How do you deal with a puncture/breakdown when out?

[Sturmey]

Currently have SCHWALBE LAND CRUISER 26 x 2.0

Pardon our interruption...

Thank for that information. I also had very bad luck with a pair of ordinary Land Cruisers 700 X 42 with frequent punctures. Even very small thorns seem to puncture. I eventually took them off as I thought someone had put a curse on them. They were only slightly worn. They were a nice grippy tyre but were the worst tyres I ever had for punctures. I have a Land Cruise plus version on another bike which seems better.
I have found marathon plus tyres fairly good but not perfect. They probably are as good as you can get but I still carry a spare tube. Also make sure your rim tape is good and has no sharp edges.

 

[guerney]

Just taken wheel off and look what's inside tyre. Is anything going to stop this?

My Marathon Plus tyres must have resisted lots of things like that, as they continue to remain puncture free despite thouands of km over rough potholed roads, industrial estates, roads with scrap metal merchants, some offroad when unavoidable. Mine are Marathon Plus, not Marathon Plus MTB or Marathon EPlus. When I do get a puncture, it'll be so noteworthy I'd have to write a post about that novel experience I haven't had since the late 1980s.

 

[flecc]

My Marathon Plus tyres must have resisted lots of things like that, as they continue to remain puncture free despite thouands of km over rough potholed roads, industrial estates, roads with scrap metal merchants, some offroad when unavoidable. Mine are Marathon Plus, not Marathon Plus MTB or Marathon EPlus. When I do get a puncture, it'll be so noteworthy I'd have to write a post about that novel experience I haven't had since the late 1980s.

Agreed, I've found the MPs almost bomb proof in the worst road conditions. I still remember one notable six mile round trip to the recycling depot on a bike with a Maxxis front tyre, MP on the rear and towing a trailer with ersatz Chinese tyres.

N/S trailer tyre punctured at two miles, tube swapped for speed. Arrived at depot three miles out to find my front tyre fast deflating so dropped the QR front wheel to patch repair the puncture. Half way on the three mile return the O/S trailer tyre punctured, patch repaired. Only the Marathon Plus on the rear wheel had survived that assault course.
.

 

[matthewslack]

Currently have SCHWALBE LAND CRUISER 26 x 2.0

Pardon our interruption...

I found those quite poor, puncture-wise. I think they are only 3/7 on the Schwalbe scale of resistance. My current rear is 5/7, only 1 puncture in 5,000 miles. My front, a cast-off emergency fix full of cracks is still going strong, no flats after about 2,500 miles. Some kind of continental.

 

[guerney]

I found those quite poor, puncture-wise. I think they are only 3/7 on the Schwalbe scale of resistance. My current rear is 5/7, only 1 puncture in 5,000 miles. My front, a cast-off emergency fix full of cracks is still going strong, no flats after about 2,500 miles. Some kind of continental.

My old looking ebay bargain Espresso arrived with new looking Continental Contacts... but they're several years old at least, so will they have biodegraded and fall to pieces within a few seconds of use? Stay tuned.

Have you installed a motor on your recumbent yet?

 

[matthewslack]

My old looking ebay bargain Espresso arrived with new looking Continental Contacts... but they're several years old at least, so will they have biodegraded and fall to pieces within a few seconds of use? Stay tuned.

Have you installed a motor on your recumbent yet?

My front tyre's cracks look alarming when inflated, but don't seem to affect the carcass. I'm running it to destruction for my amusement!

Yes, motor is on, battery mounts are there, wiring details and display mount to be finalised, bigger/better brakes and huge chainring to be sorted, and then a sunny day to be awaited. In my head it's finished, in reality, not quite!

 

[AndyBike]

schwalbe marathon plus mountain bike - Not good in mud.

 

[guerney]

schwalbe marathon plus mountain bike - Not good in mud.

I don't trust Marathon Plus an inch on mud. They also slip away sideways on wet metal grates and covers. Marathon Plus are fine on wet roads though, cue another of my very boring videos nobody should ever watch if their time is worth anything (going around the bend in the rain, sometime after the 18 second mark).

 

[guerney]

Yes, motor is on, battery mounts are there, wiring details and display mount to be finalised, bigger/better brakes and huge chainring to be sorted, and then a sunny day to be awaited. In my head it's finished, in reality, not quite!

I'm looking forward to seeing a thread detailing your eRecumbent build. How fast are you planning to go?

 

[matthewslack]

I'm looking forward to seeing a thread detailing your eRecumbent build. How fast are you planning to go?

Depends on the trial rides. I don't know if this will be 'longer range because I can ride without assistance above 25kph quite a lot' or 'potentially much faster but needs assistance all the time, and so needs to be an s-pedelec'.

To start with it will have my two bargain Shimano 8020 504Wh batteries, which lightly loaded should give easy 100 mile range and quite likely 125. I like 125, because my km calibrated display will shout '200' at me, which is a satisfyingly large number of smallish units of distance!

 

[guerney]

Depends on the trial rides. I don't know if this will be 'longer range because I can ride without assistance above 25kph quite a lot' or 'potentially much faster but needs assistance all the time, and so needs to be an s-pedelec'.

ICE trikes are very lightweight. 60T? Will there be enough motor grunt for Scottish hills? Is it possible to install a double chainring, or is there one already?

 

[matthewslack]

ICE trikes are very lightweight. 60T? Will there be enough motor grunt for Scottish hills? Is it possible to install a double chainring, or is there one already?

I'm HP Velotechnik rather than ICE, but probably very similar. I think it is quoted as 'from 16kg' before I add the motor etc, so the basic electrified version will be lighter than my Ridgeback.

Gearing is an interesting challenge as the rear wheel is only 20" so I can't use my preferred 11-51 11 speed setup. Derailleur 5mm above the ground is no basis for a reliable drivetrain!

Because the chain run is very long, there is no issue with chainline and offset, I can do what I like, so initially it will be 1x8 or 1x9, 11-32 or 34 or 36, whatever is lying around, and a 52T chainring bolted to a wornout 38T chainring acting as spider. My e5000 motor is too cheap to have a spider!

Highly likely to get a 2x setup later on, as I don't see any other way to replicate the range of gears I have found I need on the Ridgeback.

 

[guerney]

Derailleur 5mm above the ground is no basis for a reliable drivetrain!

Potholes and jumps. How fat can you go for the rear tyre? (Granny, here are some eggs)

 

[matthewslack]

I haven't measured the rim width, but the tyre is a 47mm marathon plus.

In dreamland I build a new swinging arm for a bigger wheel.

 

[guerney]

I haven't measured the rim width, but the tyre is a 47mm marathon plus.

In dreamland I build a new swinging arm for a bigger wheel.

Of course Big Ben Plus go up to 2.125"/53.96mm wide; would site that derailleur a bit higher if safe for use on your rims - for pothole bumping comfort I was going to use them on my 20" wheels, but after replacing my very old wheels because their rims wouldn't safely take any wider than jarring 1.5" (no suspension options on my bike at all), I tried 1.75" Marathon Plus and that's worked out ok.

Would thicker balloon tyres be too wobbly?

Tour

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www.schwalbe.com

 

[AndyBike]

Marathon Plus are fine on wet roads

Marathon Almotion. Another sketchy tyre.
Cornering in the wet they have the road holding of a slippery eel on an icy path.

By cornering im not meaning gentle corners, but more sharp type, like turning a corner type sharp. In there I tended to try to keep the bike upright and shifted my weight right off to the side. I tend to corner fast and lean a lot.

I think its down to the compound, its too hard so it lasts longer, but not soft enough for good road holding.
I took them off and switched to Michelin Run-r, which is actually a completely smooth tyre, but the compound is way better. Not long lasting but better to replace than eat tarmac.

 

[Wayners]

Re punctures.

I noticed that at large junctions, or in my case large traffic lights there are areas of debris and grit. Often triangle shaped areas. I have ridden through these areas like I did on friday when I got a flat. I've also touched on these areas when keeping to the left when on road junctions vs cycle path or traffic light controlled crossing. I'm now thinking about where im riding. I'm looking way more and you can see glass and debris built up in areas not driven on.

 

[RollingChunder]

Re punctures.

I noticed that at large junctions, or in my case large traffic lights there are areas of debris and grit. Often triangle shaped areas. I have ridden through these areas like I did on friday when I got a flat. I've also touched on these areas when keeping to the left when on road junctions vs cycle path or traffic light controlled crossing. I'm now thinking about where im riding. I'm looking way more and you can see glass and debris built up in areas not driven on.

When on my KTM, untouched areas of tarmac often put me off filtering. Motorbike tyres are the dearest of the lot.

 

[guerney]

By cornering im not meaning gentle corners, but more sharp type, like turning a corner type sharp. In there I tended to try to keep the bike upright and shifted my weight right off to the side. I tend to corner fast and lean a lot.

How fast? I was going about 35kph downhill around that bend leaning, certainly wouldn't risk any faster than that in the rain. My GoPro camera stablised side to side movement. I should manage sharper bends in wet conditions going slower, if necessary. Marathon Plus are ok on even wet tarmac in my experience. They can't be trusted an inch on mud however, and manhole covers should be avoided wet or dry, but especially when wet.