Bit of a newbie question (sorry guys, can hear the groans already:-D).

I've just finished struggling with my first flat (well, I think I've finished). I took it to a mate who's a wizz with that stuff (son races motocross), & got him to show me how to do the fix myself.

Now Charlie's got a great set up, & he's fixed more flats than I've had hot dinners, but ****** me if we didn't manage to pinch the tube each time we got to the last 4 or 5 inches of tyre going onto the rim. That last bit of tyre is just so tight that we couldn't seem to ensure the tube was clear (were we missing something obscure but obvious?).

In the end I took it to the bike shop, and even now, I think I've still got a slow leak.

Anyway, it's got me thinking. I can't see myself frigging around on the side of the track out the back of nowhere, slowly turning homicidal from the frustration of re-repairing the same flat dozens of times over. So, what's the go with tubeless tyres? Is there some problem with me running these instead, & just plugging them whenever I get a flat?

I want to be able to do all my own maintenance & trackside repairs, & tyres are the obvious place to start. Speak to me oh wise ones.


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You can fit a tubeless tyre to your rims, but the air will leak out through the spoke nipples. That's what the tube is there to stop.

There are various approaches to this, but they all involve sealing the spoke nipples in one way or another. A few people have done it DIY style with sealant and tape. The 'Tubliss' system uses a bicycle tube at very high pressure in the wheel well to seal it, then you put air in to the tyre itself through a second valve. Trelleborg have a similar system, but I think it's a bit less well thought out than the Tubliss one. Last time I checked you couldn't get the Tubliss system for a 17" wheel anyway, and they wouldn't guarantee it for road use. And they're expensive.

Tubeless tyres give you a quicker way of fixing straightforward punctures (say picking up a screw in the middle of the tread which leaves a single, neat hole). But there's plenty of ways of puncturing a tyre that a plug kit wouldn't fix, so for anything more out of the way than riding to work and back I'd want to have a tube (and the tools to fit it) as a backup anyway. The problem with having a tubeless setup normally plus an 'emergency tube' is that the stiffer tubeless tyre will be much harder to get off to fit the tube in.


In my opinion, the solution is simple - get better at fitting tubes. I fit my own tyres - not because it makes economic sense to do so (my local tyre fitter charges a pittance, and does it much quicker than I can) but because it keeps my hand in for when I do need to fix a puncture.


It's also worth noting, yet again, that I've only had two punctures in the last decade. Both riding over screws in populated areas. I've never had one riding on dirt.

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I spent a lot of money on travel and racing motorcycles - the rest I just squandered.

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Yup.

Did the tube have any air in it while you were fitting it ?? It should have enough air to hold it's shape but fold over if you hold it horizontal. Ever single pinch puncture I've ever given myself was due to not enough air in the tube while fitting.

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Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Excellent answer Uber thanks!!! One other possibility would be to fit alloy wheels (if we are talking about an XT660X so 17 inch wheels) and then tubeless tyres are good?????

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(Now sold on, sob) 2011 Blue XT660X with gold wheels, was 26,500 km.
Engine mods: K&N Stage 1 filter, DNA Stage 2 filter, snorkel removed, Kev fuel mod fitted.
Plus: smoked Puig screen, Yam aluminium sump guard, Yamaha / Acerbis handguards, Givi Trekker aluminium side cases, Leo Vince X3 cans plus Kev front fork mod and Fender Xtender. Just fitted Michelin Road Pilot 3 tyres.

SOLD the XTX for a Super Ten 1200. And just bought a Raptor 700 so staying on here for some tips....

If it makes you feel any better Scotty, when I fixed my first flat on the ten it took four attempts, as each time I would nip the tube. My buddy Robin gave me some great and useful tips:
Put air in the tube. It needs to be only a little, but enough that if you hold it over your two fingers on each hand, then the two sides will meet but each will be round, like a black pudding as the tube hangs between them.
Talc it then feed it into the tyre.
Soap the tyre bead.
Line the valve up.
Put the bead of the tyre over at the valve first and get the valve through the hole.
Put the little knurled nut on the valve as it pokes through, but only at the end.
Pushing the valve back into the tyre, start with your levers at the valve, and finish at the valve.
Pushing it back keeps the tube out of the way.
Tyre soap is your friend.

All this is presuming you have already Fixed your flat, and checked the tyre carcass for foreign bodies.

Hmmm, thanks for the great answers guys. Sort of sums up what I thought. Think I'm just going to have to harden up & get better at doing the tube repairs .

We did do all of those good steps you've highlighted (tripletom). Charlie recommends using Windex as a lube, because it evaporates & doesn't cause any corrosion. Based upon all your responses here, I'm wondering if we perhaps should've put a bit more air in the tubes now. Oh well; no guts, no glory.

At least I have learned what sort of kit I'm going to have to invest in for the job (bloody good tyre levers & a mini compressor at the top of the list - any suggestions on these?).

Thanks again for your help guys. You all rock.

A tip Gulgo gave me a couple of years ago and it has worked for me every time - and I'm pretty ham fisted with levers.

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Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard, grow big an wear glasses if you need em.

Compressor or mini MTB pump - whichever you are happy with (I carry a small MTP pump - it has high and low pressure settings, lighter, smaller but more work), it's personal choice.

Levers,,,, again whichever give you the confidence. I can think of one person who would swear by long ones until he saw short ones make less work.....

We learn by our mistakes, listening to others and watching others do it - I did anyway.

Get yourself on eBay and buy an old cheap wheel, then practice practice practice - who cars if you damage it? who cares if you pinch the tube? but ever time you do it you'll get better.

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>-------<

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

That's how I trained myself - best way to learn I reckon. You can even make it into a bit of a competition with a few mates and a stopwatch!

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ive only just begun to change my own tyres / tubes...im getting better the more i do. i can just about do the front....the rear is a different story, breaking the bead is hard enough!!