I Can Hardly Believe It*****

[Cyclezee]

My son hijacked my Wisper Works 905se a couple of weeks ago to commute to work. Everything was going fine except he has to park it in my garage and use my electricity to charge it.
This evening around 5pm he rings me on his mobile and says Dad I've got a puncture, I ask where are you, he says about halfway home, I say can you be more specific, he says right next to Halfords!!!!!!!!!!(Closed of course)
So I get in my van and drive round to pick him and the bike up, it's the rear tyre flat as a pancake. When I get home, I get the bike in the garage. The first thing I notice is a strange smell on the tyre and now on my hands. Not only does the tyre look like he has ridden through a bottle bank as he has managed to pick to large shards which have sliced right through the tyre, but he has also ridden through what must have been a huge dog turd
Remarkably there is not much more than a pinprick in the tube, but the Kenda is wrecked.
Tomorrow I'm going to work so he is going back to Halfords to get a Continental Travel Contact, £20.99 with free tube and 1 year guarantee against punctures, hope it's as good as a Marathon Plus. Thing is he needs it asap and I did a reserve and collect online which is telling me they are in stock.
He is borrowing my Agattu tomorrow and better not get a punture on that or get it covered in doggy do!

John

 

[keithhazel]

i cant think of anything more nice for someone to have given you... ........karma...pennance for post stealing..and long may the smell of foul play be on your hands..lolololololololololol

 

[flecc]

Sorry to hear that John.

I'm a generous person in most things, and will let people have a brief try on my e-bikes, but many years ago said "never again" to lending anyone a motor vehicle.

On two occasions I'd loaned my motorbikes, and on the third the car. Unbelievably, on each of those the vehicle was crashed and damaged, co-incidences that still stagger me to this day. Talk about lightning striking three times!

So now I say "No way, walk or catch the bus".
.

 

[coops]

Sorry to hear of your doubly messy misfortune too John .

In case its useful, I recall that its the Continental Contact Security tyre that seems to use the same highly puncture-resistant design (an extra thick rubber layer across the tread area) as the Schwalbe marathon plus, although the other tyres in the contact range (some listed there) appear to offer good puncture resistance too, with tough vectran/kevlar layers, and should roll quite nicely too .

The Kendas on my Torq had a kevlar belt ('K-shield') and seemed to give very good protection, but I've found the m-pluses roll better & are likely to give even greater protection (touch wood! ).

Hope thats useful.

Stuart.

 

[Cyclezee]

Thanks Stuart,
I saw the Contact Security on the Continental website. Although the Contact Security would appear to be better, the Travel Contact mentions 1 year guarantee and free tube, but more importantly, my son can get one today.

John

 

[coops]

...& then keep away from riding over the sharp or the slippery stuff if possible .

I see what you mean about the free tube & 1 year guarantee, and availability helps, too, when you need it quickly .

Just one thing though, and with safety in mind, since you've said you plan to get the travel contact, I would be wary of cornering too sharply on tarmac on those knobbly tyre edges which will not grip as well as slicker/lower 'profile' tyre and could lead to a slide, maybe especially on a higher load-bearing rear wheel?: in fact, if its for mainly on road use, I'd go for one of the other 'contact' tyres if possible/available (they all do the free tube & guarantee offer except for the contact security) and puncture protection is probably comparable, except that the 'travel' has the duraskin layer on the outside.

Anyhow, the choice is entirely yours - just be sure to get the right diameter/width you need whatever you decide, and better luck in future .

Stuart.

 

[frank9755]

Thanks John for a timely reminder to get new tyres for my Wisper.

So far I had been trusting to the 'puncture-proof' tyres that it came with but my scepticism has been confirmed by your experience! I was minded to change the tyres anyway as they are so wide - 26x1.95 - that they won't fit in my cycle racks at work.

Marathon Plus tyres seem to come in 26 x 1.75" and 1.35" widths. I assume the 1.75" would work ok - anyone have a view on whether the 1.35" would fit?

Frank

 

[coops]

I'm not aware of any particular restrictions for tyre widths for the Wisper, Frank, but subject to all else being ok, theres likely quite a difference in cushioning/comfort between those two widths - the wider one may give almost double, I'd guesstimate.

As you probably are aware, a 38mm width tyre works well on a 'standard' Torq, for instance, though on his rear-motor performance T-bike flecc uses a 'perfectly comfortable' 35mm (close to 1.35") rear tyre @ 65PSI & 28mm on the front @ 80 PSI. The Torq motor is quite light though, around 3kg I believe, and the Wisper frame is lighter if I recall, so you may have an effectively slightly larger unsprung weight to tame in the rear motor Wisper, not sure how much difference that will make overall though when rider weight is added on.

1.75" is about the same as the standard Kendas on Ezees, which are easily wide enough already as you say: although the m-plus seem more true to size than the Kendas, which seemed nearer to 40mm than the 45mm stated size, it may be worth comparing them side by side with the 1.35" if possible, or estimating/measuring their width, in case they are a bit narrower than stated and sufficient for your needs.

Otherwise the 1.35" may be ok for you, depending how much comfort you want & how much weight requires taming by the rear wheel in total including the motor too.

Hope thats useful, I'm sure others could advise better .

Stuart.

 

[flecc]

Although the 1.35 on the T bike is comfortable for me and my usual preferences, it's a harder ride than the original rear tyre. I only chose narrower ones because the T bike was intended purely as a sporting fun bike, and the 1.75 will retain the original ride comfort far better for all round use.
.

 

[frank9755]

Well I thought I would be clever and order the 1.35 ones for extra low rolling resistance, but I couldn't get them on to my rims. So I had to send them back and refit the nasty Kendas. In the process I did discover my dropout problem (described in another post) and I also noticed how poor the Kendas were - with half a dozen little pieces of grit and glass embedded in them.

Then I got my puncture today. I think probably a similar mileage to you, John - about 165 miles from new. I'll track down some 1.75 Marathon plus this weekend and replace them urgently!

 

[flecc]

Here you are Frank, the cheapest around, RRP is £26.99, this one at £17.99:

AllTerrain Cycles
.

 

[wisper new milton]

puncture RESISTANT tyres

Hi Frank just a reminder that NO tyres are puncture proof only puncture resistant. (in my experience anyway!)

These are just tyres with a thicker wall with more rubber. We always advise to add something like "slime" to every bike innertube or tyre, electric or otherwise. It saves a lot of heartache!

To repair a puncture on the early 905e bikes is relatively easy. (it should also be the same for all electric bikes as well.)

There are 2 ways in which to do this.

1) Do not remove the wheel, remove the object that has caused the puncture and simply buy a product called finilec which reflates the tyre as well as sealing and repairing the puncture, ride for a few miles and this works well. It is the same product that is nused on motor cars and is readily available at all motor accesory shops.

2) To repair the puncture in the traditional way, turn the bike upside down.

Loosen the nuts on each side of the wheel.

Remove the inner tube from the tyre.

Only remove the wheel from one side of the drop outs opposite to where the cable goes into the motor.

It is then very simple to completely remove the inner tube.

Repair in the normal manner, and replace all in the reverse sequence..

NB. Then add "slime" or a similar product to the tubes to prevent further punctures.

Full bike servicing is carried out at New Milton. telephone 01425 627641 to book it in.

Best regards Doug

 

[UrbanPuma]

Can anyone recommend good puncture proof tyres for a 16" wheel dahon curve folding bike?

All help appreciated

 

[flecc]

Schwalbe have introduced the Marathon Plus puncture resistant tyre for 16" wheels now, but it can be difficult to find them here.

Try Folding Bikes to see if they can get them for you.
.

 

[HarryB]

We always advise to add something like "slime" to every bike innertube or tyre, electric or otherwise. It saves a lot of heartache!

From my experience introducing "slime" into the inner tube rarely stops a puncture and makes fixing it harder as it always seems seep out and gives me less confidence in the patch repair. I do a lot of miles and have had numerous punctures on my way to work - so much so that I am still the object of jokes a year down the line. I have tried every sort of "slime" but since putting on the Marathon Pluses - no punctures in over a year so I know what I would do if I had normal bike tyres - no slime but Marathon pluses or similar.

 

[flecc]

I agree with HarryB, having found all the variants on Slime useless, just creating a mess that makes puncture repair subsequently much more difficult. In comparison, I have never had a single puncture in subsequent years of riding with Marathon Plus tyres.
.

 

[jimmyengland1000]

I've always found slime to be completely useless. Firstly, it doesn't usually seal punctures very well and, even if it does, it doesn't last as a 'repair'. Secondly, it's messy and seeps into the rim, spokes, rim tape and so on. It makes fixing the tube more difficult afterwards. I certainly wouldn't feel confident about riding round on a tyre which had been 'fixed' by slime.

I use Schwalbe Land Cruiser tyres and have never once had a puncture. They're puncture resistant and a good compromise between a road tyre and off road in that they have a raised central tread for low resistance on roads but plenty of grip on the sides of this ridge for use on tracks, canal paths etc.

In the past, carried a small aerosol which contains latex solution. It's supposed to be for cars. I had a puncture on a horrible electric scooter that I once had... a nail in the tyre. The tyre has to be deflated as much as possible and then you use the aerosol to pump up the tyre. It worked perfectly, pumped up the tyre, sealed the tube and, because it was a scooter which didn't go very far, I never bothered fixing the puncture. The tyre remained fully inflated for over a year until I scrapped the scooter.

 

[HarryB]

You can get little aerosols specifically for bicycles and I have used two - on both occasions the puncture re-occured within 1 mile, so complete failure. I did try the bigger version but the same thing happened. You can buy cars with no spare wheel but just this sealant in the boot - I have little confidence in them and would always go with a spare wheel. Sorry if I am sounding like the worlds expert in punctures but I have had a great many!

 

[flecc]

Sorry if I am sounding like the worlds expert in punctures but I have had a great many!

As a 14 year old joining the trade on leaving school, it was my job as the junior to do all the bike punctures that came into the dealership, typically from 4 to 20 each day, six days a week, number depending on the weather (rain = more punctures).

So I've always regarded myself as the holder of that title, but it has left me able to repair punctures at a speed that surprises others.
.

 

[Ian]

I have little confidence in them and would always go with a spare wheel.

I share your lack of confidence in those aerosols Harry but these days you don't always have the option of carying a spare wheel, many newer cars having no stowage space for one.

I think it's likely that the aerosols work better on thick tubeless car tyres than thin bicycle tubes, the much greater thickness allowing the latex to form a plug rather than a skin, I certainly hope so anyway

My current car has a "space saver" temporary spare wheel, sound like a good idea but in practice is a problem as in the event of a wheel change the removed wheel will not fit the stowage space vacated by the spare and can be difficult to stow safely elsewhere if the vehicle is already fully loaded.

My experience of "Slime" is similar to others, it simply makes a mess in the event of a puncture, and like others I've yet to get a puncture with Marathon+ tyres.