Topic: Ever heard of lube between tire and tube?

[Alan F.]

I just found a thread over on Thumpertalk.com discussing the use of lubricants between tubes and tires, and not just for tire mounting. Two products are mentioned, Red Rubber Grease, and Crisco Vegetable Shortening. Apparently the rubber absorbs these products over a short time without even heat cycling the tire, and there is the idea that a tire & tube will benefit from the use of these types of products in the event of a puncture.
I looked it up and apparently it's pretty common in agricultural settings. Has anyone ever heard of this?

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forums/topic/1318596-red-rubber-grease-verses-crisco/

[C317414]

Thanks for sharing this thread.  I've never seen a failure from a tube rubbing a tire or rim with a rim strip, on street and dirt bikes.  The failures that I've seen from pinch-flats seem to have been caused by improper installation.  I've always used talcum powder or soapy water for tire/tube installation, and never had any issues.

My concern with a lube is that it may prevent a patch to stick to the tube.

[Alan F.]

Yes you'd have to scrub and rinse with alcohol before patching probably.

[C317414]

Yes you'd have to scrub and rinse with alcohol before patching probably.

Not something that's easy to do on the side of the road...

[Alan F.]

No but a spare tube is easy to carry.

[newday777]

No but a spare tube is easy to carry.

Back in the 70s on my cross country trips on my K6 I'd carry a tube for front and one for the back, a spark plug pump ans a pair of tire spoons.
I only had one flat in 35,000 miles, on the rear at 70 mph, loaded, at the left front of @70-80 bikes. Danced it back and forth to a stop, and then it flopped over to the right on its side when stopped it. E ticket ride!
And everyone pulled off to the side of the highway.  Was back on the road in 45 minutes.

[HondaMan]

...And everyone pulled off to the side of the highway.  Was back on the road in 45 minutes.

I forgot all about that part. It would cause a self-slowing traffic jam for everyone who tried to stop and help back then. I remember crossing SD in 1974 over and back the week following the races, and every Japanese bike that was stopped (broke) on the side of the road for [tire/chain/looking for bushes?] looked like a party, with every Japanese make of bike you can name, dropping in to assist.

The HD guys/gals always rode in groups then, so they already had their ready help. Often, you might not be welcome to stop for them, as I once found out!

[newday777]

Mark that reminds me of going through the back main roads of West VA, might have been Rt 50 in 1979, on one of my trips, there was a group of bikes on the side of the road with one guy up front broken down, I don't remember what bike he was riding but I pulled in behind the last guy. Most were Jap Bikes but a few HD were in the mix. I struck up conversation on his new yami xs1100, the 1st I'd seen.. He said have you heard one start up? No I haven't.  He cracked the throttle full tilt as he hit the button. Right up to 11,000 rpm. They were all headed to the flat track nationals in Ohio so I tagged along.

[70CB750]

Baby powder.  Used it on bicycle tubes and also on motorcycle when I used tubes. 

[Alan F.]

I've used powder before myself, it seems to be the way to go.