My rear tire went flat on me today (Rad Rover Step through) A friend picked me up and I got it home. I hoisted it up and lowered the tire into some water,filled the tire and looked for a leak but couldn't find one even though it went down fast. I then lowered it so the rim was in the water and saw air bubbles coming through where the spokes attach. Not sure what that means.
First flat
- Thread starter Gordon71
- Start date
Saratoga Dave
Well-Known Member
Tubeless or tube inside?
Mr. Coffee
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- A Demented Corner of the North Cascades
Typically Rad Rovers run with tubes. You aren't telling yourself anything by doing all that. What you need to do:
- Remove the wheel.
- Using tire levers, pop out the tire bead on one side.
- Using your fingers, feel all around inside the tire and see if you can find what poked a hole in the tube. If you find a tack or something stuck in the tire that should help you find the hole in the tube.
- Take out the inner tube.
- Pump up the tube a bit, and using a bucket of soapy water look for the hole.
- When you've found the hole, you can patch the tube.
- Using the location of the hole as a guide, go back to the tire and look really hard for whatever punctured the tire. While whatever caused the puncture might well have fallen out, you are in for a world of hurt and pain if you leave something that can puncture a tube in your tire. Whatever you do make sure there are not objects that can puncture your tube embedded in the tire, or laying around loose inside the tire (happens sometimes).
- Put the tube back in, it helps if it is pumped up a bit.
- Put the tire back on the rim, carefully.
- Pump up the tire to a reasonable pressure.
- Put the rear wheel back on.
- Ride a bit, then check the pressure and probably pump up the tire a bit more.
- Keep riding.
Sierratim
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- USA
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- Nevada City, CA & Paradise Valley, AZ
Judging by the Schrader valves shown on the manufacturer's web page I'm going to assume your ebike does not have tubeless tires. There may not be enough pressure left in the tube to see air escaping when the tube is still in the tire. Air coming from the spoke holes is most likely the double-walled rim filling with water and not anything to do with your flat.
To lose air there must be a puncture in the tube. While you can work on the tube with just one side of the tire removed from the rim, I find it much easier to completely remove the tube, add pressure, and check for the leak by holding the tube near my face. Sometimes the leak is so slow that I need to put the tube in water and watch for bubbles, but not normally.
Once I find the leak I mark it with a silver Sharpie and put on a patch. I pressure test patched tubes overnight and then either reassemble them into the tire or swap it with the spare tube I used to reassemble the tire earlier.
BTW - Do you carry a flat repair kit with you? I'd recommend it. I carry a spare tube, tire levers, patch kit, tire boot, mini pump & CO2 inflator, and a grease wipe. My record is 3 flats in a day, hence the spare tube and patch kit. My ebike has through axles so I also need a hex wrench to remove the wheel. This is included in the bike multi-tool I also carry.
Ride On!
To lose air there must be a puncture in the tube. While you can work on the tube with just one side of the tire removed from the rim, I find it much easier to completely remove the tube, add pressure, and check for the leak by holding the tube near my face. Sometimes the leak is so slow that I need to put the tube in water and watch for bubbles, but not normally.
Once I find the leak I mark it with a silver Sharpie and put on a patch. I pressure test patched tubes overnight and then either reassemble them into the tire or swap it with the spare tube I used to reassemble the tire earlier.
BTW - Do you carry a flat repair kit with you? I'd recommend it. I carry a spare tube, tire levers, patch kit, tire boot, mini pump & CO2 inflator, and a grease wipe. My record is 3 flats in a day, hence the spare tube and patch kit. My ebike has through axles so I also need a hex wrench to remove the wheel. This is included in the bike multi-tool I also carry.
Ride On!
tube
Thanks for the replies. Guess I'll find a video on removing a rad rover rear wheel. Is it better to patch or replace? Are all tubes more or less equal or is there a brand that is best? The reason I ask is that I recently patched a couple of tubes for a garden cart but neither held up well. The tubes were old and my patch kit was a few years old as well.
AHicks
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- USA
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- Snow Bird - Summer S.E. Michigan, Winter Gulf Coast North Central Fl.
I would get a new tube. I hate this procedure, and prefer to minimize the chance of having to do it again because my patch didn't hold.
Then I would give the new tube the Slime treatment (or something similar), which should reduce the number of flats, or eliminate them all together.
You do not have to remove the wheel entirely (no pun intended!). You do need to loosen/remove everything to allow you to lift the wheel up high enough to remove the tube from the side without the wire (saving you the trouble of messing with that).
That said, the first couple of times you replace/repair a tube, you might want to remove it completely just to simplify things. Just remember it's not necessary. That'll save you time down the road... -Al
Then I would give the new tube the Slime treatment (or something similar), which should reduce the number of flats, or eliminate them all together.
You do not have to remove the wheel entirely (no pun intended!). You do need to loosen/remove everything to allow you to lift the wheel up high enough to remove the tube from the side without the wire (saving you the trouble of messing with that).
That said, the first couple of times you replace/repair a tube, you might want to remove it completely just to simplify things. Just remember it's not necessary. That'll save you time down the road... -Al
Lightning P38
Active Member
Always replace the tube, unless you are an expert at patching tubes.
Sierratim
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- USA
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- Nevada City, CA & Paradise Valley, AZ
I've never had a patch fail, twenty+ years and counting. YRMV. There is a technique and a couple of simple rules to follow all covered in any number of videos. Patience is rewarded.
When my sons raced MTBs in school they wouldn't patch tubes, but then their mother and I were paying the bills. When they went out on their own they became more thrifty and came to love patches.
Not all tubes are alike. Some heavier ones are marketed as 'puncture resistant' but that depends on how long the tack or thorn is. I've had excellent results with tire liners/thorn strips and generic tubes. Others report similiar results with a sealant in the tube and puncture resistant tires. Some even combine all these approaches. I go with one and am OK doing an occasional flat repair.
The reality is that there are no puncture proof tires that are practical bicycle tires. I suggest taking reasonable precautions and being prepared to fix the inevitable flat.
Ride On!
Sierratim
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- Region
- USA
- City
- Nevada City, CA & Paradise Valley, AZ
Yes.
Mr. Coffee
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- USA
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- A Demented Corner of the North Cascades
If applied properly, a patch is probably stronger than the original tube. I too have never had a patch fail.
And you can't do this if you are replacing a tube:
People really ought to have that skill in their arsenal (fixing a flat without removing the wheel).
And you can't do this if you are replacing a tube:
People really ought to have that skill in their arsenal (fixing a flat without removing the wheel).
Dallant
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
Doesn’t take much to patch a tube or a tire if you have the right patch kit. Not that I’ve done one in the last decade...
Tars Tarkas
Well-Known Member
Nothing wrong with replacing a tube but I agree absolutely that patching is fine. For small holes. I've had one flat on my Rover. It was on the rear. I patched it on the trail without taking the wheel off at all. That was most of two years ago and the patch is still fine. Some time later I Slimed my tires. No flats since. But flats are part of the game. I carry a patch kit, a spare tube, the tools needed to change a tire, CO2 and an inflator.
I don't know how many patches come in a patch kit. As far as I know they last pretty much forever. The glue, not so much. I get a new kit within a couple of weeks of getting a flat just for the unopened glue. Nothing worse than going to fix a flat and having no glue.
They make glueless patches but I've never tried them.
Bikes can take people far away from help. Even out of cell coverage. In most cases, if you know how, which is really pretty simple, you can fix a flat a lot quicker than you can walk your bike back home, to your car, or where someone can pick you up. You can probably fix it before anyone could get to you even if you don't have to walk to civilization. Fixing a flat shouldn't be intimidating. It's a skill worth learning.
TT
I don't know how many patches come in a patch kit. As far as I know they last pretty much forever. The glue, not so much. I get a new kit within a couple of weeks of getting a flat just for the unopened glue. Nothing worse than going to fix a flat and having no glue.
They make glueless patches but I've never tried them.
Bikes can take people far away from help. Even out of cell coverage. In most cases, if you know how, which is really pretty simple, you can fix a flat a lot quicker than you can walk your bike back home, to your car, or where someone can pick you up. You can probably fix it before anyone could get to you even if you don't have to walk to civilization. Fixing a flat shouldn't be intimidating. It's a skill worth learning.
TT
Last edited:
Mr. Coffee
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- USA
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- A Demented Corner of the North Cascades
Sierratim
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- Region
- USA
- City
- Nevada City, CA & Paradise Valley, AZ
Yep, and decent patches in sheets of 50 are a buck on eBay..
Thank everyone. I decided to go ahead and remove the wheel,install the Mr Tuffy liner and a new tube,slime both tires, and then get prepared for the future with a patch kit and mini pump. I have the following in my Amazon cart. Let me know if you think my choices are OK.
Mr. Tuffy 3XL Fat Bike tire tube protector kit
Mongoose Fat tire tube 26X4
Park tool VP-1 vulcanizing patch kit
Tomight mini bike pump 300 PSI
Mr. Tuffy 3XL Fat Bike tire tube protector kit
Mongoose Fat tire tube 26X4
Park tool VP-1 vulcanizing patch kit
Tomight mini bike pump 300 PSI
Saratoga Dave
Well-Known Member
Don’t forget the six pack of beer for putting in those damn Tuffy liners. They can be a little finicky to get right, but well worth it.
Mr. Coffee
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- A Demented Corner of the North Cascades
I have a box of these, more expensive but 100 flats is more than I hope to have in my life:
Amazon.com : Rema F0-P, 16mm Round Patches, Box of 100 : Sports & Outdoors
Amazon.com : Rema F0-P, 16mm Round Patches, Box of 100 : Sports & Outdoors
www.amazon.com
Make sure you get tire levers and any other tools you might need.
I'd recommend a lower pressure higher volume pump for a fat tire bike. You'll likely never pump up those tires to 40 psi. This is a better (but more expensive) choice:
Klic HV Gauge
Premium hand pump with flexible rubber hose hidden inside the body of the pump when not in use – perfect for those stealth air-strikes! Features also include an air pressure gauge, magnetic head with twisting collar, a folding and locking handle, and a presta/schrader valve adapter (fully...
www.crankbrothers.com
Tars Tarkas
Well-Known Member
Tire levers are essential. That looks like a nice pump. I use 25 g CO2 cartridges for my 26 x 4 fatties and a little inflator.
As for the patches, I get that the bargain aspect of 50 for a buck is enticing but unless you're a bike shop, the reality is that you're probably only going to use 3 or 4 patches out of the pack before you lose them or die. Still a bargain I guess,... I like fresh little Park patch kits.
TT
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