I know there have been a few threads on this but…
My tyre seems to go down loads, even after just 1/4 hour of uniing. I
can pump it up again but it never seems to be that well pumped. It
might be the pump as it is quite an old cheap bike one. I dont think
it is the wheel because I took it into my local bike shop a couple of
months ago, and they couldnt find anyhting wrong with it (they did
replace the innertube though).
I have a uni from from unicycle.uk.com. its a rogue chrome 20 or
something. I’m sure this is a one, off but has anyone else had this
problem?
It looks like you have a slow leak in your inner tube. Here’s what to do:
-pump up your tire
-make some soapy solution of dishwashing liquid and water
-slop a little of the soapy solution onto the valve. If you see air bubbles coming out of the valve then you know you’ve got a faulty valve. Replace the inner tube.
-If no bubbles, take your uni apart and take your inner tube out. While you’re at it check your rim and the inner portion of your tire for sharp objects. Get rid of sand and other dirt, which could give you a slow abrasion puncture.
-pump up your inner tube enough to have shape
-dip a section of the inner tube into the soapy solution. Check for bubbles. If you see any coming from the inner tube, this is a leak. Replace the inner tube.
-if not, do another tube section.
-repeat until you’ve found the leak
-if you still can’t find it after doing the whole inner tube, you suck, do it again. Try rotating the tube at different angles when it’s under the soapy solution.
You may want to do this procedure on a new inner tube just to be sure you don’t have the hassle you have now. Maybe you should be purchasing a better inner tube? Try a thicker downhill tube. Like condoms all inner tubes may function the same but vary with quality and features.
Losing air after only 15 minutes of riding is not acceptable. An acceptable slow leak for me is riding for 1 week, and the air pressure has decreased 10 psi. This leak is the result of air passing microscopically through the inner tube wall.
Do you have rim tape, a piece of plastic/rubber/cloth that goes between your inner tube and your rim? You may want to get some.
When you put your tire back together ensure you don’t use a screwdriver or some other sharp object to get the tire back on to the rim. A screwdriver could puncture the inner tube.
Once you get air into your inner tube it has a one way valve and shouldn’t come out on it’s own. If you can get air in using your old pump, then the pump works well enough. A newer pump will get the air in faster but not any better.
> -dip a section of the inner tube into the soapy solution. Check for
> bubbles. If you see any coming from the inner tube, this is a leak.
> Replace the inner tube.
“Paul” <pauldart@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:7771891e.0203280359.7fe5e9e1@posting.google.com…
> I know there have been a few threads on this but…
> My tyre seems to go down loads, even after just 1/4 hour of uniing. I
> can pump it up again but it never seems to be that well pumped. It
> might be the pump as it is quite an old cheap bike one. I dont think
> it is the wheel because I took it into my local bike shop a couple of
> months ago, and they couldnt find anyhting wrong with it (they did
> replace the innertube though).
>
> I have a uni from from unicycle.uk.com. its a rogue chrome 20 or
> something. I’m sure this is a one, off but has anyone else had this
> problem?
If it keeps happening with a new innertube, this might be because there is
something sharp stuck in the tyre which has punctured the new innertube as
well as the old one. Check round the inside of the tyre for sharp bits.
It could also be a spoke end poking into the rimtape, check the rim tape is
all on correctly and that it doesn’t have any sharp spoke ends poking up
under it.
