Video: Decoding Mountain Bike Tire Hot Patches - The Explainer

 yesss perfect

 I saw that a few days ago and wondered how you found that picture before the video was released. You're the best!

 @bashhard: you Won PB comments section today!

 @audric: nah not me, it's @dolores who wins basically everything that can be won on pinkbike

 Hi @bashhard, not much of a mystery - I was watching cx worlds when the image popped-up, Mike uploaded the original image last Saturday.

 how are the new bikes i bet they RIP

 @delores - So good!

 @bashhard: yes sorry @dolores is the winner

 Yes my granpa used them back in 1919 ;p

 "you can choose any maxxis tire you want, as long as it's a minion"-Henry Ford

 Well, it feels like that long ago now...

 @mikelevy: I've heard the Donner Party actually fared so poorly because their wagons were shod in single-ply Aspens, no insert.

 @rickybobby18: Ooooo guaranteed flat tires.

 @mikelevy: When Twenty-Hundreds, JUST sounds wrong too?

 You're a wizard, Timmy.

 And a damn fine one at that, I’ll wager...@noisette:

 Please upload photo haha

 Any chance you can make those in zip-off for me?

 y'all laugh but what if it worked

 All ways use a good rubber.

 #sexworkisrealwork

 No glove no love

 @DaFreerider44: When Handup gloves start making rubber

 did you also make your own sealant?!?!? we'd go to the craft store and buy latex mold builder. add a ltter water, a littel sand .... boom youre in business.

 Gangsta tubeless>
Fold that flap back on itself creating 2 layers of rim protection. Tricky to install, but very effective in preventing those cuts right at the bead.

 Totally, using an old tube cut open for a rim strip and latex mix from the local hobby store. It worked! Er, until the tires peeled off the rim at high speed...

 @mikelevy: I don’t know about that, I had the hardest time getting tires off like they were glued to the inner tube, but I’m not sure I’d call this a rim strip either: m.pinkbike.com/photo/13709963

 @mikelevy: Try adding some Gorilla glue to the mix?
But do not expect those tires to ever come off the rim, even with tyre levers?

 Gorilla tape rim strip and a presta stem trimmed from a busted tube with orange seal still works fine in a pinch. Just might have to retape the rim with every tire change which is annoying.

 @meathooker: It's like Breaking Bad for bikes: "I am the one who seals!"

 i still do, sop at bootleg

 or the Pirelli Pzero on my audi. $389 a pop. also, they last about 18,000 miles. Lmao....yeet!

 Comparing car tires and mtb tires is nonsensical anyways, if anything motorcycle/dirtbike tires are far similar in construction and technologies. Gotta have dat L E E N.

 Or dirt bike tires, which retail for....about the same as a MAXXIS MTB tires if you buy IRC, Shinko, Dunlop, Bridgestone, etc.

 @texag: and why shouldn't they, knowing that raw materials comprise a very small fraction of the production cost of a tire....I mean, it takes all the work(or more) to make a Maxxis 120TPI 3C EXO+ tire as it does some run of the mill Shinko dirtbike tire. the materials difference is likely +/- $5 max.

 @conoat: poor wording on my part, I meant to say MTB tires and more comparable to dirt bike tires.

 ***This isn't a value statement** It still blows my mind to see economies of scale at work when my MTB tire can cost more than a car tire!

 IMO Michelin and Ohlins suspensions every day for bikes and cars. I drove many times a Renault Megane RS with both it was amazing. Got Michelin Pilot Sport they are pretty good on my audi A4.

 Damn what size you running? I get 33" KM3 for 256

 KO2s would be budget off-road tires. A better comparison would be DHR vs Maxxis trepador bias ply. Seeing how mtb tires don’t have radials. And they’re both top end tires. You should look at copper stmaxx for ATs. Will change your life

 @NorCalNomad: They don't though. Last time I looked, a high performance car or truck tire was somewhere between $300 to $400 a tire. Now if you're comparing a bargain basement Chinese knock-off all-season tire at $50 a pop to something you'd put on your $5000 enduro bike... I'm sure Walmart could sell you something comparable.

 @islandforlife: Yeah I'm not talking high end to high end, even so...Molds for car tires are WAY bigger = way more expensive molds + more expensive machines, not sure how the labor cost would work out there. I certainly don't know the cost difference of high end mtb rubber vs barging econo car rubber, but there is still just by weight a LOT more raw material going into a car. I run into this at work with fabric, the section I'm in uses far less fabric per product and our "cheap stuff" is mid to high end for another division of the business. The layups in a tire are about the same in terms of how it's done but again there is more material that goes into a car tire there as well. Now if we are talking about high end to high end it's still kinda amazing that if you compared price per pound it's still amazing that car tires can be as cheap as that.

I'm not trying to argue that mtb or car tires are priced incorrectly. Just knowing how things are made it's still interesting to see the difference in cost at the consumer level

 how about studded fatbike tires for $300? lol

 @NorCalNomad: I guess the one thing you might be missing in that equation is numbers and the economy of scale. Just in the US alone... 200 million replacement passenger tires were purchased.

 @conoat:
I'd compare a maxxis bike tire to michelin pilot cups. They ain't cheap but they're the best at what they do.

 What makes a MTB tire highend? I love Maxxis tires, but I'd say they are just run of the mill tires that you find on average joe's bikes. I'm not necessarily comparing bike tires with car tires, but yeah it does hurt that they cost as much as they do.

 @trialsrookie: You have to think of it it terms of category. Maxxis Minions/Schwalbe Magic Mary & Hans Dampf/Michelin Wild Enduro/etc/etc are all very high end, high performance mtb tires that end up on the highest end bikes. Compared with the tires that come on your $400 walmart hardtail... massive difference between a Maxxis Minion DHF WT 3C DD vs "black, knobby tires"

So then, you compare a Maxxis Minion against a high performance car or truck tire that's somewhere between $300 to $400 a tire and the stock Walmart tires against bargain basement Chinese knockoff car tires that cost $50 a tire. When you do that, the pricing makes sense.

 @islandforlife: no sorry, we're not in a random forum where someone happens to comment on what he bought in addition to the weekend groceries at Walmart. Super fair value bikes from reputable online bike manufacturers come stock with Maxxis and Schwalbe, that's what I was referring to. Not just 8k Yeti bikes. You can buy big brand car tires - like Continental - for 80-100 (€) which come stock on a VW or even BMW.

I see economies of scale as a valid argument, but I'm also pretty sure that margins are way higher on bike tires compared to a shrinking, highly over-saturated car (tire) market. And I am "guilty" of paying for lots of bike tires, it's fun to experiment. Don't get me wrong.

 @trialsrookie: thing is, you’re still not looking at the categories properly. What’s the best tires you can buy for a mountain bike? Arguably Maxxis Minions (or other brand but same category). There aren’t any better category of tires. These are the highest end of the high end, the best there is. Now draw that same comparison to car/truck tires. Again, you’re looking at $300 to $400 a tire or even far more for some really high end stuff.

The average VW is not anywhere close to a high performance or track car. It’s average ho hum continentals would compare to the tires that come stock on your average (but nice, sure) hybrid or commuter. Which are about half the price of a Maxxis Minion. Then add the volumes and it all makes quite a bit of sense. If there was so much margin it would be pretty easy for one of the new brands to come into the market and just undercut Maxxis by $20 a tire and steal a ton of market share. Of course they’re making money, but I’m pretty sure they’re not making much more than your average product margin.

 dude you should really run them at 29psi. so plush

 @chrod: 28,99 psi

 @striveCF15: LOL, #SRAMDUBneverforget

 @chrod: everybody knows A 29 er needs to be run at 29 psi. Duh.

 @chrod: RIP .1mm *F in the chat*

 Good question!(?)

 I'll read my bike geo in metric, you read your tire info in imperial. Deal? Deal.

Mostly kidding, I'd like it if the US just switched to metric.

 Well the SI unit of measure for pressure kinda sucks for pressure ranges that are normally dealt with in biking. TPI is just deeply ingrained in tire manufacture, so good luck getting that intrenched standard to change with it's change would bring zero benefit for the consumer to change it. Hardness scale is still not a SI unit either although at least it's an international standard.

 @NorCalNomad: 0.1 bar increments works just fine. I think your perception of SI pressure units sucking is based just on what you're used to. Pounds and inches should 100% be abandonned.

 We don’t need any stickin patches

 Love this idea

 I would have a lot of fun with all the made-up words TBH

 I thought it was going to have something to do with Contact Patch which I learned is about length not width (at least when airing down your 4x4)

 Ohh, that'd be worth a re-do! I keep an old road tire around that I cut up and sand the rubber off, leaving me with just a small casing patch that I glue on. Tires are so expensive!

 For sliced sidewalls add in sewing the slice with upholstery thread & a leather craft needle. Shoe goo the outside once sewn for good measure.

 @MattyBoyR6: I was thinking about trying that but with fishing line instead. Shoe goo is a good idea.

 @DoubleCrownAddict: fishing line should work too. My sew & patch is somewhere near 500 miles old. I got the slash on the 2nd or 3rd ride. So far so good. Should make it the life of the tire.

 @MattyBoyR6: Would a speedy stitch work for this? It's a big needle like an awl and pulls through heavy duty thread... man I have a bunch of snakebit tires I would love to salvage.

 @Lokirides: for snake bites really close to the bead I wouldn't use something as big as a speedy stitch. For my snake bites I haven't sewn them at all. On the inside clean it off really well sand it and when you glue the patch on make sure it is not sticking out lower than the bead of the tire. Also work the rubber cement into the hole. Then after leaving the tire over night so the rubber patch can set up I go around it with RTV. I let that set up then when installing if the snake bite is bad I will add a dab of RTV to the rim at the bite point. Inflate the tire and let it set. Then add sealant through the valve core. Its a pain in the ass but is better than throwing away a 2-3 week old tire.
I've been able to get some good results without the RTV and just the rubber patch but the addition of RTV seems to last longer.

 So that you have to buy the other one.

 As far as I know white logo Maxxis tires only goes for brands so complete bikes whenever you renew the tire will always come with a yellow logo. But maybe I’m wrong.

 Yellow logo is suposed to be aftermarket and can be warranted through Maxis's supplier network, while the white logo is for OE and gets warrantied through the bike brand themselves.

 @z-man: Nearly. The white logo is an option for OEs that can't face the yellow messing up their colour scheme. There's no difference otherwise. Both can be sorted by your local distributor if you get a problem (unless you have a really awkward distro I guess). That said if you did have a problem with the OE tyre the bike brand is the company you have a warranty with.

 @benpinnick:

Well that's not how it works in Canada. No distro will warranty a white logo tyre here.

 White is OEM, yellow is aftermarket from what I've been told.

 i thought one side was white and the other was yellow

 Some businesses get OE tires for bikes (which probably are way cheaper to buy) and aftermarket tires for a shop like Vitus and chainreaction or Radon and bike-discount. The difference in colour makes it impossible to sell OE products as aftermarket products.

 I got some white logo Maxxis Ardent 29er 2.4 tyres on my Norco Fluid HT. They are definitely a cheap money saving option compared to the normal Ardents. They have a wire bead, are not TR, 50 grams heavier than the standard Ardent 2.4. Maxxies doesn't even list a non-tubless Ardent 29er on their website.

 @dave119: There are multiple options for wire bead non-tubeless Ardents for the aftermarket.

 @bicycle019: yes that's widely known but why change colors?

 Right? It’d be nice to run a rear tire in the mid-summer where the tread lasts longer than 1 long weekend in the bike park.

 "3C at the rear" wich one ?

 Check out Maxxis "Dual Compound" tires. DC is basically code for hard compound. I'm running a 29x2.5" DHF in the DH casing/dual compound as my rear tire and it's lasted forever. Pared with a MaxxGrip 2.5" Assegai DH up front, the two tires wear at roughly the same rate.

 @TEAM-ROBOT: nice does DC come in 2 ply do you know ? I run minion front on both tires , gotta have the 2 ply sidewall though

 @DHsender4life: Yes it's 2-ply. That's all I ride at this point because I'm done getting flats and killing rims. The Maxxis part number is TB96800100. It's actually discontinued, so if you want one, buy it now!

 @TEAM-ROBOT: thanks man !

 I'd prefer EXO and slightly heaver EXO that still squirms at higher speeds and gets pinch flats.

 Legit, I almost lost my coffee all over my monitor at his point. #levygold

 @Dornbox: I feel like I'd make an excellent marketing guy at some tire brand haha

 Same here

 Hard to find a reason to switch if you're not having any issues. That said, you might find that you can run a bit lower pressure for more traction and forgiveness. Every now and then I have to install a tube when I flat on the trail and I swear I have no idea how to ride with tubes anymore... I have to think about my line choice then!

 Same. Where I ride is mostly hard-pack. I've rarely had any issues with grip (though that's probably because I'm S L O W). Tried tubeless for a while and it was just a big PITA - tried a couple different tires (Kenda, Bontrager, Continental...), all "tubeless ready", and all would slowly leak air. That extra step of checking and setting pressures every ride was enough of an encumbrance to keep me from going out sometimes (especially when I didn't have a good pump at the ready due to student living).

 Strictly they're numerals that represent numbers, if we're being pedantic.

 To be fair, I think we filmed the 420 TPI bit first so I have an excuse lol

 @N-60:

Fantastic. I’d like to nominate you for president of the pedantry club.

Hopefully @mikelevy can be in charge of catering, since he’s got the Horton’s hookup.

 

 Yepp. One tracks better at moderate lean angles, one tracks better under hard braking.

 I remember reading it's Freeride/Race

 No, the first generation DHR was rear specific and the DHF was the front version. But the DHR absolutely sucked, nobody bought it, and people started using the DHF on front and back. Once the DHRII was released, the R no longer stood for rear specific, but the F/R never stood for freeride and race.

 The maxxis website literally says "Designed for front" and "designed for rear" on the respective tyre descriptions.

 @sjma: not anymore but it used to, a long time ago.

 @fracasnoxteam: No, the "F" and "R" were never intended to stand for "Freeride" or "Race"...

www.mtbr.com/threads/maxxis-minion-dhf-vs-dhr.1103017/page-4#lg=thread-1103017&slide=0

 @mammal: it was. By a lot.

 I have but I wouldn't go so far as to call it a mustache. More like a soft blonde strip of hair under my lip that's patchy.

 It's hot when they put it on? Anyone?

 @mikelevy: sort of. It's literally a sticker that gets applied to the "green" tire right before it goes into the mold for the curing process. The heat and pressure fuse the hot patch to the tire casing.

 I'm running tubes since I'm too lazy to tape mine up and put fluids for making a tubeless setup. Supposedly, you can make pretty much any rim into a tubeless setup if it's taped well. And of course, you have to carry at least one tube in case the tubeless setup on a tire fails.

 I am confused, why did someone dislike my message

 @joshfrandsen: Hot patch haters ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 @joshfrandsen: we don't like you

 @Curse-of-the-foot-long-sub: because I have an old bike?

 Not sure if you are joking but I am going to try that regardless because if it works it's brilliant. Just lost the seal on my hardtail's rear wheel again. It has a flat spot in the rim and last time the only way I managed to seal it was by caulking the entire bead with silicone. This sounds way better than building or buying a new wheel.

 @shinybike: I am dead serious. It works great unless you ride in very thorny terrain. I which case I'd run a lightweight rubber tube instead (this is in case of a puncture you can add a smidge of sealant in the tube). Oh and I run EXO tires so the overall weight becomes about the same as running a DH casing and tubeless.

 @shinybike: check out tannus armour instead, it's pretty much this with 12mm of top puncture protection and 6mm sidewall protection. Ran mine for a year at 20psi in really janky/rocky quebec trails no puncture what so ever

 @Elgaucher Yea I'll give @SintraFreeride suggestion a go first, it's cheaper. I have heard good things about the tannus inserts though. I've had cushcore in this bike for ~5 years and it's worked really well for the most part. Only flatted about 4 times and each time it was because the impact was big enough to push the spoke through the rim tape from the inside. The problem now is just trying to seal the tubeless system. Hadn't realized I could get around that problem by putting a tube into it, just kept doing battle with the sealant and such.