merckx_rider

Hi Everyone,
I wore out my back tire, I have a rear hub motor bike. Long story short, it was a pain in the a$$ to replace it. i started to realize that it would be the same procedure if I flatted on the road, only with limited tools and no compressor....

I have some advise for everyone that rides a bike, not just us electrics.

I did extensive research on the subject of tube sealants. I purchased online, "Flat Attack" and followed the directions and the video on their site. I can with my hand on my heart, tell you all it works as advertised.
I flatted on one of my daily evening rides (25 miles). It would have been a fluster cluck to fix it at night at the beach. Funny thing is I didn't know it until the next morning, when i noticed a tiny green drop on my back tire. I went in for a closer look and saw the Flat Attack did it's job. Turns out it was a small piece of metal wire embedded in the tire. I pulled it out, rotated the tire so the puncture was at the bottom and I've been riding it since, a hundred miles so far. NO patches - NO wrenches - NO dirty hands. $8.99 a bottle. Fat tires need one bottle per tire, normal bikes one bottle fills both tires and plus some, works for 5 years.

I just want to point out one thing, The Puncture, could have happened even before the day I caught it. I may have been riding for days before the bike was parked in such a way that I even noticed the green drop!!!!!

Tire pressure dropped 2 pounds from 30 psi to 28 psi. It was over 2 weeks on the tire pressure check/fill.

Doing it the old way:

Patch kit:$4.95 or Tube... FYI - Fat Tire Tubes are $20-25...
Air Cartridge: $1.49 or 2
Tire Levers: $3.99
Time spent fixing a flat on the side of the road...?

Seems Flat Attack is by far the best solution.

Hope it helps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

chas58

+1

Good advice.

I had a flat attack inner tube and road over a large nail. It took me a couple of days to figure it out as it lost air very slowly. It is good stuff.

I would advice to avoid the slime lite tubes. I bought two. One blew out after 10 miles. I hit a bump and it split on a seam. Giving it the benefit of the doubt I patched it up and tried again. It quickly blew again. So I tried the second tube. Filled it up with air to 80%, and within 5 minutes it blew out again. Now I avoid slime tubes like the plague.

I'm back to flat attack tubes. I just use them on the rear, as front flats are very rare, and I don't mind changing the front tire. But an extra margin of safety in the rear is wonderful!

slomoshun

Ride-On is another good sealant.

InTheRain

The owner of the e-bike store in Portland showed me a tube that was just one long straight tube. He said you don't have to take your wheel off to replace the tube. You just remove one side of the tire from the rim, slide your old tube out and cut it to get it all the way out. then you are able to slide the straight tube in under the tire. You just butt the ends together. So yes, you have tube that has a gap between the beginning and the end but with air in the tube that gap will be pretty much closed. He indicated that since most e-bikes have fairly thick and wide tires, you won't feel much of a bump when the tire rotates and the "gap" is in contact with the road.

CliffordK

Oh, yes, the Gaadi Tube by Rubena. Are they hitting the market yet?
GAADI TUBE | Rubena Australia Online
Amazon.com : GAADI Schrader Valve Tube, Black, 26/1.5-2 : Sports & Outdoors

And a cute video too.

Once you inflate it to full pressure, any gap will be filled by the expanding tube... so there is no effective gap. Just get the two ends close so you don't blow out the ends, and avoid anything lumpy inside the tires.

As far as tire sealants, there seem to be two basic kinds. Drying latex sealants (that may need to be periodically topped off), and non-drying sealants that simply plug the holes (slime), that should last essentially forever. I find they make a bit of a mess and are a pain to patch.

I'm down to maybe a flat every thousand miles or so. So, I just make sure I have everything I need and don't stress about it.

My nephew has been having some problems, so I decided to fill a couple of tubes with slime and send them up to him. I chose slime as it shouldn't need to be replenished... and was easily available. If I did try it myself, I'd probably choose a permanent drying type latex sealant (which apparently works best with latex tubes).

InTheRain

I didn't know what they were called. Thanks. They must be on the market. I think the owner of the e-bike store was willing to sell me one. Next time I'm down there, I'll get a few. (actually, I just found one on Amazon... little pricey - $17 with tax.)

350htrr

I suspect those tubes are for people who don't care/don't notice imperfections in the wheel while it's turning, I think something like that would drive me nuts... JMO

InTheRain

I don't know. I hope I never find out. However, my thinking is that the rubber and smart guard puncture protection is so thick on my marathon plus tires that it seems I wouldn't notice the imperfection of the tube.

chas58

True. Riding the bike in the video at 10-12 mph, the bump wouldn't bother me. Riding at 25mph, the lump could be an issue and chafing at those speeds could cause other problems.

ganchan

Even so, I could see this as a really useful item for when you just need to change your tube on the road ASAP for whatever reason. Even if you didn't enjoy the ride, it would see you home until you could swap it out for a preferred tube. Pop it back in the emergency bag in case you need it again....

CliffordK

I'm not convinced there would be a bump with the segmented tube. The tube will be full, and thus no air gap. So the question is whether the rubber of the 2 ends would give extra support in that one place. It would be interesting to try out.

I don't see any benefit of such a split tube with a standard Quick Release bike as it is easy enough to remove the wheel and remove the tube. The benefit would only show up with something like an internal gear hub with drum or coaster brakes. Or, it is not surprising that an E-Bike shop would sell them.

If you're replacing a normal tube with the segmented tube, you'd still have to cut it out (no patching it later).

Of course, the OP suggested using a sealant and dispensing with the tube replacement altogether.

merckx_rider

Some very useful info, thanks everyone.

The straight tube is a new one to me, I think used as one poster said, as an emergency replacement, probably the best.

My problem stems for a lack of tire options on my fat tire bike. There aren't a whole bunch of manufactures making kevlar tires yet. My prefered choice is a thick tire on the rear of my bikes. But with the addition of the motor on the rear wheel and lug nuts not a quick release - road side change outs are a major job. Think about fixing your motorcycle flat on the side of the road...

I carry a huge amount of stuff in my bags including a spare tube. 4 inch x 26 inch tubes are massive. I carry a 6 pack of CO2, patch kits and a all the tools to fix whatever.... unfortunately there is no way to easily fix a flat on my bike.

I know I'm in a minority here, not many fat tire bike riders out there...YET. After great considerations, I went to the sealants. I chose the flat attack because it last for 5 years. It is made from non-toxic ingredients, made and bottled in the USA.

I think even when I can get the Kevlar tires, I'll still use a sealant. Better safe than sorry. I'm still riding on the back tire and it's been hundreds of miles since the puncture. Tire pressure has not dropped any more than it did before the puncture so I know the hole is sealed.

I ride solo, at night. I don't want to have to deal with a flat on this bike - period. The sealant is more like insurance against minor problems that can ruin a ride. A major blowout is still going to be a pita, and the reason for the spare tube.

I never considered sealants before because it was nothing more than a slight inconvenience to fix a roadside flat on any of my other bikes. All have quick release, with light weight back wheels very easy to change out.

CliffordK

I have a fat tire on the rear of my cargo bike. Even the tires are a pain to remove from the rim. I don't carry a spare tube, but I'll generally have a patch kit with me. Still hoping for a few more flat free miles. However, your point is good. Perhaps I should consider a sealant for that tire.

How do the drying type of sealants deal with all of the air inside of the fat tires? I suppose CO[SUB]2[/SUB] or N[SUB]2[/SUB] would help, but I'd rather just use air. Maybe a mostly non-drying sealant like slime.

chas58

Use flat attack or slime. They don't dry.

Drying sealants are best used with NO innertube.

chas58

I get your point.

1) One option is to leave the tire bolted on, pull the tire off half the wheel, patch the tire with a quick patch, and put it back together. Pretty easy, actually.

2) Route 2 is to get a tire with a thick puncture proof band (like marathon plus) or add your own pucnture proof band and also use "flat attack" to give you double flat protection. Warning - adding your own puncture proof band works very poorly in fat tires on electric bikes. The chaffing will cause the flat proof band to wear a hole in your inner tube.

3) Karl goes tubeless with sealant and swears by that for electric fat bikes.
(See https://electricfatbike.wordpress.com/ )

merckx_rider

Not easy actually. I have fixed a flat on this bike that way - but I did it in my workshop and hung the bike off the rafters to get the weight off the back tire. Also, I ride at night, finding a small puncture with a pen light in my teeth doesn't work for me. I've done it before on my touring bike and it is not easy. Then you have to patch and get the tire back on straight. My fat tire bike is picky as to how the tire fits with air in it - I found inflating it with no weight on it is the only way to get it back on straight.

NO, I've weighed all my available options the sealant was a great way to go. The puncture happened about a month ago now. I love the sealant, thats why I originally posted. I was never a sealant guy until I used it. It doesnt' matter which one you use, if they work as advertised.

I can tell you that fixing a bike on the side of the road is NEVER a preferred option in my experience... for starters - no cold beer.

InTheRain

Well, I got a flat on the back tire on my rear hub e-bike during my commute home. I was a mile+ from home. Rather than try to do the repair on the road and try to beat the darkness, I opted to walk the bike home. I'll do the repair tomorrow evening when a have time - tomorrow will be a 50cc scooter day.

I guess my schwalbe marathon plus tires aren't bombproof. 1500 miles without a flat... I was hoping for never.