Well the kick off to my euro 2015 trip didn't go as planned. bike is being shipped from Glasgow to Nice on Stillage and I fly out on 10th Sept to do a 13 day tour of France-Italy-Switzerland. Loaded the bike onto the stillage at Glasgow and whilst securing noticed a nail in the less than 400mile Rear. AAARRRGGHHH. Bank Holiday Monday at 16:00 I had very little chance of getting it fixed. So as I'd put the goop stuff in for such incidents I pulled the small nail out and waited for the magic to happen. And waited and waited until nearly flat and still nothing. At this point decided best to use the 'just in case' sticky string plug to stop it fully deflating. Seemed to have held and pumped tyre back up and tested with water for leakage. All good. Now my dilemma is do I risk a 3k trip with such temp fix or first day I arrive suck it up and go get a new rear. Anyhow I'll keep this post updated when I can for routes and info should anyone be interested.
I did a 3500 trip round europe with a plugged tyre. It does play on your mind though so if you can source a tyre I would change it.
I'd get a new tyre put on asap. Not because the repair is an issue but for total peace of mind. You'll have a better time if you're not thinking about your tyre repair when riding. Have a good trip...
It is the peace of mind that is the bug bear, and good Exchange rates so price should be not that bad
With the majority on this one,tyres can be one of the most psychological things on a bike.....you'll probably get one cheaper over there anyway!! Get the tyre changed and have a great time!
You don't need to buy a new tyre. You do need to have the tyre taken off the rim and repaired professionally as soon as possible, i.e. today. You cannot safely rely on a temporary repair to last for thousands of miles of touring - no way! Enjoy the trip, by the way, and let us know it went.
Whatever you decide, do not try to get it repaired in France. Repairs to bike tyres are not allowed and I doubt if you will get anyone to do it professionally.
I did several thousand miles across Europe on a mushroom plugged tyre. It was plugged by a garage but was only done externally without removing the tyre so probably not much different to your repair anyhow. If it's holding pressure now then there's a fair chance it will be perfectly fine. Just take some more kit with you in case it goes down again?
i'd love to do a trip like that,didn't realize they could ship your bike from Glasgow, if it's not being cheeky how much do they charge and whats the company name and do you have to drain all the fuel beforehand? hope you get things sorted and have a great trip
I would do everything I could to avoid riding on a plugged tyre but that could be because I tear arse everywhere. I think plugs are just for emergency repairs to get you to the nearest garage. I also would love to know which transporter firm you used and if you could rate them out of 10.
