Re-using old Tannus Armour inserts in new Johnny Watts tires?

[smorgasbord]

I've been running Tannus Armour on my 27.5x3.0 tires since March 2020. Was not good about deflating between rides, but only inflated the tires to about 20 psi normally.

Anyway, got a flat (probably should have checked the stem tightness), ruined the tire getting it off the rim (beads just stuck on). Have a new Johnny Watts 27.5x2.8 tire ready to go.

But - the Armour is not just pretty hard, it seems like it's too big for the tire. Now some of this could be the new tire just hasn't been mounted and it looks like it's more wide than it should be, but I triple checked all the markings and everything is a go. I'm wondering if my Armour stretched inside the old tire and that combined with the new tire not being stretched makes for an uneasy pairing. I've brought Armour and tire into the warm house but it's been a few hours and still not a go.

Should I just bail on the old Armour, since it might be bad anyway due to age/compression? I'm probably not going to spend the money for new Armour, just use Turbolite tubes on the Johnny Watts, which have "DD" rating (Double Defense) for flats.

Experiences and thoughts both welcome.

 

[Edrummer]

I've been running Tannus Armour on my 27.5x3.0 tires since March 2020. Was not good about deflating between rides, but only inflated the tires to about 20 psi normally.

Anyway, got a flat (probably should have checked the stem tightness), ruined the tire getting it off the rim (beads just stuck on). Have a new Johnny Watts 27.5x2.8 tire ready to go.

But - the Armour is not just pretty hard, it seems like it's too big for the tire. Now some of this could be the new tire just hasn't been mounted and it looks like it's more wide than it should be, but I triple checked all the markings and everything is a go. I'm wondering if my Armour stretched inside the old tire and that combined with the new tire not being stretched makes for an uneasy pairing. I've brought Armour and tire into the warm house but it's been a few hours and still not a go.

Should I just bail on the old Armour, since it might be bad anyway due to age/compression? I'm probably not going to spend the money for new Armour, just use Turbolite tubes on the Johnny Watts, which have "DD" rating (Double Defense) for flats.

Experiences and thoughts both welcome.

Exact same thing happened to me. The old armor that was installed in a 2.4 Super Moto X for over a year, would not fit in a new 2.35 Johnny Watts.
Not even close!

 

[smorgasbord]

So, now I need to decide whether I want to spend another $55-$60 per wheel to buy new Tannus Armour inserts. Problem is that with my tubeless-ready rims I may not be able to repair a flat in the field, and some of where I ride is several miles from being accessible by car.

 

[m@Robertson]

I would do thick tubes and Flatout. I have stopped putting Tannus into bike wheels. When using Tannus I was also using thornproof tubes and flatout as it was, so I went from three layers of protection to two (well, four to three if the tire has belts in it). For me Flatout has been the real winner and Tannus a big maybe that makes my life miserable trying to fit under some tires, and on a few cannot be fit at all.

 

[fooferdoggie]

flatout works well on lower psi tires. I have some I can send you but I doubt its worth the cost of postage,

 

[smorgasbord]

I did buy some Tubolite tubes, as they're supposedly more puncture resistant, but maybe that is a waste?

Does Flatout work with Tobolites?

 

[m@Robertson]

I did buy some Tubolite tubes, as they're supposedly more puncture resistant, but maybe that is a waste?

Does Flatout work with Tobolites?

I wouldn't want to bet on it.

I have seen the Tubolito tubes but have never considered them worth the expense. I did use some ultralight tubes that were similar back in the day and I found that going away from the standard butyl was too much of a PITA. The general marketplace was no longer useful for things like tire patches, and I had to use special patches that worked with my magical tubes. Those tubes were more puncture-resistant, but not puncture proof. The special patches sold only by the tube manufacturer weren't the rock-solid easy-peasy kind that everyone sold (Rema Tip Top) - and which always worked on the first try. I would stick with the more tried and true solutions. My FlatOut has worked on pressures up to 60 psi on 2.5" tires.

 

[smorgasbord]

I've used the Park patches on regular tubes with good success in the past. My worry is that I won't be able to get the tire off the rim inthe field.

If not Tubolites, what tubes do people recommend for puncture resistance?

 

[m@Robertson]

If not Tubolites, what tubes do people recommend for puncture resistance?

It depends on the wheel I am fitting a tube to.

First of all, I *always* use an oversized tube. As big as I can fit under the tire while not creating a situation where I can create a pinch flat. On my 26x2.8 Envoy rims, I have 26x3.5-4.0 tubes underneath. The best way to avoid pinching them when mounting is to get the tube inside, and then put just a little air into the tube so it has some shape. Reattach the bead and as you get closer to finishing the bead seating, let some air out to keep the tube out of the way.

Whats the point? A thicker tube that is not distended/stretched is thicker and more resilient when something pokes at it. Put a puff of air into a balloon and poke at it with a pin. You can do it without puncturing. Now blow it so its full and try that with just a gentle caress of the pinhead. Also since its not stretched, you'll find there is less air loss over time.

I really like the Schwalbe Air+ tubes, which are sort of a halfway-thornproof tube. Not as fully thick as a thornproof, but way thicker than a standard tube. I like that their Schraeder versions are fully threaded so I can lock the air valve down onto my rim like the Presta valves I almost always prefer. Beyond that...

• Evo thorn-resistant tubes are solid choices If they have green-blue lettering inside and are made in Thailand, then they are coming from a factory that puts tubes out to MANY name brands.
• Duro/Alta makes good thorn-resistant tubes when you can find them.
• Sunlite thorn-resistant are good although they have a high relative rate of valve failure.
• For fat tires, there's no substitute for the Vee 26x5.05 tubes that are meant to fit under the biggest Snowshoe 2XL tires, but work great under any fat tire size.
• Kenda tubes are good basic fat tubes, being a full 1.0mm thick. But their Presta valves are non-removable.
• Continental makes good tubes that are not thorn-resistant.

 

[PDoz]

Am I correct you got 2 years puncture free from the tannus? Imagine sitting at the side of the road wishing you had replaced that flacid foam....

ps I took the risk and returned to running tubeless. I've had a couple of rides since where I keep having to stop and pump due to a barely sealing leak. I kept the floppy tannus in the shed to see if it ever returned to shape - it's slightly expanded but still stretched. For me, I'm NOT buying more tannus but each time I replace a tyre I'm tempted

 

[smorgasbord]

The Schwalbe Air+ has a size that barely makes my tire size at the high end, so if anything the tube would be slightly undersized.

Maybe I should go tubeless?

@PDoz, yeah I got 2 years. Turned out we ended up riding almost completely on road after all, with only short stints off pavement.

 

[fooferdoggie]

The Schwalbe Air+ has a size that barely makes my tire size at the high end, so if anything the tube would be slightly undersized.

Maybe I should go tubeless?

@PDoz, yeah I got 2 years. Turned out we ended up riding almost completely on road after all, with only short stints off pavement.

ya maybe with a good sealant and a plug kit it may take care of your problems.

 

[pmcdonald]

Had 2 years of Tannus in one set of tyres (Marathon, no flats) before reusing them in a new set of tyres (G-Ones) . The foam was pretty flattened so wasn't sure how it would perform.

A year on I converted those tyres to tubeless and the rear tyre spurted sealant from about three holes I hadn't realised were there. So flattened as they were the Tannus did their job.

I switched to tubeless because the tube+Tannus+tyre combo was such a punish to put on - I couldn't trust I would be able to do a roadside repair in a timely and expletive-free manner.

Early days but no flats after 6 months of commuting tubeless. If I continue to avoid any ride-ending punctures I'll keep the tubeless setup. The ride quality is noticably nicer for little trade-off in puncture resistance. I still carry a spare tube in the pannier.

 

[smorgasbord]

Just to update you-all, it's clear that I can't reuse the old Tannus Armour in new, differently sized tires (even though it's just the width). And given the age of the Amour (2.75 years) and the compression set they've taken, I probably shouldn't even try.
I had tubolites in them, and they took a "set" as well, which is something tubolite warns about. in other words, they're stretched out larger than they should have been.
So, while I had good success with the Armours, I'm going to roll the dice and not spend another $60 per wheel for new Armours. I did find a good deal on the Tubolites for my size (27.5x2.8), so I'm going to use those for tubes.
One problem I've read about with tubeless is that you want to redo the sealant every so often since it stops being effective after a while. I suspect 2.5 years is probably well past the useful sealant lifetime (if not, feel free to reply).
If I get a flat, I'll probably go back to Armours, but right now my off-road is limited and where we normally ride is pretty clean.

 

[Rockroy]

Sounds like you went three years without a flat? That tannus paid for itself.
They had a 20% off sale over the holidays.
I've had them on 2 of my bikes. They stop so many goats head around here.
After my ride, I just pluck out the thorns. No more pulling tubes and plugging tires.

 

[smorgasbord]

About 2100 miles.
But about 1900 of those miles are on-road, and pretty nice roads at that.
I'm torn on what to do. Looking at the Tannus Armours now, they have compressed and so they're not adding near the protection they were at first, maybe 4mm thick now? I'll try to remember to measure their current thickness later.
Which means the "run flat" for a little bit benefit is totally gone.
And the compression means that the inner tube was expanded beyond its original size, which isn't good, either.
I now feel like I either got lucky with the Armours, or didn't need the Armours.

 

[smorgasbord]

Here's a cross section of my 2.75 year old/2100 mile Tannus Armour:

About 4.75mm at the thickest part