Ride-On Tire balancer/sealer

[KA1J]

I've had car flats I've fixed with "fix-a-flat and was able to run
the tires to the end with it in there so I know this kind of stuff
does work. I'm about to put new tires on the XJ11 and have considered
dyna beads as I understand how they work and they do work. I just
read about this Ride-On product which supposedly does the work of
Dyna Beads and seals your tires from most puncture wounds; it remains
liquid inside the tire and acts like dyna beads (and the liquid
balanced drums in our clothes washers) by relocating to the needed
location to balance) and like fix a flat in that is what it also does
but unlike fix-a-flat or slime, it does not adhere to the inside of
the tire and does not affect the aluminum rim.

Their bike product page is here:

http://www.ride-on.com/motorcycle-formula-mot.html

The youtube video on the page is pretty explainative but this youtube
is really impressive:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsLhe-O7GAw

I did a search here but got no helpful returns. I haven't bought it or tried it but it really looks like a useful idea.

Anyone seen or used it? If so, what was your experience with it?

Thanks

[Rasputin]

I personally am a bit skeptical but it looks like a good product from what I have seen so far. I will look into this fruther. Thanks for the info.

[motoman]

Couple local dealers here have gone to this for balancing. My 5th wheel trailer also has this in the new set of tires on front axle. Definitely allows tires to run cooler and seals punctures. Watched them pour a styrofoam cut half full in before seating top bead. Looked like green cool-aid and poured like water.

[Rasputin]

It is not that hard to believe as we have puncture proof tires on our Cement mixer trucks. Just is a bit hard to trust when one has two tires on the road instead of 14.

[KA1J]

It has my attention and I too am skeptical of something I've never seen before. It's the Caveat emptor/If it sounds too good to be true... concept that has me questioning. On the other hand, the science behind dyna-beads and the liquid method of counter-balancing is historic. I do wonder how a liquid which remains liquid can wash off with water yet not be dissolved in rain from within the hole it plugged? And is it truly able to be easily removed from the inside of the tire to apply an inside patch if one desires?

I do know I do NOT want to be far away from a repair shop if I get a puncture in the tires and having such material as a self sealer in the tire would give me a greater sense of security in remote areas. The stuff I used on car tires; fix-a-flat always sealed the leak whether the nail was inside or not but it did become sticky/tacky in the presence of air/rubber. As I recall, it was not liquid for long when put into the tire.

Looking back through the few posts it was brought up here, one went back to 2004 but nobody responded to him. Apparently this Ride-On is not a new invention and if the US military is using this in their combat vehicles, that goes a long way to sounding like it has merit.

[planedick]

Fix-a-flat

I've used fix-a-flat and left it in there for the life of the tire. Put it in after removing a screw and run a couple thousand miles with no problem and nothing left in the rim when the tire was removed. I can't see why one should be suspicious. It's an anerobic mix which keeps it liquid until there is a lack of oxygen.

[Rasputin]

It's an anerobic mix which keeps it liquid until there is a lack of oxygen.

OK so how does a nail in a tire cause this lack of oxygen? I watched them roll that tire over nails then calmly ride off into the sunset. Not much I would openly trust enough to do that on my ride.

[DGXSER]

That is some neat looking stuff for sure. Of course I am dying to know how that works. Stays liquidy in the tire, but seals up to hold pressure when it gets out. Must have something to do with pressures as the same chemicals are inside the tire as outside the tire. Or, perhaps, it uses up the gases that make it cure in becoming the gel form. So now I am left to wonder, if I deflate the tire, and reinflate it will it solidify?

Just an inquiring mind contemplating.

[planedick]

Hard to explain

If you're scientifically challenged it's hard to explain. When the liquid enters the hole left by the nail it solidifies because that area lacks oxygen like in the tire. It works the same way super glue works. Only gets hard when there is a lack of oxygen such as in the area where the two parts are put together with the glue.

[KA1J]

That is some neat looking stuff for sure. Of course I am dying to know how that works. Stays liquidy in the tire, but seals up to hold pressure when it gets out. Must have something to do with pressures as the same chemicals are inside the tire as outside the tire. Or, perhaps, it uses up the gases that make it cure in becoming the gel form. So now I am left to wonder, if I deflate the tire, and reinflate it will it solidify?

Just an inquiring mind contemplating.

On one of the Youtube videos on their home page it shows a tire removed after Ride-On was inserted and run to make it adhere to the inside of the tire. Once the yellow strip of product was displayed he ran his finger through it and it freely was fingered out of the way. The technical blurb talks specifics: http://www.ride-on.com/technical-service-bulletins.html

In their their Q&A section they talk about fibers in their mix that plug up the hole & too small a hole can still leak & to stop it, you need to enlarge the hole so the fibers can become a plug. http://www.ride-on.com/technical.html

Curious stuff...

[KA1J]

If you're scientifically challenged it's hard to explain. When the liquid enters the hole left by the nail it solidifies because that area lacks oxygen like in the tire. It works the same way super glue works. Only gets hard when there is a lack of oxygen such as in the area where the two parts are put together with the glue.

For me, the question I never got resolved is; if crazy glue or an anaerobic sealant is in the tube, it's not exposed to air and its already in an anaerobic state. So why does it stay liquid in one anaerobic state and not in another?

[DGXSER]

I think it is less about being scientifcally challenged than about being unfamiliar with the product. From readin the literature it indicates it stays liquid in the tire because the moisture can not evaporate, so it depends on saturating the air in the tire, which is why the product has rust/corrosion inhibitors for the rims. It also has ethylene glycol for freeze protection. The additives to protect steel and aluminum from corrosion would be the same as those in automotive ethylene glycol.

As to stopping leaks, appears to be an issue of large fibers filling the hole, and then the product being exposed to moving dryer air allows it to dry out and set up. So it is not the presence or lack of oxygen or any particular gas as much as the exchange of saturated air for dryer air.

[Cuda 69]

sounds all very interesting,but I think I'll stick with the good ole plug,if needed,I know they work,and depending on an unproven product doing 80 mph doesn't seem to smart to me. Guess I'm just old.

[natemoen]

Interesting.... I am looking at running dyna beads in my next set of rims but maybe I will try this. We shall see.

[b.walker5]

To all the Naysayers....

What have you got to loose.... you get a puncture at 80mph with NOTHING in your tyre and it goes flat... You get a puncture at 80mph with GREEN SLIME in your tyre it either stays up or goes flat... 50/50 chance of it being better than nothing, and you're never gonna trust it until you've tried it for yourself.

I'll be happy to try it, if i can find it over here. In saying that, I've never had a puncture on a road bike.