Flat Tire Repair

[Karamozov]

I haven't checked my owners manual yet, but I was wondering if anyone has had a flat tire repaired? Can regular tire shops fix the tires?

"Any town that doesn't have sidewalks doesn't love its children."
- Margaret Mead

[pam]

Yes, they can. Most people seem to use plugs.
Pam

[geekfactory]

I had mine plugged at the local bike store for $10.

[Burke]

When we got a nail in a tire, we used green "Slime" in the tire; got it from a bike shop. Had never heard of it before this site, but it was recommended here and it worked great.

Janice

[opti6600]

"Slime Heavy Duty Tire Sealant"

I swear by the above stuff, have a good bit in each tire, plugs everything right up. I ride over all sorts of nasty stuff every morning (Virginia Key is occasionally called Glass Key by cyclists, I'll put it that way), and I've had consistent tire pressure for the last month or so.

[terryp]

Slime didn't seal my tire from a thumbtack puncture. A local tire dealer removed the tire and patched it for $12.

Practicing Safe Segs in Seattle

[jdrive]

Geez, if it can't handle a thumbtack then what can it handle....

=== Glide On ===>

[opti6600]

Terry, you have to get the "Slime Super Duty Tire Sealant" (just checked the bottle. The normal bike stuff won't work for the Segway's tires - only tubed ones. You need the tubeless variety designed for ATV/car/lawnmower tires.

When you first do it, find some kind of elevated platform like a workout bench, stick the Segway on it, and power assist it on full for about 5-10 minutes to make sure the sealant gets evenly coated around the tire and to seal any puncture you may have.

So far I've gotten a few glass shards from my morning run, two LARGE nails, and that's about it...Slime took care of me!

[terryp]

I used the kind that said it was for tubless tires. Since the puncture was right near the stem, I just put in enough to make sure it would reach the hole. But it didn't seal. My guess is that the hole was just too small. (Or maybe I just didn't use enough.) But it was worth $12 to have it fixed right.

Practicing Safe Segs in Seattle

[Burke]

I wasn't there when Dick fixed mine, but I think you have to use like the whole bottle and let it spin, like Opti said, so it coats the entire inside of the tire.

Janice

[mac]

Gee - it's been a long time, but I used to use something similar to this on an old car I had. Problem is, as my mechanic eventually told me - you put stuff inside, then spin the wheel to coat the innards - however, some of it remains liquid, and proceeds to work on rotting the tire out from the inside. Don't know if this will have the same effect on the Seg's silica tires, but perhaps you should properly plug flats. Maybe Segway has a position??

[opti6600]

Mac, I think that goes for the quick-plug stuff that comes in a can, I'm not too sure about Slime, either way, Ron Reich and Heinzmann both said it was alright to use just about anything out there to plug these tires up.

Burke's right though, you have to use a lot! I used about a quarter of the bottle on each tire, leaving me an extra half for a rainy day or something unanticipated.

[larryKay]

You are supposed to use the whole canister to coat the insides of the tire......

Larry