Radrover Spare Tube and CO2 or Pump

[mbritt]

How do Radrover riders handle flats? Do you carry a spare tube and a hand pump or CO2 cartridge device? I've been leery of having a flat on long rides because of the bad rap the Juggernaut tires get for being thin and puncture prone. I'm thinking about ordering the Origin8 Supercells based on posts in this forum but was curios what other riders are doing.

 

[hurricane56]

Fellow fat bike rider here. I use my fat bike as a commute rig, so I try to be as prepared as possible. I always carry a hand pump and C02. It'll take about 3 16g co2 cartridges to fill a full 26x4 fatbike tire. I'll be trying 25g CO2 cartridges to see if those work any better.

If I were to do it all over again, I'd be buying a pump that is considered High Volume to help with the fat tires.

 

[atariguy]

I carry a spare and 2 hand pumps, one of which also can use CO2 cartridges. But I've learned the hard way that hand pumps are kind of ridiculous, even with CO2 (especially if you only had 1 cartridge with you...).

I ended up buying this, which works much better:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B65GN6W/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[MisterM]

I carry a spare and 2 hand pumps, one of which also can use CO2 cartridges. But I've learned the hard way that hand pumps are kind of ridiculous, even with CO2 (especially if you only had 1 cartridge with you...).

I ended up buying this, which works much better:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B65GN6W/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Like the idea of powered pump. Too bad couldnt use the bike's battery as a power source. I see quite a few reviews claiming the battery quickly dies making it useless. Would like a long-term update to see how long it lasts.

 

[mrgold35]

I have two Radrovers with around +5500 miles between them. Mostly use for work commuting for about 50-75 miles per week. The standard Kenda tires were too thin between the knobbies, a little squirrely on turns at high speeds, flat prone, had some drag for slower acceleration/top speed/range, and very noisy on paved roads. I added Mr. Tuffy liners and Stans tire sealant in the tubes and that helped with thorn flats. The rear Kenda tires only lasted around 1000 miles before the center knobs were worn down because of +20 PSI and paved roads (fronts lasted a bit longer).

Switched to Vee 8 120 tpi 26X4 tires with tube, Mr. Tuffy, and Stans. Much better combo for 20-25 mph commuting speeds, stability in curves, way more flat resistance, very good single track traction, and less rolling resistance for faster acceleration, higher top speed, and longer battery range. The Origin8 Supercell would perform about the same if not better than the Vee8s with the exception of little to no single track capabilities compared to the Vee8s.

Vee8, Mr. Tuffy, and Stans really helped against thorn flats. I haven't found flat resistant tires or tubes for fat bikes like you have with smaller tires. I still get flats from road debris like glass, screws, pinch flats, or broken auto parts in the bike lanes. Those flats are too large for Stans to seal and really make a mess in the tires. Just easier to replace the tube on the road instead of trying to clean and patch. Tools that cover every scenario and get me back on the road every time are:

- patch kit
- spare tube (for hole too large/many to patch)
- small wire cutters for zip ties
- spare zip ties
- screw driver
- wrench
- tube core remover (for adding Stans for a new tube)
- 5 long velcro straps (help hold the 120 tpi tire in place while using hand air pump to seat properly)
- topeak MTB Mountain Morph bike pump
- Digital air gauge
- paper shop towels, alcohol wipes, latex gloves

I have a light on my bike helmet for 5:30 am work commute flats. I also have a few small nylon tarps for the handlebar and seat if I need to flip the rover upside down in the field. I always carry my cell phone to call someone if I'm just not in the mood to deal with the flat.