Got New Balls

So the other day I had the first flat tire I've ever gotten in 33 YEARS of riding. Fortunately I was near a nice flat fire road that lead me back to my truck 5 miles away, so I just rode it back slowly. I was ready to replace the rear tire anyway, but the whole way back I was thinking "this can not happen again, what if I had been on some nasty single track 20 miles from home in the snow in the dark?"

So I figured I had three choices.
1.) Bib Mousse
2.) Tubliss
3.) Tire Balls

I carefully researched these options, and came to the following conclusions:
Bib Mousse doesn't last long enough, the foam breaks down and is really only made for racers.
Tubliss depends on a 110 PSI mini innertube that still seems vulnerable to me.

So I decided to give the Tire Balls a try. Seems like a simple enough concept. 30 balls or so in each tire, inflated to the same pressure you would normally inflate a tube to (15psi or so). If one pops, the others simply take it's place and you lose 1/30 of the overall pressure. I'm told that you wouldn't even notice it if one popped, or even three of four, and even if 10 popped you could still ride slowly.

Now these aren't made for high speed, esp on the street, but since 99.9% of the riding I do is off road, and not much over 15-20mph, this isn't an issue for me. Time will tell if they hold up, basically I will go back to the installer in a year and he'll check on them, maybe spray some more lube in and make sure they're all still inflated properly and go from there, which he said he'd do for about $20 a tire. Fine by me since I typically go through a rear tire once a year anyhow.

So, on to the install. First off was to get the bike ready for it's flatproof transformation:




I do so very much love a new tire. In this case I use the awesome Michelin AC10, which is the most grippy and off road capable street legal tire I've ever used...




Here was the cause of the flat, the valve stem was ripped off the Ultra Heavy Duty Michelin innertube. Maybe I let the pressure get too low? I guess these bikes don't come with a rimlock (I put on one this time). But there was no patching this on the trail, that's for sure...




Here the first of the smaller balls go into the front tire...




34 balls and it's full...




Each one gets inflated to 15psi...




And then they all get stuffed in and the bead gets seated by blowing air into a normal valve, but it's not connected to a tube of course...




The rear tire gets larger balls, but the process is the same...





It looked a little harder to mount than an uninflated tube, of course, but not too bad. he had it done in about 15 minutes...





So that's it. I'll let people know how it works, but I took it on a short ride around my apartment and it felt like a normal tire, so here's hoping!

:)

So you use a tubeless wheel valve stem to seat the tire ? And it was able to pop the tire up on the rim no problem ?

Yeppers. Just pumped air in, popped the bead on, and then the air leaked back out (but of course the balls stay inflated).

Well, that's different.
Would like to hear how they work out, wear/ride wise. And if they are all equally inflated when you are done with the tire.

FIRST FLAT TIRE IN THIRTY-THREE YEARS ?

That's insane... I would thought you'da had thirty-three alone on a knobby donned rear wheel without a rim lock !

Balls eh ? Thirty of them ? Interesting... Here I thought two were always enough.

How thick is the ball skin (in mils) ?

Looks like a pretty beefy tire for a 250... Size ?

How well do the balls fit around the rim lock ?

I think I'd check my own (TYVM)

I know, right? That's what everyone says, "if I had a nickel for every flat I've had over the course of my riding career"...

I've just gotten lucky, I guess. I've always used UHD tubes, and most of the places I ride don't have cactus needles and I don't ride that aggressively, so maybe that's a big part of it. But even when I had big street bikes (Honda Pacific Coast, Kawi ZX-11) I've never had one go flat on me.

So, the balls themselves have decently thick skins, I'd say about the same as a tube, but of a different composition. You'd have to feel them to understand. The front tire took 34 balls, the rear took 22 or 24, I don't remember. The rear tire IS beefy, it's the fattest tire I could fit on there, the size is a 120/90-18.

The rim lock posed no problem at all, and I feel better knowing there's one on there now. One more measure of security.

See, the thing is, I ride alone. Almost 100% of the time. And I also ride in places that have zero cell coverage and don't see a lot of riders (I'm lucky in that I can ride on Thursdays and Fridays most of the time). I've always known how to change a tire, but I've never, ever wanted to have to do it. I've watched other people do it, the sweat, blood and tears along with the dirt and mud and hillside and nowhere to put the bike and so on and so on has just always bothered me. How long have we been riding motorcycles now and no one has figured out a good soultion to this? I mean, a car has a spare. Easy. 5 bolts and done. But a bike is a huge PIA under the best conditions, and when it's pouring rain, or dark, or snowing, or 110, then what? It could be fatal.

I already ride (without any question in my mind) the most reliable motorcycle that has ever been created. The ONLY weak part is the tire. I still wish they made a foam insert that lasted years, that seems to be the ultimate solution, but there's no such thing yet.

I'm putting them on my Rhino as well.

For more info, see here: tireballs.com

I'll let y'all know how they go...

I agree with your frustration.
For me, the only way to cure that uncertainty is to be prepared for a fix, on the trail.
I would also ride out on a flat, as best I could.

I'm also considering spending a night out there below freezing.

A rim lock would serve well in a panic...well, two would be better in a panic.

Air is great to protect the rim.

But days are short and nights are freezing...

And whatever it takes to get out... if you can ride it, ride it home.

Inconvenience is one thing....making them miles home, is another.

The problem is, if the only way out is uphill and at all technical you can't do it without an inflated tire, even with two rimlocks it'll never hold and just spin and rip the tire apart.

Someone needs to build a tire that is solid somehow and yet still has the pliability and grip of a normal air tire...

Ya big obstacles are tough on a bike.Especialy one thats hurtin.

One thing that seems to do obstacles well, is an experienced rider...not to be takin lightly.

All the gear in the world, wont get your bike over a hump...without you riding it.

Some riders dont seem to have difficulties...that others do.
I ride to keep up.

Some things are just plain difficult.


Practice makes Permanent....don't practice mistakes.

Get home safe.















have
diffic.ult.i.es

The perfectly reliable wheel is....?

Making your wheels tougher, is good philosphy.

On the trail, your wheels cant be too tough.

Hence your post and my reply.

How does the total weight of the balls compare to an UHD tube ?

If you do lose pressure in one ball, how would you know ?

I'd say the wieght of the balls is actually a little lower than the UHD tube, but I could be wrong. If anything it's very similar.

You won't notice one popping, because the others next to it would squish it down and take up the space, and all the other balls would expand a tiny bit. The only difference would be a 1/34 drop in overall pressure. Now, when you start losing 4 or more, I'm sure you'll notice it get softer.

That's why you check them every year or so, to make sure your balls are ok.

"That's why you check them every year or so, to make sure your balls are ok" we still talking tires??

Anyway, did you find you had any issue with balance or is it just like a tube?

I haven't gone for an off road ride yet, but riding it around my apartment building at 20mph or so you don't notice any difference at all...

YIKES!!!!!

Pricey little balls they are!

At one point I had a small airplane.
It had a BRS which stands for "Ballistic Recovery Systems" parachute. Basically a small tube at the top of the wing with a rocket and a parachute inside. In the cockpit was a red handle that, once pulled, launched the rocket and pulled the parachute and a cable attached to the plane up and out.

Now, this was not cheap. It was a $6,000 option.

But ya gotta ask yourself, if your controls fail, or you get completely out of control in zero visibility, or a wing cracks or your engine fails over mountainous terrain, how much would you be willing to pay to have yourself and your passengers come to earth (more or less) gently in the plane under a parachute as opposed to smacking the side of a hill or spiralling down out of control? I'd wager well more than $6,000... :)

That said, what would you pay, in the snow, as the sun is setting, 20 single track miles from your truck or the nearest road, not to have that flat tire, or that tube that won't hold a patch, or the spare tube that keeps leaking?