Tannus Armour installation tips?

smorgasbord

Well-Known Member
Region
USA
So, I installed Tannus Armour on our two bikes last weekend and then noticed while riding that the front wheel tread moves side to side a bit.

This weekend I reinstalled on new wheels, with hookless rims. I ended up inflating and deflating and squeezing multiple times just to get the first tire done. Since the rim is hookless, there is no bead to set and my first problem was a very out of round installation. I could even see at the tire/rim intersection that it wasn't uniform. Eventually got that reasonably sorted, but I still have side to side wobble in the tread.

I checked and the wheel is true. The Tannus Armout instructions say: "If tire has wobble (not related to trueness of rim) deflate the tube, adjust the Armour within the tire, and reinflate. Repeat until straight."

How many times should I expect to need to repeat this? Any particular tips for doing this?

And, maybe some of my problem is that these rims are hookless, so there's no bead seating to help ensure evenness. Any tips there?

Should I just give up the Tannus? Considering how hard it is to install the tires on these rims, I really don't want to get flats in the field. The rims are setup for tubeless, maybe I should give that a try?
 
Try running soap between the rim and edge of tyre, pump up to about 15 psi and going for a short ride, then pumping up to 70 psi , another quick ride, back to your normal pressure. If they are still not seated, the problem may be friction between tannus and tyre ( use talc powder next time)

Once you get them right, these things are really nice - and a LOT less gassle than a faulty tubeless insrallation.
 
Thanks - I did use talc.
70 psi is pretty high - tire says max is 30psi (Maxxis Chronicle)

Also - someone suggested Windex?
 
Depending on the Tannus install video you watch, some of them are using talc in insert and placing insert in tire followed by tube and others with semi inflated tube placed in Tannus insert first then installed in tire. I used latter method and other than the near impossibility of mounting the Shwalbe Nobby Nics back on the rim, no wobble and tire seated correctly.
 
Thanks - I did use talc.
70 psi is pretty high - tire says max is 30psi (Maxxis Chronicle)

Also - someone suggested Windex?
I watched them do it at my LBS repair shop. I am not saying I know the proper way to do it but I noticed that it took two pairs of hands, or at least three hands. After watching the pair of them working together I was glad I did not even attempt it myself.
 
So I took everything apart and then talcum'ed everything - inside tire, outside armour, inside armour, all round tube, even some on the rim walls. Made getting the tire on easier, but didn't fix the out of round/wobble. Just in case, I did the back tire, too. Same thing.

My tires are grey and my workbench looks like something out of the movie Blow or The Departed (without the money), but the tires ain't round.

Help!
 
So I took everything apart and then talcum'ed everything - inside tire, outside armour, inside armour, all round tube, even some on the rim walls. Made getting the tire on easier, but didn't fix the out of round/wobble. Just in case, I did the back tire, too. Same thing.

My tires are grey and my workbench looks like something out of the movie Blow or The Departed (without the money), but the tires ain't round.

Help!
HAHA ...Call Leo Di Caprio
 
OK, after a few inflation/deflation cycles and neither tire being good enough, I'm going to leave the tires hanging by the rim, deflated overnight. Maybe the rubber will return to manufactured default shape and I'll have a easier time of it tomorrow. If not, I may try to live with it, or just get rid of the tannus armour and take my chances (the tires are EXO, so they have some degree of protection).
 
Also - someone suggested Windex?

Back when I worked at a motorbike shop we had this waxy soapy stuff that we'd brush on the sidewalls, it made a huge difference but I've used everything from windex to silicone spray as a soap substitute - just be careful to avoid caustic soaps on alloy rims
 
Leave the tyres inflated overnight at whatever max inflation you are comfortable with
 
So I took everything apart and then talcum'ed everything - inside tire, outside armour, inside armour, all round tube, even some on the rim walls. Made getting the tire on easier, but didn't fix the out of round/wobble. Just in case, I did the back tire, too. Same thing.

My tires are grey and my workbench looks like something out of the movie Blow or The Departed (without the money), but the tires ain't round.

Help!

just wondering out loud - are you sure the tyres aren't faulty? Perhaps try a quick install with normal tubes and see if they wobble? Also, if you have tyres on the narrow range for the tannys, did you trim the excess from the tannus? I'll confess to not bothering with this , I just tucked it under the tube, but I can imagine a bit of tannus getting caught under the tyre lip.

I do recall my sons narrow (2.3) tyre being a pita to seat perfectly, I ended up massaging the stubborn but out along the rim with low pressure and sidewall ,er, encouragement ( yelling, punching, and essentially taking out my frustrations) , then pumped her up to 75 psi, had a cold drink, and it was fixed when I next looked.

good luck
 
just wondering out loud - are you sure the tyres aren't faulty? Perhaps try a quick install with normal tubes and see if they wobble?

Yes, the tires were previously mounted on other rims with just tubes.


Leave the tyres inflated overnight at whatever max inflation you are comfortable with

Too late. I haven't gotten into the garage yet, but my assumption was to let the amour and tires "relax" into their normal shape. Keeping them at high pressure in a non-perfectly concentric shape doesn't strike me as being goog.

I may go back to tubes only on these. I'm using Tubolites with the Armour. Expensive, but they are light and supposedly more puncture resistant on their own. So, that means buying new tubes since the tubes I'm using inside the Armour are smaller than if I were using them directly in the tires. And they'e not cheap. Ugh.
 
using Tubolites with the Armour. Expensive, but they are light and supposedly more puncture resistant on their own. So, that means buying new tubes since the tubes I'm using inside the Armour are smaller than if I were using them directly in the tires. And they'e not cheap. Ugh.

One of the magazine testers of tannus used tubolites and he showed what he called a pinch flat. To me, it looked more like the damage you see when a tube catches under the edge of a tyre. ( having done that way too many times on motorbikes...) . Makes me winder if the thinner tubolites can catch between rannys / under the edge of tyres etc ? When you give up, would you mind vlisely i specting the tubolites to see if there are any rub marks from catching ? I'm considering getting some as my spare tube , but to be honest, reading about your difficulty I'm leaning towards pulling the tannus out if I get a flat then fitting a normal tube until I get home.
 
When I removed and re-talced (apparently spell checker agrees that's a word!) everything, the tubolites seemed perfect. Of course, they only had about 15 miles on them from my previous setup.

I do think most of my issues stem from the rims being hookless. When previously mounted on hooked rims they did wiggle side to side some, but the roundness seemed fine. Which makes sense when you think about it - seating a bead has got to hold the tire in the right spot.

Unfortunately, I'm too busy with work today to take another stab at mounting. My goal is to get one of the bikes set up with the new wheels for this weekend's rides.
 
So, I installed Tannus Armour on our two bikes last weekend and then noticed while riding that the front wheel tread moves side to side a bit.

This weekend I reinstalled on new wheels, with hookless rims. I ended up inflating and deflating and squeezing multiple times just to get the first tire done. Since the rim is hookless, there is no bead to set and my first problem was a very out of round installation. I could even see at the tire/rim intersection that it wasn't uniform. Eventually got that reasonably sorted, but I still have side to side wobble in the tread.

I checked and the wheel is true. The Tannus Armout instructions say: "If tire has wobble (not related to trueness of rim) deflate the tube, adjust the Armour within the tire, and reinflate. Repeat until straight."

How many times should I expect to need to repeat this? Any particular tips for doing this?

And, maybe some of my problem is that these rims are hookless, so there's no bead seating to help ensure evenness. Any tips there?

Should I just give up the Tannus? Considering how hard it is to install the tires on these rims, I really don't want to get flats in the field. The rims are setup for tubeless, maybe I should give that a try?
I tried Tannus Armour on two ebikes
Here is my suggestion
 

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So I took everything apart and then talcum'ed everything - inside tire, outside armour, inside armour, all round tube, even some on the rim walls. Made getting the tire on easier, but didn't fix the out of round/wobble. Just in case, I did the back tire, too. Same thing.

My tires are grey and my workbench looks like something out of the movie Blow or The Departed (without the money), but the tires ain't round.

Help!
The Departed. Purchased on CD immediately after release. A great group of celebs in that film. Gets my vote. Okay back to Tannus.🧐
 
What happened ? You gave up? Take them to the LBS and have them do it. We love ours and have had no flats yet and take extra comfort knowing that if we did ever get one we could limp home with them.
I fitted them no problem. They just didn’t do it for me. Too slow and sapped power and momentum
 
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