NEW - Tapered Straight Inner Tubes

[Bob_about]

I am determined to bring at least one original idea to this forum which hasn't already been debated and discarded!

So here it is - I hope - tapered straight inner tubes.

I may even ring Drogons Den and the patent office!

The concept would be to make inner tubes which do not form a loop, but have a tapered end (like a rattle snake tail) at each end, and a valve in the middle.

These could be easily replaced without undoing any wheel nuts or stretching any frames. Just slot in the valve and run the tube round in both directions until the tapered ends overlap.

Pumping up to the pressure levels bikes tend to use would ensure the ends adequately fill the tyre carcass.

Shimples

You heard it here first!

Bob_about

Que the onslaught of reasons why it'll never work and neither will I again!

 

[flecc]

Sorry Bob, they have been debated!

A good emergency measure though not as ideal as a normal tube, the wheel balance slightly affected. They've actually been around for many years but never seem to have caught on much.

Here's one at SJS, dirt cheap at only 79p too:

Sidewinder tubes

P.S. On the solid tyre suggestion, I've found this:

"Tires that are hollow but are not pressurized have also been designed for automotive use, such as the Tweel (a portmanteau of tire and wheel) which is an experimental tire design being developed at Michelin. The outer casing is rubber as in ordinary radial tires, but the interior has special compressible polyurethane springs to contribute to a comfortable ride. Besides the impossibility of going flat, the tires are intended to combine the comfort offered by higher-profile tires (with tall sidewalls) with the resistance to cornering forces offered by low profile tires. They have not yet been delivered for broad market use."
.

 

[eddieo]

Flecc....why do you always do dat!

may be a good temp get u home for a rear wheel/rear motor e bike.....No?

while on the subject of tyre repair..do these little cylinders of compressad air re inflate enough not to have to carry a pump?

 

[flecc]

may be a good temp get u home for a rear wheel/rear motor e bike.....No?

Yes, definitely a good get you home measure. They can puncture themselves through end abrasion though, so best changed once home.

while on the subject of tyre repair..do these little cylinders of compressad air re inflate enough not to have to carry a pump?

I use them and they pump a 20" fattish tyre just enough to ride home. On an e-bike larger wheel size I'd prefer to use two cylinders to get enough pressure. One is probably enough for the very skinny tyres on lycra bikes though, these CO2 pumps were designed for them.
.

 

[flecc]

I am determined to bring at least one original idea to this forum which hasn't already been debated and discarded!

Flecc....why do you always do dat!

The trouble is that bikes have been around for 200 years, so the chance of discovering anything new is almost nil. It really has all been done before by countless generations of clever people worldwide.
.

 

[Barry Heaven]

I have one of these kept ready and waiting in my pannier for a puncture. Seems to me to be a good way of fixing a puncture without removing the wheel. I would replace it with a normal tube asap however.

 

[Bob_about]

The trouble is that bikes have been around for 200 years, so the chance of discovering anything new is almost nil. It really has all been done before by countless generations of clever people worldwide.
.

OK - its a fair cop - hard to compete with 200 years of clever people from around the globe.

Thanks for posting the link. Definitely worth bunging a couple of these in the bottom of the pannier as a get me home measure - I didnt know they existed.

My only real paranoia about my daily commute is getting a puncture I cannot manage to repair at the roadside - Id be reasonably confident I'd be able to manage to slip one of these in and still have the chain, gears, motor etc working - and less than a pound - brilliant, they gotta make sense for e-bikers.

Good news is my Ezee came with Marathon plus fitted as standard - another tick on the spec list when I was choosing!


All the best

Bob_about

 

[flecc]

Id be reasonably confident I'd be able to manage to slip one of these in and still have the chain, gears, motor etc working - and less than a pound - brilliant, they gotta make sense for e-bikers.

Sadly I've never seen any for the 28"/700c size that a number of European e-bikes use now.

Although they are dirt cheap at SJS, their P & P can boost that considerably.
.

 

[Barry Heaven]

My only real paranoia about my daily commute is getting a puncture I cannot manage to repair at the roadside - Id be reasonably confident I'd be able to manage to slip one of these in and still have the chain, gears, motor etc working - and less than a pound - brilliant, they gotta make sense for e-bikers.

That is my paranoia as well Bob. I think I could manage a repair with a regular tube. But in the dark and wet? Seems a no-brainer to make it as simple as possible.

 

[rog_london]

The trouble is that bikes have been around for 200 years, so the chance of discovering anything new is almost nil. It really has all been done before by countless generations of clever people worldwide.
.

Even longer than you? Heavens!

Rog.

 

[flecc]

Yup....
.

 

[Old Timer]

I just ordered two of the 24-26 tubes from SJS. got to be a no brainer miles from home with a total blow out.

 

[Patrick]

I just ordered two of the 24-26 tubes from SJS. got to be a no brainer miles from home with a total blow out.

You might find it useful to carry a couple of cable ties to secure the old inner tube until you get home and repair it, or something to cut it so you can get it off without undoing the wheel.

 

[flecc]

Excellent point Patrick, tearing a stretchy inner tube apart is very difficult, and fashioning a flint blade takes time!
.

 

[Old Timer]

, and fashioning a flint blade takes time!
.[/QUOTE]

Not out here Tony I`ll send you some that I`ve removed from my tyres

 

[z0mb13e]

It's never good to tempt fate but I have been carrying a can of 'ssssuussshh' or more technically Weldtite Bike Tyre Seal (so named because of the noise it makes and because I can never remember who makes it or what it is actually called) in case of a puncture on the back wheel. As long as it isn't a side wall blow out I should be good to get home on this stuff where I can repair a puncture in the relative warm and dry of my garage...

 

[flecc]

I hope you are lucky with that z0mb13e, most of us have had no luck in these sealing anything. They were originally designed for tubeless car tyres and often don't work with tubes and relatively thin cycle tyres.
.
http://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/members/z0mb13e.html

 

[z0mb13e]

I'm hoping I never have to use it!

They have worked on two occasions for me on cars - as you say tubeless - I couldn't think of a reason they wouldn't work on the bike but am interested to hear contrary experiences.

 

[Mussels]

It's never good to tempt fate but I have been carrying a can of 'ssssuussshh' or more technically Weldtite Bike Tyre Seal (so named because of the noise it makes and because I can never remember who makes it or what it is actually called) in case of a puncture on the back wheel. As long as it isn't a side wall blow out I should be good to get home on this stuff where I can repair a puncture in the relative warm and dry of my garage...

Be careful when you take the tyre off after using it as it's quite common for it to come squirting out, tyre fitters don't like it much.

 

[flecc]

I'm hoping I never have to use it!

They have worked on two occasions for me on cars - as you say tubeless - I couldn't think of a reason they wouldn't work on the bike but am interested to hear contrary experiences.

We've had threads about this before and a few members had good experiences, many had failures. For me I've found the liquid just continues to ooze out the puncture, failing to set in time. That's with different brands tried.

Trouble is the sticky mess that spreads over the tube then makes patching nearly impossible, so for me it's never again.

Fine on cars though as you say, works well with tubeless and thicker section rubber.
.