Flat tyre - is this repairable?
Discussion
I planned on going out for my long August ride today having sorted a couple of minor issues (lose foot peg, lose mirror). Giving the bike the once over yesterday evening I found the rear tyre flat.
Looking closer this morning I find this:
Can you see it? Looks like a headless nail/pin or such like. Doing the spit test confirms air is escaping:
A new Metzeler (190/50Zr17 Sportec M7 as opposed to this tyre which is an M5) comes in around £95 (this tyre is around 1500 miles and two years old and showing a little bit of squaring off) - could this tyre be repaired? Should it be repaired (fitted to a TL1000S)? Or just bite the bullet and fit a new one?
Front tyre is an matching M5 with plenty of life left in it.
Cheers,
Looking closer this morning I find this:
Can you see it? Looks like a headless nail/pin or such like. Doing the spit test confirms air is escaping:
A new Metzeler (190/50Zr17 Sportec M7 as opposed to this tyre which is an M5) comes in around £95 (this tyre is around 1500 miles and two years old and showing a little bit of squaring off) - could this tyre be repaired? Should it be repaired (fitted to a TL1000S)? Or just bite the bullet and fit a new one?
Front tyre is an matching M5 with plenty of life left in it.
Cheers,
Easy repair that and you wont even have to take the wheel off.
http://www.dynaplug.com/
Used them for years as the poster above eludes too. Never had to revisit the same repair on bike, car or van. Carry one with me on all my forms of transport now spare wheels are becoming a thing of the past.
http://www.dynaplug.com/
Used them for years as the poster above eludes too. Never had to revisit the same repair on bike, car or van. Carry one with me on all my forms of transport now spare wheels are becoming a thing of the past.
Sticky string works well but is a temporary repair getyouhome measure really, quite impressed people have got so much use out of them. I only repair newish tyres anything a bit old and suboptimal gets replaced as it’s too much hassle to remove and replace a tyre with only a few months left in it. You could always keep it as a backup in case of catastrophic damage to your replacement but then that’s not as convenient if you don’t fit your own tyres.
I have those repair patches on a mushroom that you pull through the hole in the carcass and glue on before cutting the end off.
I have those repair patches on a mushroom that you pull through the hole in the carcass and glue on before cutting the end off.
Personally my comfort level on the bike would be a proper mushroom patch fitted internally.
For context, this is coming from someone who is a bit of a bodger, fits second hand car tyres from home without bothering to balance them, uses temporary "stop and go" plugs to repair car tyre punctures, and is overall pretty relaxed on safety.
I've fitted maybe 20 stop and go repairs (most have been for friends) to cars and vans adding cement to them and never had one fail, but compared to the security of an internal mushroom repair there is no comparison.
Id measure the tread depth and weigh up whether it would be worth the repair though.
For context, this is coming from someone who is a bit of a bodger, fits second hand car tyres from home without bothering to balance them, uses temporary "stop and go" plugs to repair car tyre punctures, and is overall pretty relaxed on safety.
I've fitted maybe 20 stop and go repairs (most have been for friends) to cars and vans adding cement to them and never had one fail, but compared to the security of an internal mushroom repair there is no comparison.
Id measure the tread depth and weigh up whether it would be worth the repair though.
Edited by bluezedd on Monday 30th August 14:23
I’ve repaired ‘in the middle’ punctures like that several times using a stop’n’go kit that I always carry in the topbox. Have run them for thousands of miles, no problems at all. Both front and rear tyres.
On one occasion when having the tyre replaced, not because of the repair but because it had worn out, I wandered into the workshop area and had a good look at the old one. The mushroom plug, pushed through from the outside by the kit, was absolutely rock solid. Even from the inside of the tyre, I couldn’t pull it out by hand - let alone with air pressure and centrifugal force holding it in place.
On one occasion when having the tyre replaced, not because of the repair but because it had worn out, I wandered into the workshop area and had a good look at the old one. The mushroom plug, pushed through from the outside by the kit, was absolutely rock solid. Even from the inside of the tyre, I couldn’t pull it out by hand - let alone with air pressure and centrifugal force holding it in place.
If I was using the bike at high speed I'd want a proper large mushroom plug inserted from the inside. They are pretty much guaranteed for the life of the remaining tyre.
The DIY plugs might work really well, most will be fine, I've used the string worms, but would I trust it pushing hard on holiday with luggage ? Or just pushing hard ? Depends on your level of acceptable risk.
The DIY plugs might work really well, most will be fine, I've used the string worms, but would I trust it pushing hard on holiday with luggage ? Or just pushing hard ? Depends on your level of acceptable risk.
Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff