Papa Tom

Before you go off on me, please read why I m asking about these!

I just got my wife an e-bike (don't want to fight about THAT, either!) and it's got a hub-mounted motor with all sorts of cables running into it. It also has a stubborn disc brake system that's a pain-in-the-butt to realign when you take the rear wheel off.

If she ever gets a rear flat while we are out on the road, I'm anticipating a hell of a time trying to hold the bike upright while removing the cables, removing the wheel, etc., so I was planning on using the trick where you peel the tire off the rim while it's still installed, patch the tube, and put everything back without ever removing the wheel. The problem is, either patches suck or I suck at patching, so someone told me about these tubes that separate in the middle and can be installed without taking the wheel off.

Please, without judging my decision to buy an e-bike or to look into these tubes as a flat tire solution, tell me if you have ever seen these Huffy "Quick-Change Inner Tubes" and if you know anything about how well they work. If they will, at least, get us home, that'd be enough.

Thanks!

JohnDThompson 

Have you tried adding sealant to the inner tube to plug small punctures? That way, you'd only need remove the tube for major blow-outs.

Papa Tom

No. I am aware of all the products available to make tires more puncture resistant. I am asking specifically about the Huffy Quick-Change Inner Tube in this thread. By any chance, do you know anyone who has used one? It doesn't seem like something that is revolutionizing the industry!

bktourer1

Check this if this link wont come up go to youtube

JohnDThompson 

No; I had to look it up to see what you're referring to. Looks like an interesting idea, appropriate for an ebike, but probably not for a performance bike. Why don't you try it out and report back?


https://www.huffybikes.com/26in-huff...00586tu-huffy/

Papa Tom

If it were manufactured by anyone other than Huffy, I'd be quicker to give it a shot. I think I will anyway. The problem with reporting back is that, once I buy it and pack it in her bag, she will not flat out for at least five years!

Crankycrank

I think they're a great idea except I have no experience with them and I have to give my opinion on what I don't like about using them. First you have to cut and junk a tube that may have a perfectly patchable single hole in it. Too much waste. Patching actually seems to require no more effort when just pulling out the punctured area and re-installing the tube without removing the wheel. Trying to stuff a Quick Change tube into a mounted wheel is probably no picnic either. I know you said patches don't work for you but done correctly it's actually very easy and reliable and a few riders here really like the latest version of Parks Glueless Patches. Lots of tutorials on YouTube etc. plus threads here on proper patching using a Rema kit. Sometimes knowing where the puncture is in the tube makes it much easier to find what caused it if it's still in the tire and removing the tube makes it a little harder to match up the puncture with the tire. Certainly these tubes are good for something that's unpatchable but I don't see any advantage for a tube that is. I think you or her should practice at home trying the tube switch and see how it goes and you'll know if this is a convenience or not. You can just remove the original tube and rather than cutting it just push it aside while installing QC tube. It just dawned on me that out on the road you may be able to take the punctured tube and tie it up and out of the way without cutting it up to patch later so try that too.

Papa Tom

Good points. I should mention that my wife does not ride a whole lot and won't be riding too many surfaces where she'll be vulnerable to lots of flats. This tube is more like an umbrella on a day with a 5% chance of rain.

In the 1990's, my patches (Rema, Park (including glueless), and all types of others) would last indefinitely. In the past ten years or so, I can't get patches to hold more than overnight. Even when I immerse them in water and find no visible bubbles after patching, I wake up to find them deflated the next day. Whether it's the quality of the patches or the loss of my touch over the years, I don't know.

The one time I will likely use this Huffy replacement in my remaining lifetime, it will hopefully save me having to jump through a lot of hoops (electronics, disc brakes, etc.) on a hundred degree day in direct sun. And if it lasts until we get home and I can swap it out with a proper tube, it will have been worth the $11.47 I just paid on Amazon.

veganbikes

Get her a Mid-drive without all the whackiness. Removing a bunch of cables and odd disc brakes you need to realign each time sounds like a nightmare. You could also go tubeless and use sealant and liners and such but still all of the previous to fix a flat is a nightmare.

Those tubes might help out, I know there is a least one BMX tube like that so there is probably something to it, to at least get you home.

Papa Tom

1. Too late to go mid-drive; she already has the hub-drive
2. Not going to invest in tubeless
3. I ordered one of those tubes to test and will report back.

Thanks.

tcs

I saw tubes like these back in 2015 offered by an outfit called Shanghai Tianma Vancom Rubber Products. The tubes won Eurobike and Taipei Cycle Show awards that year. Google: 'Vancom Linear'.

Perhaps Huffy has become the US distributor of these?

Moe Zhoost

Gaadi (a German co. I think) makes a similar product. I've seen others as well. I had intended to try them for my IGH rear commuting bike, but always balked at the expense. I did get adept at finding and patching leaks without removing the wheel.

Here's a link: https://www.amazon.com/GAADI-TU4509-.../dp/B00HR088OG

Papa Tom

That IS kind of expensive. I think, at $11-12, the Huffy version is worth throwing in a bag as a temporary fix until we can get her bike home and repair it properly. I will let you know how it works out. Amazon estimates delivery between July 7 and 12.

veganbikes

1. Never too late ; )
2. It isn't that bad.
3. Cool I am always curious to see if that stuff works.

bikebikebike

Good thread. I thought the pinched and sealed version of these things were no longer available, but at $12 ( not the 20-5 I had seen) these look like a deal.
I would not try the "salvage and patch when you get home" non destructive removal of a flat tube, unless you could just stuff it into the casing.
If it is tied to spokes and gets loose on the way home, somebody could get bad hurt. Jammed wheels, esp in front, not good.
I have some IGH and hub drives and they are misery to have to change on the road, whereas a split tube or regular tube I can do like an Indy pit stop.
Given tubes run $7-9 retail , I just patch because I hate waste, and that is aesthetics, really. My patches only fail if blown, stem leak or ones that have multiple patches or punctures.
Good reminder that tubes can get patched without removal, which is useful on those that are tougher to mend at the roadside.

At the least the carrying of a spare tube humors the tire gods to pass you over.