Today I collected my new rear Motoz tyre for my bike. The Metzeler 6 Day Enduro tyre that came stock is aptly named and only lasted that long! A good tyre but.....
So I thought id take the opportunity to practice changing a tyre out with the gear I would have with me on a ride. Ok so removing the tyre and tube from the rim was relatively straight forward, now came the difficult part of fitting the new one. Well things didn't go as planned.
I followed this video from a Bridgestone expert to a "T" who quite frankly makes it look like a doddle, well he's probably done it a million times.
Quote from the video when he's fitting the new tyre "just put the iron in on the opposite side from the rim lock and it will just pop right on", erm no!
Now I have two rim locks fitted to my rear wheel which more than likely is for competition use. Now this makes life a complete pig and an hour and a half later I was defeated. So I took the whole shebang around to Cockpit to let the guys with the tyre fitting machine have a go. I felt better when I saw them struggling just as much as I was. Eventually they managed to get it fitted but it wasn't easy.
This brings me to my main concern. What are you suppose to do if touring in the back of beyond and you need to change a tyre? Do I ditch the rim locks to make life easier and risk ripping the tube stem off?
I might get away with just changing out the tube or a tube repair, however even just popping one bead off and getting that back on was a struggle for the guys in cockpit, what chance would I have in the middle of a jungle.
Im considering BIB mouse tubes, their approx. $300 for a set, but are only good for around 1500Km. However I have read of a guy who has had the same mousse tube in his front for 10 years :shock:
Its a good idea but I think its let down by the materials used. There are limited to certain speeds due to heat expansion where you risk the tyre popping the bead
Apparently they are also a nightmare to fit, but I suppose once fitted you don't have to worry about a puncture. I don't think i'll go for them as the cons seem to be outweighing the pros.
Big n' Tall you mentioned some tube system the other day, care to chime in and enlighten us?
So anyway got the new Motoz fitted and hopefully the will give me slightly more traction in the dreaded red clay :x 1200 Baht bargain
These tires have a fitment option for wet or dry conditions. Very clever and you can see from the photos below how the direction makes a difference. The wet direction looks like it will disperse mud from the pattern
more freely where the dry direction is more restrictive resulting in more grip. Hopefully it'll give me more of a chance in the clay.
Wet direction:
Dry direction:
So I thought id take the opportunity to practice changing a tyre out with the gear I would have with me on a ride. Ok so removing the tyre and tube from the rim was relatively straight forward, now came the difficult part of fitting the new one. Well things didn't go as planned.
I followed this video from a Bridgestone expert to a "T" who quite frankly makes it look like a doddle, well he's probably done it a million times.
Quote from the video when he's fitting the new tyre "just put the iron in on the opposite side from the rim lock and it will just pop right on", erm no!
Now I have two rim locks fitted to my rear wheel which more than likely is for competition use. Now this makes life a complete pig and an hour and a half later I was defeated. So I took the whole shebang around to Cockpit to let the guys with the tyre fitting machine have a go. I felt better when I saw them struggling just as much as I was. Eventually they managed to get it fitted but it wasn't easy.
This brings me to my main concern. What are you suppose to do if touring in the back of beyond and you need to change a tyre? Do I ditch the rim locks to make life easier and risk ripping the tube stem off?
I might get away with just changing out the tube or a tube repair, however even just popping one bead off and getting that back on was a struggle for the guys in cockpit, what chance would I have in the middle of a jungle.
Im considering BIB mouse tubes, their approx. $300 for a set, but are only good for around 1500Km. However I have read of a guy who has had the same mousse tube in his front for 10 years :shock:
Its a good idea but I think its let down by the materials used. There are limited to certain speeds due to heat expansion where you risk the tyre popping the bead
Apparently they are also a nightmare to fit, but I suppose once fitted you don't have to worry about a puncture. I don't think i'll go for them as the cons seem to be outweighing the pros.Big n' Tall you mentioned some tube system the other day, care to chime in and enlighten us?
So anyway got the new Motoz fitted and hopefully the will give me slightly more traction in the dreaded red clay :x 1200 Baht bargain
These tires have a fitment option for wet or dry conditions. Very clever and you can see from the photos below how the direction makes a difference. The wet direction looks like it will disperse mud from the pattern
more freely where the dry direction is more restrictive resulting in more grip. Hopefully it'll give me more of a chance in the clay.
Wet direction:
Dry direction:
