Damn Punctures

[jerrysimon]

I have put a Schwalbe Marathon on the front motor hub wheel of my Brompton (man they are hard to fit) but still had the yellow flash on the back. Well yesterday about 3 miles from home I had a puncture

Wasn't too bad phoned up my wife and she came to get me in the car. It folded up and I put it in the boot

I have a Schwalbe Marathon Plus ready to go on the back wheel but had not fitted it. Anyway when I got home I tried to fit it but it was even harder than the Schwalbe Marathon to fit

Looking at the tyre I am pretty sure it is the right one though the front says 16" 1 3/8 and 37 - 349.

I am pretty sure the Plus I purchased is right one but it says 16" x 1.35 and 35 - 349. Is this the right one ?
This ETRTO stuff is confusing.

Anyway I put the yellow flash back on for now and today I rode my Brompton into work for the first time. Its foldered up under my desk

Regards

Jerry

 

[Patrick]

II have a Schwalbe Marathon Plus ready to go on the back wheel but had not fitted it. Anyway when I got home I tried to fit it but it was even harder than the Schwalbe Marathon to fit.

Marathon Plus can be difficult enough to fit on large wheels. Did you try using cable ties to hold the tyre in place as you went around the wheel?

Patrick

 

[NRG]

Jerry, it does look like you have the right size....I found the Marathon Cross tyres I fitted to the Alien where also very very hard to fit but again they where the right size.....

 

[daniel.weck]

Fitting the Marathon on a small 16" rim is a pain, let alone the Marathon Plus (I have both on my e-Brompton).

I purchased the VAR tyre lever hoping that it would help...it did, but thanks to its specially-shaped lip on the regular lever (makes for a very tight grip on the tyre bead), not thanks to its special V-shaped trick lever (which was bending under load, but didn't break). In addition, I had to use steel-reinforced levers (with soft plastic coating) !

 

[jerrysimon]

Thanks Dan and others for the responses. I did try using cable ties but without success.

I am going to have another go later.

Dan if you get chance to check the sizes on the side of your Plus I would be grateful.

Regards

Jerry

 

[Herb]

The front wheel on my brompton is shod with a Marathon Plus 35-349
16x1.35 from SJS Cycles. It was quite easy to fit but my rim (supplied by crystalye) could be different from yours and different again from original Brompton.

My original Brompton yellow flash tyre was 37-349 16x1 3/8

Herb

 

[jerrysimon]

Thanks Herb,

By the end of yesterday I was convinced I had purchased the wrong sized tyre.

The Marathon on the new front Sum rim with the Tongxin I built into it was tight, but as I said the back Marathon Plus seems impossible to fit.

I kinda remembered now on the front I had to queeze the tyre together and get it right down into the rim to give you enough wiggle room to get the last part of the bead over the rim.

I will try again with different techniques. I am sure technique is everything

Regards

Jerry

 

[Mussels]

Thanks Herb,

By the end of yesterday I was convinced I had purchase the wrong tyre.

The Marathon on the new fron Sum rim with the Tongxin was tight, but as I said the back Marathon Plus seems impossible to fit.

I will try again with different techniques. I am sure technique is everything.

Regards

Jerry

I found that the Sun rim I had fitted was slightly larger than the OE rim on my Wisper. I also found that Schwalbe tyres (and Conti) are a little on the smaller side so fitting the two together is no easy task, my extra strong tyre levers are getting a bit knackered already.

 

[jerrysimon]

I have some steel tyre levers but great care needs to be taken or they easily score up the rim

Regards

Jerry

 

[john]

I kinda remembered now on the front I had to queeze the tyre together and get it right down into the rim to give you enough wiggle room to get the last part of the bead over the rim.

Yes, I always do that when putting tyres on. The middle of the rim has a smaller diameter than the edge, so putting the tyre into here helps it to go on. You may notice that car tyres are always put on like this.

 

[jerrysimon]

Can you believe it I had another puncture on the way to work this morning

Thats two puntures in 3 days on the back wheel. Still got the Brompton Yellow flash tyre on. Anyway I changed it with another tube I had mended from my last puncture, pumped it up all ready to set off and damn the thing had gone down again.

When I refitted the tyre I thought it was tough to get back on, I had trapped the tube

Anyway changed it again taking great care to make sure the tube was up in the tyre and checked the inside edge to make sure it was free of any tube.

Got into work about an hour later.

The back wheel of a Brompton is a bit of a pain as you have to dismantle quite a lot to get the wheel off. On the bright side I am a bit of an expert now. Will fit the Marathon Plus very soon. Problem with the Marathons, is if you do get a puncture they are damn hard to put on and take off.

Maybe get some of that squirty stuff for an emergency repair ?

So are small wheeled bikes more prone to punctures than large wheeled bikes or was I just very unlucky ?

Regards

Jerry

 

[daniel.weck]

It looks like you should steer away from the lottery games for a few days ...

Seriously though, my iZip Via Mezza Enlightened (damn, I hate this long name !) comes with Slime tyre sealant (and lovely bright green valve caps ):

Slime Tube and Tire Sealant - NEW Slime Quick Spair & Slime Shield

I have no idea how well it works, but I recently had to pump more pressure into the tyres and some green liquid was coming out through the valve. It was a small leak, but it splattered everywhere !

 

[flecc]

The trouble with Slime and the like is that when they don't work, which is frequently, the resulting messy liquid oozing between the tyre and tube makes a puncture repair far more difficult. I've tried using two of these products on my trailer tyres and they've never worked with four punctures, meaning an on-road tube change on each occasion.

MP tyres are by far the better route to take. The only puncture I ever had over the years of using them on bikes was slow enough for me to ride home on a single pump top-up.
.

 

[Scatty]

I'd avoid putting this in does not work on anything bigger than a flea's bite

 

[arkwright]

I'd avoid putting this in does not work on anything bigger than a flea's bite

Very true, its a complete waste of money imo.

Better to get a good pair of puncture resistant tyres (schwalbe's spring to mind) - they're a far better investment.

 

[daniel.weck]

Good to know. I invested in Schwalbe Marathon Plus kevlar-lined tyres on my Brompton, and so far I haven't suffered any puncture despite the rough terrain I often ride onto.
++
Dan

 

[jerrysimon]

I still need to post some pics of my failed Yellow flash tyre with a massive hole in the side

That is why it kept bursting because the tube popped through the hole and pinched/split at 90psi every time I replaced it. Lesson learnt check and recheck the tyre. After it deflated I did not notice the tyre split

The good news is I have now fitted the Marathon Plus tonight and did it without a single plastic or metal tyre lever, just my bare hands

The trick is to keep working it with your hands round the wheel rim and queezing it across the tyre over and over again so the tyre bead goes right into the centre well of the rim. This gives you just enough room to then work the final bit of tyre bead over the rim. Slow and methodical is the key. Took about 20mins.

I also now know that I could repair ones of these Marathon Plus tyres at the road side if need be.

I have learnt so much about punchure repair and fitting tyres in the last few days. Theory is fine, but practise is better.

I am feeling rather proud of myself, he says until he gets a blow out.

Regards

Jerry

 

[daniel.weck]

Well done for managing the hand trick !
Like you say, it's patience and determination...none of which I had left at the time I had to repair my wheel
I will try again on my next wheel. Cheers, Dan

 

[jerrysimon]

Ok pics as promised.

Hole in the side wall of the tyre

The tyre is only five or six weeks old and has less than 50 miles on it. I am still not sure if I did this with tyre levers or not. The first puncture was last Sunday and I know that was a glass shard in the top of the tyre because I removed it, so I may have damaged the tyre when I took it off then and the subsequent punctures were then a result of the tube getting pinched when I pumped it up to 100psi and it poked through the hole. I ended up with about 3-4 punctures that I fixed in the end one after another. Anyway the Marathon Plus is fitted now.

And a pic of the tube

Clearly damaged by me as well as there are two tears. Sorry about the state of my thumb/nail but shows evidence of an eventful tyre removal/fitting day.

At least now I know I can get these tyres on using my hands though I guess I will have to use a tyre lever to get them off.

Regards

Jerry

 

[eddieo]

Wisper seem to use green slime these days as well....I was checking the tyres the other day after the bad weather and a bit of slime shot out the valve.....