New (to me) 2018 Radmini owner, no flats tire setup & shifter upgrade.

MaTaLa

MaTaLa

New Member
Hello all! Senior, retired, solo Nomad touring Wilderness/nature as much as possible in a F450 4x4 flatbed w/ camper.

43701 43700

Acquired a Radmini, yesterday and had a few questions for the more experienced. I do have some cycling experience, Hybrid/old MTB's and had a 2015 Catrike Expedition recumbent trike that I ABSOLUTELY loved.

Tires/Punctures: I'll be spending a lot of time in the Southwest and need to Desert/Goathead proof my tires. I won't use slime, just based on my experience about 5 yrs ago, but Stan's looks promising. Stan's and Mr. Tuffy liners till tire replacement time? Hopefully, there'll be more options, perhaps from Schwalbe, for us by then.
Lived in Phoenix for 9 yrs while I had my trike with Schwalbe Marathon Plus, thick tubes, Mr. Tuffy liner and NO sealant and never had a flat. I've read about taking an old tire, removing the bead all around and using it for a liner in a couple of different posts today. With my budget, I'm big on DIY.

Anyone familiar with this tire, Vee Tire Co. Mission Command Fat Bike Tire: 20" x 4" 120tpi Folding Bead MPC?

Previous owner laid the bike down a time or two and I need to replace the handlebar shifter. Any good upgrades that work well w/ the RM? Might as well improve instead of just replace, if it's worth the $$.

Heading toward SW AZ tomorrow, if creek doesn't rise, looking forward to the add value the RM will bring to my experiences!!

Mark
 
MaTaLa said:
Thanks. It may just be me but I can't find any 20" x 4.0 which is what the Radmini calls for
Click to expand...

The widest Schwalbe EBike rated 20" tire is the Super Moto -X in the 20" x 2.40 size... what is your rim size?

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Our new (2019) Rad Mini's came with Kenda puncher proof tires, well puncher proof is only so good, but better then no puncher proof at all. If your Rad Mini is a 2019 you might give these tires a try before replacing them, Rad sells these tires and tubes, but check there website for prices. The Schwalbe tire may be a good tire, I have no knowledge of this tire, but I would personally rather have the 4.00 wide tire then the smaller size. We use our Rad Mini's for camping and so far no problems on the different road surfaces that we ride on.
 
I've been using Stans+Mr. Tuffy liners since 2016 with my two Radrovers in the southwest (ABQ, NM). It is between tumble weeds and goats heads as the un-official state plant out here. I usually have 5-20 goatheads between both tires daily with my 15 mile round-trip bike work commute. I have to add two 2-oz bottles of stans to each tire every 3-4 months because it drops that much because of goatheads. Mr. Tuffy doesn't stop all goatheads, it just adds more distances for them to travel to help the smaller goatheads from reaching the tube. Using the side of the blade of a box cutter works best for removing broken off spikes of the goatheads out the tires (don't remove until you get home because the goathead might be keeping air in the tire).

I started out with 30 tpi Kenda tires and they were noisy, high rolling resistance, squirmy at higher speeds on pavement, and very flat prone. Switched to Vee8 120tpi tires and they were a waaaay better tire with less rolling resistance, less road noise, better grip a higher speeds, and 3X longer treadlife. Even had a decrease in goat head flats once I switched to Vee8 tires. I do get flat; but, mostly from work commuting road debris like screws, broken glass bottles, or other junk pushed into the bike lanes by vehicles that is hard to spot at 5:30am. Those flats are usually too large for stans and replacing the tube is the fastest way to get back on the road.

I would go for the 120 tpi tires because they tend to be more puncture resistant compared to 30 or 60 tpi tires. 120 tpi are very flexible tires and you can almost fold it up and put in a rack bag along with an inner tube (try that with a 30 tpi tires). The big issue I had with 120 tpi tires was getting it to seat properly if I had to hand pump in the field because they are so floppy. Nearly impossible hand pump by myself with my 26X4 tires. Figured out using 5 Softride hook and loop softwrap velcro strips around the tire while I hand pumped work perfectly.
 
mrgold35 said:
I've been using Stans+Mr. Tuffy liners since 2016 with my two Radrovers in the southwest (ABQ, NM). It is between tumble weeds and goats heads as the un-official state plant out here. I usually have 5-20 goatheads between both tires daily with my 15 mile round-trip bike work commute. I have to add two 2-oz bottles of stans to each tire every 3-4 months because it drops that much because of goatheads. Mr. Tuffy doesn't stop all goatheads, it just adds more distances for them to travel to help the smaller goatheads from reaching the tube. Using the side of the blade of a box cutter works best for removing broken off spikes of the goatheads out the tires (don't remove until you get home because the goathead might be keeping air in the tire).

I started out with 30 tpi Kenda tires and they were noisy, high rolling resistance, squirmy at higher speeds on pavement, and very flat prone. Switched to Vee8 120tpi tires and they were a waaaay better tire with less rolling resistance, less road noise, better grip a higher speeds, and 3X longer treadlife. Even had a decrease in goat head flats once I switched to Vee8 tires. I do get flat; but, mostly from work commuting road debris like screws, broken glass bottles, or other junk pushed into the bike lanes by vehicles that is hard to spot at 5:30am. Those flats are usually too large for stans and replacing the tube is the fastest way to get back on the road.

I would go for the 120 tpi tires because they tend to be more puncture resistant compared to 30 or 60 tpi tires. 120 tpi are very flexible tires and you can almost fold it up and put in a rack bag along with an inner tube (try that with a 30 tpi tires). The big issue I had with 120 tpi tires was getting it to seat properly if I had to hand pump in the field because they are so floppy. Nearly impossible hand pump by myself with my 26X4 tires. Figured out using 5 Softride hook and loop softwrap velcro strips around the tire while I hand pumped work perfectly.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much! That was very helpful.
 
MaTaLa said:
Thank you very much! That was very helpful.
Click to expand...
Good luck with whatever choice you make. Stay outa the cactus patch & enjoy retirement.
I had a pretty tough life, but retirement is a welcome liberation. You have a good mobile
´tiny house´, & a bike for exploring. The world´s your oyster. Any questions, there are
answers here.
 
I have a Rhino (Rover), I converted to a tubeless system (ghetto tubeless with slashed tubes). Currently using Schwalbe Jumbo Jim, but I have used this system with the stock tires as well.

Repairing small punctures has been a bliss (got 3 in the last 4000 km / 2500 miles), effortless.
 
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