The Air Fell Out of My Rear Tire, And the RideOn Didn't Seem to Work

[86er]

I've had a small nail in my rear tire for a few days but the pressure wasn't decreasing so I wasn't too worried. I wasn't even sure if it had penetrated. I figure to have another thousand or so in this tire so I was just keeping an eye on it.

 

But this afternoon the bike started getting kind of sloppy. It didn't want to lean over and then when it did, it didn't want to straighten up. I figured it was the tire. As I pulled back into the driveway I scraped the centerstand; that rarely happens! I checked the pressure and all but about 5 lbs of the air had FALLEN OUT on the road!

 

In the garage I put it on the centerstand and took a look. Not only did I have my little fiend (the small nail), it now had a big bother! The small nail was toward the center, while the bigger one was over towards the side.

 

I pulled the nails and the last of the air fell out all over the garage floor! Don't worry though, I swept it all out the door.

 

(Now, I might have done the next few things in the wrong order.) I took the valve core out and figured the amount of RideOn to use, just over 7 ozs, and put it in. I cleared the valve stem, put the core back in, spun the tire some and aired it up. The air just rushed out. So I started the bike, put it in gear and ran it up a little. Added more air and out it came. I thought it was coming from the hole near the side so I plugged it with a standard tubeless tire plug. Aired it up and it seemed to hold, so per the instructions, I went for a 5 mile ride, leaning to the left as much as possible. By the time I got home I knew I had at less than 5lbs of air!

 

Sure enough I had about 3lbs, and then I noticed something dripping from my hidden hitch. I looked up behind the wheel and the inner fender had a big stripe of RideOn on it!!! Apparently it was coming out of the small hole. I would think it should have sealed it!

 

I decided to plug that one too. I haven't had a chance to ride since. I aired it up to 40lbs and I'll check it in the morning. I'm supposed to be going for a Thanksgiving ride tomorrow!

 

I'm not real happy with RideOn at the moment. I have had it in tires before (one with a plug) but have never gotten a hole in them. Maybe I should have put the RideOn in before I pulled the nails, but I don't think that should make a difference. I don't know that I trust it now. Maybe if TireGooGuy sees this he can tell us why it didn't work.

 

Below are some pictures. I didn't take any before I pulled the nails but you should be able to see where they were. As well as the RideOn on the hitch and fender.

 

I'm not only cheap, but poor. I want to get all the mileage that I can out of these tires. They are at around 15k now. I have two new tires waiting in the wings but I'm not quite ready to give in!

 

[GeorgeS]

Well, the Ride On got you home after you picked up the nail. ??

 

I would say it did its job just fine, I would be more then happy with that, and money well spent. ( cheaper then a tow truck )

[gibvel]

Did you have ride on in it prior to the nails going in? 1. Ride-on is supposed to be used before any puncture. 2. I think the second nail was in an area that is iffy as far as ride-on being effective.

 

Glad you were able to get the scoot home and nothing bad happened.

[Kregerdoodle]

Man,,,, I wish you could have set out some caution cones.... some one is going to hit that Air spill and wipe out bad !!!

 

 

Glad you made it home safe !!!

 

Have a blessed Day!!

[RoadKill]

:rasberry:Nails in the Tires?? Hmmm. Sounds like you got in a hurry to ride and forgot to clean up after you last project I read where you swept the Air out, but didn't read where you picked it up. If you do the same thing with nails I think that could be the problem.

[Redneck]

That tire is a gonner replace it before I have 1 less first genner to harass. Now that you have opened up the holes if the plug blows out it will go down fast. The tire is also cupping out its time to replace it.

For God sakes wash that nasty beast.

[Squidley]

Todd,

The ride on is a pre-treatment, it doesn't work well after the fact. Even though I believe that the site says you can remove the nail, but I personally would leave the nail in, unless it was in a questionable spot. I did the same test when I was seeing how the ride-on worked and when I removed the screw it all came out. But when the screw was in it didn't loose any air

[Jrichard]

Call'em---------and then send in your photo's-------------they r located in STERLING Va.------------just North of Dulles airport----off of Rt.28 N.------------am sure that will take care of the sit.-------------

[Marcarl]

I'm wondering if you used a differnet type of tyre sealer before using Ride-On and so got a chemical mixture that don't work good together? An d did you shake the can real well before using it, or maybe it was old product???

[BOO]

Yeah I'm not a big fan of putting that sort of stuff in my bike tires but I do have it in a skid steer tractor I have that has tires that act like magnetic for nails. But what a mess when you have to change one of the tires.

 

I wouldn't think that a plug would work very good with all that slim coming out.

 

Looks like that tire has been low on air for some time.

 

Jerry

Almost forgot, Jay is right, you can't just sweep that air out the door, you gots to pick it up and dispose of it otherwise it will cause you some more trouble later.

Also, do you have bell on that bike? That could be the whole problem.

[Eck]

After seeing what is on the floor, behind the right side of the tire in the 2nd picture, (case of beer), I sorta wonder if you put the plugs in the nail holes, or missed the exisiting holes and created NEW ones....???

:rotf:

[Dano]

At least he won't leak air out of his fender !!!!!

Dan

[WRoger]

Todd ..

 

I do not have a lot of riding miles, but I do have 45 years of tire experience. Here is my take on products such as Ride-On.

 

The goop in a tire will not 'balance' as the hype on the Ride-On site claims. I bought a car with two problems: it had a tire with a slow leak and it had a wheel balance problem at highway speed. When we took the tire off to replace it, we found it contained mucky stuff, a product perhaps like Ride-On. Centrifugal force would send the substance to one spot at higher speeds, which set up the vibration. Here's why.

 

A tire does not STAY round when travelling. The first appreciable bump will deform the tire, and any liquid within will gather to the furthermost point from the axle, and set up an imbalance, like a stone on a string.

 

Back to nails. A nail in a tire is a serious thing, ESPECIALLY on a two-wheeled vehicle. Like the Ride-On site says, the nail can wiggle with tire usage and enlarge the hole. Thus it can be flung out without warning, inviting disaster.

 

One of the biggest tire killers is heat, usually generated by flexing. Excessive sidewall flexing occurs when air pressure in a tire decreases. So, to continue to ride a tire that has been punctured by an object is dangerous, and even more so at higher speeds.

 

A friend (acquaintance) of mine is a huckster. He will write anything in an ad to sell an article. Talk is cheap, and when I read the claims on the Ride-On site, my mind immediately goes back to my huckster friend and the list of wonderful products like teflon engine oil treatments that have proven to be useless.

 

None of us have money to burn, so I empathize with your economic concerns, but a bike is not a car. Unless a person has a death wish, my advice is this: If a nail is discovered, stop riding the bike and replace the tire. If in a remote area where continued riding is mandatory, turn on the 4-way flashers and take it slow, so as not to heat the tire, and to give yourself the best chance of controlling a blowout should it happen.

 

A biker friend of mine relates the story of witnessing a blowout of the rear tire of the bike ahead of him. The bike suddenly began a wild shimmy. The passenger fell and struck the pavement - twice. The first time, her helmet split, and the second time her head split.

 

Don't mess with punctured tires. Chuck them ASAP.

 

WRoger

[Guest Bigin]

That stuff works good if used as intended. It is not a replacement for a safe tire. Please dont risk your hide to save a couple bucks. Im also cheap and poor, but in good health for my age, and would like to keep it that way. Tires are inexpensive compared to health care costs.

[86er]

Did you have ride on in it prior to the nails going in? ............................................................

 

No, Mark, I had the stuff on hand in case of a problem. I've been through their site and couldn't find anything about using b-4 or after! You're probably right about the second nail being iffy.

 

That tire is a gonner replace it before I have 1 less first genner to harass.................................................... The tire is also cupping out its time to replace it.

For God sakes wash that nasty beast.

 

I knew I could count on you to show me the Love, Mike! Every back tire I have run on this bike cups like that, I think it gives better traction in the turns! 1st genners ride, we don't have time to wash!

 

Todd,

 

.............................................................................and when I removed the screw it all came out. ...................................................................................

 

Did the RideOn all come out or the air, Brad? Did it stop the leak with the screw out?

 

I'm wondering if you used a differnet type of tyre sealer before using Ride-On .........................................................................

 

Nope, that was the only stuff, Carl. And the web site says that you don't have to shake it, it won't separate.

 

.............................................

 

Looks like that tire has been low on air for some time.

 

Jerry

 

Almost forgot, Jay is right, you can't just sweep that air out the door, you gots to pick it up and dispose of it otherwise it will cause you some more trouble later......................................................

 

Hey! I check my air at least in the spring and fall, Jerry! As far as cleaning up the air, any one that has been here can tell you my drive way is pretty steep. I figured it would just roll down onto the tennis courts where the players would disperse it by running around!

 

After seeing what is on the floor, behind the right side of the tire in the 2nd picture, .......................................................................?

 

:rotf:

 

Gee, Eck, I figured that Beer30 would be the one to notice that! Besides,I had to lubricate before tire plugging, didn't I?!

 

[flb_78]

I bought 2 bottles of Ride-On for my next set of tires.

 

I also have a plug in my rear tire. Im not to worried about it. Tire has 7,000+ miles on it. Looks to have another 5 or so depending on how hard I rag on it. I'm tuff on rear tires.

[86er]

My last tire picked up a nail at about 1k miles so I plugged it with Stop&Go and put RideOn in it and got 12k miles out of it.

 

Well, I'm about to take a Thanksgiving ride and I hope the plugs hold (didn't have Stop&Go this time). If not, the guy I'm riding with has a Stop&Go tire plugger kit and we both carry air compressors. Worst comes to worst, he can ride home and get his car and trailer!

 

[wizard]

I've been pluging tires since they came out with cast wheels. Never had a problem with any of tires, both front and back. Before they had bike specific plugs, we just used the string and goop used on auto tires. I just used up the last plug on another bike, and bought another plug and go kit made for motorcycles and noticed it does not come with the goop, or glue stuff. Whats up with that!

Leonard

[86er]

I only rode about 200 miles today but the plugs seemed to hold. I might have lost a little air because it felt just a tiny bit "mushy". I'll check the pressure in the morning. We'll see.

 

Just so y'all up north don't feel too bad, it was a chilly ride. At one point it was down to 33 degrees as we went over Fort Mountain. And we did that mainly in a cloud!!! We stopped for some hot chocolate and that helped!

 

Fly-N-Lo had his 5th wheel at the lake so we went there (wow, another M&E!) and ate turkey, ham and all the trimmings! The only problem was that we ate at about 5:00 so by the time we hung around the campfire drinking beer and telling lies for a while, then rode home, there was no time for a nap!

 

Oh well, I am thankful that I got to ride!