*&^%^E$$!! Flat tyre

I'm heartily sick of inner tubes: unless the tyre is specifically designed to accept them, it's probably got so many ribs and assorted inner roughnesses that it will chew its way through tubes. I don't think the old remedy for the first puncture of a tubeless tyre ("stick a tube in it") is sound advice nowadays - an unplugged hole is also more likely to lead to problems when water reaches the reinforcement plies, aiui.

Well it is a Michelin All Terrain tyre and it does say on it "may be used with a tube" and so far as I know there is a tube in there

I have just taken the thing off and I can't see any puncture :(

I was right and all, none of the big tyre dealers want to handle inner tubes, had to go all the way over to Rugby to get it sorted.

So what did the problem turn out to be? The last inner tube puncture I had was because of grit between the tube and tyre. I've now gone over to steel wheels and tubeless tyres, and also bought the necessary rotary rasp, mushroom-headed plugs, and so on to repair my own tubeless tyres. In an idealised world of weekday punctures and friendly local garages who repair punctures for a couple of quid into the tea money, it wouldn't be worth it, but in the real world...

Seems something had got in and come out again leaving nothing but the hole.

I suppose I am going to have to either stock up on tubes or get out my old bicycle repair kit, cos I am damned if I am changing the wheels just so's I can fit tubeless tyres for the convenience of the dealers.

Hear, hear! I once went to Kwikfit to get a tube for a trailer fixed/replaced.

"Oh no, Sir, no one uses tubes any more!" "Er, that big sign outside says you're off-road experts" "Yep" "But no tubes?" "Nope"

So e-mailed their info department from their web site and moaned.

Giving them great credit, one of their staff got back on the phone within half an hour.

I explained that the vast majority of off road vehicles in this area are Land Rovers, and the vast majority of them use tubed, or tubless with tubes for belt and braces (a lot of our customers will fix a puncture themselves).

"Ah! Our marketing dept. don't seem to known that. And we don't get much demand for trailer tires." "It wouldn't be anything to do with keeping stock levels down would it?" "Well, you might think that, I couldn't possibly comment" (or words to that effect). "Have you got any 7.50's in stock" "No, but we can get them, usually a week or so"

Off-road experts? Non.

Richard

As a TV, film and video producer I recently shot a corporate promo for a company called Tyre Protector, they had John Fashanu (spelling?) the ex. footballer presenting. We shot all sorts of vehicles driving over nails, metal spikes and the like, not just once bit repeatedly. On one test they drove a Transit van along a plank with eight four inch nails sticking up. You could hear the phut, phut, phut as each nail drove into the tyre but each puncture was instantly 'vulcanised' as soon as the nail came out. Then the van reversed over the same eight nails. Examining the tyre afterwards revealed absolutely no remaining puncture in the tyre and no loss of pressure either. The products chemistry is a closely guarded secret but it's applied through the valve and as soon as the wheel turns the solution forms a completely even film along the inside on the tyre, instantly vulcanising under pressure any puncture, even a quarter inch spike! Additionally the treatment seals any air leak in the tyre system so that one hardly, if ever, needs to top up tyre pressure. This also has implications for tyre wear, fuel economy, handling and of course safety, let alone completely removing the inconvenience and often costs associated with getting a puncture. Some of the case studies we filmed included trucking companies, farmers with tractors and quad bikes and even a football. We were incredibly impressed with their product and I'd expect it to become a popular product. If anyone wants to know about them send me an email because I'm seriously thinking of getting into the business opportunities the product suggests to me before it really hits the market.

P.S. Apparently another product with similar claims spoiled the market a couple of years ago because the solution was unstable. This is a completely new and proven product. To underline this Continental Tyres have started offering the treatment from their Norway branch to test the market and will then extend the treatment across all their other international branches. Quite frankly every tyre on the road ought to have it.

But will it work with tubes? JD

And the chaps with the blue flashing lights on the roof are going to be unimpressed when deploying their 'stingers' to stop vehicles being driven by thieves. PJ

He he he. I hadn't though of that. Clearly an additional niche market there as well

Yes, but tubes would of course be entirely superfluous!

Great stuff if you like driving with fluid in your tyres :(

I had some, paid to get it removed. If you park up for longer than a few days, it settles. The end result is that you have to argue with the steering for the first few miles .... it's not a great idea IMHO.

In article , Neil Brownlee writes

As I clearly pointed out in my post;

"P.S. Apparently another product with similar claims spoiled the market a couple of years ago because the solution was unstable. This is a completely new and proven product. To underline this Continental Tyres have started offering the treatment from their Norway branch to test the market and will then extend the treatment across all their other international branches. Quite frankly every tyre on the road ought to have it."

I can categorically state that 'Tyre Protector' does not settle at the bottom of a tyre when left standing for any length of time and will remain constant in form and position for the life of the tyre GUARANTEED.

If one is not impressed that Continental Tyres have endorsed the product for further confirmation of the products qualities just ask Lewis Land Rover in Swansea or Chuker's of Shrewsbury, franchised Land Rover dealers.

As I said I have no current commercial interest in the product, they paid me to produce a DVD commercial and I've got my money but in the process I was highly impressed. I am thinking of doing business with them though.

Watching the various "Cops, they're nice really" programmes on telly has lead me to believe that the spikes don't stay in the tyres. The reason they're hollow is because somehow this stops the tyres from bursting and tearing, instead they go down slowly preventing the car from veering out of control due to sudden tyre deflation.

I think it's 50/50 over who's right here ;-)

Tyre Protector's web-site has this to say about stingers:

'Will Tyre Protector work against stingers? No. A stinger is made up with hundreds of hollow plastic spikes. When a tyre drives over them the spikes brake (sic) off inside the tyre to provide a controlled deflation'.

Your belief is wrong. The spikes do remain in the tyre, making a nice small controlled hole for the air to leave over about 20 to 30s.

On or around Thu, 9 Jun 2005 19:11:39 +0100, Moving Vision enlightened us thusly:

2 questions spring to mind... 1) has the guarantee any practical use? what do you get if it doesn't perform? 2) how much does it cost...

OK, we'll settle for 70/30?