New Trek rail 5 keeps getting punctures

[bennyuk]

Hi, Got my Trek rail 5 in December, and I'm getting more punctures than I ever used to. (got 2 last ride out). Any recommendations of an upgrade from the Bontrager XR4 Comp to ward off all these punctures? Most of them seem to be small thorns, but some have been flats that have come from nowhere, both on road and hard trails.
Thanks for any advice,
Ben

 

[DeRailled7]

Hi, best defence against the type of punctures you describe is going tubeless. I use Orange or Stan’s, these fluids have always done a good job on small punctures. If you’re already tubeless you might just need to upgrade to better types. The XR4 might not be the best ones for your riding conditions. I‘ve been running Maxxis DHF at the front and DHR at the back on all of my bikes and never had a flat problems. Some guys i ride with do, they usually have stock tires like the specialized butcher or bontrager XR5.
A good tread on this forum to get as many opinions as you’d ever want is this one:

What tyres? The Ultimate Tyre Thread

What tyres thread!

www.emtbforums.com

cheers

 

[bennyuk]

Thanks DeRailled7,

I'm seriously considering switching to tubeless (99% convinced). I think 2.6 works, thinking the Bontrager XR4 Team (dual compound) might be the obvious choice, but not sure if I should consider something tougher?

 

[DeRailled7]

You should definitely go tubeless. It will resolve most of your puncture problems. It does however require a more diligent maintenance schedule, i.e. regular fluid change and cleaning of inside of tires, but in most people opinion a very worth while improvement to tubes.
Personally, i would shy away from any bontrager tires. They might be cheaper to buy but you usually get what you pay for. You need to consider your riding conditions. If your rides are not too technical and your main problem is small thorns, then you could shop for a tire that emphasizes than kind of protection over robustness. In my case i ride very gnarly, rocky, rooty and steep trails, lots of ledges and jumps. The stock XR5 have been puncture proof, but traction is lacking and they are a bit squirmy. That is why i switched to the maxxis.

 

[Mitchb]

I went with Tannus Armor inserts with tubes on both my bikes. Havent had a flat yet. Yes they add a little weight but I dont care, it doesnt matter much on an eBike.

 

[BigMark]

You should not leave the LBS without going tubeless and or owning a helmet.

 

[flash]

You should definitely go tubeless. It will resolve most of your puncture problems. It does however require a more diligent maintenance schedule, i.e. regular fluid change and cleaning of inside of tires, but in most people opinion a very worth while improvement to tubes.
Personally, i would shy away from any bontrager tires. They might be cheaper to buy but you usually get what you pay for. You need to consider your riding conditions. If your rides are not too technical and your main problem is small thorns, then you could shop for a tire that emphasizes than kind of protection over robustness. In my case i ride very gnarly, rocky, rooty and steep trails, lots of ledges and jumps. The stock XR5 have been puncture proof, but traction is lacking and they are a bit squirmy. That is why i switched to the maxxis.

Not really. You add new sealant when the old stuff dries out, which is once every six months or so. You just add it through the valve stem. I don't clean my tyres of old sealant. And I usually need only one/two top ups before the tyre is in the bin. Unless you're burping every ride it's maybe 5 minutes maintenance a year.

Less than one flat tyre repair.

Gordon

 

[RustyIron]

In 2022, do they even sell tubed tires on new bikes?

 

[irie]

In 2022, do they even sell tubed tires on new bikes?

On the cheapest Trek Rail (5), yes. Rims are Alex MD35 with Bontrager XR4 Comp tyres with tubes. First thing I did when we got my wife and my Rail 5's was to go tubeless and fit new tyres. Might have been able to fit the XR4 Comp's tubeless but didn't say anything on the carcass so didn't want to take the risk.

 

[Streddaz]

In 2022, do they even sell tubed tires on new bikes?

Most higher spec bikes will come tubeless ready but with tubes as having sealant in the tyres while being shipped or in the store is a bit of a hassle as they loose pressure, and the sealant needs to be refilled if they are sitting around.
Most of the time the bike shop will set it up tubeless once the bike is sold to a customer. The lower spec bikes will have tubes unless you ask for it.
Don't think I'll ever go back to tubes. If I am doing a very big ride or racing I'll carry a tube, just incase I get a puncture that the sealant or a plug won't fix. It's been a very long time since I last had a puncture.

 

[Viserys]

The Wheels on trek Trek 5 did not have tubeless rim tape fitted as standard so you’ll need some tape as well as sealant. The stans kit works well and has everything you need. The Bontrager tyres work fine with sealant. They were a right pain to actually mount on the wheel compared to maxxis. I know use 2.5 Assegai on the front and 2.4 DHR on the rear. Works on pretty much any terrain for me.

 

[MartinShires]

I’d say Super Gravity Schwalbe or Double Down Maxxis casing tyres kills off puncture issues whether tubeless / tubes.
You’re only pushing approx 600 grams more rolling mass for 2 heavier duty tyres, which can take a beating - I’m approx 90kg plus and not gentle and haven’t had a puncture in years on clockwork enduro weighing 40lbs / fully-equipped Rail weighing 50lbs, rubbing pressures down to 20 psi

 

[Landy Andy]

I had the same when I bought mine. Tubeless ready, but with tubes fitted. Got punctures every outing. Swapped to tubeless, which was just valves, and sealant for me and all been good since.

 

[Manc44]

Tannus Armour reduces from 15mm when new, down to about 5mm after a few months so, if you use those, don't assume you have 15mm of protection, you won't! I'm on the road only so I ended up putting the Tannus solid tyres on, but you can't do that on trails, they don't make a solid MTB tyre. I'm not sure I'd trust the sideways forces on them on singletrack, even if they were available.

 

[Bertvp]

I went with Tannus Armor inserts with tubes on both my bikes. Havent had a flat yet. Yes they add a little weight but I dont care, it doesnt matter much on an eBike.

Hi, do you like the handling with those Tannus ?
I tried those for a 50km ride and did not like the feeling of riding a flat tire...

 

[bennyuk]

Thanks for all the advise. I've now now swapped to tubeless, with new rim tape. ended up with bontrager xr4 team tyres, so I'll see how they fair. Will be interesting to see how the on trail puncture repairs compare to tube swap. Thanks again.

 

[Mitchb]

Hi, do you like the handling with those Tannus ?
I tried those for a 50km ride and did not like the feeling of riding a flat tire...

Maybe not enough pressure? I run mine with 20 lbs back and 18 front on a 27.5 x 2.8 tire. The bike handles fine and I like the damping affect I think I feel. Im in a rocky area and they seem to smooth things out a bit.

 

[Bertvp]

Maybe not enough pressure? I run mine with 20 lbs back and 18 front on a 27.5 x 2.8 tire. The bike handles fine and I like the damping affect I think I feel. Im in a rocky area and they seem to smooth things out a bit.

I tested with 1.2 psi, 1.5,... till 3.0.
All this with 29 x 2.35 front and 29 x 2.50 at the back.

 

[Mitchb]

I tested with 1.2 psi, 1.5,... till 3.0.
All this with 29 x 2.35 front and 29 x 2.50 at the back.

1.2- 3 psi? That would be a flat tire.

 

[Streddaz]

1.2- 3 psi? That would be a flat tire.

I think that's Bar not PSI but 3.0 Bar is 43.5 PSI

 

[Bertvp]

I think that's Bar not PSI but 3.0 Bar is 43.5 PSI

My bad, it's BAR...