I had to cut my regular night ride short when I heard a hissing sound coming from my tire. I checked it out and sure enough there was a puncture. I was taken down by a nail no more than 5mm long.
I’m probably going to end up trying to get this tire off (Maxxis CC) tomorrow to patch it and was wondering how to go about taking it off. I’ve searched for a thread I read talking about this issue, but I couldn’t find it again. Should I get a new tube for it later?
Also, there is a product in the bicycle section of my local hardware store that coats the inside of the tire to help resistance against punctures. I can’t recall the name of it, but would it be recommended to use such a product? I don’t know how well it would work with a lower pressure trials tire.
I’m not sure how tight a CC is on a KH rim but to get my Luna off a DX32 I needed to get some good quality tire levers. The plastic ones broke and the cheep steel ones scratch your rim so I use levers with a steel core and plastic outside.
Make sure that you unseat your bead by pushing it towards the center of the rim where there is a bit of a dip giving you more room to work.
Having a spare tube is never a bad Idea, swapping tubes is faster than fixing. I tend to swap a punctured tube with a good one if I want to go riding again right away, then patch the punctured tube after the ride so i have a spare again for next time.
I would suggest against the slime stuff because in my experience it just makes a mess when you really blow your tube and it degrades rubber over time.
After typing this little blurb up I remembered that the almighty Sheldon Brown would surely have an article on this
If the tire is hard to get off, Dish Soap seems to work miracles.
I have a stiff DH tire on my bike with a DX32 in the back and it’s a pain to get on and off, so I started using dish soap. My rim is chewed though, so I just use a big spanner for a router or saw of some kind as a tire lever.
I’ve had quite a few tires that are hard to get off, or hard to put on a rim. This is the method that I use.
Make sure that all the air is out of the tube ( if its punctured you can skip this step ).
Place your tire on your lap and move the bead of the tire to the center of the rim, start at the valve stem and work out on both sides at the same time.
When you get to the opposite side of the rim take your tire levers and pull the bead off the rim, sometimes you need to use both levers, other times one lever will do the job no problem. If it is really stuck on the rim try working the levers in oppisite directions untill the bead pops off.
When putting your trie back on, first try to force the bead on with just your hands, if you can avoid using levers you should as there is a chance you can grab your tube and cause a flat in the process. As someone said some hand soap or shampoo can also help as a lubercate between your tire and the rim.
Alrighty, I just bought a new tube and replaced it.
The guy at the hardware store told me to put all the bead to one side, then just pull it up and off with your hands.
To my surprise, it actually worked. No levers, no soap. Just using my hands, I replaced my CC tire and it wasn’t very hard to do.
Thanks for all the advice though. I didn’t buy the slime. Right now, I’m just cleaning and regreasing parts of my uni and then I’ll be ready to go.
You have a KH though right? KH rim has depth to it, and it is easy to get tires off and onto that rim, along with Qu-Ax, and Koxx.
Torker however, uses a Alex DX32. That rim has a very square profile, making it very hard to get the tire off. I have to use three of my tiny plastic levers, and dish soap on it. With my KH rim, I can pull the tire off so easily.
poor some boiling water on it, that makes the rubber much more flexxible and the tube will come off real easy. Also patches are the way forward, only cahnge the tube if u cant find the hole or if ur patches screw up
motocycle tubes= awesome
you don’t have to worry about this stuff
i have pinch flatted a tire once since i started using them a few months back, and that was off a 12 set… i’m happy with them and they work great! i ride through sticker burrs and occasionally thorns and have yet to get a flat because of them. motorcycle tubes are the way to go!!!
PS the tube size for a trials unicycle is going to be a 15x2.5-2.75 or 15x2.75-3.0(i have yet to see one, please link if you find/found one)
the tube size for a 24" MUNI tire would be a 20"x2.75
they are awesome tubes compared to the bicycle tubes and are much higher quality, and lighter!
Man I wish I would have thought of that. I just went for it and now I have a black rim with small scratches where I cranked down on it with the tire irons. Definatley doing that next time.
But yeah scrobo is right. Get a motorcycle tube and don’t worry about a thing.
My first try was with a lever and scratched it a bit so I decided against using it. I covered the scratch with an industrial black paint marker. Not noticeable at all now
What kind of store would I get a motorcycle tube or should I just get one online?
How much do they generally cost?
Looks like a standard sized valve to me. Just unscrew the nut, put the tube in like normal, and then put the nut back on so its basically clamping onto your rim.
