Pump, slime, trunk bag advice needed

[TumaloTed]

Just ordered Aventon Pace 500 ebike. Debating between a smaller trunk bag on bike rack to carry tire pump (need recomendation for up to 50psi), which size slime can (tubed 27.5x2.2 tires), what size trunk bag to carry those items plus small lunch, jacket, cell phone, maybe another water bottle? Do some of you have a larger trunk bag to hold your helmet when off the bike?? Thinking of getting a chain type lock. Appreciate your recomendatons!

 

[6zfshdb]

Welcome to the forum!

You might get a better response if you broke up your post into several different threads. You're asking for a lot of information in a single post.

 

[indianajo]

The schwinn pumps at the discount store get rubber problems in a year. I'm into the 2nd year on a $65 lezine pump and it is still working okay.
I don't use slime, I use thick tread (1/8") tires.
In pannier I carry extra water bottle, complete tool set in a kiddy pencil box, $1 poncho, breathable canvas jacket for lighter rains, $1 bag from Office Depot for my helmet. Two tubes and an air pump. I go 22 miles from the nearest store with tubes: a long walk. Helmet sits on top of rack locked with the same cable I lock the bike with. A 7' x 12 mm one. Hardware store chain cuts pretty quickly IMHO with a hacksaw or chisel. I have 3/8" x 6' stainless steel cable with eyes which is tougher than this 12 mm one, but it is not coated and I'm putting off coating it myself. Real Abus chain is super tough but too short to go around most telephone poles.
The big bags will carry a week's worth of groceries including soda water, or 8 gallons of water, or weed killer or paint for my maintenance jobs. Bags cost $100 apiece, but I bought the bike to replace any car I can't buy gasoline for. (RFG doesn't work).
Cell phone stays in my pocket in case I get knocked off the bike into the weeds and wake up needing an ambulence. Heard a horror story of some good ol boy that expired in the weeds off a nearby road, was found by the smell. Only foldup phone will fit in a pants pocket. Wear dickies pants. Polyester saved my skin when a car hit my bike today. Also gloves.

 

[smorgasbord]

I second the recommendation for a Lezyne pump. I got this one: pretty small and can handle high volume: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005UZP2ZS

For chain lock, this one strikes a pretty good balance between weight, security and price: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006QN0MI0

I don't use slime. Kevlar belted tires can help avoid punctures. I carry this Park patch kit: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00S4PSX02 But also recommend carrying a spare tube.

 

[TumaloTed]

Thanks for the recomendations. Thinking of the Pro Bike pump w/guage, $30 at Amazon. And debating between the Titanker bike chain 8mm at $17 & 2.5#(3.3ft) or the Krptonite Keeper 712 which is 7mm & 48" @ 3.7# for $34. Have heard good things about putting Slime in the tires to seal punctures? Will also be getting the Ibera bike rack and considering the Kolo Sports bike bag, $21 @ Amazon.

 

[tomjasz]

Crystalyte makes incredible trunk bags. Hard to find but stellar products.
Some designs are wired with key switches for batteries. I keep a backup 6Ah in mine.

 

[Tars Tarkas]

You'll hear good and bad about Slime. Hardly anyone is neutral about it. I use it and am very happy with it. Bike tires lose air, and they don't have a lot to start with.. For me Slime makes the difference in airing up every 2 or 3 days to airing up every 2 or 3 weeks. Haven't had a flat yet post-Slime. I had one pre-Slime in a thousand miles of riding, so for me flats have not been a common occurrence anyway. I still carry, and always will, a patch kit, a spare tube, and a way to air up. I need a good portable pump of some kind, but I carry plenty of 25g CO2 carts, which have always gotten me by so far. If you don't carry a pump, don't think one or two CO2 carts is enough! And I have 26 x 4 fat tires. Depending on your tires, smaller CO2 carts might be fine for you. The 25s are a little hard to find sometimes.

 

[Mtl_Biker]

You'll hear good and bad about Slime. Hardly anyone is neutral about it. I use it and am very happy with it. Bike tires lose air, and they don't have a lot to start with.. For me Slime makes the difference in airing up every 2 or 3 days to airing up every 2 or 3 weeks. Haven't had a flat yet post-Slime. I had one pre-Slime in a thousand miles of riding, so for me flats have not been a common occurrence anyway. I still carry, and always will, a patch kit, a spare tube, and a way to air up. I need a good portable pump of some kind, but I carry plenty of 25g CO2 carts, which have always gotten me by so far. If you don't carry a pump, don't think one or two CO2 carts is enough! And I have 26 x 4 fat tires. Depending on your tires, smaller CO2 carts might be fine for you. The 25s are a little hard to find sometimes.

I'm just switching from using tubes to fully tubeless (my wheels and tires are "tubeless ready"). Are you using the Slime inside your tubes? Or tubeless? I'm wondering if I should use something along the bead of the tire when I'm installing it, both to make it slide into place more easily (windex?) and to make a better seal. I read something that suggested once you install tubeless you must use something like slime inside the tire to help it seal on the rim better. I'd thought Slime was to help prevent small leaks.

 

[Tars Tarkas]

My tires have tubes. I guess I'm behind the curve regarding tubeless tires. Other than getting to skip the tube, I don't know the advantage of tubeless. That's probably a problem with my education. Anyway, what you're talking about sounds plausible regarding sealing the rim, but I don't know. It also sounds like something you hear on the internet. Slime, to my knowledge, is meant for sealing small leaks, as you said. That doesn't mean it doesn't have other uses.

Something to be aware of: There are two kinds of Slime. Slime for tubeless tires, and Slime for tires with tubes....

TT

 

[Mtl_Biker]

My tires have tubes. I guess I'm behind the curve regarding tubeless tires. Other than getting to skip the tube, I don't know the advantage of tubeless. That's probably a problem with my education. Anyway, what you're talking about sounds plausible regarding sealing the rim, but I don't know. It also sounds like something you hear on the internet. Slime, to my knowledge, is meant for sealing small leaks, as you said. That doesn't mean it doesn't have other uses.

Something to be aware of: There are two kinds of Slime. Slime for tubeless tires, and Slime for tires with tubes....

TT

Thank you.

I've had tubeless tires on motorcycles (love them!) but so far never on a bicycle. I'm trying to learn. My understanding is that with tubeless on a bicycle, you always have some sort of sealant inside the tire, which is used for sealing small leaks. For a commuter it can prevent lots of flat tires. And with e-bikes, especially heavy ones, changing a tube on the road isn't easy. I'm told another advantage is that you can run tubeless tires at lower pressure, making for a softer ride and better traction on looser surfaces without risking "pinch" flats on a tube. It's also lighter and again I'm told results in less heat and friction in the tire although I guess you'd really have to be a purist to see those advantages.

My own bike has "tubeless ready" rims and tires. In my life I must have easily fixed 50+ flats (I'm old) and have never had a problem. But this morning when I had a flat tire, I found I couldn't even get the tire off the rim and the tire "irons" that I'd always used were going to snap. It's a REAL JOB to change a tube on an e-bike with tubeless tires and rims. Not at all easy. Especially not when you're out on the road somewhere. At night. In the rain. I really don't want to have to do this if I can help it, and thus I'm switching to fully tubeless. My commute is 35 km each way and especially with the days getting shorter I'll soon be riding in the dark both ways. Anything I can do to minimize having to fix a flat is going to be very worthwhile.