eBike Explorations, Volume 7: Flat Tire??
I was out on my ebike looking to score a food truck burrito this morning when the unthinkable happened. I hit a severe pothole which caused a flat tire:
I pulled over onto the grass so as not to obstruct other cyclists. I wasn't bummed, but excited. Months ago I invested in an electric bicycle pump that can run off my ebike's own battery. The tubes for both wheels are self-healing, supposedly, so all I had to do was wait for them to seal and get pumping.
You can see the opened bike frame above. Below, you can see how the electric air pump connects directly to the main battery output. Not just any pump will do this, it has to be designed to take the voltage of your ebike battery (52v in this case).
Here it is hooked up to the tire air inlet. Unfortunately this is where I discovered the damage was worse than I initially thought. The tube was split open. Self-sealing slime won't enable it to recover from damage that severe. Pump as I might, it stayed at 0 psi.
I tried it on the other tire just to make sure it was sealing correctly and it worked like a charm. Evidently I need a new rear tube. I might also take the opportunity to look for a larger diameter tire that can absorb impact better.
This will keep me off my bike for a little while since SBD is so low. I've got to save my pennies for rent, utilities and food this month. But as SBD recovers, I'll set some aside for bike repairs and potentially a few improvements.
Thank goodness there was a good samaritan nearby. His name was Justin and he drives a pickup truck with an electric lift gate that was perfectly suited to lifting this heavy sumbitch of a bike into the truck bed. I'm not sure what I would've done otherwise.
I'd have taken photos of the bike being lifted but I just met the guy and didn't know if that would've been ok. Anyways I still think the electric pump was a good investment even though it didn't do me a whole lot of good this time. One of these days it'll save my bacon, just wait.
Stay Cozy!
@alexbeyman,
What a brilliant idea to have Electric Air pump and auto healing tyres! Probably you are using a type of liquid to seal the hole! I never see a bike like this one!
Cheers~
Yes, that's how it works. There are 2 layers to the inner tube, with a sticky green slime between them. There's lots of little bits of rubber in the slime. When a puncture occurs, the slime is pushed through the hole and the bits of rubber clog the hole. The slime then dries wherever it is exposed to air, like a glue.
lovely write @alexbeyman
resteem
It's my first time hearing of ebike and it's pump. They are really cool gadgets. The low SBD is affecting us all. We just hope it rises back to a much better and stable value.
Seriously dude a self healing ebike. That's something I had never heard of. We don't have those here, if we get a flat tire we are fucked.
I'm glad that everything went okay with you.
The puncture would have most probably been caused by low air in the tyre.
The tyre does the job of a suspension. And since it is the first point of contact with the road, it needs to have sufficient air to flex and absorb the impact. Too much and you end up having a bouncy ride. Too little and this becomes a possibility. You are fortunate the wheel didn't get bent.
You did like a scientist. I think that bicycle is very useful and so beautiful, My father has a bicycle which is nearly 40 years old and it is still working.
Well, I think that bicycle is very, very nice, I tell you something if I had one of those here, it does not last for a day because it's stolen :( :( . and well it's good that someone give you a hand hopefully get it fixed soon.
The electric bikes make it a lot easier to go up hills so if you are in a hilly area, that is great. Too bad the tire tube was so badly damaged. The electric pump is a wonderful idea....but....the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray! Better luck next time.
I think the new tires that can handle better impact is a better investment and your bike is 🔥🔥
that of the electric pump is great. It helps a lot in a case of emegenci pity that you did not work on this occasion, I hope and fix your bike