12-28-2013, 05:41 PM
I live on a bicycle and I used to get flats all the time because of poor road conditions and high tire loads. Fixing a flat is time consuming because I have to remove loaded front and rear bike racks with milk crates loaded with gear and homemade panniers.
I tried Slime, I tried thicker inner tubes, I tried homemade liners. Then one day I put an old 27" worn out old school road bike tire inside my 28"/700c x38 cross tire. It fit perfect after I cut the steel bead away with a scissors.
I reassembled the tire on the rim with no difficulty, partially inflated the tube to make sure it was seated properly, bounced the tire after 5 psi inflation to make sure everything was seating properly.
Guess what I learned? The tire inside the tire works good because the smaller tire is already shaped and springs into the original tire like it was made to be there, this is not like those puncture resistant tapes that must be carefully applied to the inside and might move when installing the tube.
The new double tire was stiff even at low psi which is good, I inflated to 50 psi and those cheap Walmart soft rubber tires were now rock hard. I now had my own homemade thorn stopper. Nothing moves or chaffs, the air pressure and rubber surfaces are stuck together like a gorilla glue.
Used tires are free, get a handful at your local bike shop and see which one works best. You are trying to match the O.D. of the inner tire to the inner dimension of the original outside tire.
Best of all, it only took 30 minutes and was free! Remember to cut the bead off the inner liner tire along the sidewall where it is thin, I used scissors. I cut about half way on the thin side wall since all punctures occur where the rubber meets the road.
I've been making them for my friends, and so far no complaints or flats.
Forget everything else, put a tire inside of your tire and never have a flat again.
I tried Slime, I tried thicker inner tubes, I tried homemade liners. Then one day I put an old 27" worn out old school road bike tire inside my 28"/700c x38 cross tire. It fit perfect after I cut the steel bead away with a scissors.
I reassembled the tire on the rim with no difficulty, partially inflated the tube to make sure it was seated properly, bounced the tire after 5 psi inflation to make sure everything was seating properly.
Guess what I learned? The tire inside the tire works good because the smaller tire is already shaped and springs into the original tire like it was made to be there, this is not like those puncture resistant tapes that must be carefully applied to the inside and might move when installing the tube.
The new double tire was stiff even at low psi which is good, I inflated to 50 psi and those cheap Walmart soft rubber tires were now rock hard. I now had my own homemade thorn stopper. Nothing moves or chaffs, the air pressure and rubber surfaces are stuck together like a gorilla glue.
Used tires are free, get a handful at your local bike shop and see which one works best. You are trying to match the O.D. of the inner tire to the inner dimension of the original outside tire.
Best of all, it only took 30 minutes and was free! Remember to cut the bead off the inner liner tire along the sidewall where it is thin, I used scissors. I cut about half way on the thin side wall since all punctures occur where the rubber meets the road.
I've been making them for my friends, and so far no complaints or flats.
Forget everything else, put a tire inside of your tire and never have a flat again.