So what's the deal with all the flat tire repair?

[Joel52334]

What kind of areas are you riding on?  Highways? Hard Surface Trails? Crushed Rock Trails? or freewheeling in the woods?

I've seen so much talk about flats!  I just ordered the ~$140 set of super tires with liners for my RW4.  I have all those terrains I could ride on.  90% of my riding is on County Blacktops,  State Highways, or Federal Highways. Do you ride through Junk Yards where scrap and nails are impregnated into the soil?

Thank you all!
JLH

[sc00ter]

Here's my take on the flat (evil F word) issue.
I ride the ebike further and more often than I've ever ridden my analog bike.
Your'e either on the sidewalk (with trash on it) or the side of the road near the gutter (with trash in it).
Regular bike=10mph. Eboke+21mph. Less time to react to trash.
Dummies like me believed the provided flat protection actually worked. Now I know better.
Ebikes are way heavier than a normal bike.
Bigger/fat ebike tires cover more surface than normal bicycle tires.
I ride thru areas I normally wouldn't ride thru on the ebike, like weird short-cuts and such.
I spend more time riding than checking over the ebike before rides. I need to get better about inspections.
Swerving around trash is harder on a heavier ebike, and moving faster doesn't help.
So I wen't with Tannus. I know nothing is 100% but any piece of mind is worth it to me. Flats on ebikes are horrible, and it's always the rear wheel!

[RadJohn]

I ride all of the above terrains.

The three flats on my RadMini 4 have all been on the FRONT wheel:
#1) What looked to be a fiberglass shard, riding through a lot of junk next to the curb on a county road with no clear alternative path, in heavy traffic.
#2) A sharp stick, riding through the woods on a not very well defined/developed "trail" (small sliver of wood left behind in LARGE hole, trashed the tire too[broken cords]) .
#3) On a fairly well defined dirt trail, very small hole, couldn't find what caused it.

I self rescued from all three, getting home with no assistance other than what I was carrying with me (Park GP-2 Patches [pre-glued], Park TB-2 Tire Boots and pumps).

I've accumulated more than 15,000 miles on bicycles over the years and although flats can ruin your ride or your day, do your best to not let them (or fear of them) ruin the overall experience.  Half the fun of my Rad is doing whatever I want with it, whenever I want, so I just ignore people telling me how or where best to ride it. After adding Mr Tuffys and sealant, things have been fine for me but I'll probably order and install the Tannus liner system later this year or over the winter (primarily for the limited run [or push] flat capability).

Also, FWIW, if you're an AAA member, be advised that their normal free bicycle rescue coverage does NOT apply to Ebikes, but the extra paid (usually ~$35 annually, depending on region) RV Coverage DOES.

Depending on your capabilities, just prepare as best you can and get out there. I'll bet sitting around worrying about what could go wrong and therefore doing nothing has killed WAY more people than bicycle tire flats have.

[Rockwallrick]

Just had my first flat on my 2018 Radrover at 664 miles. Picked up a nail on the rear tire. I was able to patch the tube without having to remove the wheel. Just took it out for a short test ride and the patch seems to be good but I will be staying close to home for awhile! Ordered a new 26 X 4 tube from RPB.

[Veggyhed]

The big flat they got me was a deck screw and that was riding in a designated bike lane through a neighborhood in an urban setting. It is the largest item I've ever picked up in my tire. It would definitely have given a car or truck a flat.
I have pictures of what it did to the inside of my rim that I'll post at a later date.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

[Rockwallrick]

My patch is still holding but I have a spare tube now just in case it blows out.

[mckyj57]

I just had my first flat at 968 miles. It was what looked like some sort of sharp fastener -- roof nail? In any case, I had Slime in the rear wheel and it was to no avail.

I'm not all that handy, but I checked out Rad's video on changing the rear and decided to try it. I made sure I got a torque wrench, an 18mm socket, and bought a couple of tubes. I was able to get it done first time, and it wasn't  as difficult as I feared. But boy did I get dirty.

Next time I do it, I am going to wipe down the tire and bike to clean it, and wrap the chain in a cloth. I washed my hands with Lava multiple times.

[JESimmons]

The secret to removing greasy dirt from your hands and arms is to first pour a cupped handful of cooking oil (bacon grease works, too) into one hand then rub that thoroughly into the dirt.  Then wash your hands with Dawn dishwashing liquid or some similar liquid that's designed to remove grease.   Do this outside.

This works because the cooking oil will mix with the grease. Dawn is made with enzymes that hook into the cooking oil and remove it, taking the grease and dirt, too.  I learned this trick from a professional auto mechanic.  It's much easier on the hands than Lava.