Tire Slow Leak

[machynys]

Tubed are more effective as you have options if you get a flat. IE slime to temp repair. A good thing to do with tubed tyres is to use bead glue on the rims when fitting the tyres to form a effective seal.

[Gonkulor]

Originally Posted by Rickochet

Thanks for all the input. I checked with the dealer I bought the cart from. He does a lot of upgrades and says he has a huge stack of OEM tires/wheels he said he would give me one of those for less than I could get one fixed.

I am going to pop the hubcaps off today to check all of the valves. If the leaker is the only one with a tube I will swap that one out. If all 4 have tubes and the dealer can sell them to me dirt cheap would it be better to have tubeless tires instead of tubed?

Personally I like tubed tires, but I won't work on them unless it's a 10 speed. If it's tubeless there is also the possibility of a crack in the rim. Tubeless are probably less maintenance? If you can get a set of decent tires dirt cheap, that hold air of course, why not?

[chloe]

Tubed tires are easy to repair. Remove the wheel from the cart. Deflate it, break the bead seal on the side where the vavle stem is located. With a couple of pry bars, remove the thire from the rim on that side. Leave the rest of the tire on the rim. Push the valve stem inside the wheel and carefully remove the tube. Inspect the tire to see if there is a tube pad inside, (a flat band around the inside of the tire. If there is, replace it. Inflate the tube and locate the leak. Mark the spot and deflate the tube. Using a good tube repair kit, clean and patch the affected area. Allow the patch to completely dry then reinflate to test for more leaks and your patching effort. If it's good, deflate it. Look at the tube and particularly the vavle stem. You will see the stem is offset to one side. That's the side that goes toward the valve stem hole. Lift the edge of the tire and push the valve stem inside and into the hole. Put a washer, or something the stem cap will hold, over the stem to keep the stem from falling back inside. Push the rest of the tube into the tire. Be careful to get it lined up correctly to avoid any wrinkles twists or creases. Reinflate the tube. This is just to ensure all is well and nothing is twisted or otherwise a problem. Remove most of the air and begin to replace the tire bead on the rim. Be careful not to pinch the tube in the process. After the bead is on, reinflate the tube and ensure the stem is sealing into the stem hole. Bounce the tire off the floor a couple times and you're ready to reinstall the wheel.
Not as easy as a plug but you don't have to be concerned about the condition of the tire or the location of the leak, (except around the stem).

[Rickochet]

Thanks for the info Denny. I patched many bike tubes as a kid. I just didn't know how difficult it would be to get the bead over the rim to do a patch or install a new tube.

I didn't get to go out in the yard and check the tires as we had the remnants of Sandy raining and blowing like crazy.

Rick

[chloe]

The cart tires are a little stiffer, in the side wall, than most bike tires but in some ways that makes it easier. It won't curl under near as much.