Velocipede RiderI understand you will have questions but I will not be answering them at this time, thank you.
[EDIT: More detail has been added to follow up posts and I will now answer questions. 😉]
So… we got a flat almost immediatly after receiving the cargo bike (Urban Arrow Family) back from the workshop (plus an additional issue with the gears that was new after servicing).
I therefore needed to return the bike because fixing the flat is problematic. I cannot securely and stably raise the back of this bike high enough to do a full back wheel change myself. I can raise it just a little with a pile of books under the frame, which gives me enough lift that I can access the inner tube and patch it but raising it higher removes the contact point of the the drop down stand, such that it becomes wildy unstable.
Previously my bike insurance would cover a pickup due to breakdown but I discovered much to my dissapointment that at some point this changed and is no longer the case. Initially I tried to do an in place patch. This held for a bit but then another part of the tube failed spectacularly with a 2cm+ hole. The problem here is likely either a bad inner tube or something sharp I cannot see between the tyre and rim.
With such a big, unpatchable hole and no pickup service I realised I was in big trouble and needed to get creative. I cut an inner tube in two and tied off the ends. I could then put this into the tyre and pump slightly to expand. A small gap was left (because the tube is shortened by cutting and knotting) that I filled with a bunch of socks. I then remounted the tyre and took the pressure up to two bars.
The bike now rolled pretty nicely and the rim was protected. Almost two hours of pushing later and I had returned the bike to the bike shop. I told the mechanic that he could throw away my ghetto inner tube but I wanted my socks back. 😜
Here is the bike again just before I handed it in for repair. It looks great right? You would never know the back wheel contained a cut inner tube and 3 pairs of socks!
And how long did it take me to walk across Oslo with this setup you might ask?
And yes I did ride it a little because… I had to try, right?
But I gave up fast because it was pretty bumpy at the join and it would surely have been a spectacular failure if I kept it up.
Oh and before anyone suggests it I have ordered some Gaadi Tubes so that it will be easier and ridable next time.
It has been pointed out to me that I should have just taken the bike to some soft grass and rolled it onto its side to take off the wheel.
Yeah… … … umm … … … that would be a lot easier!
I guess I am back to #QuestioningMyLifeChoices
Ok it should be easier next time. In fact the bike should even be rideable.
2 Wheeled Wolf@ruari lay it on its side? 🙄 😳
@2_Wheeled_Wolf I mean it should be easier though, right?
Whatever you do it is a pain on this big heavy bikes.
@ruari oh I know, I struggle with my e-Cruiser as it weighs 40kg. Not made easier by a close fitting mudguard on rear wheel. Tho last puncture was when 6 month old rear tyre sidewall failed & shredded inner tube, so limped home walking it using walk mode of the ebike kit.
Old account@ruari I find your solution so clever. I just got a long tail cargo ang worry about the same thing. I cannot lift this bike and cannot get it into my vehicle.
@linnefaulk look for gaadi tubes for a more refined version. 😉
@ruari 😂😂😂😂 oh OK.
@2_Wheeled_Wolf I mean, you do what you have to right? Though it did feel very wrong cutting that inner tube!
@ruari so annoying when insurance companies quietly change the policy to give you less for what you pay for. As for the inner tube issue, how about getting some split end inner tubes so you have easier access to it & not risk your socks.
@2_Wheeled_Wolf I have some Gaadi tubes on order but they will not arrive for a few days.
These kinds of tubes not widely available in Norway (AFAIK).
And yes the insurance company thing is a real pain!
@ruari don't think they're widely available in the UK too & not cheap.
@2_Wheeled_Wolf Yeah I have yet to try one of these. Perhaps they are horrible for some reason and that is why people do not regularly run with them. However for my own use case I do not even need to use them all the time. I just want them as a back if I find myself in a fix again and I would have thought others would demand them for the same reason. So it is weird they are hard to come by 🤷
@2_Wheeled_Wolf My thinking is, patch if I can, Gaadi tube if not. In both cases I then can get to a bike shop to have it done properly with a normal tube.
But I will look again at ways to change this myself, even if that is lying the bike on its side because that is the downside I have found with these big, heavy cargo bikes, even simple stuff like changing a tyre suddenly becomes harder than it should be.
Real Gaz on a proper bike 
@2_Wheeled_Wolf @ruari @Gazza_d nah, I use schwable tubes. I've seen the sausage tubes on Amazon etc
YᗩY ᖴOᖇ ᗷIᑕYᑕᒪEᔕ@ruari if you've a normal workstand position it beside the rear of the bike & you can lift the rear off the ground by clamping around the saddle post. I've a Load 75 & it's a bit awkward but works. I usually put a small stool or chair under the frame while on the workstand in case of slippage.
@byjoeb No workstand or anything like that. Though someone else pointed out I could just find some soft grass and roll it onto its side, which I guess I will be doing… next time! 🤔
@ruari Yeh. Been there too. Pain in the neck changing a rear puncture on these. 😵💫 With hydraulic brake fluids don't leave it too long fully on its side as might cause spongey brakes. Usually only happens when upside down though.
@byjoeb Yeah it is big downside. I have bought a couple of Gaadi tubes now as well (they will take a bit to arrive) so it gives me another possiblity.
Not saying I would run with Gaadi tubes all the time but nice to have as a way to get going fast with little fuss and lower risk than the method I used today
@ruari would be interest to hear how you get on with the gaadi tubes. I have a couple of those tannus armour to go in mine but apparently I need special shaped tubes to go inside them. Normal tubes won't work.
Thomas Røst Stenerud@thomasrost I have updated the thread
esa@ruari
Basse?
Basse?
@syklemil I had to ask a friend and look that up. 😆
You mean this…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basse_(game)
no 😉
@ruari
I think there are several trønders who would be keen to have more people play, though!
But I suppose it's not proper basse if the basse isn't made from old stolen tubes
@syklemil If you want the real reason I added some posts to the original thread.
Jon Hancock@BigJackBrass Answer in the updated thread.
@ruari I was just reading it. Excellent use of socks, I must remember that!
@BigJackBrass I better get those socks back!
@ruari Absolutely! Although I do wonder if you're taking the phrase "tube socks" a bit literally…