here is the deal. I did the maintanence on my trike, replaced one chain, lubed the other. lubed the cables, checked the wheels for cracking, took spare tubes (one for each size wheel, 3 total) and a patch kit . I even took spare hand grips and seat to gift. I still had one tube blow out 4 times. First time it was just sitting in front of our camp, and started hissing. This was the middle of tuesday, hottest part of the day. I figured old tube, hot day = failure. I replaced the tube, rode to get ice, and back, then around the block, and it popped. pinch flat? I went to a freinds camp, who has the same trike (so he also had a 24" tube). replaced it again, looking super careful for sharp parts etc. this time, we only went 1 1/2 blocks before major blow out, right in front of a bike repair place. He didnt have any more 24" tubes, but he took it apart, he looked for burs etc and couldnt find one either. I did find another 24" tube, we replaced it again, this time, rode all around the playa that night, again all around the next morning, taking photos. finally, during a dust storm, i looked out, and yup...flat again. same wheel. 4 times.
OK. no more flats. (this is a worksman team dual trike with added on decorations, so it is pretty heavy).
Anybody use solid tires? Any recomendations?
OK. no more flats. (this is a worksman team dual trike with added on decorations, so it is pretty heavy).
Anybody use solid tires? Any recomendations?
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Portland
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Re: Solid tires
Wed, September 5, 2007 - 2:40 PMmight be the rim strip not covering the spoke nipples. The Rim Strip is a piece of rubber or plastic that fits inside the spoke bed of the rim and covers the nipples. It prevents flats from the tube coming into contact with the nipple or spoke.
A burr on the rim itself could be the culprit too.
And sometimes a really tiny sliver of glass or wire poking through the tread that is really hard to notice in a dust storm is the problem.
The valve could be clogged, esp with slime filled tubes. Playa dust gets in there and wedges it open.
I would not recommend solid tires. They are a pain in the ass to install, are dificult to get, and really make the ride of your bike much harsher than it needs to be.
it sucks that you had so many flats, but it happens sometimes. at least you packed a couple of extra tubes. -
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Re: Solid tires
Wed, September 5, 2007 - 4:18 PMDitto. Solid tires should be completely ignored. Not worth it. Horrible ride. Rough on your body and your bike.
I would also recommend that you do not use a rubber rim strip, they are very easily punctured by the spokes. I like thick rim tape myself (you can find it at bike shops. Tape also keeps the rim strip from slipping or being pushed out of place. -
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Re: Solid tires
Mon, September 17, 2007 - 2:57 PMI should amend that. Solid tires are appropriate in some situations (large-wheeled art bikes for instance.) I would just ignore them if you are using smaller wheels and you don't have to use them. You'll get a much nicer ride. -
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Re: Solid tires
Tue, September 18, 2007 - 1:59 PMI concur, you either have a poking spoke, or some sort of burr on your rim. You do not need solid tires, but I do highly recommend paying extra for heavy-duty "thornproof" tubes. I have two beach cruisers (one I've had since I was eleven!) and I use thornproof tubes on both of them. They are made out of much heavier rubber which holds air a lot better. I keep them inflated rock-hard, and I might have to add air once or twice a year and I never ever have had a blowout or a leak on or off the playa.
On these occasional-use beach cruisers I usually get about five years out of a set of tires, and once they're worn I replace the tires and tubes together. I never have tire problems. -
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Re: Solid tires
Tue, September 18, 2007 - 3:49 PMGood thinking. Or try Mr. Tuffys tire liners. I use them on my bike and they've definitely reduced the number of punctures. Purists may scoff because they add a little bit of extra weight to your tires, but unless your into shaving off every last fraction of an ounce, the weight is probably negligible ( I am basing that statement solely off my own opinion and not from any real data, maybe someone else can weigh in if they have a different view.)
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Re: Solid tires
Wed, September 5, 2007 - 4:16 PMDefinitely sounds like something is up with your rim or tire. All of the failures were on the same wheel, right? I've never had a tube go bad out there and can only think of one time a camp mate had one go out. -
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Re: Solid tires
Wed, September 5, 2007 - 4:32 PManother scenario- the valve of the tube might be cut from a too small or too big valve hole.
I'd be able to believe the tubes were bad if they all came form the same source (same bike company, from the same master case, from the same manufacturing date, etc) but this is unlikely in your situation. All evidence points to some issue with the rim and not the tire.
Still, stranger things have happened.
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Re: Solid tires
Wed, September 5, 2007 - 5:02 PMHey, Kirk & Cheryl!
I had a similar problem with my pedal car. According to Ray (well-versed in bike lore), a possible problem is torquing the trike/quad at start-up with a heavy load. That is, if you have a heavy vehicle, if you jam the pedal forward from a stop, it causes the rim to slide forward against the valve stem, slicing it open. Happened to me around center camp this year. I used the Flintstone Method from then on to get the quad rolling, and had no further problems. Just FYI.
Hope you two had a safe and happy drive home,
Bartholomew
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Re: Solid tires
Wed, September 5, 2007 - 5:45 PMi've personally never had blowouts with all the rickshaw gear i've used and shared, but i also usually carry at least one complete wheel - tire, tube and rim included. so for the sociable tandem rickshaws there's usually a front wheel, back wheel and trailer wheel spare around ;)
this definitely sounds like a burr, a missing strip or something in the tire! -
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Re: Solid tires
Sun, December 9, 2007 - 10:18 PMmy question is where was the hole located?
outer section of tube means possibly a micro wire coming through rubber.
Interior means spoke or rim burr.
I've had spokes stick tubes before.
are your spokes tightened to spec? -
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Re: Solid tires
Wed, December 19, 2007 - 11:05 AMOne final suggestion. Stop messing around and replace the wheel with another used one from a garage sale, thrift store, or canabalized bike. If you're local I'll gift you one. -
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Re: Solid tires
Thu, December 20, 2007 - 7:52 PMexactly... there is a lot of "stuff" out there in the world that needs a home ;)
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