tire plug?

[Guest]

Dumb question??....
Hopefully prepping for an upcoming trip that will put me in some remote spots(some seasonal roads and off the beaten path), I would usually think of packing a tire plug kit with three CO2 catridges for a possible roadside fixit. The old '79 GS750E has about 1k miles on a set of newer tubeless Shinko 230's (great tire for the price BTW!). The rims are orig solid cast, but not marked tubeless and I used the existing tubes again. The bead seem to seat as normal when I did the tire change myself.
If I take a puncture, remove it and try to plug it, and as long as the bead is still seated reasonably well, will a plug work regardless of the tube's ability to hold pressure for the short haul?

[Skateguy50]

We got plenty of trailer queens coming up this year, just get a few cell number and you will be good to go.

I hope for the best when it comes to tires... cell phone is all I got in the tool box for that one...

My guess would be it should hold up, I was told when they installed my rear that it had a tube so I should replace with one. But since it was cast and rated for tubeless it could hold without, likely be a slow leak if anything related to the hub itself so in a pinch would not matter...

However I thought with tube wheels you have to remove the wheel, replaced the tube, then inflate.

[lurch12_2000]

We got plenty of trailer queens coming up this year, just get a few cell number and you will be good to go.

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I know and I'll get some #'s just in case, but there are a lot of dead spots for my cell(Verizon) on my intended scenic route. Besides it may be hours away for a trailer rescue especially if people are in altered states!...maybe days before help arrives!!
Anyway, the patch kit was just a what if fall back plan thought to possibly save some inconvenience.

[Steve]

If I take a puncture, remove it and try to plug it, and as long as the bead is still seated reasonably well, will a plug work regardless of the tube's ability to hold pressure for the short haul?

If I understand this correctly, you are running a tubeless tire that has a tube inside it.
Your question (as I understand it) is "if I get a puncture, can I plug the tire and run it until I get a tube". Close?

Personally, I don't think it will work. How well is the stem sealed to the rim? Since the rim usually only has to locate a tube stem, not support it and seal it, there is probably not much of a seal there.

On the rare chance that it actually holds air, what do you think is going to happen to that mis-shapen hunk of shredded rubber that used to be a tube? Chances are that it will ball up and throw your wheel WAAAYY off-balance. Might be good to limp you to help somewhere, but anything over about 10 mph could get real exciting.

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[lurch12_2000]

If I understand this correctly, you are running a tubeless tire that has a tube inside it.
Your question (as I understand it) is "if I get a puncture, can I plug the tire and run it until I get a tube". Close?

Personally, I don't think it will work. How well is the stem sealed to the rim? Since the rim usually only has to locate a tube stem, not support it and seal it, there is probably not much of a seal there.

On the rare chance that it actually holds air, what do you think is going to happen to that mis-shapen hunk of shredded rubber that used to be a tube? Chances are that it will ball up and throw your wheel WAAAYY off-balance. Might be good to limp you to help somewhere, but anything over about 10 mph could get real exciting.

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Again, this is just good fodder for discussion now, but yes, I'm thinking in terms of not trying to remove a tire for a more permanent repair, but temporarily plugging it to get some rolling pressure to travel 20, 30, maybe 50 miles at slower speed to "get out of the woods" so to speak.
Not sure the tube would move too far out of place if you stop relatively soon and the "nail" would possibly hold pressure for the short term. I've taken nails in my autos enough times to know not to disturb it until I got home or to the garage and deal with the slower leak until you're ready to repair.
Anyway, I'd just use the cell, or change my boots to sneakers and hoof it til I see a house or get reception. It's not like I'm leaving a $20k bike behind for local pickings! Maybe pack the "heat" in case the bears or locals get out of line.....

[Steve]

Even if the tube does not move around inside the tire, you still have to deal with the air seal around the outside of the valve stem. That is an area that was never meant to be air-tight, so I don't know if I would trust it.

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[TheCafeKid]

Even if the tube does not move around inside the tire, you still have to deal with the air seal around the outside of the valve stem. That is an area that was never meant to be air-tight, so I don't know if I would trust it.

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A lot of us run tubeless on rims that weren't rated to be done so with great success. The biggest difference, as you well know, is simply the interior channel of the rim having that extra lip to help lock the bead in.. And the chamfer around the stem to allow for a sealing, tubeless type stem. However, I personally have never modified the rim to accept the tubeless stem, and have installed them without issue. Dunno if it would be possible to perhaps break the bead to install the stem and remove the tube, and then reseat the bead in the middle of the woods, but Steve is correct. The tube's stem was never meant to be airtight, and doesnt have the required orings/seals to make it so. The stem may leak just as fast as any puncture...

[BassCliff]

Hi,

I can't see how plugging the tire will help if you have a leak in the inner tube. Just thinking out loud here.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[bwringer]

I'd consider converting to tubeless and carry a set of real plugs like these (NOT Stop-n-Go's crappy crap mushroom crap plugs. Did I mention they're crap?) and a small electric compressor. Get a Slime pump, or at least tear the pump guts out one of those little cheapos from Wally World and carry that.

You need about four of those CO2 cartridges to get a tire rideable, and you'll quickly run out of them if you have the slightest leak. And then wolves will eat you in the middle of nowhere...

Or, if you keep the tubes, carry a spare tube or two (at least a rear tube) and some tire irons. A tube patch kit isn't much good because the valve stem is quite often damaged when a tube goes kerblooey.

Plugging a tubed tire won't do anything because the air will escape easily around the tube's valve stem.

You could just carry a tubeless style valve stem (and tire irons) for the rear in case you need to do a field conversion to tubeless, but you'd need to make damn sure it's the right size (car valve stems are too big). This wouldn't be practical for the front, because you need to machine the valve stem seating area in the front wheel so it's flat before doing the conversion.