Changing presta tubes on flat resistant tires

Gatorskin type tires are a little harder for me to change than other
tires. Any tips? Quickest tube swap for me has been to take the tire
off the rim, stuff the new tube in the tire and mount the tire/tube
starting with the presta stem.

My riding is mostly city with some rural farm roads. I usually don't
get flats from punctures since switching to flat resistant tires like
the Conti Gatorskin and Specialized Armadillo. Have two bikes and can't
tell much difference between the two tire brands.

Last three tube failures (over several years) have been at the stem, so
as of this a.m., I am switching to unthreaded presta and not using the
nut on my remaining good tubes with threaded stems.

On Jul 28, 8:45*am, catzz66 wrote:
Gatorskin type tires are a little harder for me to change than other
tires. *Any tips? *Quickest tube swap for me has been to take the tire
off the rim, stuff the new tube in the tire and mount the tire/tube
starting with the presta stem.

My riding is mostly city with some rural farm roads. *I usually don't
get flats from punctures since switching to flat resistant tires like
the Conti Gatorskin and Specialized Armadillo. *Have two bikes and can't
tell much difference between the two tire brands.

Last three tube failures (over several years) have been at the stem, so
as of this a.m., I am switching to unthreaded presta and not using the
nut on my remaining good tubes with threaded stems.

Put a little grease on your pump head. That way, the valve will slide
right out.

To changhe tube:
Remove tire from one side only, leaving the other side inside the
rim.
Put air in tube to make it round and close valve.
Push tire out of the way where the valve hole is and insert tube valve
in hole.
Work tire around the tube at the valve whole and then insert tube into
tire all around the rim
Start inserting tire bead into rim starting at the valve.
To make sure that tire goes in properly at the valve, push the valve
up and hook the bead into the rim.
Work tire into rim until it gets difficult.
Pinch tire toward the center of the rim. Since the center of the rim
is slightly deeper, you will create some slack that will allow you to
work the rest of the tire into the rim.
If it is hard, put your palms over the tire and try to force the
stubborn section into the rim with palms.
Don't use a lever or you may pinch the tube.
When inflating, check for buldges in the tire, meaning that a section
of the tube got pinched between rim and tire sidewall.

On 2009-07-28, catzz66 wrote:
Gatorskin type tires are a little harder for me to change than other
tires. Any tips? Quickest tube swap for me has been to take the tire
off the rim, stuff the new tube in the tire and mount the tire/tube
starting with the presta stem.

Not really. The (overly?) stiff sidewall of the Gatorskin makes it much
more difficult to mount, IME. I could never do it without levers. As soon
as I switched to Conti's Ultra Race tire instead, I was able to pack the
levers away, as the more supple tires can be un/mounted with my bare
hands.

My riding is mostly city with some rural farm roads. I usually don't
get flats from punctures since switching to flat resistant tires like
the Conti Gatorskin and Specialized Armadillo. Have two bikes and can't
tell much difference between the two tire brands.

I thought the same, but I've had no fl*ts since switching to the Ultra
Race several thousand miles ago. Plus, the folding bead means you can
toss a spare in the pack on your next cross-country tour.

--

Kristian Zoerhoff

On 2009-07-28, wrote:
Kristian M Zoerhoff wrote:

Gatorskin type tires are a little harder for me to change than
other tires. Any tips? Quickest tube swap for me has been to take
the tire off the rim, stuff the new tube in the tire and mount the
tire/tube starting with the presta stem.

Not really. The (overly?) stiff sidewall of the Gatorskin makes it
much more difficult to mount, IME. I could never do it without
levers. As soon as I switched to Continental Ultra Race tire
instead, I was able to pack the levers away, as the more supple
tires can be un/mounted with my bare hands.

My riding is mostly city with some rural farm roads. I usually
don't get flats from punctures since switching to flat resistant
tires like the Continental Gatorskin and Specialized Armadillo.
Have two bikes and can't tell much difference between the two tire
brands.

I thought the same, but I've had no fl*ts since switching to the
Ultra Race several thousand miles ago. Plus, the folding bead means
you can toss a spare in the pack on your next cross-country tour.

I think from the reports of no more flats with "my most recent tire
choice" cannot be taken as useful statistics, or we would no longer
read of patching techniques, slime, or tire changes on the road. When
I observe the paucity of flats I and my riding companions have,
collecting useful statistics would take many thousand miles.

I made no such claim. My flat rate remained the same after switching
tires, and is similarly low over several thousands of miles. If anything,
my experience would seem to hack away at the claim that Gatorskins are
somehow more fl*t-resistant.

All I can say from this is that Continental tires have excellent
uniformity unlike other tires I have worn out with local cord
exposure. I suppose I should add that I don't skid tires.

That certainly helps :-)

My Gatorskins never made it to the cords, though; the sidewalls
disintegrated around 3000 miles, which seems to have been reported
elsewhere as a weak point with these tires. The Ultra Race tires
are still going strong.

--

Kristian Zoerhoff

Put a little grease on your pump head. That way, the valve will slide
right out.

To changhe tube:
Remove tire from one side only, leaving the other side inside the
rim.
Put air in tube to make it round and close valve.
Push tire out of the way where the valve hole is and insert tube valve
in hole.
Work tire around the tube at the valve whole and then insert tube into
tire all around the rim
Start inserting tire bead into rim starting at the valve.
To make sure that tire goes in properly at the valve, push the valve
up and hook the bead into the rim.
Work tire into rim until it gets difficult.
Pinch tire toward the center of the rim. Since the center of the rim
is slightly deeper, you will create some slack that will allow you to
work the rest of the tire into the rim.
If it is hard, put your palms over the tire and try to force the
stubborn section into the rim with palms.
Don't use a lever or you may pinch the tube.
When inflating, check for buldges in the tire, meaning that a section
of the tube got pinched between rim and tire sidewall.

Thanks much, both of you who replied. I printed these out. Will try
your tube change method on the front tire and will examine my pump, but
think it is not introducing any mineral oil into the mix. I usually get
a year or more out of my tubes and don't get many puncture flats, so I
think the little bit of stress the presta nut puts on the tube caused
the few failures I have had.

On Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:16:20 +0000, jobst.brandt wrote:

snip

# As I mentioned in that thread, these are a manufacturing flaw for #
which there is no patch repair because the stem alone separates from #
the rubber and the only way to fix that is to pull the stem cleanly #
from the tube and insert a stem from an old latex tubed tubular # tire.
Placing a patch around the stem does not fix the leak because # the leak
is between the brass stem and butyl rubber tube.


There is a way to repair such tubes, as I mentioned in a previous post.
Cyanoacrylate (Super Glue) will provide an air tight seal at the hole
between the bottom of the stem and the tube rubber. Use extraordinary
precautions like wearing gloves and having acetone handy when applying.

Apply the Super Glue into the puncture and then press the puncture hole
closed. Super Glue activates on impact not exposure to air. So, you have
to press the hole tight.

After this is done, let the tube dry overnight. In the morning the hole
will be sealed and the tube will be air tight. The area around the hole
will be less flexible than the rest of the tube.

Stephen Bauman

On 28 July, 20:02, wrote:
Kristian M Zoerhoff wrote:
Gatorskin type tires are a little harder for me to change than
other tires. *Any tips? *Quickest tube swap for me has been to take
the tire off the rim, stuff the new tube in the tire and mount the
tire/tube starting with the presta stem.
Not really. *The (overly?) stiff sidewall of the Gatorskin makes it
much more difficult to mount, IME. *I could never do it without
levers. *As soon as I switched to Continental Ultra Race tire
instead, I was able to pack the levers away, as the more supple
tires can be un/mounted with my bare hands.
My riding is mostly city with some rural farm roads. *I usually
don't get flats from punctures since switching to flat resistant
tires like the Continental Gatorskin and Specialized Armadillo.
Have two bikes and can't tell much difference between the two tire
brands.
I thought the same, but I've had no fl*ts since switching to the
Ultra Race several thousand miles ago. *Plus, the folding bead means
you can toss a spare in the pack on your next cross-country tour.

I think from the reports of no more flats with "my most recent tire
choice" cannot be taken as useful statistics, or we would no longer
read of patching techniques, slime, or tire changes on the road. *When
I observe the paucity of flats I and my riding companions have,
collecting useful statistics would take many thousand miles.

An example I can offer is that I rode a Continental "Ultra Gatorskin"
until the cords were showing uniformly around the tread with no flats.
Less than 200 miles after mounting a new one I had a Michelin wire
flat, so I should say that these tires have recently become less flat
resistant, or make some similar claim.

All I can say from this is that Continental tires have excellent
uniformity unlike other tires I have worn out with local cord
exposure. *I suppose I should add that I don't skid tires.

Not even off-road?

On 29 July, 00:21, Stephen Bauman wrote:
On Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:16:20 +0000, jobst.brandt wrote:

snip

# As I mentioned in that thread, these are a manufacturing flaw for #
which there is no patch repair because the stem alone separates from #
the rubber and the only way to fix that is to pull the stem cleanly #
from the tube and insert a stem from an old latex tubed tubular # tire.
Placing a patch around the stem does not fix the leak because # the leak
is between the brass stem and butyl rubber tube.

There is a way to repair such tubes, as I mentioned in a previous post.
Cyanoacrylate (Super Glue) will provide an air tight seal at the hole
between the bottom of the stem and the tube rubber. Use extraordinary
precautions like wearing gloves and having acetone handy when applying.

Apply the Super Glue into the puncture and then press the puncture hole
closed. Super Glue activates on impact not exposure to air. So, you have
to press the hole tight.

After this is done, let the tube dry overnight. In the morning the hole
will be sealed and the tube will be air tight. The area around the hole
will be less flexible than the rest of the tube.


Is it possible to use suoerglue on an inner tube instead of patching?
If the cut is clean then the least viscous cyano-acrylate should
adhere well without a 'seam'. But, I know that superglue sets hard,
so does it flex sufficiently to maintain the bond. I think that it
should be good on pin holes and cuts less than 1/16" but possibly not
1/8" and more.

On Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:46:04 -0700, someone wrote:

snip


Is it possible to use suoerglue on an inner tube instead of patching? If
the cut is clean then the least viscous cyano-acrylate should adhere
well without a 'seam'. But, I know that superglue sets hard, so does it
flex sufficiently to maintain the bond. I think that it should be good
on pin holes and cuts less than 1/16" but possibly not 1/8" and more.

I've never really tried it. One reason is that patches and vulcanizing
fluid have the advantage of being rideable immediately upon application.
Also they do not require the extraordinary care required to avoid gluing
one's fingers to the tube or to one another.

I've had to put a fair amount of super glue into the hole to get it to
stick. The excess adheres to the tube. The area around the application
becomes far less flexible, when it dries. This isn't a problem around the
valve stem. I could see this lack of flexibility being a problem
elsewhere on the tube.

Stephen Bauman

On Wed, 29 Jul 2009 02:43:39 +0000, jobst.brandt wrote:

snip


There is a way to repair such tubes, as I mentioned in a previous post.
Cyanoacrylate (Super Glue) will provide an air tight seal at the hole
between the bottom of the stem and the tube rubber. Use extraordinary
precautions like wearing gloves and having acetone handy when applying.

What does that do for the portion of the stem-to-rubber interface that
has not yet separated? Besides, that is distinctly more complex a task
than putting a Presta stem from a latex tube in the hole left by the
separated stem from your patch kit. I carry one and had the need to do
so in the days when stems separated often.

http://www.yellowjersey.org/JBPV1.JPG


The good part about using a clamp-on presta valve is that the tube can be
ridden immediately.

The bad part is that clamp-on presta valves are difficult to find.
Cannibalizing latex tubes for clamp-on valves is fairly expensive to use
on a continuing basis. The last time I checked, the minimum order from
clamp-on presta valve manufacturers was on the order of 100K units.
That's the reason I tried an alternative method.

snip


Cyanoacrylates don't dry, they harden anaerobically, so waiting
overnight does nothing for adhesion. Why is the tube less flexible? The
way you say that, it seems you believe you are pouring concrete.


The reason I wait for the super glue to dry (or harden anaerobically) is
to prevent the non-dry tube from gluing itself to the rim or tire.

The excess super glue that hardens is less flexible than the rubber of
the tube. It has adhered to the tube, thus making the tube less flexible
where it has adhered.

Stephen Bauman