First Ebike flat!
#1
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First Ebike flat!
Being a lucky SOB we found the Mini Stepthru rear tire flat in the garage on roll out. Much better now fixing at home then on the road in this cold rainy weather to deal with it on side of road. Could not see where it was coming from so by the numbers turned her over and meticulously removed the wheel and began the process of discovery as to why since no puncture was evident.
Submerged the reflated tube in water to see bubbles coming from which area. Nothing obviously amiss. Bubbles coming from seam area but no puncture evident. Rolled my fingers inside the tire to find a tiny looks like part of a staple that was sticking into to tube not protruding out of the outside of the tire. Good thing I checked before reinstalling tube and re inflating. Cant help but think if RAD had not gone cheap on the nearly treadless tires with tires that actually had measurable tread this would not have happened. Will be Amazoning for some chunkier tires despite the weight factor for safety reasons. Oh, also took the time to install some "slime" in the tires just for good measure.
Submerged the reflated tube in water to see bubbles coming from which area. Nothing obviously amiss. Bubbles coming from seam area but no puncture evident. Rolled my fingers inside the tire to find a tiny looks like part of a staple that was sticking into to tube not protruding out of the outside of the tire. Good thing I checked before reinstalling tube and re inflating. Cant help but think if RAD had not gone cheap on the nearly treadless tires with tires that actually had measurable tread this would not have happened. Will be Amazoning for some chunkier tires despite the weight factor for safety reasons. Oh, also took the time to install some "slime" in the tires just for good measure.
Last edited by Sempervee; 12-07-21 at 01:14 PM.
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#3
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Got three rear flats since March. Two were field repaired - a pain with the clutch and the chain requiring a certain orientation re chain ring teeth. Hell of a time getting the wheel back, woven into the disc brake and derailleur! First flat was a staple - both legs nicely planted in the tread. The middle flat was a real gash and the tire was trash. A friend begrudgingly picked me up. Bike shop replaced the tire and tube - worth every penny!
I don't know if tubeless is in my future or not - still debating. Or, also, just different tires.
I don't know if tubeless is in my future or not - still debating. Or, also, just different tires.
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Goat heads are the primary hazard here (I've had as many as five flats in a week; fortunately, most were discovered the next day) when riding on the road five to seven days a week. Apparently they can't penetrate Schwalbe Marathons.
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I found several ebikes on the side of the road tragically waiting for someone to rescue them from a flat. It appears that most ebikers lack the tooling, spares, physical capacity and or the expertise to repair a flat or anything short of bar wrap repair. We often try to help but roadies only carry the bare necessities and they need serious tools. I suggest carrying a AAA card or the number of a friendly wrecker if you venture far from the house and ensure your phone is fully charged. Seriously what would you do if you were stranded on the GAP trail between towns? Abandon your bike and walk out? I like the thought of ebikes but beginning to think they have serious limitations or its a growing opportunity for some enterprising kid.
Last edited by N2deep; 12-08-21 at 10:00 AM.
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I've never gotten a flat on my front hub ebike (Schwalbe Marathons likely deserve all the credit). But I rode that bike for a year or so with the properly sized socket and stubby ratchet in my trunk bag, only to one day realize by accident (while at home thankfully) that I instead needed an open end wrench to loosen the nuts of the front hub in order to get the wheel off, since the hubs power wire goes in through the end of the hollow core axle, and the socket I had been carrying around would never have worked because of that power wire.
#8
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I'm quite surprised that with all my riding in NYC, I have yet to experience a flat on a ride.
Twice, I have had slow leaks that I discover a completely flat tire in the morning before my ride.
Replacing a tube on a hub-motor wheel can be more challenging,
but nowadays, more hub-driven ebikes have cable connectors near the hub motor to make that job less complicated.
It's not a complicated retro-fit if you can source the connectors, manage to splice wiring & use heat-shrink.
Twice, I have had slow leaks that I discover a completely flat tire in the morning before my ride.
Replacing a tube on a hub-motor wheel can be more challenging,
but nowadays, more hub-driven ebikes have cable connectors near the hub motor to make that job less complicated.
It's not a complicated retro-fit if you can source the connectors, manage to splice wiring & use heat-shrink.
#9
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I found several ebikes on the side of the road tragically waiting for someone to rescue them from a flat. It appears that most ebikers lack the tooling, spares, physical capacity and or the expertise to repair a flat or anything short of bar wrap repair. We often try to help but roadies only carry the bare necessities and they need serious tools. I suggest carrying a AAA card or the number of a friendly wrecker if you venture far from the house and ensure your phone is fully charged. Seriously what would you do if you were stranded on the GAP trail between towns? Abandon your bike and walk out? I like the thought of ebikes but beginning to think they have serious limitations or its a growing opportunity for some enterprising kid.
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#13
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I used to repair flats on the road all the time when riding my road bikes. But, time marches on and at my advanced age I don't want to do it. Also with age comes reduced territorial range. If I were to get a flat, I'd call my wife with car and bike rack or my LBS says he'd come for me in his pickup. Of course I ride on Marathon + tires and so don't anticipate any problems.
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I've only had to repair one "e" flat in the woods and that was on a mid-drive, so not much different than a MTB, just a little heavier to invert. I need to see if Schwalbe produces Marathon MTB tires.
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I have a question...if I get a flat I don't even pull the wheel, I just deflate and pull out the tube and patch it and push it back into the tire (after checking the inside of the tire with a gloved hand). Can you not do this with your "big " e-bikes? Just curious, do you have to remove
the wheel to fix? I just carry a tire stick and a patch kit and either my mini pump or CO2.
the wheel to fix? I just carry a tire stick and a patch kit and either my mini pump or CO2.
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Good idea, especially for hub systems. Never tried it (or needed to since I haven't had a flat with hub systems, and mid's are easy enough the "traditional" way), but should work fine if the hole can be detected.
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I just ordered two from Amazon - damn expensive but I was too curious not to see what it is all about. Of course, now I will have to add a knife or scissors to the kit so that I can CUT the old tube to remove it. Or I could just wrap it around the axle or quick release!