)

Simon.

 

[sangesf]

You want Slime because when you take a nail, staple, or some crap in the road Slime will at least slow down the loss of air. 9/10 - times I've managed to ride the bike several more miles....

Preventing all punctures? Good luck with that! My current tires are CST Cyclops with 2.5mm thick Downhill tube plus several ounces of Slime. Couple flats per year, like I said, usually leaks slow enough to get where I'm going but if not, I've gotten pretty good at patching a tubes without removing the wheel - excellent thing to master for a hub motor eBike...

I just had to do that yesterday!!!

 

[dogman dan]

Yeah, I've done that too, out on the road with a nail to big for even the chunky slime. Then you have the problem of washing the tube enough to make a patch stick. So as my commuters tool bag gets bigger and bigger, it now includes water and a rag. I even carry a small thin tube as a last resort. That in my kit is more intended for the days I'm on a really long crosscountry ride.

Once home, I will dismount the wheel and replace a tube, rather than trust a patch forever.

 

[sangesf]

Interestingly enough...
On my 24" front motor (with Kevlar strip imbedded in tire) and Slime Extra Thick Tube 24x (With Slime installed) lasted over 10,000 miles even so that the tire eventually wore down so much that I was actually running on part of the actual tube itself! before I finally got (my first) flat that finished off that combination.... (As you can tell I almost never check the tires until I get a flat.. Lol)

Have that (same, but NEW) combination on my bike right now and 6,000 miles into the new combo, it's still running strong..

Now my rear (20" x 4.25") tire, THAT'S a different story...
It's only a 35psi rated tire and a basic (correct size) tube...
I used to get flats all the time (Like once a month!) before I started using slime...
I implicity trust slime (I've had to, since replacing a tube on my rear tire consists of removing 2 batteries, 6 screws [That hold my rear battery box], and a plethora of other things) and I patch when the slime just don't cut it. I've had one tire finally give out after 5 patches and 9 punctures for a total of 14 holes!! (and 6 months/4,000 miles).

P.S. Checking the INSIDE of the tire for ANY kind of "shrapnel" is imperative... Some of the tires have "steel belts" in them and if one of the tiny little steel wires pokes a tube, you will get constant flats until you take a pair of needle nose pliers and remove it... (Also, tiny shards of glass, pebbles, whatever, will eventually poke a hole into the tube as well, also a rim strip (for where the spokes are in the rim, is a good idea too!)

 

[Ykick]

Yeah, I've done that too, out on the road with a nail to big for even the chunky slime. Then you have the problem of washing the tube enough to make a patch stick. So as my commuters tool bag gets bigger and bigger, it now includes water and a rag. I even carry a small thin tube as a last resort. That in my kit is more intended for the days I'm on a really long crosscountry ride.

Once home, I will dismount the wheel and replace a tube, rather than trust a patch forever.

Instead of water I wipe the area with rag, smear glue on and light it on fire and let burn out. This clears away Slime residue and preps the tube surface better than any amount of roughing it with sandpaper. I also stretch the tube around something while working on the area so that the punctured area is easier to work on and this also helps keep more Slime from oozing out before I can get the patch on.

I used to worry about patches and would replace tubes but not that much anymore. Front tire makes me a little more concerned but I've never had a patch fail in my entire life (100's maybe?) and not sure how it could fail? It is being forced in place against the inside of the tire or wheel by air pressure. Of course, this is for bicycles at little more than bicycle speeds. On motorcycles, will never trust a patched tube for very long.

When I go for explorer rides I always take the patch kit and 12V air compressor. I hate hand pumps and I've always gotta high C rate lighting battery, LOL...

The caveat about this IMO is making sure to get the tire bead centered properly all the way around the rim. It's often harder to do when the wheel's still on the bike.

btw - I rarely take the wheel off anymore even when patching here at home base. The last time was hitting debris long enough that it poked two holes all the way through the tube. Patched the obvious tread hole but 'didn't notice the small one against the rim until I'd put it all together and still leaked.

 

[sangesf]

Yeah, with my 12v accessory's battery, I've never had to use a hand pump...
My (every day) kit includes....
1.) Patch kit
2.) 12v Compressor
3.) Spare front AND rear tube
4.) Parts kit (Includes 2 adjustable wrenches, needle nose, wire strippers, etc)
5.) Electrical tape
6.) 20' each of 16awg red and black wire (for accessories wiring)
7.) 10' each of 12awg red and black wire (for battery/motor connections)
8.) Screwdriver / Socket sets
9.) Spare 24/36/48v controller
10.) Spare bolts, nuts, screws, etc.
11.) 200w DC/AC convertor
12.) Water, Rags, Chrome Cleaner, etc
13.) Bottle of slime
14.) Spare tube cores
15.) Tube caps are also core removal tools (Because sometimes the plastic core removal tool on the slime bottle fails!)
16.) Various other things...

 

[Ykick]

Yeah, with my 12v accessory's battery, I've never had to use a hand pump...
My (every day) kit includes....
1.) Patch kit
2.) 12v Compressor
3.) Spare front AND rear tube
4.) Parts kit (Includes 2 adjustable wrenches, needle nose, wire strippers, etc)
5.) Electrical tape
6.) 20' each of 16awg red and black wire (for accessories wiring)
7.) 10' each of 12awg red and black wire (for battery/motor connections)
8.) Screwdriver / Socket sets
9.) Spare 24/36/48v controller
10.) Spare bolts, nuts, screws, etc.
11.) 200w DC/AC convertor
12.) Water, Rags, Chrome Cleaner, etc
13.) Bottle of slime
14.) Spare tube cores
15.) Tube caps are also core removal tools (Because sometimes the plastic core removal tool on the slime bottle fails!)
16.) Various other things...

My daily route has train options so I don't need to carry much more than a transit card. But, whenever I see somebody using a hand pump on the side of the road (and I have my compressor) I stop and offer it. They always seem to accept so I've also learned to keep a Presta adapter in my tire kit.

 

[sangesf]

Various other things... (cont)
1.) Presta adapter.
2.) Spare 55w halogen bulb (for front light).
3.) $20 bill in seat post. (Don't even think about trying to get it out.. It's a REAL PITA!).
4.) "Liquid electrical tape".
5.) Spare Brake line and "Electric" Brake handle.
6.) Volt Meter.
7.) Gorilla (Duct) tape.
8.) Spare "3-speed" switch.. (I use for my directionals).
9.) Zip top sandwich bags. (for encasing one of my controllers if it starts to rain and for "spare parts" bags.
10.) Various sizes of Bungee cords.
11.) Twine/small rope. (for the stuff the Bungees can't handle).
12.) Spare bike rack support rod.
13.) Spare 24" front tire.

If anyone can think of something I might need or may have forgotten... Let me know. I'll either add it or it will remind me that I DO have it. (I didn't spare rear tire 20x4.25, it's just too big.. I've had it before, but need it only at home because to replace tire takes about an hour of disassembly to change out.

 

[Ben_S]

Holy Cow @sangesf, that's a lot of emergency gear! How much does that weight if you put that all in a bucket on the scale? I keep a fully patch kit and spare tube with pump and a couple anderson power pole ends, but no wires or strippers, etc...

Well I started with Schwalbe Super Motos because they are excellent in terms of speed and efficiency. I got 4 flats this summer which was not too pleasant. Interestingly they were all rear flats on my surly big dummy long tail (where a good part of the weight is on my bike including the batteries). I had been using a standard $6 inner tube which as some previous poster highlighted is rated for 2.125" and I had them in a 2.35" tire. It "works" but it stretching the inner tube thin. Throw on some weight and its just begging for a sharp point to poke it. Also the Super Motos while efficient have zero protection in the tire (it keeps it light weight and fast).

So after all those flats, I upgraded to a $20 XC inner tube rated for 2.3-2.7". That means its operating at its lower size range for 2.35" tire in a very relaxed and stretchy fashion. The tube is like double the weight of a standard tube to with thicker rubber and larger volume.


I also traded in the Super Moto on the rear for a Maxxis Holy Roller. The Hollyroller is knobby street tire. So its half way between a slick and a mountain tire. Its quite blocky, but the blocks are spaced really close together to avoid the innefficency of a totally knobby mountain tire. This makes it more efficient than a mountain tire, but still a little less efficient than a city slick tire. The knobs do keep the tube physically farther from the road surface though, which helps avoid punctures. Most small nails, glass bits and construction stables will just slip between the knobs instead of hitting a nice taught higher pressure flat surface on the city tires.

So far so good. No problems with this XC tube and Maxxis Holy Roller tire.

 

[sangesf]

Holy Cow @sangesf, that's a lot of emergency gear! How much does that weight if you put that all in a bucket on the scale? I keep a fully patch kit and spare tube with pump and a couple anderson power pole ends, but no wires or strippers, etc...


So after all those flats, I upgraded to a $20 XC inner tube rated for 2.3-2.7......

See my new thread for more info.

P.S. I would estimate it at no more than 8 lbs... I will find of tomorrow how much it all weighs.

 

[sn0wchyld]

Yeah, with my 12v accessory's battery, I've never had to use a hand pump...
My (every day) kit includes....
1.) Patch kit
2.) 12v Compressor
3.) Spare front AND rear tube
4.) Parts kit (Includes 2 adjustable wrenches, needle nose, wire strippers, etc)
5.) Electrical tape
6.) 20' each of 16awg red and black wire (for accessories wiring)
7.) 10' each of 12awg red and black wire (for battery/motor connections)
8.) Screwdriver / Socket sets
9.) Spare 24/36/48v controller
10.) Spare bolts, nuts, screws, etc.
11.) 200w DC/AC convertor
12.) Water, Rags, Chrome Cleaner, etc
13.) Bottle of slime
14.) Spare tube cores
15.) Tube caps are also core removal tools (Because sometimes the plastic core removal tool on the slime bottle fails!)
16.) Various other things...

My daily route has train options so I don't need to carry much more than a transit card. But, whenever I see somebody using a hand pump on the side of the road (and I have my compressor) I stop and offer it. They always seem to accept so I've also learned to keep a Presta adapter in my tire kit.

what compressor do you use? how big is it? seems like a good option.

 

[sangesf]

Yeah, with my 12v accessory's battery, I've never had to use a hand pump...
My (every day) kit includes....
1.) Patch kit
2.) 12v Compressor
My daily route has train options so I don't need to carry much more than a transit card. But, whenever I see somebody using a hand pump on the side of the road (and I have my compressor) I stop and offer it. They always seem to accept so I've also learned to keep a Presta adapter in my tire kit.

what compressor do you use? how big is it? seems like a good option.

It's by Slime brand and is only 4"'square.. Cost about $10-$15 USD at just about any auto parts store or Walmart.

P.S. Remember you need a 12v battery for it.