Glad I could help
I didn't mention above that I have also gone all in on Tannus over the last 18-24 months or so and when I built my Apostate early this year, after having some truly hellish mounting experiences on some bikes, I found yet another tire/wheel combo that would not take the liners and that was one failure too many. I've stopped putting them into bikes. I'll leave them in the bikes that have them in already but thats it. I'm done blowing the extra money on them when they don't seem to do anything a thornproof tube and a generous load of Flatout does.
Maybe I should back up just a bit. See... Tannus Armour can go into a wheel nice and easy, or it can go in but be a nightmare. Or it can be a nightmare and a failure. Particularly with more 'normal' sized tires, even with downsized tubes and cutting down the sides at the indicated cut line, they may decide there isn't enough room under the tire and now you have a $50 pink life preserver to hang on something in the garage. For example they will not (no way, no how) go underneath 26x3.5 Vee Speedsters on 80mm Surly MYOBD rims. They will not go on 29er DT Swiss FR 560's with Maxxis Assegais or Minions. They will not go in 26" FR560's with Schwalbe Pickups. On the flip side putting them under 90mm Nextie carbon rims or 80mm and 100mm Origin8 fatty rims is easy peasy. But couple this Jekyll/Hyde situation with the fact that they are known to compress to paper thinness over time, and they make the wheels perform as if they are giant round dead blow hammers... I've had enough. I can get my flatproofing in other ways.
I use mine to save my fingertips on common topics that come up over and over again. But you'd never know it sometimes
Speaking of which, I updated my tool kit contents. Biggest change is the pump.
In the last few months, I’ve made a few changes to my standard on-bike tool kits. Lets take a look.
talesontwowheels.com
You've definitely done some experimenting and it shows. The Good news is that you've found most Pro's vs Con's with your varied Tire/Wheel setup's and found uses for these various methods we use to prevent flats. Not the case so far with me as I've only One backup "regular" Mountain Bike and it's a "Hanger Queen" that just sits there & looks pretty. It's a 2010 FUJI Police Special w/ so few miles on it I'm embarrassed to say.
My focus has been on reducing the Flat Count on this Stock Wheeled RipCurrent S. Maybe after my experience/experiments w/ the Pink Tannus Life Preserver (luv that!) I'll install my NIB 26 x 3.5" folding VEE Speedsters w/ some FlatOut or Stans just to simplify and lighten my Rear Wheel assy. I've been wanting to try these 3.5" tires.
Fat Tires have a Much larger footprint on the pavement/asphalt/dirt vs skinny High Press tires. This equals more chance to pick up a puncture imho, so I'm on a quest to possibly have a positive effect reducing these unscheduled stops . . . and I like to experiment ; ) I did experiment with the Tuffy Fat Tire Kevlar Belts;
https://www.amazon.com/Fat-Bike-Tir...34&sprefix=tuffy+fat+bike+belt,aps,303&sr=8-2 They're even More difficult to keep centered and install than the Tannus Foam Noodle. They Always migrated into a circular "S" shape and wouldn't stay centered. The instructions say Nothing about how to properly overlap the ends to avoid pinching the tube, AND, probably because of my Tire Loading on the Rear, Everything punctured these things. They didn't stop a single nail or tac from penetrating the tube. That was likely to the added weight over the rear. I do run one of these up front andd have yet to get a Front Flat in over 15,000 miles on this RipCurrent . . . Retired a yr after buying this thing & hoping to burn some calories whole breathing fresh air.
I'm having Gr8 Success w/ the Pink Pool-Noodle Orb (like that one? ; ) on this particular tire/wheel combo and will likely see it thru until this 26 x 4.0" Origin8 Supercell beaded street tire wears out, likely early next riding season. I'd installed this insert on a half-worn VEE ZigZag before putting the Vee up front and switching to the Origin8. I've got total of about 5K miles on the Pool Noodle w/ only two slow leaks that occurred on the same ride, from the same nail. I cant find it at the moment but I'd written elsewhere within this thread of Three real drawbacks to these
Tannus Foam Inserts, and you've reminded me of a couple more. (had to highlight it so it'd be easier to find next time)
1. The reduction in Flats amounts to a Time & Labor scheduling tradeoff. You MUST deflate the tire between rides to allow the Foam to fully Re-Expand or you will get the paper thin, useless foam condition so many have commented on. It's entirely avoidable if you follow the instructional fine print which Tannus fails to mention in their Adverts. My 26 x 4.0 tube will lose about 1psi per hour due to the tube expanding into the compressing foam. Nat a problem, my rides are rarely more than 2hrs so I add 3 or 4 psi to the 20psi rated Fat Tires. I figure there's a 10% "fudge factor" built into the recommended pressures and haven't had Any problems running them @ 22 & 24psi, Front & Rear respectively. That said, higher pressures = smaller footprint and more miles per charge. I can plan my rides but not my flats.
2. They add considerable weight to a 26 x 4.0" tire/wheel assembly that already has an Electric Motor on the hub and if ur unlucky, causes Real Unbalanced issues felt at higher speeds.
3. The inserts will initially "polish" the fine flashing, nubs and coarse surfaces inside the Tire walls of Fat Tires (this may not be so bad on smaller tire assy's). Ya gotta pull the Tube & Insert after 100+ miles, blow out the rubber bits and dust that's everywhere, give it a thorough wipe down w/ some 70% isopropyl alcohol, dry everything and reassemble, preferably w/ some anti-chafe powder like such as foot Powder. A second cleaning isn't necessary once the initial surface polishing effect these Inserts have is delt with.
4. It's a learned skill to install these into a Fat Bike Tire. This is where you come face to face with Mr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde : /
5. The Deflation/Reinflate routine is gonna have to be done by removing the Valve Stem if your running Sealant. Trying a "bleed-off" by just pressing the valve will not go well with sealant. That said, unseating and removing the Valve Stem usually will have some sealant expel with the sudden pressure drop. This is avoidable with proper positioning before removing the Valve Stem. None the less any sealant loss, while minimal, will usually requires cleanup outside and inside the stem. I usually position the rear tire valve @ the 12:00 position when I park the bike, use my valve cap (which contains the removal tool) to unseat the valve, bleed the air into a paper towel, wipe down the outer threads of any sealant and clean the valve internal w/ a Q-Tip and leave the clean end inserted until I'm ready to re-inflate the tire. It's something to add to a pre-launch routine that I'm used to now.
6. I'm still working on this one : /
Apologies for the seemingly random writing style. I did a few edits that probably need some editing : )
Thanks for sharing your experiences, it's been very helpful for the New Guy. Happy Trails !
