Flat Tires, on a Series II

[gearheadgirl]

What is with these nice old knock of, wire wheels?

Saturday we were out with the '62 Alpine and the right rear tire went flat.
Took the tire in and had the tube replaced.
Bought 3 more tubes, just in case.
After mounting the fixed tire...an hour went by; more driving fun and another tire went flat! Pumped it up and drove to the tire store who replaced the remaining 3 tubes.

All has been well for almost a full 48 hours.
And now....another flat!
The tires are good. They are radials with tubes inside, as I guess these old wires don't seal very well, compared to the other rims.

What could be happening?
Combination of radials + tubes = BAD?

Thanks!

 

[alpine_64]

If you are running tubes the issue is not the tyre sealing. What condition are the wires in, perhaps you have a broken spoke or two.. they might be puncturing the tubes?

 

[Ken Ellis]

On bicycles, there is a rubber protector between the tube and the end of the nipples (spoke nuts... honest) to protect the innertube. It's basically a 1/2 to 3/4 in. wide rubber band. Perhaps there are now enough 'surplus' innertubes to make some for these wheels, if they don't already exist. Radials flex side-to-side way more than bias ply tires of the day did, so there could be quite a bit of movement of the tube. Also, check that the holes through which the valve stems protrude are smooth and of the appropriate size, and that the valve cores are screwed in all the way, and that they don't leak themselves.

It may be good to have the wheels looked over, too.

Ken

 

[gordonra]

I just had new tires put on my wires in April.

New tires, new tubes, and try to find liners!

Spoke with British Wire Wheel about liners... they said that liners are very hard to come by anymore and what they use is a 1" or 1.5" wide heavy mil tape that is very similar to electrical tape.

I bought plumbers tape instead. It's 2" wide, very heavy and made of the same vinyl material as electrical tape. You can get it and Ace Hardware in the plumbing isle.

I've put about 4000 miles on the tires since then... No problems, but just to be safe, I keep a can of fix-a-flat in the trunk.


BTW, The previous owner (or his tire shop) had used celophane packing tape for liners...




Rich

 

[Green67Alpine]

IIRC Hendrix Wire Wheel in N C has the "wheel bands". I do know they took good care of me !

Tom j

 

[mikephillips]

Even on perfect wheel the ends of the spokes will move a bit as the wheel flexes as it rolls. This causes the spokes to rub on the innertube if the band is missing or has holes already rubbed in it. And eventually it will result in a flat. As pointed out my guess would be that the original band in the wheels has seen better days and needs to be replaced. And when you do that, inspect the new tubes to be sure and potential new wear spots from the driving already done have a patch put on, just in case.

 

[65sunbeam]

Did the tire shop show you where the leaks in the tubes were located? I had two mysterious flats on my wire wheeled Harrington and could not find any nails, spokes or whatever causing the flats. Turns out on the inside of the two tires was a small sticker with a bar code on it. They rubbed the tubes until causing a leak and the leaks in the tubes matched with that location on the tires. So make sure that any manufactuer's stickers are removed from inside the tires.....Eric

 

[Nickodell]

Another possible problem with tubes is the tube moving circumferentially under the tire carcass. This puts strain on the connection (inflation point) until a split ultimately occurs.

 

[jumpinjan]

You need a real "rubber" rim strip. I wouldn't use tape at all. The spoke end will easily penetrate tape with all that pressure from the inner tube You could buy some rim strips from a motorcycle dealer (about $1 each) and cut & glue (superglue the rubber) the correct size for the Alpine rim.
Jan