Bicycle Mechanics - kevlar tires /puncture proof tubes

Any reason to add puncture proof tubes to my bike if I already have kevlar tires?? Won't having those type tires prevent flats anyway?? Thanks..x:)

Might resist, but will still go flat. I flatted a new kevlar tire the first day out, but I average a flat every 2-3 days.

1. There is no "puncture proof". There is only puncture resistant.
2. How worried about flat tires are you? At some point you pretty much have to say: "Enough's enough."

Puncture proof tubes are a waste of money, weight and time.

1. There is no "puncture proof". There is only puncture resistant.


Correcto mundo. +1

I roll kevlar tires with slime tubes and I still get the occasional flat.

I use kevlar tires and get flats all the time on my fixed gear, however, on my hybrid I use a Verdenstein tire made by a Dutch company, and I've never had a flat. I'm not its invincible......just really tuff.

The bike shop tried to sell me some.
No flats yet but I have a feeling I just put the whammy on myself:crash:

I have been using a tyre called an armadillo by specialised for the last 4 years,dare i say it? i have not had a flat.I have worn them out. but no flats.
also i think it's important to have the correct pressure in the first place.

Any reason to add puncture proof tubes to my bike if I already have kevlar tires?? Won't having those type tires prevent flats anyway?? Thanks..x:)Kevlar tyres may help reduce the numbers of flats you get from thorns, debris and glass. Adding thicker tubes may help a little more by giving you additional distance that the thorns & glass must penetrate. However, they will do absolutely nothing to prevent flats caused by:

- bad rim-strips
- underinflation
- hitting rocks & potholes
- improperly installed tubes (pinched between tyre and rim)


You really need to find the real CAUSE of each flat and do something about that.

i have heard that armidillos are good for preventing flats, they are going to be my next investment
i have tried others plus tube liners with no luck

Also keep in mind that some "Kevlar Tires" simply have Kevlar beads...

i have heard that armidillos are good for preventing flats, they are going to be my next investment
i have tried others plus tube liners with no luck

I would think hitting one of those little buggers would bend a rim, especially if he was rolled up.

Rule no.1:

There is no such thing as flat proof with a pneaumatic tire, unless you're running solid rubber industrial cart tires. (no tubes - no air = no problem!)

The best you can do is use something really tough like the Armadillos. Its not flat proof, but it is quite flat resistant. The Conti 'Gatorskins' are good too, as are the Vittoria 'Rubino Pros'. They're not as tough as Armadillos, but they're lighter and makes your bike feel less like a slug if you're performance minded.

Flat resistant tires and tubes have too much of a weight penalty. They will make your bike a sluggish performer.

If you want fewer flats:

1) Fully inflate high pressure road tires before each ride.
2) Keep the bike out of grass and weeds at all times.
3) Use Velox rim tape, in the correct size, on all rims.
4) Analyze each flat until you know what caused it. For small punctures take the tube home and hold it
under water to find escaping air.

Al

just get continental 4 season tires and never worry about them again....ive had 1 flat in almost a year and i bike about 10-40 miles a day....

xqi,

Are you working with cross, mountain or road tires ????
Back in my mountain bike days "early 90's" I know that Mr. Tuffies were seen as a necessity due to thorns in the area I rode. My first ride without them resulted in 6 flats in less than 4 hours. After adding the liners I went for months between flats. Like the Slime filled tubes, they add weight but less wait than fixing flats. There are just a few basic tricks to installing them so they don't cause flats on their own.
Anyone have any experience using them on road tires ???

On my previous bike I had Schwalbe Marathon Plus -- never had a flat in 8 months. Prior to the Schwlabes I got one or two flats a week, always from slivers of glass. However as Retro Grouch pointed out they are puncture resistant rather than puncture proof. They met their match last month --

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=79342&stc=1&d=1219571241

LBS tried to talk me out of the Schwalbes because 'they're heavy'. The man's an idiot. I'm 187cm and weigh 94 kg -- what do I care if my tires weigh an extra 50 grams? I bought from another bike shop and never looked back. When the stock tires on my new bike wear I'll be replacing them with Schwalbes, even though they're expensive.

Puncture proof tubes are a waste of money, weight and time.


I've put in two stone-resistant, pre-slimed tubes and I have not had a problem yet for about a month. Around my area with the longhorns it's almost a necessity. The kevlar might be a bit of an overkill but I know another guy around here who swears by them. YMMV.

I had, what I hope, is the puncture of a life time a few weeks ago. I was riding along (a real JRA story) and heard the unmistakable "hissssss" we all know and love. When I stopped to check it out I found a roofing nail had gone completely through the tire tread, both sides of the tube and was sticking out of the RIM. My cell phone got used that day.

Fortunately, the hole was between spoke nipples and not through the brake track so smoothing out the burr with a flat file and reinforcing the rim tape let me continue to use the rim. The tire and tube were throw aways.

I've put in two stone-resistant, pre-slimed tubes and I have not had a problem yet for about a month. Around my area with the longhorns it's almost a necessity. The kevlar might be a bit of an overkill but I know another guy around here who swears by them. YMMV.

My point was, you're better off looking to the tire first for puncture resistance rather than cheap gimmicks like slime tubes/thorn proof tubes/liners.

My point was, you're better off looking to the tire first for puncture resistance rather than cheap gimmicks like slime tubes/thorn proof tubes/liners.

I agree. While there are no 100% guarantees, I think that if a product is properly designed you shouldn't have to buy add-on accessories to make it work. Then again - I don't live in goat head thorn country.

xqi,

Are you working with cross, mountain or road tires ????
Back in my mountain bike days "early 90's" I know that Mr. Tuffies were seen as a necessity due to thorns in the area I rode. My first ride without them resulted in 6 flats in less than 4 hours. After adding the liners I went for months between flats. Like the Slime filled tubes, they add weight but less wait than fixing flats. There are just a few basic tricks to installing them so they don't cause flats on their own.
Anyone have any experience using them on road tires ???


Road tires... I bike only on highways but there's still the broken glass and a nail or two.

So far"knocking on wood" I've only had one flat in four years of riding in this area. My new bike has kevlar tires and the bike shop wants to sell me tubes that are puncture resistance. Maybe it would be good added insurance???. A lot of my runs are far away from help if I did get a flat:thumb: I'd be in trouble:cry:

Road tires... I bike only on highways but there's still the broken glass and a nail or two.

So far"knocking on wood" I've only had one flat in four years of riding in this area. My new bike has kevlar tires and the bike shop wants to sell me tubes that are puncture resistance. Maybe it would be good added insurance???. A lot of my runs are far away from help if I did get a flat:thumb: I'd be in trouble:cry:

I carry Three Spare Tubes.

Ways to reduce flats on the road:

1. If you are going to use the shoulder, stay as far left in it as possible. Debris starts to build up heavily as you move more than a few feet outside of the normal path of traffic.

2. Avoid the edges of the road. Debris is again an issue there but so are potholes and cracked pavement, both of which can cause a pinch flat on even a fully inflated tire (BTDT).

With that said, I've been flat free for almost 4 years now running mostly Specialized Armadillos. I commute on Scwhalbe Marathons at the moment mainly because they were a little cheaper and I was ordering from somewhere that had them and not Armadillos. In my early days of running puncture proof tires, I think the kevlar really helped but now that I follow 1 and 2 as much as possible, I could probably get away with much less protection.

I had, what I hope, is the puncture of a life time a few weeks ago. I was riding along (a real JRA story) and heard the unmistakable "hissssss" we all know and love. When I stopped to check it out I found a roofing nail had gone completely through the tire tread, both sides of the tube and was sticking out of the RIM. My cell phone got used that day.

Fortunately, the hole was between spoke nipples and not through the brake track so smoothing out the burr with a flat file and reinforcing the rim tape let me continue to use the rim. The tire and tube were throw aways.
:eek:

Now thats a flat!

I have been running Schwalbe Big Apples for about 3,000 km now, I know I've gone through lots of glass debris and no flats, Snake bite ( rim impact ) would be just about impossible with these too. I like Schwalbe, very impressed. For the OP, in your case I would just carry extra tubes, and maybe a stick on tire boot as well.

A lot of my runs are far away from help if I did get a flat:thumb: I'd be in trouble

I think that you really should learn to fix your own flats. It's not that hard to do.

I think that you really should learn to fix your own flats. It's not that hard to do.

I think the first time I get stranded 50 miles from home with no cell phone service I'll be learning real quick like:lol:

Or you'll be walking real quick like...Seriously, do yourself a favor and learn now while you have a bunch of people around to answer your questions and walk you through any rough spots. It's not a hard thing to do but if you don't know what you are doing, there's a lot you can screw up.

On my previous bike I had Schwalbe Marathon Plus -- never had a flat in 8 months. Prior to the Schwlabes I got one or two flats a week, always from slivers of glass. However as Retro Grouch pointed out they are puncture resistant rather than puncture proof. They met their match last month --

LBS tried to talk me out of the Schwalbes because 'they're heavy'. The man's an idiot. I'm 187cm and weigh 94 kg -- what do I care if my tires weigh an extra 50 grams? I bought from another bike shop and never looked back. When the stock tires on my new bike wear I'll be replacing them with Schwalbes, even though they're expensive.

The problem I have with the Schwalbe tires is that they are over sized. If I let the pressure out of the tires they just fall off the rim, no tools needed. Because of this I have had three blowouts in the last two months. The only thing holding them on is a rubber strip around the bead. I have had this rip off, making the tire unusable.

After two months I have given up and I have other tires on order.

Sure you're not using 27" tyres on 700c rims???

I carry a little patch kit, an extra tube, and have a mini pump attached to my bike (total investment for all this is around $20)...In case of a flat my plan is to just change out tubes and reinflate. So far in 2008 (about 1200 miles) I have done that successfully three different times (I had a fourth flat but didn't have my pump, so it was walking time, 5 miles). The patch kit is a backup to handle more than one flat (and to be used later at home to fix the damaged tube and make it my new spare). When I hear that flat "hiss" it means a lot to me that I have the tools to do something about it (as opposed to starting to walk and/or looking for help). Patching a hole in a tube just takes the patience to follow a few directions (especially letting the glue almost dry, it goes from clear in color to having a whitish tint).

75% (or more) of my flats happen on the rear tire, so that is where I mostly focus when I think of flat prevention. I have a Marathon Plus on the rear wheel of one of my bikes. It is heavy (the size is 700 x 25, information I have read puts it at around 580 grams for one tire), but for flat-resistance I would rate it the best I have seen (my opinion is based on inspecting the tire and using it, though I confess I have only put 300 miles on it so far). The Marathon Plus is probably overkill for my riding conditions (similar to the OP's)

A 27 inch Panaracer Pasela Tourguard with kevlar has been working well on the rear wheel of my old Schwinn Traveler. The Pasela TG is much lighter (under 300 grams) and has obviously thinner sidewalls than the Marathon Plus, but so far (admittedly, only 200 miles) no flats.

The problem I have with the Schwalbe tires is that they are over sized. If I let the pressure out of the tires they just fall off the rim, no tools needed. Because of this I have had three blowouts in the last two months. The only thing holding them on is a rubber strip around the bead. I have had this rip off, making the tire unusable.

After two months I have given up and I have other tires on order.

I never had that trouble with my Schwalbes. In fact I had trouble getting them on one rim. The other was easier but still required tire levers (they were different rims - the front being a replacement).

A nice service available here in Melbourne is RACV Bike Assist. If you're a road service member of the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria you can add on Bike Assist for an extra $15 a year. I've used it twice, when I didn't have bike repair kit with me. Call them up and they arrange for a taxi to be sent to you. Last time I was about 7 km from home and didn't fancy a walk - a taxi arrived in about 15 minutes; I took the front wheel off and put the bike in the back.

Ok what kinda of kit do I need??? I seen a site had one with co2 cylinders that filled up your tire with slime to repair holes. Good idea or not? So should I spring for the tubes to go with the tires??

Maybe carry an extra tube just in case?? what's a good air pump for the road??

Just wondering if there's any trick to changing a rear tire on the road?? Thanks all...x:)

Ok what kinda of kit do I need??? I seen a site had one with co2 cylinders that filled up your tire with slime to repair holes. Good idea or not? So should I spring for the tubes to go with the tires??

Maybe carry an extra tube just in case?? what's a good air pump for the road??

Just wondering if there's any trick to changing a rear tire on the road?? Thanks all...x:)



I can tell you what works for me (in addition to what I've aready written in an earlier post above). My thinking is that flats are inevitable, so it is best to be prepared to fix them. I don't use special heavy-duty tubes. I know very little about using slime or co2 (of course there are others who prefer these options). I like the idea of having a reusable pump and not having to worry about buying new co2 as I use it. I bought my pump for under $15 from an ebay seller, the brand is Beto, I like it because it has a dual head, a hole for schrader valve, another for presta. The Beto pump works acceptably. In the future I am going to get one of the (highly endored on BF) Topeak Morph pumps (which are around $30), because they operate like a little floor pump, utilizing a hose to avoid any damage to the valve stem. I use the $2 patch kits from department stores (which includes a tube of glue, I tried some glueless patches before, but they spontaniously failed in a few days). I also carry an extra tube (under $5), I have various roadbikes that use both schrader and presta rim/tube combinations, so I carry a presta tube, which can be used as a temporary solution in either type rim.....................I did forget to add to the above...I carry 3 plastic tire levers which aren't included in the basic patch kits, and, as the patches provided in the kits always seem quite large for the holes that I fix, I cut them down to roughly 1/2 inch circles. I do keep a couple of larger patches, just in case the damage calls for it. I keep the flat-repair items (metal scrapper, levers, glue, patches) in a little plastic box, which goes in a fanny-pack with the extra tube.

When I get a flat I turn the bike upside down (seat and handlebars on the ground) and take the wheel completely off. If your back wheel has quick-release it should be just a matter of practice before you can take it off and put it back in place in a minute or two. I find that pulling on the back derailleur, which pulls the chain tighter and helps get it (the chain) out of the way, helps me get the wheel out and back in place. If you don't have quick-release wheels, then you just need to get the proper wrench to tighten and loosen the nuts on your wheels.