Monday 23 April 2018

Slow Puncture


My CBF250 has had a slow puncture in the front wheel for some time. On a tubeless tyre there is a common cause for this. A barrow full of water confirmed what I thought. The leak was not a puncture but was from the rim. This happens when the wheel corrodes and allows some air to escape. 
I removed the tyre - it was not pretty in there. Lots of corroded aluminium. The bike is used in winter and this is the effect of de-icing salt.

The tyre was stained with aluminium oxide

I cleaned up the rim with a wire brush and a scouring pad. I applied some petroleum jelly to prevent future corrosion.

This is the long way to fix this problem. The short way (and one that I'll use if this doesn't work) is a can of sealant.

The tyre passes the barrow test!

2 comments:

  1. Damn road salt. I don't miss it. Everything used to corrode when we lived in British Columbia, but luckily Oregon doesn't use road salt, just a crap ton of gravel you have to watch out for.

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    Replies
    1. Salt is a pain but without it our roads would be lethal in winter.

      It also damages reinforced concrete and as a civil engineer this kept be employed doing repairs to bridges and multi-storey car parks.

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