kevlar tire for GRR with Currie USPD electric drive

I have a GRR with a currie uspd on it (motor mounts on back rim). This would
make a rear tire change on the road very difficult.... it is one of those
worries I have while riding...

I have seen kevlar belted tires mentioned, but am wondering which is better,
and where can I get one?

Thank you for any input... I want to be ready for next seasons riding season
with a less worrisome rear tire in place.
..
Arne, USA
..
..

On Fri, 17 Dec 2004 11:19:07 -0500
"Arne" wrote:

I have a GRR with a currie uspd on it (motor mounts on back rim). This
would make a rear tire change on the road very difficult.... it is one
of those worries I have while riding...

I have seen kevlar belted tires mentioned, but am wondering which is
better, and where can I get one?


Kevlar will prevent tears in the tread (and sidewall, if you have it on
the sidewall) - and will prevent some sorts of punctures - and this will
prevent most major blowouts, but isn't going to make your tubes
bulletproof.

Speaking of side walls, gum side walls seem to deteriorate faster than
rubber. Just my personal experience.

I'm personally a big believer in slime. I buy tire slime at Harbor
Freight, about $5 for enough for two wheels. It won't directly prevent a
blowout either, but it prevents most leaks. I haven't had a leaky tire
since i started using it. I see guys on the trails holding partially
inflated tubes under water and chuckle, because that used to be me.

When you first start rolling, yes, the slime is a puddle at the bottom
of the wheel, and things will feel a little funny. After you've rolled 20
yards or so, it's distributed itself more or less evenly.

Depending on the width of your tires, a lot of people swear by tire
liners as well. When i ran really small 700c tires, though, I found that
they were totally infeasible.

But many people, especially commuters, swear by them. Little pieces of
glass will get wedged in a tire and just saw away at the rubber, and a
kevlar belt won't stop this. but tire liners will.

Do NOT buy thorn resistant tubes if you run high pressure tires. They
can still blow out under some circumstances, and at 100psi, with their
thicker, stiffer rubber, when they go, they take your tire with them.
Little chunks of rubber go everywhere. 1" hole in the side wall. Don't ask
how i know this.

Question for the more experienced riders - do Presta valves make a real
difference? I used to swear by them and now i find that i don't care enough
to find them or pester the LBS to order them. The screw-down valve makes
sense, but has anybody actually compared their air-holding performance?
Pneumatic tires are going to pass some gasses right through the rubber
anyway, be it butyl or latex. Especially CO2.

"Eric Jorgensen" wrote in message
news:20041217100042.16e9d224@wafer...
On Fri, 17 Dec 2004 11:19:07 -0500
"Arne" wrote:

I have a GRR with a currie uspd on it (motor mounts on back rim). This
would make a rear tire change on the road very difficult.... it is one
of those worries I have while riding...

I have seen kevlar belted tires mentioned, but am wondering which is
better, and where can I get one?


Kevlar will prevent tears in the tread (and sidewall, if you have it on
the sidewall) - and will prevent some sorts of punctures - and this will
prevent most major blowouts, but isn't going to make your tubes
bulletproof.

Speaking of side walls, gum side walls seem to deteriorate faster than
rubber. Just my personal experience.

I'm personally a big believer in slime. I buy tire slime at Harbor
Freight, about $5 for enough for two wheels. It won't directly prevent a
blowout either, but it prevents most leaks. I haven't had a leaky tire
since i started using it. I see guys on the trails holding partially
inflated tubes under water and chuckle, because that used to be me.

When you first start rolling, yes, the slime is a puddle at the bottom
of the wheel, and things will feel a little funny. After you've rolled 20
yards or so, it's distributed itself more or less evenly.

Depending on the width of your tires, a lot of people swear by tire
liners as well. When i ran really small 700c tires, though, I found that
they were totally infeasible.

But many people, especially commuters, swear by them. Little pieces of
glass will get wedged in a tire and just saw away at the rubber, and a
kevlar belt won't stop this. but tire liners will.

Do NOT buy thorn resistant tubes if you run high pressure tires. They
can still blow out under some circumstances, and at 100psi, with their
thicker, stiffer rubber, when they go, they take your tire with them.
Little chunks of rubber go everywhere. 1" hole in the side wall. Don't ask
how i know this.

Question for the more experienced riders - do Presta valves make a real
difference? I used to swear by them and now i find that i don't care
enough
to find them or pester the LBS to order them. The screw-down valve makes
sense, but has anybody actually compared their air-holding performance?
Pneumatic tires are going to pass some gasses right through the rubber
anyway, be it butyl or latex. Especially CO2.

Your suggestions are good. I'm also wondering if this might not be a good
application for an airless tire. We have one poster on arbr who rides a GRR
and swears by them. I've never used them and know nothing about them other
than what I've read on the newsgroup. Arne would want to do some research
before purchasing.

I consider presta valves wimpy with a tendency to break at the wrong time,
in the wrong place. Schrader valves, on the other hand are, robust, and
have proven to be reliable by zillions of automotive miles and hundreds of
thousands of bike miles. The best presta valve application, to my way of
thinking, is on thin, light rims intended for racing events.

I would not be surprised to find others may disagree with my evaluation of
the two primary valve stems available for bicycles tubes.

skip

On Fri, 17 Dec 2004 12:56:14 -0600
"skip" wrote:


Your suggestions are good. I'm also wondering if this might not be a
good application for an airless tire. We have one poster on arbr who
rides a GRR and swears by them. I've never used them and know nothing
about them other than what I've read on the newsgroup. Arne would want
to do some research before purchasing.


Having never ridden on them, I'm going to side with Sheldon Brown on
airless tires. Crap. Heavy, poor riding characteristics, inferior
technology.

I base that opinion on nothing but logic.

Eric Jorgensen wrote:
On Fri, 17 Dec 2004 12:56:14 -0600
"skip" wrote:



Your suggestions are good. I'm also wondering if this might not be a
good application for an airless tire. We have one poster on arbr who
rides a GRR and swears by them. I've never used them and know nothing
about them other than what I've read on the newsgroup. Arne would want
to do some research before purchasing.



Having never ridden on them, I'm going to side with Sheldon Brown on
airless tires. Crap. Heavy, poor riding characteristics, inferior
technology.

I base that opinion on nothing but logic.

Actually, it sounds like you're basing your opinion on assumptions and
hearsay. Not that the end result is incorrect, of course. And I do suspect that
airfree tires won't be as good as what we normally use. But maybe they're not
so bad, that the benefit of not worrying about flats - ever - will be enough to
overlook some of their bad points.
I'd love to ride a bike or trike with airfree tires, then switch back to
"air" tires, so that I could see if the riding difference is all that extreme.
I'd love to be able to say, yep, they're crap - or not - and base that on my
own personal experiences with them.
Kind of like my attitude toward having a disc brake on the rear wheel of a
tadpole trike. It used to be that my feelings toward them were just assumptions
and hearsay, until I rode - and rolled (haflway) one that did have a rear disc
brake. Never again - once is enough to convince me.

--
Larry Varney
Cold Spring, KY
http://home.fuse.net/larryvarney

Eric Jorgensen wrote:
On Fri, 17 Dec 2004 12:56:14 -0600
"skip" wrote:


Your suggestions are good. I'm also wondering if this might not be
a
good application for an airless tire. We have one poster on arbr
who
rides a GRR and swears by them. I've never used them and know
nothing
about them other than what I've read on the newsgroup. Arne would
want
to do some research before purchasing.


Having never ridden on them, I'm going to side with Sheldon Brown
on
airless tires. Crap. Heavy, poor riding characteristics, inferior
technology.

I base that opinion on nothing but logic.

I have used NuTech and NoMorFlat solid tire/tube systems. I found them
both to be too heavy and soft. I have gone back to a standard air
containing tube covered with a thron resistant tube sliced down the
center and placed between the the inside surface of the tire and the
outside surface of the standard tube. This system still creates more
rolling resistance than I like. But hopefully will provide side wall
protection from goat heads. I am also looking into the NoTube.com
system. Cab-bike.com has a tire that may be in production which is
solid. It is suggested to have avoided some of the above problems with
airless tires. Good luck in your quest.
Jim Voeller

"Eric Jorgensen" wrote in message
news:20041217133938.3daacadc@wafer...
On Fri, 17 Dec 2004 12:56:14 -0600
"skip" wrote:


Your suggestions are good. I'm also wondering if this might not be a
good application for an airless tire. We have one poster on arbr who
rides a GRR and swears by them. I've never used them and know nothing
about them other than what I've read on the newsgroup. Arne would want
to do some research before purchasing.


Having never ridden on them, I'm going to side with Sheldon Brown on
airless tires. Crap. Heavy, poor riding characteristics, inferior
technology.

I base that opinion on nothing but logic.

Keep in mind we are talking about a rear wheel driven in some manner by an
electric motor. Surely our resident electric motor guru, J. Goldberg
Coyote, who is around here somewhere, would have knowledge about this
stuff.

skip

skip

skip

"skip" wrote in message
...

"Eric Jorgensen" wrote in message
news:20041217133938.3daacadc@wafer...
On Fri, 17 Dec 2004 12:56:14 -0600
"skip" wrote:


Your suggestions are good. I'm also wondering if this might not be a
good application for an airless tire. We have one poster on arbr who
rides a GRR and swears by them. I've never used them and know nothing
about them other than what I've read on the newsgroup. Arne would want
to do some research before purchasing.


Having never ridden on them, I'm going to side with Sheldon Brown on
airless tires. Crap. Heavy, poor riding characteristics, inferior
technology.

I base that opinion on nothing but logic.

Keep in mind we are talking about a rear wheel driven in some manner by an
electric motor. Surely our resident electric motor guru, J. Goldberg
Coyote, who is around here somewhere, would have knowledge about this
stuff.

skip

skip

skip

Actually there is only one of me here at the moment.

skip