Curse continues! Rear flat again.....

[sc00ter]

I think a inner tube blew out on my E-Lux. I had the tire pressure at 50psi. The tire is rated for 55psi. I know cheap inner tubes will blow out for no reason. But the supplied tires are so thin and flimsy so I suspect a pinch flat. Gonna verify the cause this week. My idea is:
Installing a Mr. Tuffy liner, just in case something did get me.
Replace the stock no-name E-Lux brand 26x2.125 tires with something more robust.
Any ideas and suggestions welcome. Currently looking into Schwalbe Big Ben Plus but they are a tad bit wider at 26x2.15.
My rims are schrader valve. Also gonna look into better inner tubes, if there is such a thing.
Tannus would force me to probably run a weird/hard to find in a pinch inner tube. Pinch, get it?
Any other tire brands I need to look into?
Thanks in advance for any info!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Perhaps your inner tube got pinched by the tyre... Did you check whether the tube was neatly tucked inside the tyre?

 

[sc00ter]

I do suspect a pinch flat. This suddenly happened after about 70 miles. I did run something over but it was under a dark underpass and I went back and couldn't find the cause. Luckily a co-worker came to my rescue and gave me and the ebike a ride home! Will post my findings when I get it apart but I'm willing to bet a pinch flat.

 

[Jason Knight]

I'd suggest also adding some Flatout. Stuff makes green slime look like cheap amateur hour.

Only issue I've had with it is you put basically a pint of the stuff in the tube, which can end up if you accelerate REALLY quickly stuck to one side of the tire, throwing it off balance and creating vibration instead of just sloshing around. Small price to pay though given some of the flats it's prevented on my normal cruiser. Thankfully no issues of that sort on my e-bike yet, but it's still one of the first things I did to it.

 

[m@Robertson]

On a 26x2.15 tire you would 'only' use about 8 oz of FlatOut. the 16 oz is for 4"+ tires. Like any liquid it will flow to be equally dispersed around the inside of the tire. The only time I have ever noticed it - in 16 oz amts - is when riding a fat tire that has been sitting for awhile in the garage. You'll feel it just a bit for about a half block.

I would consider a belted tire before I mess with Tuffy. Tuffy works but a Schwalbe Marathon or a Continental Contact Plus City is effectively flatproof. You use something like Tuffy when you can't make a belted tire work. Add a thorn-resistant tube underneath with FlatOut inside. The Contis ride a bit hard though. Schwalbe makes a thick casing tire called the Pickup for cargo bikes that would do a good job. But its pretty much sold out everywhere.

I would not be worried about a tire's size up to at least 2.2"

 

[indianajo]

I inflate a tire after installing a new tube, then deflate it again, then pump up again. Seems to reduce chance of pinch flats. Also gives me a chance to straighten the valve stem if it is crooked in the hole. I run cheap schwinn tubes from grocery store. One in 50 of those will blow at first inflation. Made in *****. Never had that happen with $9 tubes from LBS, which are made in TWN. Kenda long stem tubes from ebay for double wall rims were also made in TWN.
I don't get flats with kenda or giant 2.1 tires with the thick off road knobby tread. Not until the knobs are thinner than 3/32" inch. I take them off at that point and don't get flats. They are $26 instead of the $40 of schalbes. I did get a flat @ 700 miles with freedom brand thin road tire that came originally on the bike. Piece of wire off a shredded tire on the road.
I get a year or about 2000 miles out of a $26 kenda or giant knobby. I ride on road, and we don't have goat head thorns here. Yes, the knobbies make a noise. Whoopie. I did get a used schwalbe marathon with the Jump used power wheel, and rode it ~500 miles before taking it off. Tubeless, I didn't know if I could change it on the road. I never found a converter harness compatible with that wheel, bought one that was male juli to mate with the male juli on the motor. Ended up converting the other $36 bafang power wheel to 6 pin rectangular connector & .157" bullet connectors from dorman. It had a thin ****ese road tire I scrapped.
I don't use slime, it plugs up the valve in a year or a year & a half, inhibits adding air. Had to poke last slime tube with a pick to get it off, through the tire. Couldn't cut the stem off & save the tire. That is the second slime brand tube to do that, both of the ones I bought in 2016. Were the same price as schwinn, $7, but never again.

 

[PDoz]

Tannus would force me to probably run a weird/hard to find in a pinch inner tube. Pinch, get it?

Tannus' site suggests using a 26x 1.75 - 2.1 , not impossible to find, but VERY easy to pinch when inserting.

I've got to be honest, Tannus is a pita with narrow tyres - harder to install, more likely to compress over time, and also MUCH harder to re use after it compresses ( it can kink once compressed )

I changed 3 tannus equipped tyres on the weekend and dace the final one tomorrow morning.....still haven't had a puncture since converting the kids bikes 3 years ago, but right now I'm NOT a fan.....

 

[AHicks]

I don't think the liner is NEAR the necessity that some sort of tube sealant is. I like and use Slime because it's so easy to get, but the more important part is to get SOMETHING in there.

When installing a new tire or tube, I put just a couple psi in there, then check to see that the bead of the tire is seating on the rim evenly. In good light, you can see a faint ring molded into the tire. That "ring" should be spaced evenly all of the way around the rim on BOTH sides. It's not until that has been verified that I'll inflate the tire fully. Just takes a minute, and pretty much eliminates the chance of the big BANG as you inflate the tire for the first time....

 

[m@Robertson]

Tannus' site suggests using a 26x 1.75 - 2.1 , not impossible to find, but VERY easy to pinch when inserting.

Tannus installation runs from dead simple to absolute nightmare. Depends on how much fudge there is between the tire size, the max Tannus size and the tube underneath.

It will be interesting to find out how much protection it gives over time. Tannus themselves admit the stuff compresses down over time, and recommend deflating the tire in between rides (!) to prolong its life. I have a sneaking suspicion it will work better for lower-pressure (fat) tires and for higher pressure, its going to become a $50 per tire piece of Mr. Tuffy at best. Since I am using it in both I will be finding out the hard way.

26x1.75-2.1 under Tannus is a great candidate for a thornproof tube. Pretty much impossible to pinch. But thornproof or not, the way to keep from pinching the tube is to put in just enough air so its barely unable to hold its shape. As you seat the tube it will become progressively firmer and if you are paying attention, its not going to pinch under the bead. After that, the tire is seated so before you do any inflation, use your thumbs and press away the tire bead from the rim full circumference each side to ensure no pinching. Then inflate a little. If you are paranoid, do the check again. This will also ensure the bead is seated evenly. Fill and job done.

Tube sealant is vastly more effective than tire liners. But get a belted tire if you can. Skip the hand-inserted liner.

 

[rich c]

I'm pretty certain you can't get a pinch flat at 50psi without some super extreme hit. To get a pinch flat the tube has to get between the bead and the rim. You'll know for sure as a pinch flat has two holes close together on the tube.

 

[sc00ter]

I wasn't a pinch flat. I ran over the smallest little hollow metal tube. I need to try and post the pictures. It was incredible in how perfect it went into the tire and tube! I know the rear wheel is actually easy to remove on the E-Lux now, but I still hate flats! I checked the clearance and I think I can go a bit wider on tires if needed. Still considering Big Bens but the Marathons get better puncture reviews.

And yes, I've noticed the Tannus compress a lot after a short while. And I did get a flat with Tannus as well, but like this flat it was almost to perfect.

 

[indianajo]

I'm pretty certain you can't get a pinch flat at 50psi without some super extreme hit. To get a pinch flat the tube has to get between the bead and the rim. You'll know for sure as a pinch flat has two holes close together on the tube.

I've gotten pinch flats without the tube being under the bead, and without even pedaling. The tube will sometimes fold up as you install it. Symptom, the leak is a line on the tube, not a hole. The inflate, deflate, reinflate procedure tends to move it around so it is not folded anymore.
The new tubes that split on the glue line on first inflation, that is just a manufacturing defect. I use cheap schwinn tubes, and I carry two in case I get one of those again. The $2 more for TWN tube is not an issue, the 2 1/2 hours it takes to bike over to the LBS is.

 

[sc00ter]

 

[sc00ter]

I hope the pictures worked! On my new phone, still learning! Hollow steel tube got me good.

 

[AHicks]

That was a freak occurrence, comes under the "STUFF Happens" clause.....
I doubt there is much that would have saved you in preventing that flat....

 

[sc00ter]

Everyone was right, tires (Big Bens in the size I want) are hard to come by at the moment. So I got some Mr. Tuffy liners and some of those 30% thicker Goodyear tubes from Wally World. Even the inner tubes were hard to find! Traveled to 3 different Wallys to find them. So I'm going to continue to use the E-Lux tires for now and just try to bullet proof them a bit more. Will tag the Big Bens for a in-stock notification in the meantime.

Was very tempted to add Tannus into the mix but after running them on my old Rad Runner they're just a thicker and clumsier liner I don't want to battle, especially since I got a flat on the front one.

 

[Dave Rocks]

That is really tough luck. What a pisser.

 

[Dave Rocks]

K-Shield Kenda tires

K SHIELD (KS)​

A 3mm layer of light, flexible rubber containing aramid and ceramic particles inside the tire under the tread area only. Designed to prevent punctures and increase tire life.

E-bike ready -This tire was certified according to ECE-R75 norm and is approved for use on e-bikes up to 50 km/h.

K-Shield KENDA tires

 

[AHicks]

Slime is less than 10 dollars for enough to do both tires, can be installed with very little effort in 10 minutes or less, and will protect from flats as well as anything.

 

[antboy]

Watched a few demonstrations of FlatOut Sportsman Formula, but couldn't get in Canada without exorbitant import fees.

Some finally cropped up on Amazon, and arrived yesterday, so will be adding it today... supposedly good for up to 1/2" cuts, but this quick thumbtack test sold me.