Are unicycles supposed to lose air in their tires quickly? Because, Im
pretty sure my tire has no holes, but Im still losing air like crazy. If
there are no holes in the tire, is there anything that could cause a
masive loss of air?
–
try tighting the valve with tweesers if you have’nt got a valve key, if that doesn’t work try a different inner tube.
It’ll be a hole or a dodgy valve. Air does leak a little but VERY slowly (A few psi/year)
Some small holes only show up when you stretch the tyre (tire US) a bit. Ones at the base of the valve are often like this.
Take the tube out, partially inflate it and hold it under water in the bath.
HTH
Nick
If it’s your tube, not the valve , get some leak sealler (NoTubes or Slime and there must be others). I’m using the NoTubes system in my KH24 - there’s no leak - the fluid will seal leaks in an inner tube, too. These have the advantage of sealing leaks on the road - from glass, thorns, and, well, whatever.
I had this problem with my trials uni, so I just got a new tube. Cheap and and I thought would save me hassle… until I found out how hard it is to get trials tyres off! I think it was my valve, as I don’t really ride through anything… spikey!
To get tires off really easily, go buy some spray silicone lubricant, then spray it around the bead and the inside of the rim, then use a tire lever and its off. With this method, I can very easily take the tire off with a single plastic tire lever, and with a little work I can do it with just my hands. It makes it so much easier.
john
Excellent! Thanks a lot for that one, the guy at my LBS couldn’t do it, so had to get the owner from another of their shops to do it! Ha! The annoying thing is that I have loads of spray on siicone lube lying around in the shed! Argh! Thanks again 
You could be losing air because one of your spokes has pushed up thorough the rim and into your inner tube. Min did this from dropping in off stuff. You can fix the problem by changing your inner-tube and then raping the inside of your rim in layers of electrical or duct-tape.
Re: Air in Tires
“canadianrugby” <canadianrugby@NoEmail.Message.Poster.at.Unicyclist.com> writes:
> You could be losing air because one of your spokes has pushed up
> thorough the rim and into your inner tube. Min did this from dropping in
> off stuff. You can fix the problem by changing your inner-tube and then
> raping the inside of your rim in layers of electrical or duct-tape.
raping with duct tape? Wrong forum dude! Sorry - couldn’t resist. I
apologize to anyone offended by making light of a heinous crime.
Anyway, If you spokes are poking through and puncturing the innertube,
they are too loose and the wheel should be retensioned.
Coincidentally, I fixed a wheel with just this problem yesterday - an
early wheel I built and the first of my to have failed. Not only
that, but the duct tape I had used punctured like tissue paper. I
have long since switched to using proper rim tape or rubber rim
strips, and I’m glad I have done so.
Also, be warned that changing innertubes won’t solve the problem if
the tube is punctured by a thorn (you’ll need to remove the thorn,
too). Always determine the cause of the leaks when fixing flats.
Ken