Jerome Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 I watched the "KS 18L tear down" video the other day. First I was marveling at the superior layout, fit and finish when it hit me. You have to disassemble all of that intricate parts placement and wiring with thousands of screws (yeah I know, but a lot) and connectors to disconnect and reconnect, just to change a flat. I am now filled with dread. I will have to pay someone to do it and hope they don't screw things up. I might even ship it to eWheels facility in (OK?) I was originally going to wait for the Z10 not just for the 4 inch wheel but because it was tubeless. There are a lot of miles ridden by active members of this board. Who has had flats and who have never had flats and mileage to date? I "assume" those who have had flats and have somewhere to work on their wheels change the tires themselves. Any like me, both not mechanically incline and having no where to work on a wheel, have a flat? What road did you take? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UniVehje Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 It was a full teardown video, not instruction to change the tire. The wheel itself comes out of the shell much easier. At least on the 16S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 55 minutes ago, Jerome said: . I am now filled with dread. don't be filled with dread fill it with slime should cure your punctures as they happen ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerome Posted June 26, 2018 Author Share Posted June 26, 2018 3 hours ago, UniVehje said: It was a full teardown video, not instruction to change the tire. The wheel itself comes out of the shell much easier. At least on the 16S. Makes sense. I sure hope so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerome Posted June 26, 2018 Author Share Posted June 26, 2018 2 hours ago, stephen said: don't be filled with dread fill it with slime should cure your punctures as they happen ? Oh I will definitely use slime. Have you had a puncture in XX miles? 3 hours ago, UniVehje said: It was a full teardown video, not instruction to change the tire. The wheel itself comes out of the shell much easier. At least on the 16S. Any flats in XX miles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winter Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerome Posted June 26, 2018 Author Share Posted June 26, 2018 13 minutes ago, nte said: A tire sealant is probably the way to go on the 18L. Check out these two threads Thanks for thread links!! I obviously need to improve my search skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom D Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 I second (or third) the use of Slime. Has saved my ass several times. However, if (or when) the time comes that Slime won't help, just jump in there and do the work yourself. You don't need a garage, you can do it right on your living room floor. I am probably not the best judge of degree of difficulty as I'm a natural tinkerer. That said, it really is not that difficult. Just stay organized, take pictures along the way (will help you remember wire routing, etc.), use the right tip screw driver and move forward. The added benefit it, you really get to know your wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David S Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 Ive had to change many different flats and everytime i get one it has been a process i greatly dreaded. It just happened to me recently (ks16b), and i guess i have gotten way better at it as i was able to get it changed out in record time for myself without any trouble. I feel like i have heard people advise against slime for saftey reasons before, not sure if thats true though. Im looking forward to getting the KS18l soon, if the tire change process is similiar to the ks16b, im not worried about it anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xafofo Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 I just changed my tire tube on my KS14D for the first time a couple days ago. The process is simple and straightforward but getting the tire off was much harder than I expected. Definitely not as easy as a normal bike tire. It just takes a looot more force to pry off the tire side. I didn't even bother taking off the other side, I just did one side and stuffed the tube in. Also getting the tube valve into the hole is difficult since it's bent and there's very little wiggle room. But great learning experience, def will be easier in the future. I should probably just try slime next time.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesrg Posted June 29, 2018 Share Posted June 29, 2018 After a flat I've added about 5 ounces of slime however it still leaks. I'm carrying a pump with me every day so I can top it off as needed, this is going to be my second tube replacement this year, so I've been trying to avoid it as much as possible. Slime definitely helps but not the definitive solution. Tubeless would be the best as the tube stress flats would go away and even if you have a nail you can use a tire bacon to repair without having to open the whole thing. I ride a InMotion V8 and I'm looking to upgrade, my most requested feature is easy accessibility to change tubes or make it tubeless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrelwood Posted June 29, 2018 Share Posted June 29, 2018 I have had a bit of a bad luck with flats (and other gyro-vehicle issues) lately. Slime (or more durable non-latex equivalents) have a tough time working if the puncture is at the rim side of the tube. Shaking the wheel when the liquid is at the correct spot may seal the hole, at least for a while. My punctures might've come from tiny rocks getting between the tube and the rim. I now sealed the valve hole to prevent that from happening again. My punctured tubes had several thousand kilometres on them. When you change or repair the tube, regular bicycle tire removal tools are too short and weak, and motorcycle ones would leave horrible scratches. I found plastic ones that have a steel core and they work well. Another key thing is lubrication! Some tires are impossible to remove without soapy water (or other lubricant). Making an EUC tire tubeless is problematic because the space for the valve is so limited. Even the angled tubeless valves I've seen are too tall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlesrg Posted June 29, 2018 Share Posted June 29, 2018 I've got some angles valves that fit, however the hole is so close to the tire bead and the valve needs to screw in the inside so it didn't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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