bike maintenance - tyres

Fortunately tyres tend to disintegrate slowly.

And even with bulges, slices and holes you can get a fair distance by throwing in a “boot”, an internal tyre patch kept in place by the tube pressure.

Carry a small square of old car tube to fit over the offending area and it will get you through to the next bike shop even a few hundred kilometres away. You can use bits of car tyre, bike tyre, a $100 note or basically anything flat.

Just remember that quality replacement trekking tyres, like Schwable XR, are hard to come by even in the major cities in Australia. A bike shop will usually have to order one in, not such a big deal, but be prepared to sit around for a few lazy days, that’s if they remember.

The alternative, carry a spare. Particularly if your tyres are showing some wear. The expensive kevlar folding types are a bit easier to fit in.

If you are towing a trailer you will find that the 16 inch tyre wears out much quicker than one on a bigger wheel as it whizzes around. Definitely carry a spare for that little wheel. 16 inch tyres are common enough, they are used for BMX kiddies bikes, but the quality is universally poor.