Tubes Building "flatproof tire" with extra G

[bamabikeguy]

"MBc EDIT - This post contains information or advice that MotoredBikes.com knows to be incorrect."

DO NOT USE THE DUCT TAPE PART OF THIS DEMO, EVERYTHING ELSE IS VALID.

bama.....


Elsewhere I mentioned on my first long trip, on the very first day, I cut a dime sized hunk out of my tire due to the lousy road construction shoulders.

3 flat tires on the first day, NOTHING MORE MADDENING, miles from a bike shop. Spend about $25 bucks for both front and back wheels, and you won't have that "on the road hassle".....

Sting me once, and I get to thinking. Dennis at GEBE is sending me a better, rust proof, made in USA .105 (12 gauge) wheel, but I went ahead and got one of my remaining steel ones ready for the Mobile trip, shoving off Thursday.

To build a better wheel/tire combo, I use slime tubes $7, Tuffy tire liners $10, about 2/3 of a roll of electric tape, duct tape and zip ties.

I zip tie the spokes right off the bat, figuring the spokes are as true as they ever will be, and firming up the spokes from the beginning I have NEVER had a problem with them loosening later.

On the Denver trip, it wasn't a hole from the outside that caused my ONLY flat, but abrasion by the spoke ends through the gasket/membrane. So I wrap it electrical tape over that gasket a minimum of three times.

When I peirce through the valve stem hole, I go ahead and stick the valve stem in, a final "boring the hole through the tape", to make it easier when I actually insert the tube into the tire. The tape ALSO serves as a cushion, to prevent abrasion from the steel to the stem.

"MBc EDIT - This post contains information or advice that MotoredBikes.com knows to be incorrect."

HERE IS THE BOGUS PART: But I can't undo the Collage. Duct tape may cause abrasion/puncture after 1,000 miles on the road.

Then I double up strips of duct tape[/b], and line the tire, thinking this barrier would catch any fluke the Tuffy Tire liner doesn't absorb. Using strips of tape to hold the Tuffy liner in, I can then put in the slime tube (which hardly ever needs inflation months later)

Special note, because it happened again today. Three of those slime tubes, out of about 50 I've put in, had loose valve stems. If you have a slow leak, that is usually the cause, a twist with needle nose and you're back in business.

REALITY CHECK- I built that wheel above and took the pictures just to show folks in the general category, works on all bikes. With the Golden Eagle system, normally I snap the belt drive ring on first, and spin it on my home made "true meter".

Line up the notches, try a few positions to make sure, and when you have the "fit", pull it back and Q-tip some liquid soap or vegetable oil in the notches.

Snap in the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock notches, measure the gaps. Dennis at GEBE sent me a pre-ringed wheel one time, and I made some perfectly measured "chocks", out of used animal hypodermic needles. Using those, I measure the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock notches, and snap them on.

Use the torque system, alternating around, make sure to hold the spoke firm when snapping, to prevent bending. Double check to make sure all are snug, and whoola........no belt "loopiness" because the ring is close to perfectly seated.

MAKE SURE TO WASH LIQUID SOAP OFF, to prevent rust spots from forming quickly where the notch meets the spoke......

not enough time to edit, pardon the hasty looking post....pc

 

[gone_fishin]

not enough time to edit, pardon the hasty looking post....pc

are you kidding me? what a completely superb presentation!! 8)

 

[Wheels]

Totally informative post, with bicycles I prefer thin tubes, replace often, with the motored bicycle, I have yet to learn, with your tips I may survive my primary test runs, thank you for the well thought out pictoral guide and tech tips.

wheels

 

[bamabikeguy]

Thank you, just trying to save you from the completely humiliating position of hanging around a town, bragging about the bike, then sitting on the side of the road, a mile from the town limit sign, bike flipped on its back, a half hour pain in the butt task, ALWAYS in the mid day sun.

One "flat tire" on the road undoes all the pleasure of the trip. Three in one day makes one question life itself. :???:

That "first three flats" also taught me another lesson. I don't litter, and the slimy green substance, which is probably lethal, dripped on my vintage "New Riders of the Purple Sage" t-shirt. I started keeping a small bag to put my trash in, disposal at the first opportunity.

So, I'm riding back from Denver, smug about the whole thing, outside El Dorado Arkansas, when the "spoke end caused flat" occured on the rear, at an eight lane intersection. I walk the bike to the back of the nearest gas station, it's heat of the day, about high noon.

I KNEW I had all the built up Tuffy Liner/duct tape, was questioning my sanity, noticed the worn through rubber gasket on the spoke ends, green slime eveywhere.

I also noticed the tread on the rear tire is twice as worn as the front, and "cleverly" think, what the heck, I'll fix the front and back at the same time, rotate the tires front and back, save 50 cents for air by pumping up both at the same time. (NOTHING STICKS IN THE CRAW LIKE SPENDING 2 QUARTERS FOR 2 CENTS WORTH OF AIR) I'm a firm believer in "free air and water", but have no choice in the boiling Arkansas sun.

When I get both wheels ready to pump up, I carry them around to the air station...OUT OF ORDER.

Sound on: Dylan "The pump don't work cuz the vandals took the handles".

2 choices- try to use the cheap made in China air pump I carry, OR walk a quarter mile to the next gas station. I walked...and talked to myself...sang that Dylan tune out loud...

Anyway, the conversations I had with myself, and the passersby who honked at the idiot carrying TWO flat bike tires, is why I stress reinforcing your tires to you guys.

Dennis at GEBE says the wheels/tires they use at Bonneville Salt Flats weigh a little over 4 pounds, and my steel rim/triple walled job comes in at 9 pounds, so I guess I lose a mile or two per hour.

But I root for the tortoise in the long distance relay....

Put your money on the hard shelled terrapin, I always say. Well, I never really "say" that, but can't think of a good closing line....

 

[bamabikeguy]

UPDATE- I GOT A FLAT, AND THE DUCT TAPE PART OF THIS POST CAUSED IT!!!

Last week, I'm smugly riding toward Andalusia, when the slime tube went soft. Upon replacement, the airleak was on the SIDEWALL of the tube, caused by abrasion from the duct tape/ tube filled with 40-45 pounds of air.

I still like the idea of "triple protection", especially on the rear tire, but DUCT TAPE IS NOT THE ANSWER. My bikeshop guy said the Tuffy tire liners should be enough, but I was just thinking an extra layer of something would be insurance.

Take my word for it, you need extra padding (the electric tape) around those spoke ends, when I changed that flat last week I could see how it helped.

Back to the drawing board.

 

[uncle_punk13]

Great stuff bama!
I learned very quickly also to use electrical tape ove the spokes, beneath the rim strips, HD tubes, filled with slime. I had a flat three times in one day getting to the Iowa state line on my last adventure...
Ahhhhh how I miss the adventures of the road!
Rif

 

[bamabikeguy]

"MBc EDIT - This post contains information or advice that MotoredBikes.com knows to be incorrect."

Posts that contain insults or other disparaging remarks about another member or a member's level of expertise will be edited and tagged thusly:


"MBc EDIT - This post contained content that is listed in the MotoredBikes.com rules as unacceptable."

Well, need to try out the new red moderation devices, REbogus my post about the indestructable tire. I had red inked it when that duct tape liner idea proved BAD, abrading a slimy green leak on me and my clean white shirt.

But the other stuff (zip ties, elec. tape on spoke ends, Tuffy tire liner) are valid.

I WILL BE RUTHLESS WITH BOGUS ALERTS !!!

The forum is growing fast, and every thing seems sailing along with very few speed bumps, and pie-fights that can be counted on one hand.

REMARKABLE for a forum now in it's sixth month.

The forum is so big, I can't find the ONLY other peice of BOGUS I wrote, the topic was either gas or horsepower or breaking in the larger engines.
"MBc EDIT - This post contains information or advice that MotoredBikes.com knows to be incorrect." OKAY, okay, there may be THREE topics with bogus advise from me, but I don't mess with fractions nor metrics.

I'm outta here.

 

[robotman]

Has anyone tried microcellular tires they are punture proof. I've had them in my bike for years no worries

 

[dave1490]

just a side note,the mec shop down the road from me has a Continental Contact security tire cutaway.and the tires tread has 1/4-3/8 thick tread.that compared to the other cutaway,s makes this tire at least twice,if not 3x,s as thick as the others.it,s a german tire {the germans allway.s over build everything}. here,s what they say----Designed for industrial applications, the ContactSecurity can also perform well in everyday use. Its massive puncture-proof breaker was developed to resist metal cuttings and shards on factory grounds. In view of its tough construction, it is not a comfortable touring tyre with low rolling resistance, but it does effectively ward off gravel and shards on short stretches in the city


heres the link

http://www.conti-online.com/generat...ity/contact_security/contact_security_en.html