New RW4 owner and first flat…any other tire options?

[TheOriginalCDub]

Hello forum!  New here and so far in love with my wagon.  Bought it mainly so I can cruise around Austin's trails / paths with my 16mo kiddo.  Well, we got our first flat, rear wheel.  Bummer of a walk home after my wife rescued the kid.  I submitted a request for mobile service through RAD since Austin is one of their cities, but I'm curious...are there better / more suitable tires for the RW4 than the stock ones it comes with?  I am not doing any actual trail riding, but many of the city's trails are gravel/crushed granite and I'm wondering what my options are.

[Ddaybc]

I bought a RW4 last year and I have been wondering the same thing. Unfortunately the wheel/tire combination is unique to the RW4. No one else uses or carries a 22 inch tire.
The best thing one can do is to have a patch kit on hand, at least one extra tire tube (which one can buy from Rad) and use a tire sealant such as Flat Out.

[TheOriginalCDub]

Thanks for the tip!

[RideAllDayCyclingService]

Depending on your budget (and parts availability), you could get your wheels rebuilt using a 24" rim with the existing hubs. Run 24x2" tires and that will be very close to the 22x3" tire setup. There are a lot of 24" rims, tire and tube options on the market.

[Eric7]

I suggest sealant because it is no fun trying to patch a rear wheel of an ebike.  I got 200 miles, 6 months, no flats and no pumping to maintain pressure with a sealant.

If sealant won't work I suggest some run flat system like Tannis Armor + sealant.  I have not used the Tannis Armor product so I cannot vouch for it.  But I suggest it because, once again, it is no fun trying to patch a rear wheel of an ebike especially if you have kids waiting on you.

[Orion]

I suggest sealant because it is no fun trying to patch a rear wheel of an ebike.  I got 200 miles, 6 months, no flats and no pumping to maintain pressure with a sealant.

If sealant won't work I suggest some run flat system like Tannis Armor + sealant.  I have not used the Tannis Armor product so I cannot vouch for it.  But I suggest it because, once again, it is no fun trying to patch a rear wheel of an ebike especially if you have kids waiting on you.

I have a RadRover 5 step thru and use the Tannus armor. It works pretty good but I have 120 TPI Surly Nate tires, that have worn down considerably. So recently just a small piece of glass managed to get through and give me a flat. I bought 30 TPI Origin8 Supercell street tires which are more puncture resistant because of the low TPI (thicker rubber).

I've had bad experiences with sealant. The problem is if the puncture is at the top of the tire when it's parked, the sealant doesn't touch it and what you get is a completely flat tire with a HUGE mess of sealant EVERYWHERE. The sealant also doesn't really work with inner tubes. It only really forms a seal with tubeless tires.

The problem you'll have though is once again the weird 22" custom tire size with the RadWagon. Tannus armor only comes in 20" or 24" size, so you'd have to cut it and that means having a gap in the armor. You'll also need a smaller inner tube because the armor takes up so much space, and I'm not sure a smaller tube in that size exists.

The best option is to buy a tire liner, probably 2. I've used the Mr. Tuffy liners and they work pretty good. I'm going to use that with the Tannus armor as soon as I can get my RadRover 5 working again (just died in the street and won't turn on)... 2 weeks and no response from customer support though. Not happy with their service so far.

[rjp]

UPDATE. I knew I read it somewhere, so I got out my Tannus installation guide and on page 3 under Tips For Installing Tannus Armour it states (It is common for the Amour to compress over time. It still is providing shock absorption and puncture resistance but will perform better when properly maintained. To minimize compression deflate the tires while not use. This allows the Armour compound to rebound to provide ideal performance.) So does that mean when your not riding your bike, your suppose to let the air out of the tires? I'm sorry but that's not happening. I don't know how everyone else feels, but if I would have known that earlier, I would not have purchased the Armours. 

[JimInPT]

So does that mean when your not riding your bike, your suppose to let the air out of the tires? I'm sorry but that's not happening. I don't know how everyone else feels, but if I would have known that earlier, I would not have purchased the Armours.

I'm pretty surprised they have so little respect for potential customers that they would make that demand in order for their product to perform as advertised.  Should have never left R&D this way and needs a reformulation of the foam.

I considered Tannus when my bike was brand-new and glad that my local shop talked me out of it, although they never mentioned this "requirement". 

Just ridiculous.

[Mooree]

Bicycle tires are made using several layers of rubber. However, each layer is different from the rest with different strengths and qualities. Key layers are the nylon casing, the treads, and the sidewall that also has the branding. Another important component is the bead; it is similar to a metal wire in appearance but may also be made of a strong material such as Kevlar. The nylon casing is not made of rubber and is prepared separately; it is made up of a weblike mesh.

[JimL]

My son rides his RAD on bike trails that have a lot of thorns.  He pulls them out each day, and says this stuff actually works.

https://a.co/d/45UBVA0

He said the Kevlar fine strands actually get into the hole and tangle themselves to hold the sealant in place.

I'm going to try it, myself.