Davey-boi
11-03-2004, 04:48 PM
Hey fellas, just picked up the latest "Scootering" mag and ran across this tire article. It was basically a how-to make vintage lambretta wheels into tubeless wheels. But I snipped out what I thought was some useful info to all scooterists.
***the following directly taken from "Scootering" ed. 220, October 2004.***
"Whats's so bad about inner tubes?
The main problem with tubes comes when they become punctured by something like a nail in the tyre. The thin rubber of the tube can actually end up tearing. This leaves the air able to escape rapidly through the gap between the split rims, often so quickly that it is virtually impossible to react when riding at high speed. With a tube a sudden front-wheel puncture almost always means a crash, though with luck and skill it is sometimes possible to save a rear wheel blow-out.
Further problem regarding inner tubes can occur if a split-rim wheel is incorrectly assembled. If the tube is pinchedbetween the rims then it will be under constant stress and can puncture unexpectedly at any time.
The final problem specific to Lambrettas is that the valves of certain brands of inner tube- Michelin Airstop are bad for this- can touch on the fork link bolt of the forks when used on the front wheel. This again can cause a sudden and terrifying blow-out with potentially horrific consequences.
Don't think that any of this can happen to you? Think again. Dave Dry of Classic and Modern Scooterist Scene had a sudden front wheel blow-out on his Lambretta earlier this year resulting in some nasty injuries and a very bent scooter.
What's so good about tubeless wheels?
Modern tubeless wheels are just as prone to punctures as those fitted with inner tubes- but the difference is in how the tyre reacts to whatever has impaled it. With a modern tyre fitted to a tubeless wheel a sudden blow-out is extremely unlikely. The far more common scenario when a nail penetrates the tread of the tyre is a slow deflation. The only place where air can escape on a regular tubeless wheel is through the penetration itself. If the hole is not too big then the air will only leak out gradually. This leads to the common "slow puncture" syndrome where you notice that a tyre is going flat when the machine is parked up or you feel odd handling when you first set off. Isn't this a better time to notice a puncture than flying over the handlebars at high speed?
On modern automatic scooters fixing a puncture is no harder than replacing a tube on a traditional machine. Highly effective tubeless tyre puncture kits are now available. These use thin wedge-shaped rubber bungs which can be coated with rubber solution glue and are inserted through the hole using a special tool. Once the hole has been plugged the tyre can be re-inflated using the tiny carbon dioxide bottles included in the kit. The whole process takes no more than 15 minutes. Of course if you had tubeless "traditional scooter" interchangeable wheels you could always just fit your spare.
The other advantage of tubeless wheels is that tyre puncture sealants such as Ultraseal are more effective. Ultraseal will seal a small hole in a tubeless tyre- permanently according to the manufactures- and also works on tubes, but not if the tube gets split by the intrusion. Only God performs miracles."
***the following directly taken from "Scootering" ed. 220, October 2004.***
"Whats's so bad about inner tubes?
The main problem with tubes comes when they become punctured by something like a nail in the tyre. The thin rubber of the tube can actually end up tearing. This leaves the air able to escape rapidly through the gap between the split rims, often so quickly that it is virtually impossible to react when riding at high speed. With a tube a sudden front-wheel puncture almost always means a crash, though with luck and skill it is sometimes possible to save a rear wheel blow-out.
Further problem regarding inner tubes can occur if a split-rim wheel is incorrectly assembled. If the tube is pinchedbetween the rims then it will be under constant stress and can puncture unexpectedly at any time.
The final problem specific to Lambrettas is that the valves of certain brands of inner tube- Michelin Airstop are bad for this- can touch on the fork link bolt of the forks when used on the front wheel. This again can cause a sudden and terrifying blow-out with potentially horrific consequences.
Don't think that any of this can happen to you? Think again. Dave Dry of Classic and Modern Scooterist Scene had a sudden front wheel blow-out on his Lambretta earlier this year resulting in some nasty injuries and a very bent scooter.
What's so good about tubeless wheels?
Modern tubeless wheels are just as prone to punctures as those fitted with inner tubes- but the difference is in how the tyre reacts to whatever has impaled it. With a modern tyre fitted to a tubeless wheel a sudden blow-out is extremely unlikely. The far more common scenario when a nail penetrates the tread of the tyre is a slow deflation. The only place where air can escape on a regular tubeless wheel is through the penetration itself. If the hole is not too big then the air will only leak out gradually. This leads to the common "slow puncture" syndrome where you notice that a tyre is going flat when the machine is parked up or you feel odd handling when you first set off. Isn't this a better time to notice a puncture than flying over the handlebars at high speed?
On modern automatic scooters fixing a puncture is no harder than replacing a tube on a traditional machine. Highly effective tubeless tyre puncture kits are now available. These use thin wedge-shaped rubber bungs which can be coated with rubber solution glue and are inserted through the hole using a special tool. Once the hole has been plugged the tyre can be re-inflated using the tiny carbon dioxide bottles included in the kit. The whole process takes no more than 15 minutes. Of course if you had tubeless "traditional scooter" interchangeable wheels you could always just fit your spare.
The other advantage of tubeless wheels is that tyre puncture sealants such as Ultraseal are more effective. Ultraseal will seal a small hole in a tubeless tyre- permanently according to the manufactures- and also works on tubes, but not if the tube gets split by the intrusion. Only God performs miracles."