Lining tyres

Nubster

I went on a dry run to work today, along canal tow paths. Apart from making areas tender that I don't even know the names of, I came back with a flat.

I expect to get any number of flats riding along tow paths, but would prefer to lower the odds a little. There are articles on the net about lining tyres, using commercial tapes and also using old 'slick' tyres inside the main tyre. Does anyone have any experience with lining their tyres, especially the method of using tyres to line their tyres with?

rolf_f

I don't think anyone lines their tyres. Avoiding punctures is about using decent tyres (ie the right amount of puncture protection - not too much, not too little), keeping the pressure up (ie topping up the air at least once a week using a track pump with pressure gauge), avoiding riding through glass etc in the first place and maintaining your tyres (ie digging out stuff that is embedded in the tyre and waiting to puncture your inner tube - don't assume that the flat you got was a result of what you rode along today - it could have been in there for days!).

Do all that and you should have few punctures.

dgunthor

did the tube have 1 or 2 holes side by side in it? 2 == impact puncture, not enough pressure in your tyre.

ensure you buy tyres with kevlar etc puncture protection e.g. continental gatorskin

as above, nobody lines their tyres

Niktur

Im lining my tyers with old inner tubes I run my comuter with 120PSI, I comute 200-250KM a week and was experience punctures twice a month before lining mainly from glass that had worked its way into the inne tube. After lining, I I have had one puncture every 2-3 months, last 4 years. Its seem that the glass that penetrates the tire gets traped between the lining inner tube and the tire. But i mainly comute on tarmac and the punctures i now get is mainly spikes, stapels or inpacts if i hit a stone or rock.

The additional weight of approx 50gr per wheel on a comuter is for me of no importance, getting to work and home on time is.

But even with lining you need to check your tires weekly and I usually go over them in detail every month and/or after a puncture to remove all objects stuck and check the tires overall condition.

dgunthor

good to know.

when i puncture, i leave the valve in the valve hole, pump up the tube to see where it punctured - if it's a pinch flat carry on but if it's a single hole, line up with the tyre to find where it happened and remove the glass/nail/etc if it's still there - avoid a repeat puncture shortly afterwards that way

p a t r i c k

Hi

The very best covers I've used to reduce punctures are Schwalbe Marathon Plus. I see there is also a Marathon Plus MTB and probably other variations. The SmartGuard layer seems to work very well.

I use the Marathon Plus on my commuting bike and I have had no punctures at all over a very long mileage with these covers.

Here is the webpage about the Marathon Plus at the Schwalbe North American website:

http://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires ... athon_plus

These are easy to get in the UK.

Other advice about punctures has already been stated in this thread.

Keep the tyres inflated. I have the Marathon Plus at maximum inflation always.

Periodically remove objects from the tyres. To be honest with my commuting bike I hardly ever do this, but with my touring bicycles I do this before every trip.

davmaggs

I can't comment on the efficacy of lining tires, but I'd say that it would be better to simply buy ones designed for the job at hand. Buying tape and messing about with homemade solutions doesn't seem good value or time prudent compared to the savings brought about by commuting by bike.

The Rookie

Decent commuting tyres, lightweight tubes and I've had one slow puncture and one I had to fix in 3,500miles, the latter occured after I'd already bought a new tyre for the worn out rear but not fitted it.