The E BIKE Thread

[Gr8ful]

Fill the tire or tube with Slime, no more flats.

[rvpopeye]

Changing tires or fixing flats ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
You never get one close to the fix!


Fill the tires with epoxy ?

[tx2sturgis]

Fill the tire or tube with Slime, no more flats.

I've got a few ounces of Slime in the tubes. You dont 'fill the tire or tube with Slime', you dose it with 8 to 16 ounces typically. But Slime is only good for the little punctures. And I've said this before: These fat tires are thorn (and nail and screw) magnets!

[rvpopeye]

There's a LOT more rubber contact than those skinny hi pressure sew up tires fer sure yup yup.
Can you change size to one that those no puncture inserts would fit ??

[tx2sturgis]

I'm thinking I might buy a set of Tannus liners...$pendy! but if they work, they would be worth it.

https://tannusamerica.com/pages/tannus-inserts

[rvpopeye]

Yeah ,, those ! Guess it's the best ticket out of your situation.
I know some people put expanding foam in Wheelbarrow , mower , etc tires...

[tx2sturgis]

There's a LOT more rubber contact than those skinny hi pressure sew up tires fer sure yup yup.
Can you change size to one that those no puncture inserts would fit ??

Yeah the rubber is thin and contact patch is wide...recipe for flats.

I really need and want to buy a new e-bike with slightly narrower tires...that way when one machine is down for repairs, I can still ride during the time frame it takes to get the broken one fixed. This one has been on my radar but I'm still looking:

https://arielrider.com/products/rideal

And these are really cool...but spendy as hell! I sure like the sidecar e-bike...wowsers!

https://mod-bikes.com/product/mod-easy/

For some reason I keep spending my money on ham radio gear! Dangit! But guess what, I have fun with that stuff too. 

If I can get this camper sold I will have some spare bucks...at least for awhile!

[Gr8ful]

I didn't mean fill the tire completly full of slime. I guessed wronged that people would read the directions, boy I was wrong on that one. Sorry for thinking you could read & comprehend, my bad.

[tx2sturgis]

I've been doing this kind of stuff a LONG time. The fact that I share experiences with the forum here does not mean this is the first time I've done this stuff. The purpose is to let others know that fat tire e-bikes can be a bit of a pain in the...neck. 

Slime does help with small punctures BUT...nails and screws can make a puncture that can't be plugged with the green stuff. The 'no more flats' actually means....'a bit more time before a flat that leaves you walking'

Continuing:

I got the rear wheel removed and dismounted the badly mangled tire. The tube (which I re-inflated for this picture) had a couple of partially slimed holes but obviously they simply lost air thru the good-sized openings. There was a thin wet coating of slime inside the tire and on the outside of the tube...a sure sign that the slime was trying to stop the leak but ended up everywhere between the tire and tube.

       

       

[tx2sturgis]

Cammie is ready for it to be fixed!

   

The new Kenda K-Rad fat tire is a bit smaller in height and width than the aftermarket Mongoose tires I had been using:

   

Cammie and Zipper are having a conversation about who gets to ride first!