Punctures: a daft idea to avoid stopping for long

[Nettled Shin]

Taking the rear wheel off my hubgeared & hub braked bike is a royal pain, and the front one can take a while, too. If a new innertube was ever required on a cold, dark Winter night, I'd be in a pickle. I've heard of people taping an innertube in the rear triangle so that it is already fitted in a topological sense, then the wheel doesn't need to come off if the old one needed replacement, but I can't see a good way to keep the tube clean and undamaged. But, how about I drill another valve hole, and fit two inner tubes into the same tyre, then if ever one ruptured, I could just add a bit of air to the previously uninflated one and carry on? Or, if I rode with both of them partially inflated, I might even be able to carry on cycling at half pressure without stopping. Apart from a bit more rolling resistance, would there be any downside to this?

[james01]

Interesting idea. I suppose you could fit two tubes at the narrow end of the width spectrum too avoid too much rubber being crammed into the cover. As you say, there'd surely be a rolling resistance penalty, and maybe some lumpy running because it would be difficult to arrange the tubes without getting into a bit of a twist. This could actually provoke a chafing puncture. Personally, my approach to avoiding a difficult roadside tyre change would be to improve the odds by fitting a puncture resistant tyre like a Marathon Plus, and also to carry a puncture repair aerosol can.

[hondated]

Taking the rear wheel of my hubgeared & hub braked bike is a royal pain,

I understand what a pain it can be in having to remove the rear wheel with whatever type of gearing you have and what I cannot understand is why these days bikes cannot be equipped with quickly detached wheels.What I mean by that is a wheel that can be removed but the chain cogs remain in place.

Back in the 60's when I first started riding motorcyles good old British bikes like Triumph, BSA et al were equipped with this very thing and it made removing the wheel so much easier when you got a puncture.Sadly in the coming years for many and varied reasons we saw the demise of the British bikes with the Japanese taking over the market and I suppose because of the increase in power of Japanese machines we also saw the demise of the QD.

So I wonder why the idea has never been taken up for bikes because it would make life a lot easier for some of us and it surely would not be too difficult for todays engineers to design either.

[Mick F]

Another good idea would be to have a "gate" in the seat stay below the brake bridge.

A sort of screw tube that would move up as you unscrewed it to reveal a gap in the stay so you could:
a. Remove/fit a tube/tyre
b. Replace a chain, without the need for a split link.

If whole frames can have a SKS couplings, a little "gate" in a seat stay should be easy.

[Si]

If whole frames can have a SKS couplings, a little "gate" in a seat stay should be easy.

I think that it's already been done on some Moultons that have belt drive.

[hubgearfreak]

Another good idea would be to have a "gate" in the seat stay below the brake bridge.

i reckon it may be a reasonable idea if additionally the chainstay had a gateway. as it is, it's a useless plan

[Mick F]

Of course, silly me!
Fit two gateways then.

It ain't rocket science.

[fatboy]

I am a big fan of puncture repair in situe. I only winkle the bit of inner tube out from where the hiss is coming from.

If the air is not coming out quick enough for you to tell from where it comes then you can pump and ride a few times to get home.

Not fool proof because there will always be times when the tube can't be patched.

Don't know if you can still get them but SJS used to sell inner tubes that weren't round but a long sausage so you could change the tube without taking the wheel off.

[7_lives_left]

I have an idea that this may have actually have been done before, but I am not certain:

The problem with a standard inner tube is that it is a torus. What you need instead is an inner tube that looks like a very long sausage, long enough that there is sufficient overlap when it is wrapped around the rim. The problem I foresee is how to stop this inner tube bursting at the two ends.

edit: damn, fatboy beat me to it.

[WrightsW5]

Thicker at the ends, a butted inner tube!

[BigG]

Don't know if you can still get them but SJS used to sell inner tubes that weren't round but a long sausage so you could change the tube without taking the wheel off.

Halfords also sold them and I still have one in use. They work fine although they must introduce a very slight wheel imbalance with the extra weight where the two ends overlap slightly, but probably no more than caused by the valve on the opposite side. I have tried to get replacements without success. If anyone knows where they can still be obtained, I would be interested.

[tyred]

I am a big fan of puncture repair in situe. I only winkle the bit of inner tube out from where the hiss is coming from.

If the air is not coming out quick enough for you to tell from where it comes then you can pump and ride a few times to get home.

Not fool proof because there will always be times when the tube can't be patched.

Don't know if you can still get them but SJS used to sell inner tubes that weren't round but a long sausage so you could change the tube without taking the wheel off.

This is generally what I do on any bike with no quick release wheels.

But I use puncture proof tyres on any bike which I ride regularly (I have quite a few bikes) and punctures are a dim and distant memory.Yes, it still can happen, but it's very rare.

[rualexander]

Another good idea would be to have a "gate" in the seat stay below the brake bridge.

A sort of screw tube that would move up as you unscrewed it to reveal a gap in the stay so you could:
a. Remove/fit a tube/tyre
b. Replace a chain, without the need for a split link.

If whole frames can have a SKS couplings, a little "gate" in a seat stay should be easy.

Like this (scroll down to photo) : http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/ind ... pic=3329.0

Or this : http://blog.shandcycles.com/2010/02/23/ ... /#more-521

Bit of an expense to go to if its just to be able to change a tube without taking the wheel out though!

[531colin]

Fitting 2 inner tubes into a tyre is an old trick used by trials motorcyclists.

To change a tube quickly and easily on a bike with gearcase, etc. you need Dutch pliers or strong fingers to spring the rear triangle just enough to squeeze the tube past the axle end.

Rather than having a "gate" in the seat/chain/stay, why not a removable dropout, viz a sliding dropout as used for singlespeeders.? Just enough to get the tubes past the axle end.

[meic]

Going back to the idea of leaving one wrapped around the frame ready for use when needed, it would have to be protected from the sunlight or it would perish rather rapidly.

To reverse the tables on Hubgearfreak , the obvious answer is to get a bike with deraileurs.