Tail Dolly Tire

On Monday, August 1, 2016 at 10:01:15 AM UTC-5, John Cochrane wrote:
The last time this happened, it took me bloody forever to get the
tire bead off the rim, and back on again, with bicycle tools.

Oyy, mathematicians...

Somebody else must have figured this out.

Paint can openers, available for free at Ace Hardware, work
better for this than bicycle tools - use three and presto...

See ya, Dave

PS: If you're at Uvalde, there's a store to solid-fill the dumb
thing. I had them do the wing and wheel dollies for the Antares
a few years back, and will probably take the Arcus dollies over
tomorrow. Wait, Nah, I'll wait until the first flat from a thorn...

This year Schleicher shipped my new glider with a very nice tail dolly equipped with solid rubber tire that is quite soft, a really nice tire. No more flats to deal with or adding air.

I was in Moriarty this summer and a fellow glider guider had exactly that type of solid rubber tire come off the rim while towing his glider to the tie-down area. I can only think that rolling on the intensely hot surface made the rubber expand and slip off the rim. I tried all kinds of things to get it back onto the rim to no avail. The owner ended buying a will-fit replacement at the aviation department of the Tractor Supply in Edgewood, NM

Uli
AS

On Monday, August 1, 2016 at 7:35:49 PM UTC-5, Dave Nadler wrote:


PS: If you're at Uvalde, there's a store to solid-fill the dumb
thing. I had them do the wing and wheel dollies for the Antares
a few years back, and will probably take the Arcus dollies over
tomorrow. Wait, Nah, I'll wait until the first flat from a thorn...


So, you will be going there on Wednesday, then, Dave?

:-)

Steve Leonard

On Monday, August 1, 2016 at 6:25:15 PM UTC-7, AS wrote:
This year Schleicher shipped my new glider with a very nice tail dolly equipped with solid rubber tire that is quite soft, a really nice tire. No more flats to deal with or adding air.

I was in Moriarty this summer and a fellow glider guider had exactly that type of solid rubber tire come off the rim while towing his glider to the tie-down area. I can only think that rolling on the intensely hot surface made the rubber expand and slip off the rim. I tried all kinds of things to get it back onto the rim to no avail. The owner ended buying a will-fit replacement at the aviation department of the Tractor Supply in Edgewood, NM

Uli
AS

I replaced my tube tire with a solid wheel from McMaster-Carr 2829T25 ($25).. Yes, it bounces somewhat more than the pneumatic tire, but it never goes flat. The 1/2" axle required drilling out the caster slightly.

Tom

On Monday, August 1, 2016 at 8:01:15 AM UTC-7, John Cochrane wrote:
The tail dolly tire is flat again. The last time this happened, it took me bloody forever to get the tire bead off the rim, and back on again, with bicycle tools. (The wheel is one piece and does not come apart.) Somebody else must have figured this out. Short of taking it to a tire store, who has a tool, tip or trick for how to do this right?
Thanks for advice
John Cochrane BB

Hi John,
I had to do a similar replacement a few weeks ago. I used motorcycle tire irons, which are basically bicycle tire irons on steroids. Even with those tire irons and soap it was an extremely unpleasant experience. You're welcome to borrow the irons ... I live in San Jose, work in Palo Alto.

Cheers,
Brian Roach, 1YC
six-five-oh 862.7807

About the same bounce, use a solid foam replacement tube from Walmart. Some shaving and shaping will apply but after installed will last as long as the tire does. Mine is going on 8 years or so now. They are for minium 20 in tires so you will have enough to do a few tail dollies for each purchase.

I buy the whole wheel for something like 30 dollars and keep a spare in the trailer. Last week, the one on the dolly went flat and I swapped it inside 5 minutes. Life is too short.
A full rubber tire wouldn't be an option on a S-H glider.

On 01/08/2016 17:01, John Cochrane wrote:

The tail dolly tire is flat again. The last time this happened, it took me bloody forever to get the tire bead off the rim, and back on again, with bicycle tools. (The wheel is one piece and does not come apart.) Somebody else must have figured this out. Short of taking it to a tire store, who has a tool, tip or trick for how to do this right?

Be careful of the "solid" tyre options if you tow the glider any
distance on the dolly. The "suspension" is compromised and I have heard
of wooden gliders suffering structural damage to the tail due to solid
tail dolly wheels. Even with a plastic glider I would be cautious. The
vibration loads on the glider tail during ground towing can easily
exceed those experienced in flight.

A split wheel rim is a good idea. This is what I have on my tail wheel
and dolly wheel.

But getting back to the original question, these are the basic
principals for changing reluctant bicycle tyres:

1) Make sure the tyre bead opposite to where you are levering is in the
middle and bottom of the "well" of the rim.

2) The valve can interfere with the bead, so leaver adjacent to the
valve, this ensures that the portion of the well that needs to
accommodate the bead does not have a valve occupying the same volume.

3) Lubricate with soapy water.

Then use sufficient mechanical leverage and controlled force to get the
tyre on or off, without damaging the rim.

:-)

On Monday, August 1, 2016 at 11:01:15 AM UTC-4, John Cochrane wrote:
The tail dolly tire is flat again. The last time this happened, it took me bloody forever to get the tire bead off the rim, and back on again, with bicycle tools. (The wheel is one piece and does not come apart.) Somebody else must have figured this out. Short of taking it to a tire store, who has a tool, tip or trick for how to do this right?
Thanks for advice
John Cochrane BB

Consider installing a tire liner. Here's a few:

https://www.rei.com/c/bike-tire-line...-liners&page=1

On Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at 12:18:39 AM UTC-5, Tango Whisky wrote:
A full rubber tire wouldn't be an option on a S-H glider.

Oh no, better tell SH!
They delivered my new glider with a solid rubber tail dolly tire!