Sunshine and sticky string

[seangee]

Glorious sunny day in the SE and plenty of bikes out. 8 of us took a leisurely ride from Farnham to Goodwood and then via Loomies (which was packed so we just rode by) to Winchester for lunch.





About 8 miles before lunch I had to stop because all the air came out of my rear tyre - all at once. Found a hole and plugged it but could not get the tyre to inflate. We were in the middle of nowhere and between two blind corners so eventually decided to press on with no air in the tyre and one of my mates behind me as an escort. More thorough investigation in the car park and discovered a 2" gash in my almost new tyre. Everwhere was closed so the options were

Wait for recovery
Leave the bike where it was in the village car park
Limp to the closest guy's house (12 miles away) and park in a secure garage

We all agreed there wasn't a hope in hell we could bodge a repair to get there but I didn't fancy that far with no air at all - if you have ever ridden like that you will understand. Someone had a bag of sticky string, the tyre was already  so I figured if we could get half way there with some air in the tyre it was a result.
Here's the bodge

To my amazement (and that of my 2 escorts) this actually held out the full 12 miles - at 30mph. No question I need a new tyre though as I obviously fooked the walls on the airless stint - and the tyre already could not be safely repaired. But don't knock the stuff - got me out of a hole.

[DeepBarney]

Nice work. Glad you were able to get it sorted and get it on down the road.

Folks shouldn't knock tire rope/plugs/bacon strips. I've seen some seriously impressive bodges made using it, 1/2" holes from logs or carriage bolts and cut sidewalls to name a few. In a number of cases they were being treated as permanent and still holding months later. Because as any farmer will confirm, there's nothing more permanent than a temporary fix that works.

[indytiger1050]

   brilliant fix. It worked so well done. 
Know tires aren't cheap, had same thing happen to a track tire, one day on it. At twice the price, hurts about the same.

[Yellow Dog]

Well done 

I've not used that stuff before however I do keep a supply of rubber screws and a compressor in my back box:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274941304858?chn=ps&var=575219951846&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A19yV_77pKTBqsaOzqrUf6rQ60&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&itemid=575219951846_274941304858&targetid=1394813963940&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=1006490&poi=&campaignid=15278604175&mkgroupid=135429446288&rlsatarget=pla-1394813963940&abcId=9300698&merchantid=427108500&gclid=CjwKCAiAz--OBhBIEiwAG1rIOtqrXGaUAB7ssLKS2DuB4cG5Yc5r-Hch6Ql-eG8aAN-I29Q8tr_NThoCAakQAvD_BwE

[Tigermike]

well done Sean on the fix 


what compressor have you got Yellow Dog?
do you have a link to where to get one?
or can anyone recommend a good portable one i can keep in my top box? 

[Yellow Dog]

Originally Posted by Tigermike

what compressor have you got Yellow Dog?

Just one out of an old car.

I know it works because I have used it on my son's car 

[seangee]

I have the one from the "Stop and Go" kit. Used it on my car as the one supplied in the car toolkit was DOA.

Now I found this disturbing. Went to get the tyre changed this morning and it turns out the culprit was a humble stone, which was still rattling around in there. Not a particularly nasty or scary stone - just the type you expect to find lying around on a road surface. The tyre was almost brand new and there is no way, on a midwinter group rideout on wet B roads I could have got my tyres warm enough to ingest stones through the contact patch. I would really like to think I was incredibly unlucky, or the tyre was defective - but the fitter said its not the first time he has seen that on a Michelin .

I have long been a fan of the Road 5 (and its predecessors), but part of me was relieved they had none in stock. Road Attack 3 now fitted and I will collect the bike from my mate's on Thursday when I am able to scrounge a lift in the right direction from SWMBO.

[mustangpilot]

Over the years I have used these:
The Airman compressor works very well.
https://www.amazon.nl/-/en/dp/B07BL1D5YZ/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1JVI3GJPVJPOY&keywords=airman+compressor&qid=1641834073&sprefix=Airman%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-2
The CYCPLUS even fits in my smallest GIVI tankbag but is less powerfull.
https://www.amazon.nl/-/en/dp/B081RMWV7R/ref=pd_sbs_2/258-2824666-5915741?pd_rd_w=FsVPA&pf_rd_p=222549a3-b06e-4f64-8fb8-2d809b727a1f&pf_rd_r=6TV5VFDNTCHBNEDQ47F6&pd_rd_r=55cc1b70-5895-4d94-a7b1-8b366407a492&pd_rd_wg=zQFtZ&pd_rd_i=B081RMWV7R&psc=1
If I needed a new portable compressor my choice would be the new Bosch Air pump
https://www.amazon.nl/-/en/dp/B08HQHW4LS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=6NFFP0HQ391V&keywords=bosch+luchtpomp&qid=1641834871&sprefix=Bosch+air%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-1

@Sean... you wil love the RA3

[turtle]

Originally Posted by seangee

I have the one from the "Stop and Go" kit. Used it on my car as the one supplied in the car toolkit was DOA.

Now I found this disturbing. Went to get the tyre changed this morning and it turns out the culprit was a humble stone, which was still rattling around in there. Not a particularly nasty or scary stone - just the type you expect to find lying around on a road surface. The tyre was almost brand new and there is no way, on a midwinter group rideout on wet B roads I could have got my tyres warm enough to ingest stones through the contact patch. I would really like to think I was incredibly unlucky, or the tyre was defective - but the fitter said its not the first time he has seen that on a Michelin .

I have long been a fan of the Road 5 (and its predecessors), but part of me was relieved they had none in stock. Road Attack 3 now fitted and I will collect the bike from my mate's on Thursday when I am able to scrounge a lift in the right direction from SWMBO.

Heckuva story Sean.  I've never heard of sticky string but I will investigate.  Anyway, just a thought, but do you suppose that stone found it's way in there after the gash had already been made?  What led your fitter to believe the stone made the actual cut?  In any case, if a stone can cut a tire that way, my faith in tires is shaken  . 

Edit to add: I carry a Slime pump with me.  Had it for years and it still works well.

[seangee]

Originally Posted by turtle

Heckuva story Sean.  I've never heard of sticky string but I will investigate.  Anyway, just a thought, but do you suppose that stone found it's way in there after the gash had already been made?  What led your fitter to believe the stone made the actual cut?  In any case, if a stone can cut a tire that way, my faith in tires is shaken  . 

Edit to add: I carry a Slime pump with me.  Had it for years and it still works well.

Stone was the right shape and size. I was not convinced the mushroom plug in the pic was needed. Mate spotted it while I was warning cars on the corner and started gouging with his awl - a little stone did come out of that hole but none of us was certain it had gone through. But with that plugged air was coming out as fast as it was going in and we were unable to get the guage to register any pressure . We never spotted the gash at roadside. It was opposite the valve so concealed by hugger while inflating and not a powerful enough compressor that we could hear the air coming out. More powerful compressor (and absence of traffic) when we got to the car park made it easier to find. Plugging the gash ended all leaks.

To be clear it was a stone / flint chip, not a smooth pebble, so there were sharp edges. Most creditable theory is it got jammed in the tread and gradually dug in under rotation until it went through. It certainly went from tyre feels fine to back end just landed in a mud hole in about a second. I have a hard time believing the fitter's theory that the tyre was so hot the stone went through just from riding over it, but I am willing to believe he has seen it before.

I guess the width and shape of the grooves combined with the perfectly shaped stone did it. But those wide grooves also make the tyres brilliant at clearing mud. For now I'm going with extreme bad luck, and extreme good luck that when it went I was on a straightish section of a fairly twisty road. I suspect it will be some time before it stops playing on my mind when making progress on typical UK B road surfaces though.