Tars Tarkas
Well-Known Member
Put new tires on my Rad Rover yesterday, after about 1900 miles. I should have rotated the tires a while back I guess. The rear was almost slick but the front still had a good bit of tread.
Anyway, it was the first time I had the rear wheel off. I had one flat on it that I was able to patch without taking the wheel off. Slime since then. Which brings me to my first point. Getting the tires off and pulling the old tubes out, I was surprised to only notice 2 small seeps of Slime, where it had prevented flats. I didn't examine the tubes closely; I may go back and do that. I was surprised, especially on the rear not to have seen more evidence of Slime-filled punctures.
I used a bike work stand which made the job easy, although swinging a 70 lb bike around upside down put the stand to a test. It passed nicely. Park PCS-9.
It was a little tough getting the rear wheel out of the dropouts. It took some banging and rocking, but it came out finally. It's easier now that it's been done....
Changing the tubes and tires was perfectly routine. I put Kenda Juggernauts, 26 x 4 back on. I've been happy with them. The only problem I had was I put the back tire on backwards. The Juggernauts are directional and I had them on upside down. Of course I didn't notice until I had the rear tire back on after a spin test. That's how I know that the rear wheel comes out of the dropouts a lot easier after the first time.
I did the harder one first, then moved on to the front wheel. Nothing much to it, but amazingly, stupidly, I put the front tire on backwards too. I guess it had something to do with the bike being upside down in the bike stand. So, I got some more practice breaking beads, etc. (which is very easy on these fat tires.).
I all ready had the bike back together and had done a little test ride before I noticed the problem with the front tire. Rather than put the bike back on the stand, I decided to use my Handlebar Jacks this time and just flip the bike on the ground. The Handlebar Jacks worked great! Not a big surprise, but nice to know for when I have a flat on the trail.
One other thing. I carry CO2 for flats and airing up, but I recently decided a manual pump would be a good thing to have too, just in case. I got a Crankbrothers Klic High Pressure High Volume Hand Pump from Amazon. This one. It's a nice piece of work. Seems like really good quality. I used it to puff up my tubes a bit during installation. It took, no kidding, 100 pumps, to give the tubes just a little bit of structure. This is not going to be my go-to tool of choice for airing up my fat tires!
Finally, I put about 6 ounces of Slime in both tubes. By the way, there was no mess whatsoever dealing with the old Slimed tubes.
All done, I took the bike out for a little run on the Natchez Trace Parkway, about 22 miles, to test things out and spread the Slime around evenly. The weather was beautiful and it was Tuesday evening, so there was none of the weekend traffic, and it was about an hour before sunset, so relatively cool. I was passed by exactly 8 cars in most of two hours on the road. Saw roughly 50 turkeys, and a doe with her still spotted fawn.
TT
Anyway, it was the first time I had the rear wheel off. I had one flat on it that I was able to patch without taking the wheel off. Slime since then. Which brings me to my first point. Getting the tires off and pulling the old tubes out, I was surprised to only notice 2 small seeps of Slime, where it had prevented flats. I didn't examine the tubes closely; I may go back and do that. I was surprised, especially on the rear not to have seen more evidence of Slime-filled punctures.
I used a bike work stand which made the job easy, although swinging a 70 lb bike around upside down put the stand to a test. It passed nicely. Park PCS-9.
It was a little tough getting the rear wheel out of the dropouts. It took some banging and rocking, but it came out finally. It's easier now that it's been done....
Changing the tubes and tires was perfectly routine. I put Kenda Juggernauts, 26 x 4 back on. I've been happy with them. The only problem I had was I put the back tire on backwards. The Juggernauts are directional and I had them on upside down. Of course I didn't notice until I had the rear tire back on after a spin test. That's how I know that the rear wheel comes out of the dropouts a lot easier after the first time.
I did the harder one first, then moved on to the front wheel. Nothing much to it, but amazingly, stupidly, I put the front tire on backwards too. I guess it had something to do with the bike being upside down in the bike stand. So, I got some more practice breaking beads, etc. (which is very easy on these fat tires.).
I all ready had the bike back together and had done a little test ride before I noticed the problem with the front tire. Rather than put the bike back on the stand, I decided to use my Handlebar Jacks this time and just flip the bike on the ground. The Handlebar Jacks worked great! Not a big surprise, but nice to know for when I have a flat on the trail.
One other thing. I carry CO2 for flats and airing up, but I recently decided a manual pump would be a good thing to have too, just in case. I got a Crankbrothers Klic High Pressure High Volume Hand Pump from Amazon. This one. It's a nice piece of work. Seems like really good quality. I used it to puff up my tubes a bit during installation. It took, no kidding, 100 pumps, to give the tubes just a little bit of structure. This is not going to be my go-to tool of choice for airing up my fat tires!
Finally, I put about 6 ounces of Slime in both tubes. By the way, there was no mess whatsoever dealing with the old Slimed tubes.
All done, I took the bike out for a little run on the Natchez Trace Parkway, about 22 miles, to test things out and spread the Slime around evenly. The weather was beautiful and it was Tuesday evening, so there was none of the weekend traffic, and it was about an hour before sunset, so relatively cool. I was passed by exactly 8 cars in most of two hours on the road. Saw roughly 50 turkeys, and a doe with her still spotted fawn.
TT
