4th flat in 2 months

Barkme Wolf

Barkme Wolf

Active Member
3 flats on the Radwagon so I got Mr. Tuffy liners last week. Back tire flat, stranded 20 miles from home. Not happy.
 
that totally sucks

maybe you need to try tubeless.....????
i am actually talking to my shop tomorrow about that, havent had any flats on the rover yet but concerned
these are heavy bikes to deal with if far from home and have a flat..
 
What types of flats are you getting? Small punctures (thorns, nails, etc)? Or larger slashes? (glass, metal shards, etc)? Identifying what types of punctures you are getting and possibly what caused them is the best way to know what type of protection you need. Have you found any objects sticking in the tire? If not, try checking the inside of the tire and the rim to see if anything seems sharp. With a heavy bike like the Wagon, anything even somewhat sharp inside is going to be very problematic as it rubs inside the tire walls and against the rim. .

Are these slow leaks? Blowouts? How does this lead to being stranded? Are you carrying a flat kit?
 
Take whatever precautions you need to take to try to prevent getting a flat. More importantly learn how to and practice fixing a flat. It will give you far greater freedom with your bike rides. Nobody should ever be "stranded 20 miles from home" due to a simple flat tire. Irregardless of what you do, if there is air in your tires, you will likely at some point get a flat. If I have 20 items I'm carrying on my bike, 10 are related to repairing a flat and 99% of the time they're not needed. When they are...whew!
 
J.R. said:
Take whatever precautions you need to take to try to prevent getting a flat. More importantly learn how to and practice fixing a flat. It will give you far greater freedom with your bike rides. Nobody should ever be "stranded 20 miles from home" due to a simple flat tire. Irregardless of what you do, if there is air in your tires, you will likely at some point get a flat. If I have 20 items I'm carrying on my bike, 10 are related to repairing a flat and 99% of the time they're not needed. When they are...whew!
Click to expand...
The rear wheel doesn't come off and is sort of encaged. More to the point, I am disabled and wrangling that back tire for me is impossible. There are plenty of busses in the area but my bike doesn't fit the rack. I simply was not prepared for weekly flats. I think it is unusual to say the least. I was convinced the Mr. Tuffys would help but apparently that was BS. So, I already wasted my funds on them and will have to wait until I can save up for the Marthon "flat-less tires". The front tire I can deal with.

My LBS has trouble getting the rear wheel off, he hates it.
 
Barkme Wolf said:
The rear wheel doesn't come off and is sort of encaged. More to the point, I am disabled and wrangling that back tire for me is impossible. There are plenty of busses in the area but my bike doesn't fit the rack. I simply was not prepared for weekly flats. I think it is unusual to say the least. I was convinced the Mr. Tuffys would help but apparently that was BS. So, I already wasted my funds on them and will have to wait until I can save up for the Marthon "flat-less tires". The front tire I can deal with.

My LBS has trouble getting the rear wheel off, he hates it.
Click to expand...
I do understand a disability can add to the difficulty. Most punctures can be repaired like this:


Also check out this thread:

https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/dont-remove-that-wheel-to-fix-a-flat.1971/
 
My left lung has 120 staples in it and is glued in place (they used acid, it was uncomfortable). The difficulty comes in when I twist my torso, and wrangling the Radwagon to the ground is awkward due to it's extended length and weight distribution. Like I said, the front tire no problem. I will never be repairing the back tire myself.
A) I can barely lift the bike.
B) Tire does not come off with out a tool chest (last time my LBS worked on it they needed a belt grinder to get the rear tire back on).
C) The rack system on the bike makes it difficult to access the wheel.
D) The bike is 75 pounds dry and the front fork has a steering spring that keeps the bike from tipping at rest (much needed) so it is difficult to work on in any way without a sturdy bike stand. Laying it on it's side would cause degrees of damage to it's oh-so delicate components.

If "stranded" I can call a friend or a cab or lock the bike up and take a bus. I am not all that comfortable locking it up though, I don't take it out of my sight really.
 
Hi Barkme Wolf,

That really sucks. What type of flats are you getting? Thorns, pinches?

I have an REI Novara Gotham with a double kickstand and when I weigh down the front, the back wheel will come up off the ground. Is that the case for the RadWagon? Since it's longer, it may not tip forward, but it looks like it might from the product photo: http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2015/08/RadWagon_LeftSide.jpg

If that could get you access to the rear wheel, I would use the flat repair method linked by J.R., and run a gloved hand carefully around the tire to remove any thorns or such.

For puncture repair, I've been carrying these as recommended on the forums here
  • Self Adhesive tire patches (I bought whatever was at the front counter)
  • Tire boot (Park has these big self adhesive patch to repair a large cut in the tires)
  • High volume portable pump (a CO2 inflator would reduce the effort & time needed)

I've been reading about using scooter & motorcycle tires on ebikes, while the 20" bike rims will fit a 16" scooter tire, there doesn't seem to be an easy match for 26" bike rims. Some braver souls are changing the rims to motorcycle rims on their ebikes to use the tougher tires.


Sang
 
that is a very heavy bike, cannot imagine trying to lift that or work on it and i dont have staples in my lungs

i hope you find something in the wheel that is causing the problems , like a sharp spot and someone can get it fixed correctly for you

this sounds like a real hassle

anxious to see what my lbs says about tubeless on all my bikes, seems like eddie does well with that and so did some others that chimed in

good luck and keep us up to date
 
Dude, I just checked their website and saw they have Kenda tires. Kenda tires are absolutely the cheapest pieces of crap tires in the industry.. I had them on my A2B and had so many flats I went thru 2 patch kits in 3 years, plus four tubes....

I finally got wise and bought moped tires, which are bulletproof.. However, you can't do that on your Radwagon.

I would ditch those Kendas immediately, and buy Maxxis Excel tires which are extremely reliable... And use thorn resistance tubes or slime tubes.. Forget those tuffy liners as well.
 
what if I told you that flat tires are a thing of the past? would you believe that? it's called tubeless tires (not the "slime" type). i've been running tubeless for over a year and ride 2-3 times a week with no flats. the only thing you have to do is check the tire pressure and check to make sure the tires don't run dry of the tubeless solution. i check the solution every 3 months.
 
Rich i just discussed going tubeless on the rover and mini at my bikes hops and they did not think anyone had a fat tire that would do tubeless

They also indicated it was a lot more maintenance....

Could you point me in the direction of a tubeless tire set up for the rover or radmini

Joepah how do you think moped tires will ride off road on the mini compared to the regular fat tire?
 
you can still use your tube on your fat tire and just fill with the tubeless sealant. naturally you would have to use more sealant. it's true it's a bit more maintenance but only the first time you are going tubeless. the maintenance is pretty quick.
 
LBS found this peice of wood through the tread, liner and tube.
 

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Barkme wolf i hope that is your last flat!!! Not much you could do about that piece of wood i guess

So dimitri i would fill the actual tire with sealant around the tube and seal the tire to the rim with something?

The lbs was saying fat tire rims are 1 something usually and need to be 2 something to do tubeless, cannot remember what term he used

And i have no idea if the rover and mini have 1 or 2... Rims
 
I have had two flats on mine. The first was a pinched tube and was my fault. The second was from goatheads, which are prolific in Utah. Both times I just laid down a cloth to protect my seat, flipped the bike upside down onto the seat and handlebars with the cloth to protect from scratches, then unbolted the wheel, pulled it off, and replaced the tube, or patched the tube, depending on the situation. It was quick and easy to do and I have had no trouble with the tires since. With the lungs issue, perhaps a friend can help flip it.

While the tires were off I took the opportunity to clean the brake pads and brakes.
 
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