Gday, Well, I’ve finally got the knack of unicycling - at least in a forward
direction without stopping for more than a couple of seconds grin But I now
have a problem with tire punctures - I get them frequently, like on the order of
every couple of weeks or more. And I only ride the unicycle for an hour or two
each day - what’s going on? Okay, true, I am riding it on the roads and on a
local “bush” track by the creek, but still, this is a “normal” inner tube we’re
talking about here. I’m presuming the problem is that there is twice as much
pressure on the tire as on a normal bike (pick the physics student Does
anyone else have this problem? Is there a solution to it? (more air in tire?
less? A special unicycle inner tube?!!) I’ve just fixed my latest one, and I’ll
be setting off this afternoon yet again. I love watching people’s faces, really
I do grin
You haven’t given us enough info to be able to offer specific advice. What type
of flats are you getting? Are they pinch flats? Are the flats on the sidewall or
the center of the tread? What brand and type of tire are you using? Are there
evil thorns where you ride?
You have gotten lots of good advice so far. One thing that I’ve seen cause
mysterious flats is a spoke poking in too far in the rim or some bad rim tape
that doesn’t completely cover the spoke holes in the rim. If the flats are
inside the rim look carefully at the rim tape. If the rim tape is sketchy
replace it with some thick rim tape that sticks to the rim and will stay put.
The cheap rubber strips with no adhesive are bad and can slide around exposing
the spoke holes.
john_childs
>Gday, Well, I’ve finally got the knack of unicycling - at least in a forward >direction without stopping for more than a couple of seconds grin But I now >have a problem with tire punctures - I get them frequently, like on the order >of every couple of weeks or more. And I only ride the unicycle for an hour or >two each day - what’s going on? Okay, true, I am riding it on the roads and on >a local “bush” track by the creek, but still, this is a “normal” inner tube >we’re talking about here. I’m presuming the problem is that there is twice as >much pressure on the tire as on a normal bike (pick the physics student Does >anyone else have this problem? Is there a solution to it? (more air in tire? >less? A special unicycle inner tube?!!) I’ve just fixed my latest one, and I’ll >be setting off this afternoon yet again. I love watching people’s faces, really >I do grin > >Cheers, Joel >
Your regularity of punctures seems to suggest there is something persistent
within your tire. Check the inside of the tire for protruding objects. One thorn
that’s still embedded in the tire could be causing all the flats.
Also check your rim and spokes for any burrs or protrusions that may
impact the tube.
> 1. Puncture resistant tubes. These are about twice as thick as a normal tube, > so they are a little harder to puncture.
A good idea for any trail rider (or curb jumper?).
Pinch flats occur if your rim is bottoming out. This will tell you if your tire
pressure is too low. There should always be enough in there to keep your tire
off the ground. In the past, it was easy to recommend specific numbers. But now
people are riding on all different sized tires, and (as we can’t see each
other) we have all different weights, giving out specific numbers is a bad
idea. The wider your tire is, the less air you need. But the rim has to stay
off the ground, except on the most extreme hits. And those can still puncture
you. Been there…
Joel Gilmore wrote: > > But I now have a problem with tire punctures - I get them frequently, like on > the order of every couple of weeks or more. And I only ride the unicycle for > an hour or two each day - what’s going on? Okay, true, I am riding it on the > roads and on a local “bush” track by the creek, but still, this is a “normal” > inner tube we’re talking about here. I’m presuming the problem is that there > is twice as much pressure on the tire as on a normal bike (pick the physics > student Does anyone else have this problem? Is there a solution to it? > (more air in tire? less? A special unicycle inner tube?!!)
There is no more pressure on the tire than there would be on a bike, unless you
inflate the tire to a higher pressure which is pretty common for unicyclists to
do (not as common on MUni though). There is an average of twice as much surface
area in contact with the ground per tire on a unicycle. That’s the physics part
which I don’t think is the problem. If it was, you would have the tube exploding
on you. Most likely that would happen with the tire slightly coming off the rim
and the tube bulging out from the opening.
The problem that you probably have is that some sliver or torn is puncturing the
tube. Look at the tube and see where it would line up on the rim when it’s on it
and see if there is a metal burr on the rim that could be poking it. You mention
that you ride on “bush” track, whatever that is? Would that be where there are
plants that would have thorns? Maybe you’re hitting a thorn that is going
through the tire and puncturing the tube. That should be fairly easy to spot on
the tire if the thorn attaches to it. Have you changed tires at all? There could
also be a very little needle like thing that is stuck in the tire that could be
puncturing the tire as well.
If you do ride where there are a lot of thorns (we always called them
“goatheads”) you will be patching tires a lot. Some options to keep them out of
your tube are:
Puncture resistant tubes. These are about twice as thick as a normal tube,
so they are a little harder to puncture.
Tire sealant: Fills in the holes after you get them. Not 100% effective, but
better than nothing. Can be purchased in a bottle and “poured” into the tube
through the valve stem, or you can buy a tube that already has tire sealant
in it, like the Specialized AirLock tubes.
Mr. Tuffy or equivalent tire liner. These go between your tire and your
tube, and they’re so tough, you’d have trouble punching a screwdriver
through one! Get the widest one you can, so it covers some of the
sidewalls, too.
Knobby tire. Unicycling tires are pretty thin to start with, and they wear
even thinner later. Many knobby tires are thicker, plus they have the knobs
to keep your tire off the ground a little bit.
But as Kevin mentioned, always run your fingers along the entire inside wall of
your tire before putting it back on to make sure that the sharp object isn’t
still inside. For instance, if you get a goathead flat, the goathead can break
off but leave the dagger in place to get your tube again right after you’ve
patched it.
Chris Reeder
Kevin Gilbertson wrote:
> Joel Gilmore wrote: > > > > But I now have a problem with tire punctures - I get them frequently, like > > on the order of every couple of weeks or more. And I only ride the unicycle > > for an hour or two each day - what’s going on? Okay, true, I am riding it on > > the roads and on a local “bush” track by the creek, but still, this is a > > “normal” inner tube we’re talking about here. I’m presuming the problem is > > that there is twice as much pressure on the tire as on a normal bike (pick > > the physics student Does anyone else have this problem? Is there a > > solution to it? (more air in tire? less? A special unicycle inner tube?!!) > > There is no more pressure on the tire than there would be on a bike, unless > you inflate the tire to a higher pressure which is pretty common for > unicyclists to do (not as common on MUni though). There is an average of twice > as much surface area in contact with the ground per tire on a unicycle. That’s > the physics part which I don’t think is the problem. If it was, you would have > the tube exploding on you. Most likely that would happen with the tire > slightly coming off the rim and the tube bulging out from the opening. > > The problem that you probably have is that some sliver or torn is puncturing > the tube. Look at the tube and see where it would line up on the rim when it’s > on it and see if there is a metal burr on the rim that could be poking it. You > mention that you ride on “bush” track, whatever that is? Would that be where > there are plants that would have thorns? Maybe you’re hitting a thorn that is > going through the tire and puncturing the tube. That should be fairly easy to > spot on the tire if the thorn attaches to it. Have you changed tires at all? > There could also be a very little needle like thing that is stuck in the tire > that could be puncturing the tire as well. > – > ___________ =================================================== ___ > /_/ / / / / Kevin Gilbertson - mail@gilby.comhttp://gilby.com / _ '/ > / / '_ / ICQ: 12611076 AIM/AOL: UnicyclingGilby _ ///,__/ / Free > Unicyclist.com e-Mail at http://unicyclist.com // /__________/ World > UNICON X: http://www.unicycling.org/iuf/unicon10 __/ > ========================================================
Does