Originally Posted by
kevbo
Albuquerque is about as bad as it gets for goatheads. I ordered some big apples for my Mundo this morning. I am also going to try the flybikes cobra tubes, which allow changing a tube without removing the wheel.
I am re-animating this zomby thread for an update: the big apple tires have greatly reduced flats, but the odd thorn still sneaks into the tube.
The Cobra tubes make swapping in a tube fairly painless, but you still have to locate and remove the offending thorn from the tire.
That said, I can't recommend the cobra tubes. I have had thee fail at the end joint after 3-800 miles. Patches are iffy at this location. I have tried binding the end with thread, but the tube tore at the edge of the thread after about 150 miles. I am a Clyde and have been running the 2" big apples at 45/55psi F/R.
When the first two failed I thought perhaps it was the slime I had installed, maybe the fibre in the slime wedging into the end seam and stressing it, so I installed replacement tube dry, and now one of this has suffered an identical failure: tiny slit , about 1/8" right at the seam