Wire Tie Tire Change Method

[36654]

Thursday morning I had a wild hair and decided to try the "wire tie" method of tire removal/mounting and see if I could patch my punctured 180/55R17 rear tire.  If all went well, I would reinstall the tire and run it for another 1000 miles (thread depth: 3/32 minimum over the bars).  I've seen the YouTube videos on the wire tie method, so it's a proven fact.

Breaking the bead wasn't too bad.  I used the Pickup trailer hitch mount as an upside-down fulcrum and pinched the tire with a 2x4 lever and offset wedge block.  These precision tools were wood straps in the shop.  

24-inch wire ties would have been perfect, but the local HomeDepot only had 14-inch ties.  I assumed I needed to wrap the tire at 8 points or every 45 degrees.   The store Econo brand HDX ties were cheapest but too wimpy for the task........they broke while compressing the tire.  The next cheapest (Commercial Electric) brand ties were rated at 60 lbs and worked well enough for the job.  The object is to make the beads touch all the way around the tire.

I slit a piece of small diameter (5/8") garden house to make rim protectors and used a very mild solution of Simple Green as a lubricant.  Why Simple Green?  It was handy in the shop and makes soapy bubbles.  At that point in time, my 30-seconds of rigorous research and application of the scientific method said ... it should work.  

Either my lube didn't lubricate or I'm just a wimp, but 6-inches of bead was about all I could get over the rim after 30-minutes of struggle.  After another 30-minutes, using some taper wood shims, the tire was off.  I was soaked with sweat, but the rim wasn't scratched.  Next step, patching the tire.  

Since I didn't have the cleaner (buffing solution), vulcanizing compound (glue), good quality radial patch or roller, I ran to my local auto garage for this simple job.  The first shop said they didn't think their round patch would adhere to a rounded profile MC tire (the hole was slightly off center).  The second shop said they never install patches because plugs are better.  The 3rd shop, which does ATV repairs, said there isn't enough interior material on an MC tire to properly buff the material for patching.  The last shop was willing to sell a patch and lend me a can of vulcanizing compound, but then declined when they saw the plug and claimed it was too big of a hole.

Driving home. my friend with the tire changer texted me.  His shop would be open tomorrow afternoon.  At that point, I determined I had enough education and discovered I didn't care about the remaining 1000 miles of tread wear.

[Grumpy Goat]

Good post ... I like these kinds of meaty write-ups. We all learn from them.

I was amused to read what the tire shops said, especially the second shop - I would never darken their door again if I were you. Don't know what the third one meant by enough material to buff ... The last shop might have been the most appropriate, and since you did not show a photo of the hole they could be right. I have a video where I show how to patch a rear tire like yours and I wanted to patch the tire for the same reasons. I do not believe in throwing away a tire just as soon as I get a nail - I even bought a tire changer to help solve this problem since in this country vendors only want to replace a punctured tire with a new one because they can sell a whole new tire! But that is another discussion.

In my video I did not have a small roller to finish the seating of the patch against the inside of the tire but you get the idea from the video. In my case the hole was off centre as well and there was plenty material to stick the patch to, so unless you are not properly describing this hole in your tire I don't know what the repair show was getting at.

[36654]

The last shop, that was hesitant about the size of the plug, saw the inside of the plug after I trimmed the excess and the outside was excess strings/glue after ~80-miles of running.  It would have appeared to be large, but it was just a finishing nail hole at 45 degrees that had been reamed/cleaned with a typical tire plug tool (Slime, Rockey Designs, etc).  Having had the experience of plugs pulling thru if trimmed too close, I usually leave excess and allow wear to do the trimming.

As for the idea of just using the strings without glue, that hasn't worked for me.

[Ray]

Always appreciate your blow-by-blow adventures into areas we've thought about.

In the hinterlands, I used to carry zip ties and a tube before I got the RS with tubeless-only rims (and a cell phone).

Your automotive tire shop stories remind me why I hang around motorcycle shops.

The zip tie method truly becomes a wrestling match - probably why all the YouTube videos feature big young guys with no money and no friends with changers....

I too am a fan of internal patch-plugs, but it seems reasonable while the tires off throw on some extra glue and an internal patch - like a bicyle tube patch or boot. Especially if you trimmed down the internal ball on your plug.

That said, if you're down to 2 mm of tread, you might consider the dollar value of your tire, and whether it's worth remounting.

[Grumpy Goat]

The last shop, that was hesitant about the size of the plug, saw the inside of the plug after I trimmed the excess and the outside was excess strings/glue after ~80-miles of running.  It would have appeared to be large, but it was just a finishing nail hole at 45 degrees that had been reamed/cleaned with a typical tire plug tool (Slime, Rockey Designs, etc).  Having had the experience of plugs pulling thru if trimmed too close, I usually leave excess and allow wear to do the trimming.

As for the idea of just using the strings without glue, that hasn't worked for me.

I have a tire that was punctured by an allen key so it had 2 holes close to each other. I used two of these patches which overlapped one another and they look good but I have not yet mounted and used it so I can't speak to the soundness of the weird patch job.

Using strings with glue is better than using strings without glue. The Slime plug presently in my Tracer read tire was installed without additional glue (just the gumminess on the string itself) and has about 3k miles on it and holds pressure better than the other 3 tires on my bikes none of which have been repaired.

[36654]

That said, if you're down to 2 mm of tread, you might consider the dollar value of your tire, and whether it's worth remounting.

According to the YouTube video, it was only going to take 10 minutes.........