October 20, 2025Oct 20 At the risk of stating the bleedin obvious I like that Woowind tyre pump he used. Small enough to carry, easily set to the required pressure and automatic cut off. Very versatile for cars, bikes, and motorcycles, and not a lot of money. £39 on Amazon Prime. Tempting.
October 20, 2025Oct 20 At the risk of stating the bleedin obvious He forgot to use the vulcanising solution!
October 21, 2025Oct 21 I like that Woowind tyre pump he used. Small enough to carry, easily set to the required pressure and automatic cut off. Very versatile for cars, bikes, and motorcycles, and not a lot of money. £39 on Amazon Prime. Tempting. They may look compact and are pretty useful for topping up pressures before heading out, but IMHO they're too heavy and bulky to carry on the road (I have two similar ones) just for the rare occasion you may need a pump. They also assume you remembered to keep it sufficiently charged! And they don't run long enough to fully pump a car tyre even when fully charged. They're faster than a manual bicycle pump, but they're pretty low volume pumps and for a motorbike or even partial inflation of a car tyre, they take forever.
October 21, 2025Oct 21 Yeh, that's not gonna work with Marathon plus tyres ! However, in my experience, you probably wouldn't be in that situation with those tyres anyway. On the patches. I bought some of those from my lbs. As the guy says, they are stick and go, no faffing around with vulcanising solution. Think they cost me around £1.50.
October 21, 2025Oct 21 Yeh, that's not gonna work with Marathon plus tyres ! However, in my experience, you probably wouldn't be in that situation with those tyres anyway. On the patches. I bought some of those from my lbs. As the guy says, they are stick and go, no faffing around with vulcanising solution. Think they cost me around £1.50. I've got a cheap Aliexpress one that's quite small. I've used it several times to pump up tyres from start, and it works fine. If I wanted to take a pump for a long ride or tour, I'd use their mini pump because it's much lighter. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004624836679.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.15.f9d83affPCGXJA&algo_pvid=500c4a17-ca0f-4d0f-a23c-49a131242b52&algo_exp_id=500c4a17-ca0f-4d0f-a23c-49a131242b52-14&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%222355%22%2C%22eval%22%3A%221%22%2C%22fromPage%22%3A%22search%22%7D&pdp_npi=6%40dis%21GBP%214.56%214.09%21%21%215.94%215.32%21%40211b819117610362913346216ea8cc%2112000029896413727%21sea%21UK%21137056759%21X%211%210%21n_tag%3A-29919%3Bd%3A328d7092%3Bm03_new_user%3A-29895%3BpisId%3A5000000190383701&curPageLogUid=PB4VBRxyHMVe&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A%7Cx_object_id%3A1005004624836679%7C_p_origin_prod%3A https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008600347328.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.18.6ec57b9eAhmLeG&aem_p4p_detail=2025102101405214657209243405770000007104&algo_pvid=412f1ba6-fb9b-4fe4-b16a-0178e5036084&algo_exp_id=412f1ba6-fb9b-4fe4-b16a-0178e5036084-15&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%2212%22%2C%22eval%22%3A%221%22%2C%22fromPage%22%3A%22search%22%7D&pdp_npi=6%40dis%21GBP%2115.78%2114.99%21%21%21146.11%21138.79%21%402103892f17610360526828877e75ae%2112000045898908887%21sea%21UK%21137056759%21X%211%210%21n_tag%3A-29919%3Bd%3A328d7092%3Bm03_new_user%3A-29895&curPageLogUid=StTNgcT9TWXj&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A%7Cx_object_id%3A1005008600347328%7C_p_origin_prod%3A&search_p4p_id=2025102101405214657209243405770000007104_6
October 21, 2025Oct 21 If you're using Schrader tubes it's worth undoing the valve and putting 'Slime' in them, it was the first thing I did when I bought my epac, I'm prone to punctures from time to time and it's good gear, Presta valves rarely unscrew these days but if you're fixing a puncture it's worth using a Slime tube to replace the tube.
October 21, 2025Oct 21 If you're using Schrader tubes it's worth undoing the valve and putting 'Slime' in them, it was the first thing I did when I bought my epac, I'm prone to punctures from time to time and it's good gear, Presta valves rarely unscrew these days but if you're fixing a puncture it's worth using a Slime tube to replace the tube. The only thing I ever found slime did was to make it very difficult and messy to repair punctures. It's really meant for tubeless tyres, not tubed ones.
October 21, 2025Oct 21 The only thing I ever found slime did was to make it very difficult and messy to repair punctures. It's really meant for tubeless tyres, not tubed ones. This was my findings as well, slime is useless with tubes. I had two large blackthorne spines puncture my wheels in 100 yds of off road riding , slime did nothing but made repairs one hell of mess.
October 21, 2025Oct 21 Still I'd swear by slime/Slime tubes, I get less punctures than I did without it. Obviously no data to back that up but it does feel that way.
October 22, 2025Oct 22 I'm surprised nobody has yet mentioned Gaadi style inner tubes - basically like a normal tube but a cut 'breaks' it's circularity and the two open ends are sealed this enabling you to remove the inner tube with the wheel in place. With the inner tube removed it is then much simpler to repair the tube but more importantly check that what ever caused the puncture isn't still lurking in the tyre (as detected by lightly running fingers around the inside of the tyre). A cyclist who learns how to repair punctures using glue, patches and a decent hand pump is IMHO always going to be better prepared compared to someone who relies on modern gimmicks like clueless patches, slime, electric pumps and tubeless tyres.
October 22, 2025Oct 22 I/we on the forum have mentioned Gaadi many times over the years, they have been my go to tube for several years now.
October 22, 2025Oct 22 I fast forwarded through this video as I couldn't believe someone would actually make such a video. Isn't repairing a puncture as easy as riding a bike.
October 22, 2025Oct 22 I fast forwarded through this video as I couldn't believe someone would actually make such a video. Isn't repairing a puncture as easy as riding a bike. Yes, but they still do it wrong. Those instant patches are not nearly as reliable as the normal ones with vulcanising solution.
October 23, 2025Oct 23 fwiw i got an amazon/ali-express (fake?) battery tyre inflator, I let it discharge fully by simply leaving it alone for 3-4 months.. DEAD - pulling apart reveals 2 x 0v 18650 s,, lurved it at the time of purchase.. now less so..
October 23, 2025Oct 23 fwiw i got an amazon/ali-express (fake?) battery tyre inflator, I let it discharge fully by simply leaving it alone for 3-4 months.. DEAD - pulling apart reveals 2 x 0v 18650 s,, lurved it at the time of purchase.. now less so.. Can't you replace the batteries with better ones and add a BMS?
October 23, 2025Oct 23 Can't you replace the batteries with better ones and add a BMS? suggestions for a suitable low voltage cut off circuit i could cram in somewhere are very welcome? or even a tiny foot print switch to isolate the battery pack, its all tessellated into a small package with an injection moulded volume swallowing frame. so far any hacks i have conceived of will result in additional bulk and probably 1/2 a roll of gaffer tape to disguise. i do have clear access to the cell pack power leads.. -edit replacing the cells as is will just result in the same problem next time its forgotten about/unused for a period..
October 23, 2025Oct 23 suggestions for a suitable low voltage cut off circuit i could cram in somewhere are very welcome? or even a tiny foot print switch to isolate the battery pack, its all tessellated into a small package with an injection moulded volume swallowing frame. so far any hacks i have conceived of will result in additional bulk and probably 1/2 a roll of gaffer tape to disguise. i do have clear access to the cell pack power leads.. -edit replacing the cells as is will just result in the same problem next time its forgotten about/unused for a period.. Is it 2S or 2P?
October 24, 2025Oct 24 2S @ 7.4v, similar to but not quite the same as.. miine has no protection pcb under the heat shrink, and is housed in a tube in the frame/case with just enough clearance to create a tight friction fit with the single wire from the base terminal extending the heat shrink wrap bulk. so i doubt the pack pictured above would fit in without significant destructive modification. ( btw the amazon ad that provided the pic above wants £30 for the pack!!- that made my eyes water..) Currently living in a box on the shelf of things to fix/raid for parts as my best fixplan was to add a wire tail with a battery isolating switch which experience suggests will probably snag and pull off the first time the pump is needed in the wild..
October 24, 2025Oct 24 The one you've shown has the protection board. You can get them from Aliexpress for 14 pence when you get it to trigger the multi-buy. There's also a small round type that go on the top of the cell and make it a couple of mm longer. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008384027480.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller.7.2e15tGOstGOsYw&gps-id=pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.40196.439370.0&scm_id=1007.40196.439370.0&scm-url=1007.40196.439370.0&pvid=6063b36d-b332-4992-8960-2a0aebcdf147&_t=gps-id:pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller,scm-url:1007.40196.439370.0,pvid:6063b36d-b332-4992-8960-2a0aebcdf147,tpp_buckets:668%232846%238116%232002&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%2282%22%2C%22eval%22%3A%221%22%2C%22sceneId%22%3A%2230050%22%2C%22fromPage%22%3A%22recommend%22%7D&pdp_npi=6%40dis%21GBP%210.32%210.28%21%21%212.96%212.58%21%40211b80e117613085422571576e7818%2112000044799094755%21rec%21UK%21137056759%21XZ%211%210%21n_tag%3A-29919%3Bd%3A328d7092%3Bm03_new_user%3A-29895&utparam-url=scene%3ApcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller%7Cquery_from%3A%7Cx_object_id%3A1005008384027480%7C_p_origin_prod%3A#nav-specification https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007375384541.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller.13.79ca31d7CCl06O&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3Apc_back_same_best%7Cx_object_id%3A1005007375384541%7C_p_origin_prod%3A&algo_pvid=cf30e38f-f601-4568-9040-c4b5ae6ad20d&algo_exp_id=cf30e38f-f601-4568-9040-c4b5ae6ad20d&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%221426%22%2C%22fromPage%22%3A%22search%22%7D&pdp_npi=6%40dis%21GBP%214.50%211.35%21%21%2141.50%2112.50%21%402103919917613082411888983e45af%2112000040480670970%21sea%21UK%21137056759%21X%211%210%21n_tag%3A-29919%3Bd%3A328d7092%3Bm03_new_user%3A-29895%3BpisId%3A5000000190796139 https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007170323089.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.22.236d417bYt5HVv&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3Apc_back_same_best%7Cx_object_id%3A1005007170323089%7C_p_origin_prod%3A1005005968623999&algo_pvid=24de0db2-08e1-4e8a-a12f-d4c04aa21463&algo_exp_id=24de0db2-08e1-4e8a-a12f-d4c04aa21463&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%226132%22%2C%22orig_sl_item_id%22%3A%221005007170323089%22%2C%22orig_item_id%22%3A%221005005968623999%22%2C%22fromPage%22%3A%22search%22%7D&pdp_npi=6%40dis%21GBP%212.09%211.04%21%21%2119.30%219.65%21%40211b813f17613070996608572e6684%2112000039686611811%21sea%21UK%21137056759%21X%211%210%21n_tag%3A-29919%3Bd%3A328d7092%3Bm03_new_user%3A-29895 What I do is is get the first item in the multi-buy, then open up another aliexpress tab to search for anything else I want. You can find literally anything that you'd buy in a supermarket except food. Find the item you want and keep selecting the same thing in the linked items until you trigger its multi-buy option. The original item you selected in the other tab will already be in the basket. Repeat until you've got 3 items for the free postage or 6 items to get an extra £2 discount. Beware, it's very addictive because you can get a boatload of stuff at ridiculously cheap prices, like adding 10 sponges to do your washing up, or a bottle of washing up liquid for £1 as the 6th item, actually costs negative £1, i.e. if you add it to your order, they give you £1. Edited October 24, 2025Oct 24 by saneagle
October 27, 2025Oct 27 Yes, but they still do it wrong. Those instant patches are not nearly as reliable as the normal ones with vulcanising solution. During the hot part of this summer , something like three miles from home. I get a puncture, confident I had a pump I started to repair it, but wouldn't you know. No pump it's late in the evening yet not seven o clock, but chances of finding a bike shop, pretty slim. Luckily I found one, they lent me a pump. First attempt failed second one also failed. Judging the time to let the vulcanising solution be right in hot weather was not as easy as I would have liked. It was that or the solution was rubbish. I bought a new inner tube. Lesson learned check the pump carry a spare inner tube , it has to be said I'm usually good with the pump. My brother was in a medical center, I had been visiting. A couple days later on my way to see him , I notice on a footpath with some cycling racks there was what turned out to be a standing pump. It was on the other side of the road where I first found I was missing mine. Not opposite but a good few hundred or more meters away. Somewhere on Lambeth High st, I've not seen one like it before or since around London. Great idea.
October 27, 2025Oct 27 During the hot part of this summer , something like three miles from home. I get a puncture, confident I had a pump I started to repair it, but wouldn't you know. No pump it's late in the evening yet not seven o clock, but chances of finding a bike shop, pretty slim. Luckily I found one, they lent me a pump. First attempt failed second one also failed. Judging the time to let the vulcanising solution be right in hot weather was not as easy as I would have liked. It was that or the solution was rubbish. I bought a new inner tube. Lesson learned check the pump carry a spare inner tube , it has to be said I'm usually good with the pump. My brother was in a medical center, I had been visiting. A couple days later on my way to see him , I notice on a footpath with some cycling racks there was what turned out to be a standing pump. It was on the other side of the road where I first found I was missing mine. Not opposite but a good few hundred or more meters away. Somewhere on Lambeth High st, I've not seen one like it before or since around London. Great idea. We have a bike shelter in Telford that has a pump and all the bike tools attached to it. I've never seen a bike in it, and all the tools were vandalised or stolen within weeks.
October 27, 2025Oct 27 I have seen a few, one in Carmarthen and a couple on the coast path in Swansea. As you say, tools were vandalised. What is wrong with people? What benefit does this behaviour have for anyone, even the person doing the vandalising? Is this how they get an endorphin rush? It's sad really, anything nice/useful has to be destroyed.
October 27, 2025Oct 27 Do they still make those straight inner tubes ? the ones not joined in a circle you can feed in around the frame without taking off the back wheel, so all you really need is a pump and a couple of tyre levers. Always felt that was a great idea
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