On Saturday’s ride on my e-bike, I suffered a rear tire puncture about 4.5 miles from home. The puncture was from a small piece of glass (that was still lodged in the tire when I stopped).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was 84F and I was on paved roadside path, more than 10 miles into my ride, so I wasn’t thrilled about having to do a roadside repair. I was about 1\/4 mile from where I planned to stop for cold hydration (local gas station \/ convenience store).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I always carry tools for flat repair on the e-bike. They’re in a Rockbros saddle-mounted bag. Inside is a multi-tool, a pair of tire levers, a small hand pump, a master link, and a new addition, the Park Tool GP-2C pre-glued patches. I previously carried the old school butyl patches and vulcanizing adhesive, but have never been thrilled with the idea of having to use them roadside, especially if I find the adhesive tube to have dried out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fixing a rear flat on this bike sucks, mostly because you can’t just flip it over. The display stands very proud of the top of the handlebars (dumb design), and in addition, the control pad and throttle also stand very proud of the handlebars. It’s also an 88 pound bike. So I removed my rack bag and used it as a cushion for the handlebars, which worked fine. I removed the rear wheel with the multi-tool, popped one bead of the fat tire, removed the valve stem cap, and then removed the tube. I then used the small pump to inflate the tube and find the puncture. It was about 1.5mm long, in a spot easy to patch. I sanded the area with the little piece of sandpaper included in the GP-2C kit, then applied one of the 6 patches. I slightly inflated the tube, reinstalled it on the rim, then reseated the tire. I then inflated the tire to a reasonable pressure (by feel), and reinstalled the wheel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I made it home without any trouble, and two days later, the tire is still holding air. I have no idea how long this patch might last, but I suspect I’ll get another puncture flat before this patch fails. It adhered really well, is flexible, and fat tires are low pressure. The fat tires on my bike are also pretty thin and not very robust against punctures. I’m honestly surprised I made it this far into the season without a puncture, given that I ride a lot of roadside surfaces littered with crap thrown from vehicles. In this case, a piece of glass from a broken bottle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, I don’t consider any patch as a permanent fix. But I give the Peak Tool GP-2C a big thumbs up. The pack of 6 patches with sandpaper is TINY! I carry a 2-pack (so 12 patches total), which came in a tiny Ziploc bag (which presumably helps prevent the adhesive from drying out). For a puncture in an MTB tire, they will get you home, and probably much further. That’s if you’re not running tubeless, of course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The reason I don’t run tubeless at the moment: I swap to studded tires in the winter, and that swap is much easier (and with no mess) with tubes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I may eventually buy another set of wheels for this e-bike that would allow me to conveniently run tubeless: one wheelset with studded tires, one with spring\/summer\/fall tires.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On Saturday’s ride on my e-bike, I suffered a rear tire puncture about 4.5 miles from home. The puncture was from a small piece of glass (that was still lodged in the tire when I stopped). It was 84F and I was on paved roadside path, more than 10 miles into my ride, so I … <\/p>\n