non pneumatic tyres - good investment?

[SHAN]

This.

Forces are transferred from the ground to the whole wheel much more uniformly with pneumatic tyres, where solid tyres concentrate forces from the ground to a specific area of the wheel.

This.
I tried non pneumatic tyres, and although they worked ok, I was tortured with broken spokes in my rear wheel. Also, on my e-bike I run with "gaadi" double ended tubes, and they work fine. For ease of getting the tyre bead off the rim I also carry a small (very) bottle of washing up liquid as this greatly assists removal and replacement of the tyre. I use Panasonic RimBo's on my street bike, they (in my experience) are far harder to fit/remove than Schwalbe's and they don't roll as well, but I've never had a puncture with them.

 

[grldtnr]

I was involved with a trial with solid tyres when working as a cycle mech with the Royal mail, a while ago.

Those tyres were not the brand mentioned here, but we're similar, what was found ,was they were not as comfy as a pneumatic ,were ok untill the tread started to wear, which didn't seem that long, after which they soaked up rain water making them heavier.

Also the tyres didn't seem to offer shock protection against vibration and potholes, they seemed to cause premature wear to rims and spokes, so the trial was stopped ,all though one postman continued with them.( At his own costs)

This was a limited trial with tyres that were trialled on section of ten bikes.
The conclusion was nice try ,but no cigar.

But these ' new' tyres may be different, tho' I suspect once run in the same will happen.

 

[rich_r]

I didn't intend any sarcasm, sorry if it came across that way. I was suggesting an alternative if solid tyres don't work out or prove expensive.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

True - maybe my choice of words wasn't the best.

For small punctures that you can stick a patch on, I don't remove the wheel. But if it's a split or a pinch that you have to swap the tube for then you would.

I've had as many as 6 punctures in one ride, and I've had literally hundreds of punctures. I've never yet had one that couldn't be fixed at the roadside with a patch. I've never had to remove the wheel to fix one. It could happen in theory, but it3 not something that your average rider would have to worry about.

If you don't want punctures, fit Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres. We all know that they work.

 

[anotherkiwi]

We don't have thorny hedges where I live. The occasional beer bottle and usual metal road trash. In over 6000 km not one (not saying the word... )! I did remove a screw and a thumb tack from the Michelin tyres I used on the first bike but the tube was not compromised in both cases.

Currently running only Big Bens with the 20" front ones on the trike being the new plus model with an extra protection layer giving them 6/7 on the Schwalbe scale of protection (compared to 5/7). They are also s-pedelec rated which can't be a bad thing.

 

[Richard A]

The Gecko Rubber puncture proof bicycle tyres are manufactured using cellular rubber (rather than foamed PU or EVA polymer as with other puncture proof bicycle tyres). The Geckos are unlike any previous puncture proof/solid tyre as far as I am aware. Using real rubber material means that they have naturally good grip, road handling and vibration isolation/anti-shock properties and should not damage spokes and wheels like some other puncture proof solid tyres have done previously. The Gecko Comfort tyres are ideal for ebikes and can be fitted to both 36 and 32 spoke wheels although they do need a dual wall wheel. As suggested in the previous posts, the best thing to do is to try them and see for yourselves.

More details and UK Dealers can be found here: www.geckorubber.co.uk

 

[SHAN]

, the best thing to do is to try them and see for yourselves.

More details and UK Dealers can be found here: www.geckorubber.co.uk

If someone wants to send me a pair free, I'll road test them under a multitude of conditions and give them an honest review.

 

[The Bear]

Just reinforce the bottom part of your tyres as that’s where all punctures seem to happen.

 

[mike killay]

The down side seems to be that they can only be fitted once.
So, break a spoke and you need a new tyre as well.

 

[mike killay]

Why so coy about their price?

 

[anotherkiwi]

I was reading about tyres last night on Marc's excellent triking blog. He runs overpowered (illegal) hub motors on his trikes, trikes are bike tyres toughest testing platform, his trikes add into the mix about 1.5 kW at the rear wheel. And he doesn't have a car and does many thousands of km a year.

Verdict? Big Ben Plus: one rear puncture (sidewall after hitting a curb) in 9,000 km. He wears the front tyres out before they can puncture at about 3,000 km per tyre. Braking and cornering at speed do them in.

 

[argoose]

I had punctures every other ride. went tubeless with orange seal and so far so good.
I had a pinch flat which holed the side wall of the tyre and a flint cut on the tread both sealed in under 30 seconds and still holding air.

 

[egroover]

First ever puncture on my ebike in 3.5k miles on Saturday. So complacent with the puncture resistance Schwalbe Energiser Plus tyres, that when the bike was riding funny, I thought it was all in my mind, until a couple of miles later I noticed the rear tyre half flat, 15 miles from home. Had a puncture kit on me, but cheated and used a can Aldi £1.99 sealent I had with me instead,

,
did the trick perfectly(topped up with bike pump), and rode home fine. Turned out to be a very small piece of flint embedded in the tyre, that with newer tyres would probably not gone all the way through. I suspose 3.5k miles on a rear tyre aint bad going, so swapped out with a new one (£10.99 SJS Cycles), kept the old one as a spare. Tubes 5 for £10 at the moment in Halfords, so no biggie knackering one with the sealent.

 

[Nealh]

Why so coy about their price?

I have yet to remove tyre or wheel to replace any broken spokes takes me a bout 3 or 4 mins and the jobs done.

 

[soundwave]

thats what i call a flat tyre

 

[Crystal_pixie]

I didn't intend any sarcasm, sorry if it came across that way. I was suggesting an alternative if solid tyres don't work out or prove expensive.

That's ok Rich. I do know how to repair a puncture but I did have a heck of a job getting the Schwalbe tyre off the front wheel on my own. My Kalkhoff is pretty heavy and its just really awkward.

I did buy myself some Park Tool tyre levers though - no breakages since then!

 

[Crystal_pixie]

The Gecko Rubber puncture proof bicycle tyres are manufactured using cellular rubber (rather than foamed PU or EVA polymer as with other puncture proof bicycle tyres). The Geckos are unlike any previous puncture proof/solid tyre as far as I am aware. Using real rubber material means that they have naturally good grip, road handling and vibration isolation/anti-shock properties and should not damage spokes and wheels like some other puncture proof solid tyres have done previously. The Gecko Comfort tyres are ideal for ebikes and can be fitted to both 36 and 32 spoke wheels although they do need a dual wall wheel. As suggested in the previous posts, the best thing to do is to try them and see for yourselves.

More details and UK Dealers can be found here: www.geckorubber.co.uk

I did pop down to my local dealer and have a look at them. The dealer hasn't had many come back but they are expensive £55 per tyre fitted. I am going to see how I go this winter. Thanks for the replies though!

 

[STEVEMANFA]

This info is no good to anyone, my dad is 82 and was born in 1935 and money was so tight back then and he did manage to get a bike when he was a Lad but no tubes in the wheels so he packed them out with grass

So grass maybe the way to go, just saying. Lol

 

[topographer]

Braking and cornering at speed do them in.

Braking does tires in?

 

[anotherkiwi]

Braking a bike tire regularly from over 60 km/h yes, they are built for a little bit less and with soft sticky rubber to improve adhesion especially in the cold and wet.