Puncture proofing tyres

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
15,972
6,292
i run tubeless so dont get flat tyres ;)
 

shaun wyatt

Finding my (electric) wheels
Nov 28, 2017
17
1
58
Bath
So if i put stan's no tubes for example inside the tube of a regular tyre that would be the same protection as tubeless
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
15,972
6,292
So if i put stan's no tubes for example inside the tube of a regular tyre that would be the same protection as tubeless
you could try it as no reason it wont work but the hole point is to save waight and dump the tube.

also a pinch flat might not seal very well depending on how big it was.
 

Brynric

Pedelecer
Jun 29, 2015
38
31
68
Worcestershire
I play walking football and playing on tarmac near hedges we punctured several quite heavy duty plastic balls. It was cheaper to experiment with a slime product rather than replace. Injected the solution through the valve, bounded the balls a few times and sure enough worked a treat.
I’ve also put slime smart tubes in my bike tyres and had no problems.
 

mike killay

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 17, 2011
3,012
1,627
I do not understand why a tubeless tyre should be any less prone to punctures.
Pinch flats I can understand, but a thorn or nail penetrating the tyre will still cause a puncture, as I have had on my cars and campervans with tubeless tyres over the years.
 
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RobF

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 22, 2012
4,732
2,311
I do not understand why a tubeless tyre should be any less prone to punctures.
Pinch flats I can understand, but a thorn or nail penetrating the tyre will still cause a puncture, as I have had on my cars and campervans with tubeless tyres over the years.
The sealant in a tubeless installation has a greater depth of material - the tyre - in which to form a seal.
 

Linfitter

Pedelecer
Apr 2, 2012
48
9
Huddersfield
you could try it as no reason it wont work but the hole point is to save waight and dump the tube.

also a pinch flat might not seal very well depending on how big it was.
There has been a lot written about punctures of late and the various solutions to them. Now I can understand people riding over penetrative media getting punctures and I can understand them wanting puncture resistant tyres and slime filled inner tubes just in case but just how many punctures are of the penetrative type? It is very rare that I have found any sign of penetrative media puncturing my tyres and goodness knows I have had my fair share. On recommendations from Posters on this site I invested in a pair of Marathon Plus puncture resistant tyres and it wasn’t long before I got a puncture. No sign of penetration. A fortnight later I was out on the moors, bike propped up on its stand and me sunbathing when Pssss while I was admiring the bike the front wheel deflated. I was amazed. I was nowhere near it. It just went down. Yet again no sign of penetration. I surmised that it must have been the first real day of Summer Sun that had done it by heating up the tyre and the extra pressure had found some way of causing a puncture and releasing itself. Having inspected the tyre I then put my attention to the wheel and noticed that the rubberised rim tape was easily moved and that underneath it was 26 neatly machined drill holes for the spokes each with a razor sharp edge. So there was the answer to non-penetrative punctures. The rim tape was moving out of its place and the inner tube was expanding down the spoke hole at least it was trying. It did not get far in its intentions before the razor sharp edge cut it short. I banged another tube in and tentatively went home, took the wheels off, got shut of the original rim tape swapping it for Electricians Insulation Tape (Strong and Sticky) and now with the spoke holes securely blocked off I am six months puncture free with maybe an extra 1000 miles of ride anywhere on the clock.

When meeting up with an old cycling buddy he often found that on taking his bike out of his car that one of the tyres would be punctured. He said he probably had more punctures while the bike was in the car than he had while out on the road and he rode his tyres down to the canvass. Little did he know but he was having razor drill hole problems. He laid his bike down in the back of his car with the wheels parallel to the road. Riding about in the car vibrated the bike and when it was that his tyres were in need of inflating the rim tape would move and a puncture would result.

Now I find it somewhat amusing to see (See Soundwaves Video post number 24 - 1min 23sec in ) to see my type of rim and the ‘mechanic’ explaining the process of making the rim tubeless compliant by sealing the spoke holes with some good strong sticky tape. He doesn’t know it but he has probably got rid of the reason for 95% of non-penetrative punctures at a stroke even before he has put a tyre on and his customer will no doubt finding that he/she no longer has the same number of punctures expound the virtues of ‘tubeless’ tyres.

Conclusion

If your rims are like those in Soundwaves video take heed of my post.

Yours sincerely

Linfitter.
 
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soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
15,972
6,292
There has been a lot written about punctures of late and the various solutions to them. Now I can understand people riding over penetrative media getting punctures and I can understand them wanting puncture resistant tyres and slime filled inner tubes just in case but just how many punctures are of the penetrative type? It is very rare that I have found any sign of penetrative media puncturing my tyres and goodness knows I have had my fair share. On recommendations from Posters on this site I invested in a pair of Marathon Plus puncture resistant tyres and it wasn’t long before I got a puncture. No sign of penetration. A fortnight later I was out on the moors, bike propped up on its stand and me sunbathing when Pssss while I was admiring the bike the front wheel deflated. I was amazed. I was nowhere near it. It just went down. Yet again no sign of penetration. I surmised that it must have been the first real day of Summer Sun that had done it by heating up the tyre and the extra pressure had found some way of causing a puncture and releasing itself. Having inspected the tyre I then put my attention to the wheel and noticed that the rubberised rim tape was easily moved and that underneath it was 26 neatly machined drill holes for the spokes each with a razor sharp edge. So there was the answer to non-penetrative punctures. The rim tape was moving out of its place and the inner tube was expanding down the spoke hole at least it was trying. It did not get far in its intentions before the razor sharp edge cut it short. I banged another tube in and tentatively went home, took the wheels off, got shut of the original rim tape swapping it for Electricians Insulation Tape (Strong and Sticky) and now with the spoke holes securely blocked off I am six months puncture free with maybe an extra 1000 miles of ride anywhere on the clock.

When meeting up with an old cycling buddy he often found that on taking his bike out of his car that one of the tyres would be punctured. He said he probably had more punctures while the bike was in the car than he had while out on the road and he rode his tyres down to the canvass. Little did he know but he was having razor drill hole problems. He laid his bike down in the back of his car with the wheels parallel to the road. Riding about in the car vibrated the bike and when it was that his tyres were in need of inflating the rim tape would move and a puncture would result.

Now I find it somewhat amusing to see (See Soundwaves Video post number 24 - 1min 23sec in ) to see my type of rim and the ‘mechanic’ explaining the process of making the rim tubeless compliant by sealing the spoke holes with some good strong sticky tape. He doesn’t know it but he has probably got rid of the reason for 95% of non-penetrative punctures at a stroke even before he has put a tyre on and his customer will no doubt finding that he/she no longer has the same number of punctures expound the virtues of ‘tubeless’ tyres.

Conclusion

If your rims are like those in Soundwaves video take heed of my post.

Yours sincerely

Linfitter.
my rims are tubeless ready i got no spoke holes but can still manage to rip the tyre of the rims if the psi is to low. ;)
 

ttxela

Pedelecer
Jan 3, 2017
118
66
52
Cambridgeshire
I regularly ride the 30 mile or so round trip to work. When I started I was plagued with punctures, they all seemed to be little sharp stones or bits of glass. My route is on busy roads for half the route and paved cycle path for the other half.

I tried slime tubes and they worked to some extent, at least twice a week I'd hear a loud hiss for a while before they re-sealed. At night in the light of my lamp you could see the slime flying out before is sealed.

Numerous people kept telling me to get the Marathon Plus tyres. I was reluctant to replace my existing tyres before they were worn out but in the end I got some. So glad I did - best thing ever!
 
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John G

Finding my (electric) wheels
May 26, 2017
13
11
69
North Wales
Puncture proofing tyres. Never works!

Getting puncture resistant ones ,is the answer..
Schwalbe marathon ,the best I have come across
Well I've had 3 thorn punctures over about 3 months regular use of my ebike, with Schwalbe Marathon Plus. To be fair, I've been getting less than normal in the narrow hedgerow lined lanes that I use, but their puncture restance is obviously limited.
Next step is to try tubeless.
 

rower

Pedelecer
Feb 12, 2018
65
28
38
Berks and Bucks

rower

Pedelecer
Feb 12, 2018
65
28
38
Berks and Bucks
We seem to be hearing this more and more lately.
I think it's because they don't want punters cocking up the installation and creating a reputation that they're no good. Apparently a bad installation will make the tyre pull itself apart over time.
 

georgehenry

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 7, 2015
1,425
1,251
Surrey
My tyres have now covered 3038 miles since I put them on, on 5th January 2017. They are Specialized Crossroads Armadillo 650B 27.6” Wired Clincher Tyres in 1.9” width. They are very tough and look like they can last a lot longer. More wear apparent on the rear than the front as you would expect. Fantastic protection and no punctures.

They are a classic compromise and more road orientated than I would like but with the miles I do on the road mountain bike tyres would wear out in no time and after getting used to them I have learnt that they are more effective than I had first thought they would be off road.

My normal route to work is 14/16 miles off road and 10 miles on the road home.

I do use slime filled tubes as an extra precaution.

Just to give a Schwalbe alternative. I initially used Schwalbe Smart Sam Plus tyres but got a couple of hard to predict side wall failure blow out punctures on the rear tyre that put me off. Having said that I have not tried the Marathon Plus tyres by Schwalbe that do get raved about for their longevity if not their grip when cold or wet and do not seem to suffer from the side wall failures I experienced.
 
Last edited:

flecc

Member
Oct 25, 2006
52,763
30,349
We seem to be hearing this more and more lately.
It is advisable in this case. We already have polyurethane tyres from another company and they can need huge force to prise onto rims.

Because these Schwalbe inserts will prevent the tyre bead being pushed into the rim well to facilitate fitting, again very large force will be needed to prise the last of the tyre bead over into the rim. The supplying shops may have equipment to aid that, avoiding rim and/or tyre bead damage.
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