Recommended Tire Liner?

[will sample]

Hey all. I just ordered my RadRover. Im going to ditch our second car and start using it for my daily commute. To help with the daily possibilities of tire flats. Has anyone had any success with tire liners? Im also considering going to a street version for the tires.

 

[jazz]

I use Mr Tuffy and it is pricey but works great. Does add more weight to the already rear but that is all the more reason to make sure you don't have a flat

 

[will sample]

I use Mr Tuffy and it is pricey but works great. Does add more weight to the already rear but that is all the more reason to make sure you don't have a flat

Thanks Jazz!

 

[mrgold35]

I've only tried Mr. Tuffy for my two Radrovers since Sept/2016 and my old 700c commuter bikes since 2014. I found Mr. Tuffy alone were not enough for NM with goat-head stickers near roads/sidewalks and occasional cactus on the trails. I also added Stans tire sealant (two 2oz bottles per tire right into the inner tube) and that has taken care of me 99% of the time. I know it is working by the wet spots on the tires from Stans doing its job several times a week. I had to trim the length of the Mr. Tuffy to minimize the overlap.

The only time the combo didn't work was when I ran over debris (I think it was glass) during my 5:30am work commute in winter. It put about an 1/8" slit in the rear tire, Mr. Tuffy, and inner tube. I would have a spare tube, more Stans, and flat kit available also (plan for the worst and hope for the best).

 

[jazz]

I agree! Nothing is going to be 100%. I carry wrench, spare tube, lever and pump just in case.

 

[Barkme Wolf]

4 flats in the first 2 moths. After Mr. Tuffy, flat free for the next 4000 miles and still going (knock on wood). I would like to get Schwalbe Marathon Plus "flat-less" tires someday but the Mr. Tuffy are working great for me.

 

[windmill]

I've had better results using tires with built in protection. I have Schwalbe Big Ben Plus tires with 3mm greanguard on my wagon. I've had liners cause flats where the end meets the tube.

 

[mrgold35]

I've had better results using tires with built in protection. I have Schwalbe Big Ben Plus tires with 3mm greanguard on my wagon. I've had liners cause flats where the end meets the tube.

I haven't seen a 4" fat tire with that type of built in protection? Most of my flats with the original Radrover tires were in-between the spaced out knobby. I upgraded to 120 tpi Vee8 4" fat tires on one bike and they have +5X more knobby and that is almost like having built-in protection. I haven't seen any spots with Stans sealant leaking when removing thorns/stickers with the Vee8 so far after +3 months like I still do on my other bike with the original tires (Mr. Tuffy + two 2oz bottles of Stans per tire on each ebike).

 

[Ann M.]

@windmill what brand of tire liner were you using? Most liners have a smooth or tapered end that would face down next to the tube to prevent cuts. We also trim down liners to fit smaller tires and use a curved or rounded cut on the ends to prevent pinching that a straight cut might cause. Mr. Tuffy's, Stop Flats2, and RhinoDillos all seem to work well.

The extra protection with the Schwalbe Marathon Plus & Big Ben Plus tires is good; however, it's still a good idea to use a tire liner in addition, especially if you have a rear hub motor wheel. Not a lot of fun to fix a flat on one of those on the road! There are Fat Bike tire liners by Mr. Tuffy; a bit pricy but they make them for 3-4 inch wide tires and 4-5 inch wide fat tires.

 

[windmill]

I haven't seen a 4" fat tire with that type of built in protection? Most of my flats with the original Radrover tires were in-between the spaced out knobby. I upgraded to 120 tpi Vee8 4" fat tires on one bike and they have +5X more knobby and that is almost like having built-in protection. I haven't seen any spots with Stans sealant leaking when removing thorns/stickers with the Vee8 so far after +3 months like I still do on my other bike with the original tires (Mr. Tuffy + two 2oz bottles of Stans per tire on each ebike).

I've heard of them, but have no knowledge as it's not a size I use. Sorry

 

[windmill]

@windmill what brand of tire liner were you using? Most liners have a smooth or tapered end that would face down next to the tube to prevent cuts. We also trim down liners to fit smaller tires and use a curved or rounded cut on the ends to prevent pinching that a straight cut might cause. Mr. Tuffy's, Stop Flats2, and RhinoDillos all seem to work well.

The extra protection with the Schwalbe Marathon Plus & Big Ben Plus tires is good; however, it's still a good idea to use a tire liner in addition, especially if you have a rear hub motor wheel. Not a lot of fun to fix a flat on one of those on the road! There are Fat Bike tire liners by Mr. Tuffy; a bit pricy but they make them for 3-4 inch wide tires and 4-5 inch wide fat tires.

I think it was a tuffy? It's been years. I don't find fixing a rear flat to be that much of an issue. I don't get many, most can be fixed by patching in place, and I have Gaadi or Cobra straight tubes for replacement without removing the wheel.

 

[MysticalFists]

Same boat as OP. My bike's in transit to me at the moment so I'm looking at what all extras I might be interested in. Already planning to order a Tuffy tire liner and Stans Sealant, but I am curious about tires. Tried searching some of those mentioned here (Schwalbe, Maxxis, etc), but I'm still lagging behind the curve. I only see Marathon Plus and Big Ben's at up to 2" wide, are you not running a 4-5" tire? Is that mostly for street riding or something? I did find the Vee8 4" Fat Tire, damn that thing has tread, lol. With how packed together those knobs are, I'm assuming that's also a street riding design?

I guess I'm mainly posting for tire advice, why and how are y'all selecting tire tubes? lol

 

[mrgold35]

Tire choice is so dependent or terrain, environment, and riding style and it is difficult to pick one type/brand over another. Either way, no one plans on having a flat; we can only prepare for the worst and hope for the best. One of my biggest surprises when starting to ebike commute is the amount of debris (trash, glass, car parts, etc..), uneven surfaces, and "bend your rim" pot holes that are amplified at +20 mph I didn't really notice at a slower speed on my pedal bike. I had to get a brighter light to see earlier and have time to avoid these pit-falls sooner at 5:30am. It looks like I'm riding drunk sometimes because I have avoid stuff like that on the road.

I just use Kenda 26X3.5-4.0" inner tubs (Amazon, $20) along with Stans and Mr. Tuffy. My thinking is the tube will provide an extra layer of protection, easy repair with kit if I get a server flat, and easy to replace with another tube with a few tools if I can't repair the puncher.

I would just use the Kenda tires on the Radrover to get a feel for how they support your riding style and environment. Then you will have a starting point to pick something else down the road. It won't take long because my rear tires were down to about 30%-40% tread after about 750 miles of 60-70% paved road/trail riding (front Kenda were about 50-60% tread).

 

[windmill]

Same boat as OP. My bike's in transit to me at the moment so I'm looking at what all extras I might be interested in. Already planning to order a Tuffy tire liner and Stans Sealant, but I am curious about tires. Tried searching some of those mentioned here (Schwalbe, Maxxis, etc), but I'm still lagging behind the curve. I only see Marathon Plus and Big Ben's at up to 2" wide, are you not running a 4-5" tire? Is that mostly for street riding or something? I did find the Vee8 4" Fat Tire, damn that thing has tread, lol. With how packed together those knobs are, I'm assuming that's also a street riding design?

I guess I'm mainly posting for tire advice, why and how are y'all selecting tire tubes? lol

I have a Radwagon which uses a different tire size than the Rover, and I'm not familiar with tires in that size.

 

[will sample]

I've only tried Mr. Tuffy for my two Radrovers since Sept/2016 and my old 700c commuter bikes since 2014. I found Mr. Tuffy alone were not enough for NM with goat-head stickers near roads/sidewalks and occasional cactus on the trails. I also added Stans tire sealant (two 2oz bottles per tire right into the inner tube) and that has taken care of me 99% of the time. I know it is working by the wet spots on the tires from Stans doing its job several times a week. I had to trim the length of the Mr. Tuffy to minimize the overlap.

The only time the combo didn't work was when I ran over debris (I think it was glass) during my 5:30am work commute in winter. It put about an 1/8" slit in the rear tire, Mr. Tuffy, and inner tube. I would have a spare tube, more Stans, and flat kit available also (plan for the worst and hope for the best).

How did you apply the STANS into the tube? Im interested on how you did this.

 

[mrgold35]

How did you apply the STANS into the tube? Im interested on how you did this.

I purchased a Park Tool valve core remover, Amazon, $10: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005Z4LVG8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[jazz]

Mr Tuffy works great in my fat tires XL I believe, no flats at all since using it. Does add more weight however.