New tire vs. roofing nail. Fixable?

I only had 60 miles on my brand new bike when I took a roofing nail in the rear tire. I was in a hurry to fix it (so I could keep riding) so when the first service shop said they couldn't plug nail holes I just figured that the god of biking was telling me I needed to get a new, bigger tire. I now have a spare Michelin pilot power 180/55 ZR17 with a nail hole in it. It's sitting on the floor of my office behind my desk (some people complain but frankly I like the smell of new rubber) and I can't figure out what to do with it. Michelin said they don't recommend plugging tubeless tires but I'd say the same thing if I were them - sell more tires. It pissed me off, too. I've been riding for 10 years and I've never had a flat. I probably put $350 into replacing the tire and there isn't any reason to think it won't happen again.

I'm already rambling so I'll cut short about here. Let me know if you have any solutions.

BTW I don't know what the posting rules are on this site so I left out all of the more colorful language that I was tempted to use. Feel free to read in your own.

The short answer is that if it is in the tread and not the sidewall, and if you are comfortable with a slight reduction in speed rating, plug it and forget it. If not, send it to someone who is. Someone will be happy to have it.

Now that the tire is off the wheel (and if the damage isn't obviously too severe) you can patch it from the inside and use it when the new tire wears out. Sometimes a punctured tire shouldn't be patched, but if you don't ride like a maniac and the damage is limited, you can get away with it. Besides the chance to sell a new tire, liability issues are a big factor in shops refusing to patch them. Can't say that I blame them, really.

BTW, $350.00 is an awful lot to pay for a new tire - next time, take the wheel off yourself and give it to Cyclegear. Their tire & mounting charges are much more reasonable.

Yeah. It's maybe an inch off of the center of the tread. I haven't been able to find a local shop that says they'll plug it. I only tried the bigger ones near me. Does anyone know a Houston shop that 'll do that kind of thing. Or better yet, can I do it myself?

350 covered towing (had to go out of town on business and I didn't want to leave it) plus the tire plus install. Probably too high but I wanted it back by the time I got back in town and I don't really know who to use in Houston. The dealer I bought it from is is pretty nice but they are way out in Katy.

I picked up a 16 penny in a new ME880 Took it to Team Scream and Brian put a mushroom plug in it I just pulled it off after 25000 (twenty-five Thousand) and never had a problem. Not being a RUB I just can't find it in me to toss out a new tire because some yahoo says it can't be patched. You can use a tire plug in an emergency that well get you to help or home from a hunert or so miles. It won't last but it well save you from a long walk. Every been starnded in west Texas back roads? Traffic is real lite and you can see for miles.

It's been said hundreds of times on this site - why ride around with that nagging concern that one of your tires has a weak point? Cycle Gear sells tires at a good price and for a small extra fee you can get a tire puncture warranty where they will replace your tire. OK, having said that ... and if you really want to ride around with a patched tire ...

I used to patch car tires part time in high school. Take the tire down to one of the few remaining full service gas stations and see if they can help you. All you need to do is take a wire brush and rough up the inside of the tire over the are the patch will go in. Apply the patch glue and let it dry just a little bit. Apply the patch and stitch it down with a roller. It's easy if you can get the patch and glue. Avoid plugs like the plague unless they are a combination plug/patch. You have to fix a flat from the inside otherwise you risk losing the plug and rapidly losing air which would probably ruin your day. Once you remount the tire bubble test the tire to make sure the patch held. Bubble test it again periodically over the remaining life of your tire.

Good luck!

Dave.

Thanks mlinkibikr, that was very helpful. I'll give it a try.

To me a plug on a bike tire is a temporary solution to get home, an internal patch (done right) is something you can ride out the life of the tire with.

BTW - If the Speed Trip has the 46mm nut on the rear like the previous model SSSA's, you can get a socket set at Harbor Freight for not much more than Triumph charges for the socket itself. When I bought mine it was on sale for $34.99 down from the listed $49.99. I bought it when I got new tires at Cycle Gear on sale, $225.00 (carry-in) mounted, balanced, taxes and all for a pair of Metzler Z6's. If you can catch a sale at Cycle Gear, they run about the same as mail order.

Harbor Freight - 21 PC. 3/4'' DRIVE HEAVY DUTY METRIC SOCKET SET

Puncture

Here in the Houston area with all the construction and the trucks with junk rolling out their tailgates, I have yet to ride a new pair of tires without eventually getting a nail in one or the other or BOTH…happened to the first pair of T66s I put on my BMW. When I got to work one morning, I heard the hiss.

I found the nail, left it in place, topped up the tire before I left for home that evening and made it without a problem and still safe inflation pressure in the tire.

Since BMW puts plugs and repairs tools in the OE tool kit, I went ahead and removed the nail carefully, noting the orientation of the nail as I withdrew it. Then, I cleaned the hole with rubber cement and the awl supplied with an auto parts store repair kit. Use plenty of rubber cement. I then fit the plug into the prepared and cleaned hole, again, using adequate rubber cement on the plug. Also, I applied full recommended air pressure to the tire as soon as the plug was in place to “set” the plug well. When you do this, make sure the tire is warm, not cold. If needed, heat the area of the hole with a heat gun, hair dryer or torch (careful). A warm tire and plug will seal better.

But, you have the advantage of having the tire off the wheel. If the damage is just a hole, I would put a patch on it. First, spray the inside area with carb cleaner and wipe it thoroughly dry. This will remove any mold releases used during manufacture. Next roughen the area where the patch will be applied then, warm the area before you apply the cement and patch. After your work is completed, mount the tire and check the patch with soap and water to insure there is an airtight seal. Remember, the tire will likely require a rebalance to offset the weight of the patch.

I have yet to discard a tire due to a puncture.

Can't plug a nail hole ?!? If they can't plug a nail hole, what kind of hole can they plug?? That should be the cleanest, EASIEST type of tire hole to plug.

In a perfect world, you would be rich and could just buy another tire. But this isn't a perfect world and you probably aren't rich, so just plug it and go.

I've plugged a half dozen nearly new tires and they lived long and happy lives after that.

Its not that the tire cannot be repaired.
Its the liability of repairing the tire.
We did tire repairs years back. But our DM told us of a shop that got sued over a tire repair that might have caused a wreck. So we stoped.
This is also the reason you cant get a hot cup of joe at the McD's anymore.

Ron

As others have said, now that the tire is off the wheel, patching it yourself should be pretty easy (especially on something as wide as a 180 because you have room on the inside to see what your doing). Plus this will give you a chance to practice tire plugging in a comfortable, controlled environment, so if you end up having to do it with a patch kit on the side of the road someday, you'll be a lot more comfortable with what you're doing.

I think a mushroom plug is better than a patch alone because instead of just covering the hole, IT FILLS IT. You can pick up a kit at most auto part stores and for sure a bike shop.

Two plugging hints: don't be stingy with the glue and really clean the hole out good with the reamer/pick (when you think you've got it clean, ream it our some more).

Gracias amigos. I'll give it a try. I already mounted a new tire but now I'll have a spare.

Kick a**,

I started this thread when I took a nail in the rear tire of a bike with only 60 miles on it. I had already put a new tire on the bike and I was wondering how I could repair the old one.

Now with only 1350 miles on the bike I took a nail in the new tire. SWEEET!

My average is now one flat every 675 miles. Yes, it would make me feel better to have a new tire out back, again, but at this rate (200 per tire) I could easily pay more for tires than insurance.

BTW, getting a tire repaired is a pain in the a** and I can't get the tire off the rim myself. I tried. A tire store guy told me it would be easy. ***?

My plan is to patch and plug the original tire tomorrow and then either plug the one that's on the bike so that I can ride it to a shop that can swap them for me or remove the whole wheel and take that in. Then I'll plug and patch the one that they remove so I'll have a spare ready 675 miles later when I post my third flat.

Anyway, I have a couple of questions.

1. ***?

2. Is there anything I can do to avoid this problem in the future. It was hard enough convincing the wife that dropping $10K on a bike was a good idea. I'm afraid that I might be losing my credibility here.

3. Has anybody tried SLIME. There literature makes a lot of promises but I generally don't trust literature.

4. Is there a tool for removing and replacing tires that is easy to use, relatively cheap and that won't chip the finish on your rim (oops)? I've seen the machines that they use at tire shops and I've changed bicycle tires by hand; there has to be a happy medium. (And if there isn't, maybe I'll invent one - make a million).

5. Has anyone found a jack that works well with a sport bike or am I going to have to invest in paddock stands? I have a Craftsman motorcycle jack and it would work really well if the bottom of my bike featured a flat, structural area designed for lifting, but it doesn't - so it sux.

$200 per tire? Where are you buying them, the dealer :scratch
I paid $225 for a set (F/R) of Metzler Z6's mounted, balanced and taxes at Cycle Gear. They also have a road hazard warranty on tires (which was in theprice that I paid) , most that I have heard of using it says they have never had much trouble with them. Even SW Moto Tires has them cheaper than that.

I do have the luxury of a center stand on the ST and it worked fine, I think you can find a Pit Bull type stand for around $150 with the rear pin for the SSSA. I bought a 3/4" drive metric socket set at Harbor Freight ($35.00) to get the 46mm and 22 mm sockets needed for front and rear. I do want to get some stands eventually but live with what came with it for now.

Houston Speed Triple said:

BTW, getting a tire repaired is a pain in the a** and I can't get the tire off the rim myself. I tried. A tire store guy told me it would be easy. ***?

Click to expand...

With your wide, tubeless tires it is easy... with the right tools, once you've done it a few times and know what you're doing. Examples of a variety of useful tire work tools can be found here: Pit Posse

At a minimum you need a tool to break the bead off the rim (a C-clamp will do in a pinch), some tire levers (two minimun, three is better), and something to protect the rim (they make protectors specifically for this purpose, but I've also cut plastic discs out of sturdy plastic bottles and used them to prevent scratches).

Anyway, I have a couple of questions.

1. ***?

2. Is there anything I can do to avoid this problem in the future. It was hard enough convincing the wife that dropping $10K on a bike was a good idea. I'm afraid that I might be losing my credibility here.

3. Has anybody tried SLIME. There literature makes a lot of promises but I generally don't trust literature.

4. Is there a tool for removing and replacing tires that is easy to use, relatively cheap and that won't chip the finish on your rim (oops)? I've seen the machines that they use at tire shops and I've changed bicycle tires by hand; there has to be a happy medium. (And if there isn't, maybe I'll invent one - make a million).

5. Has anyone found a jack that works well with a sport bike or am I going to have to invest in paddock stands? I have a Craftsman motorcycle jack and it would work really well if the bottom of my bike featured a flat, structural area designed for lifting, but it doesn't - so it sux.

Click to expand...

Lot's of theories abound as to why the rear tire almost always is the one to pick up nails. The most logical I've heard is that a front tire will roll over a nail lying flat on the ground will kicked it up momentarily so by unfortunate luck it is still standing on end when the rear tire gets to it. I once saw on the net where one guy's solution was to hang a small debris flap (like a mud flap) made from an old piece of tire tube under the belly of his bike to deflect these nails before they got to the rear tire. He swore he hadn't had a flat in years since. I've never tried it but I did consider it.

I've never used Slime. My concern is it would throw off the balance of the tire at high speeds. For sure shops hate the stuff. It just makes a mess when they have to change a tire.

A paddock stand would be ideal for your bike. You can get them through Lockhart-Phillips or almost any dealer. You can sometimes get a jack under the front of the wingarm to lift the bike enough to remove the tire, but it would be a good idea figure out a way to stabilize the bike so it doesn't move or topple over. First of all you need to assure it won't roll forward (you can do that with a bungie around the front brake lever). You may be able to lay a couple 2x4s on your cycle lift to get it to lift at the flat, forward underside of the swingarm rather than the belly of the bike.

CycleCat said:

I've never used Slime. My concern is it would throw off the balance of the tire at high speeds. For sure shops hate the stuff. It just makes a mess when they have to change a tire.

Click to expand...

Slime will knock off the balance on a car tire as I have used it for an emergency type of repair on my wife's Civic. It had a noticable thump after awhile at highway speeds, in city driving it didn't. I would not use it on the bike at all, when I do long rides I take a tire repair kit with me that has both patches and plugs. While I wouldn't want to ride very far on a plug, if it gets me home or to safety, then it is worth the risk.

Cyclecat - thanks for the tire tool link. One can never own enough tools...I'm warming up my Amex now.

Also Cyclecat and Bluedogok - thanks for the info on SLIME. I just bought a plugging kit that I can carry with me to get me back home.


I'm going to look at paddock stands as soon as I get a free moment. I may have a few more quesions later. I would especially like to know whether the single sided swingarm stands go on the swingarm side or the no swingarm side and how that affects your ability to get the tire off. I'm guessing that you cant et the tire off and that's why Cyclecat recommended the jack under the swingarm. I tried that last night and it was pretty sketchy but with a little work I can probably get it to work.

I forgot your bike has a single-sided swingarm. That may make the jack, shimmed with 2x4s not work. It also depends on if your shock linkage would get in the way.

Another way to stabilize a bike that has no center stand is to lay a 2x8 plank on the garage floor at a 90-degree angle to the bike, and park the front tire right in the middle of the plank. Use a long enough plank so you can put a hefty eyebolt in each end and then after immobilizing the front brake with a bungie, you can strap the front of the bike with a pair of tie downs so it stands vertically on its own. Then you can jack up the rear without worrying about balancing the bike.