brodie

Hello everybody. i had a thread ,last week i think about good wheels for an over 300 pound rider.
and i believe that i have the wheel part,taken care of.
the inner tube and,tire part,im not so sure about.
it being a lovely day and,not having to go in,i decide to go forth into the city. im loving it, im trying out my new triple crank which i installed myself.new wheels are holding up fine. im spinning, instead of mashing with leg strength, like was suggested. THEN IT SOUNDS LIKE SOMEBODY FIRED A SHOTGUN AT ME AND, I HAVE A REAR FLAT. This is exactly what happened to me before. so i end up, WALKING, a few miles home. luckily, i was on my way back towards the beach,which is back towards my side of town.

so i turn to google and,find -AIRFREE TIRES.I email this hugh guy,he answers me right back,says they can formulate a denser tire for my needs.

a few reviews i have found say,that they are much better than old time solid rubber tires,which i know nothing about. as a matter of fact, i didnt see a negative review. ALTHOUGH,I AM SURE THAT THERE IS ONE.

What i was hoping for was maybe someone has already tried them , Who is a fellow clydesdale.
im leaning 98.5% towards getting an airfree tire for the back wheel.that way i could just enjoy riding without worrying about being stranded. or worse yet,being physically insured from suffering a blowout at a bad moment.

iif knowone has any experience with the airfree tire brand, I GUESS I WILL BLAZE NEW GROUND FOR ALL CLYDESDALES.

A nyone have any experience with - AIRFREE TIRES. of any formulation, if so what size were they.thank you in advance for any responses.

JumboRider

I am afraid of the tubeless and airfree tire thing. I am willing to have my mind changed, but right now I would rather stick with what I know. I will be watching this thread with ya.

barba

nay

https://sheldonbrown.com/gloss_aa-l.html#airless

bdinger

I know a guy in the higher 200s that had those, and they just sagged bad under his weight. Like,t hey looked like mine would have at 40 or 50 psi kind of bad.

Now I don't know if they are the same brand, but YMMV. Definitely let us know if they are good!

Terrierman

No personal experience but I suspect NAY. If it was YAY, they'd be common as dirt.

Tom Stormcrowe

Rough ride and a lot of resistance....they feel like a half flat tire!

brodie

this is supposedly something that isnt the same thing as before. if that makes sense.

but they say they can make different compounds to simulate high psi, or low rolling resistance. different stuff. so he says thay can do a tire for me,that wont holler - MERCY - once i hop onto the brooks saddle.

but he did say that it would be - EXTRA STIFF - and that it would be pretty difficult to mount, so i would need an especially good wheel,that could withstand the rigors of mounting a tire for my needs.

thats pretty much exactly what the email said.

Halthane

Airless tires are a bad idea. I imagine that at heavier weights the would be horrible for rims and your body. The sheldon brown article above says it all. Just get an appropriately sized, quality tire 700x28-32c probably and learn to mount the tire and tube (see sheldon's website) and you won't have any problem at all.

Paul

P.S. If tom didn't need airless tires... you don't

jaxgtr

I looked at those, but decided to stick with the tried and true.

bigboybiker2007

I ordered a set of air free tired 8/29/07 and I am still waiting on them in Late November. Although I told him my weight, and that I wanted something firm, he said it would take a little while longer to make them, I am still waiting. Once I get them and get to try them out, I will let everyone know. My plan is to just put one on the back and see how it goes. If I like it, then go ahead and put one on the front as well.

Air

Mattyknacks and I went on a ride - he's got Deep V's with 23 mm tires on them and broke through that 300 mark not too long ago. Some of the potholes he hit were impressive - wheels were still true and the tires/tubes held up. I became a believer.

DieselDan

NO. I had a set installed on a bike at my old job (bike rental manager) compliments of a vacationing sales rep. These things were a nightmare! I never felt the control and comfort that pneumatic tires and tubes have. Every turn felt like I was riding on two flats. The bike was slower and harder to pedal. I told him, and my boss, NO.

Here are some tips:

Inflate tire to the maximum pressure printed on the tire.

Make sure tube is seated inside tire.

Carry a spare tube, tire levers, a wrench, and a pump. Learn to change a flat.

Use flat resistant tires and thorn proof tubes.

Listen to seasoned bicycle mechanics.

dirtbikedude

Seeing how the riders who have said they tried the airless tires stated the tires rode like poop, I would investigate why you are getting blow outs. I used to ride 700 x 23's when I was 320# (I still ride the same size tires but now I am lighter) and I never had a "blow out". Well, I have with tubulars on extremely hot days but that is another story.

I will just say ditto to what Dan said above because a properly built wheel, a good tube/tire combo should not be having blow outs just from riding around, even at your weight.

DBD

ChunkyB

They can be murder on your wheels, especially if you're a big dude. As was mentioned, the ride isn't nearly as smooth/fast, but if you hit a pot hole or something, you can seriously jack up you wheel because there's not as much give. I know it's counterintuitive because the airless tire actually has more overall give, but if you hit a pothole on a normal tire, then the air is just displaced to other parts of the tire, and it's able to absorb the shock better. Just my $0.02. If you're worried at all about your wheels, I'd stay away from airless.

jaxgtr

Bdinger.... long time no write. How the marriage treating you these days? I was just thinking to myself that I had not seen a post from you in a while. Of course it might be that you are in some other forums too.

As far as the tires. Nay from me as well.

Tom Stormcrowe

That was an old post From 6/19

jaxgtr

Yea, I just picked up on that. Duh.

Tom Stormcrowe

It happens......

I accidentally issued an infraction on a 2 year old post once because of a p0rn link. It turned out the site linked had changed ownership, and was no longer a Single Speed Sales site and had turned into a prno site. I had to get Brian to reverse the infraction!

Always look at the date on a post if you're going to nail someone on the link in it It might have changed content since they posted it.

RadioFlyer

wow, so much ignorance in this thread

I <3 Sheldon, but he's wrong.

https://felixwong.com/news/2006/12/air-free-tires/

audioel

Uh... This is Felix Wong:



I'd say he weights about 150 TOPS.

My experiences with air-free tires were on a rental cruiser, and they sucked. They felt flat, wiggly, and unpleasant to ride. Granted, there probably are higher quality ones around.

I'm 300lbs, and ride 23mm tires inflated to 110psi, on Weinmann DP-18 rims (velocity deep-v clones). I make sure to keep the tires inflated correctly, and never ride with them low. I rarely get flats.

I'd trust Sheldon's opinion, based purely on the fact he's much heavier than Felix.

DieselDan

It is crap like this that ticks me, and other experienced mechanics, off. We've done it before you, repeatedly! Would you call your auto mechanic or physician ignorant? Watch your words, they mean something.

adrien

Nay.

not so much because they don't work (can't say i know enough), but because of adjustability. I play with air pressure all the time -- a little less for the dirt roads, adding some when it gets cold, etc.

If the tires are built up to simulate a certain air pressure, what happens when it's 40 degrees out?

I'd suggest 2 things. First, learn how to fix a flat and carry 2 spare tubes. it's not a big deal once you know how. Second, get some flat-resistent tires.

bigboybiker2007

so you are sayin its ok to inflate my tires to 110 lbs?

urban_assault

Yes, I inflate mine to 110 psi on the road bike.

I might have missed it. What wheel/tire combination are you using?

urban_assault

3 months?? Just curious, how many flat tires have you had since you ordered the air free tires?

If less than 2, cancel the order immediately.

Between 3-5, you should be pretty good at fixing a flat by now. Cancel the order.

5 or more, you are doing something wrong or the debris causing the flat is still in the tire. If the air-free tires have not arrived in a week, cancel the order.