Solid tyres?

[jonny jeez]

What do you seasoned tourists think?

I imagine the only downside is a broken spoke, or is there more to it?

 

[byegad]

In the past, they come and go. They seem to get reinvented every 8-10 years and sell a few before fading back into oblivion. The issue is that pneumatic tyres have so many pluses, smooth ride, ease of fitting and adjustability and a minus of punctures. Which is why pneumatics were adopted so universally once they were a viable choice.


Earlier iterations of solids have seen bad road induced vibration causing breakages of not only spokes but lots of components and a tendency to unscrew practically every nut and bolt on the bike. The 'harsher ride' of solids is a more personal thing and if you moved from 120psi 23mm tyres to a solid you may not notice the difference too much.

See also the arm and leg powered bike, indicators for bikes and many more inventions. None of which really catch on each time they pop up on the market.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

There are some good reasons why the pneumatic tyre was invented and people keep on forgetting them. Rolling resistance, comfort and weight comes to mind. If you want to get an idea what they feel like, fill your current tyres with water. This is easily done with a pump, sucked full of water and then injected into your tyre. With just a little bit of effort you can fill the tyre so that there's no air left in there and all the tyre's cords are fully strained.

If your concern against them was access to nipples because a spoke broke, then you are in the clear. Most spokes break at the elbow and the nipple remains intact and accessible.

 

[Racing roadkill]

https://www.relive.cc/view/996949624

And

https://www.relive.cc/view/998741097

All done on airless tyres ( Tannus ). 'Solid' is a bit of a misnomer. They are really very good. They take a little getting used to, but well worth it for not having to faff about with punctures / tyre failures, and you don't have to lug pumps / gas / levers about, so there's more room to carry flap jacks / fig rolls. I haven't suffered any spoke failures, but sorting out a spoke failure isn't actually a big deal, just snip a couple of the holding pins around the broken spoke, lift the tyre out ( it's tough, but do able ) sort the spoke out, replace the snipped pins, click the tyre back in. The wheels I have them fitted to are completely un wrecked, I'm probably up to 2000 or so miles on them so far, and nothing has been shaken loose or broken, due to the tyres. The ride is no harsher than a pneumatic tyre at either of the virtual pressures ( 100 or 130 psi) or tyre sizes in the 'road' sizes ( 23 or 25 mm). And they come in a range of snazzy colours.

I've opted for blue. They aren't that much heavier than say a Marathon plus, or similar puncture resistant tyre, and the fact that you aren't carrying pumps / levers / tubes / gas / patches / boots, actually means you're probably actually running lighter. Lots of people have opinions on them, most of the people with the opinions actually haven't ridden any significant distances / hills, with them, or at all though, so you have to decide how much attention to pay to them I guess.

 

[uphillstruggler]

I hope they're better than the ones on my Raleigh chipper when I was a kid - I hold them solely responsible for me not having kids till my thirties

 

[ianrauk]

THIS thread from 2015 might help

 

[jonny jeez]

THIS thread from 2015 might help

It helped back them and as a commuter, I'm a convert. (On the SS at least)

My question here is touring, I'd imagine trying to fight a spoke in when you are in the middle of nowhere, or finding a bike shop who won't touch them could be enough to put me off using them on a tour.

 

[Racing roadkill]

It helped back them and as a commuter, I'm a convert. (On the SS at least)

My question here is touring, I'd imagine trying to fight a spoke in when you are in the middle of nowhere, or finding a bike shop who won't touch them could be enough to put me off using them on a tour.

I've not had to sort a spoke out in an emergency yet, but I did see if I could do it, if needs be, as an experiment, with kit I'd have with me in a trip. So I pretended I had a spoke failure, and had a go at clearing the tyre enough to be able to thread a new spoke through. Using a pair of needle noses pliers to break the pins in situ, and the lever that Tannus supply to get the tyre off enough, I did get enough tyre off to get access. Tannus supply a few spare pins with the tyre's, so getting them back on isn't any more difficult than doing it originally ( not that bad, just takes a bit of brute force, and patience). So I'd say, given that in my experience thus far, I've not found any increased incidence of spoke breakage, it's not an issue to be overly concerned about.

 

[jonny jeez]

If you are a convert, you have most probably got more experience of them that all but one person on this forum. What issues have you had thus far? Any that would be seriously terminal on tour?

Only on the low mileage single speed, which is still awaiting stock from Tannus to fit the road touring tyre (I picked up two flats on the way to nip nip in southward to get them swapped, so clearly the fairies ont want me to change.)

It may sound odd but I don't really care so much about the tyres on the SS, it's a slow city cruiser and only does very short distances (about 10-15 miles at a time)

I'm wary though of fitting them to a long distance bike. My concerns are around spokes (which seem to not be an issue) but also the general lack of pressure, pulling the rim together like a pneumatic tyre can, I'm not sure if that has any effect over distance on spoke wear and wheel strength.

 

[Lonestar]

Do solid tyres work on a turbo trainer?

My Audax is tied up on the turbo trainer now and I just found out fixie two has loose cones in the back wheel meaning I only have fixie one and the Brompton as back up.

I'm too tired to faff about and try and fix fixie two till Friday when I'm off.

If disaster did strike before the point of no return and I had to come back to get another bike it would probably take too much time to get the audax off the trainer and switch wheels.

 

[TheDoctor]

Only on the low mileage single speed, which is still awaiting stock from Tannus to fit the road touring tyre (I picked up two flats on the way to nip nip in southward to get them swapped, so clearly the fairies ont want me to change.)

It may sound odd but I don't really care so much about the tyres on the SS, it's a slow city cruiser and only does very short distances (about 10-15 miles at a time)

I'm wary though of fitting them to a long distance bike. My concerns are around spokes (which seem to not be an issue) but also the general lack of pressure, pulling the rim together like a pneumatic tyre can, I'm not sure if that has any effect over distance on spoke wear and wheel strength.

Looking at the forces, it'd be the spoke tension putting the rim under a compressive loading, rather than anything coming from the tyre.

 

[jonny jeez]

Looking at the forces, it'd be the spoke tension putting the rim under a compressive loading, rather than anything coming from the tyre.

I'm thinking the same, after all that's what they are for...but just wonder.

 

[jonny jeez]

Do solid tyres work on a turbo trainer?
.

Cant see why not.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Cant see why not.

Tyres are designed for a maximum contact patch deflection and many turbo trainers are under the limit - about 80mm (dia for the roller) and heat up tyres very quickly and hot enough to make them delaminate.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Looking at the forces, it'd be the spoke tension putting the rim under a compressive loading, rather than anything coming from the tyre.

A spoked wheel receives a double compressive load with ordinary and tubular tyres. The spokes put a compressive load of around 3 tons (30 000N) on the rim and the tyre about 300N. The tyre's compressive force comes from the scissor-jack action from the cords in the tyre which constrict the tyre's circumference under inflation. It is this circumferential load that allows us to take a tyre on and off without too much trouble, because it needn't be as tight thanks to the compressive force that is applied after fitment. This force also allows for slight variations in tyre diameter which are normal for manufacturing processes.