MikeDeason

I want these for my daughter's bike. She's venturing farther and farther from home. I have the Marathon GreenGuard tires on her bike

mstateglfr 

https://tannus.com/airless-tires/

The best way to not puncture an inner tube is to not have one to begin with.
Best way to do this is to have a tubeless tire setup with sealant.
Second best way to do this is to have tires that dont air up. You cant pop what isnt inflated.

phughes

I understand your concern, but I believe you are overthinking it. The tires you have are already a good defense against puncture. Keep them properly inflated. Don't inflate them to the maximum printed on the sidewall, and don't under-inflate. Use a pressure calculator to figure the recommended pressure for the bike/rider weight, and use that as a guide. Stay away from cheap thin tubes, or tubes designed to save weight, and simply buy a quality tube. Replace the tires when the tread is worn.

As an example, on Continental City contact tires, I had one flat in over 3,000 miles. That flat was once it was over 3,000 miles, and so the tread was worn thin. A lot of those miles were touring, and then 12 months total of commuting six days a week on the shoulder of a highway, where all the debris is. That is where I got the flat. I currently have the Marathons on that bike, and no flats in over 1,000 miles. The Marathons with greenguard have way more protection from flats than the Continental City Contacts did

You cannot prevent every flat, they can happen, but generally speaking, you are already well protected. Stop worrying about it, and you might want to teach her how to change a tube, and have one on her bike.

MikeDeason

yea, probably overthinking it but I ordered the Tannus Tube Sleeves. Some peace of mind if nothing else

squirtdad

the problem is that this comes with a price, the ride and handling will suffer and a lot of enjoyment of cycling can go with that. weight does make a difference

it might be better to teach you daughter how to fix a flat fast with a spare tube and ensure she has a kit with tubes, patchs, levers, pump and co2..... or carry something like https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LBBWVTK...roduct_details (note I have not tried this yet)


PS the tannus airless are known for harsh ride and poor cornering which would introduce different things to worry about

PPS I am a dad I get it...especially as my son is simply not mechanical, he depends on his girlfriend for that

Rick

In the eighties I ran the Mr Tuffy strips. There are better tires know, so I no longer use them. There are better tire strips that don't weigh as much called RhinoDillos. These are even better than the Tuffy Strips and have no were the added weight of those inserts.

csport

Thorn resistant tubes https://www.serfas.com/shop/products...sistant-tubes/
Probably they ride like concrete

MikeDeason

The Tannus tube sleeves actually claim to soften the ride and allow for lower tire pressure.

Borderline giving her a dreaded phone but at least reducing risk of flats may prolong that. Don’t think she’ll manage repairing at 11.
I still struggle with it especially when it’s cold or rainy.

LarrySellerz

Best puncture resistance… this sounds crazy but I bet filling the inner tube with water instead of air would be a lot more puncture resistant. It would take a much bigger hole for it to leak. Never tried this, just thought of it, I bet it works, but if it’s a mtb it’s gonna be heavy.

smd4

Is she riding 10 miles from home?

Don’t worry about it.

MikeDeason

up to 20 on a lake trail that gets pretty rural. Tempted to give her a phone but that's a whole other can of worms

MikeDeason

20km not miles

squirtdad

1) phone you will feel better (and you can track if you want...just be upfront and tell her) I know the rest of the issue social media etc, but it is coming anyway
2) start on the change tire education/practice now....not too early and you are empowering your daughter

good luck when she starts dating

Fredo76

Thorn-resistant tubes, with Slime added yourself, plus tire liners. Just the Slime, or other sealant, works pretty well, too, and feels a lot lighter. Still may need a pump, though.

phughes

veganbikes

The best tube is a high quality standard butyl inner tube pumped to proper pressure. The "thorn resistant" tubes have little stretch and are not an ideal thing for a tube. Tannus Armour which is a foam liner is the best way if you want to add some more protection. It looks like you had mentioned them but those would be sensible. Use regular tubes, good tires like what you have and keep everything properly inflated and less chance of flats and if you add in the Tannus you have an extra layer of protection that is not going to cause flats or abrade the tube like Mr. Tuffy or similar harder plastic and rubber products. Depending on the wheels you could turn them tubeless but that is potentially some hassle in some sense.

In terms of a phone yes she should have a way of getting in touch with you if something goes wrong. If you teach her how to use it and have taught her good morals and values it won't be a big issue and if you make it a big issue more of the bad stuff is likely to happen.

Airless tires are the worst idea since iron tires but the pneumatic tire hadn't been invented yet and wasn't out on the market en masse at that point now they are made by companies saying they have come across some brand new technology that will change the game except it is the same thing we had in the early to mid 1800s except with maybe some slightly better rubber compounds and different sizes.

Water in your tires is not a good idea, Larry and I suspect you either know that or are truly clueless.

Leisesturm

I'd give her the phone. What can of worms? If she is riding 20 miles ... and, Marathon Plus tires don't flat. They simply don't. Case closed. Give her a phone anyway. There are PLENTY of things that could stop a ride besides a damn flat. Or don't let her ride anywhere. Drive her everywhere she needs to go yourself.

mstateglfr 

I have 0 desire to own airless tires, but having actually installed and ridden airless tires on a friend's road bike, they are hardly anywhere close to what you describe in this rant. They are no harsher feeling than 23 or 25mm quality tubed road tires inflated to 100+(so proper inflation). They arent fast rolling and they arent fun feeling, but they also arent supposed to be. They exist to ensure punctures dont happen.

Lamont Cobb

Try tire liners like Mr Tuffy or Rhino, and Slime, or something similar to Slime.

phughes

Get her a basic phone, one she can use to call you. It doesn't have to be a smartphone. Give her a basic cell phone she can use to make calls. Alternately, don't worry about her. When I grew up, we didn't any of those options, and I strayed a long way from home. My parents did do a decent job of instilling some sense into me. I don't always use it, but they did a good job. I'm sure you did too.

Rick

20 kilometers = 12.5 miles: I am seeing allot of advice given here to solve a potential problem. The Schwalbe Marathon Greenguard tires may be adequate for this situation. I would let the child ride with those tires to start with. The phone and a backup plan so somebody can help the child, are a must. As mentioned, teaching the child how to repair a flat with having the tools and at least a spare tube are essential. Tougher tires, tire strips and tire liners are options that will add differing degrees of extra effort and handling differences. I mentioned that I had used slime and finding out it was a problem went to Tuffy strips. I am gearing up for a trip and have decided I don't care about weight as much, so my order from Bike24 that took a whopping 28 days courtesy of customs arrived yesterday. In addition to the Tubus Grand Expedition Rack: the Schwalbe Pickup 26"X2.125 tires for the trip arrived. Alee from Cyclingabout is using these tires currently.

smd4

Iron tires were very effective but still got flats.

LarrySellerz

https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/q...instead-of-air
Did a quick google search and I found this, a guy in this thread claims his water filled tires had a slow leak hold for far longer than air filled tires. I believe it, it’s much easier to get something water tight than air-tight.

I get the tendency to dismiss an idea like filling tubes with water as absurd without sitting down and thinking through what would happen, let alone testing it. I’ll put this test on my “to-do” list because it actually sounds interesting and might have some benefits, namely puncture resistance.

sometimes one is struck with an outlandish novel idea, and even if most of them don’t work they are worth exploring.

also OP she can probably just use someone else’s cell phone, you’re doing her a favor in the long run by not getting her a phone. People used to get along just fine without phones

smd4

How much pressure do you think you could get the water filled tires up to?

smd4

You must have worked on a farm.