combo solid tire and tube

2013.2.21: summary:
. this chronicles my combining of a
typical pneumatic inner tube
with a Bell No-Mor Flats (solid) Bike Inner Tube .
. I now have this on both a bmx bike front wheel,
and on all wheels of a recumbent trike . 


2012:  6.26: proj.gear/bike#walmart/
front tire maint turns into replacement:
. started to re-inflate the front tire,
but then I noticed it seemed to be rotting:
the green cap that comes with slime-filled tires
was crumbly decayed like it had too much sun
but was also wet
like the decay came from corrosive oils .
. also, the rubber around the stem
is separated from the stem's metal,
so that it was bulging out [see picts] .

. perhaps the same corrosive oil
was attacking both rubber and plastic .
. I wondered if this is what long-term slime does,
or if something from the road got on the stem
[but the tire in the same area looked fine and clean ].

proj.gear/bike#walmart/
front tire replacement with combo solid tire and tube:
. so I need a new tube and I'm tired of using Slime?
it's time to try the new idea for avoiding punctures:

cut a solid inner tube into 2 rings,
and replace the inner ring with an pneumatic tube .
[13.1.5: in my next attempts,
I'll be trying to use the wider version .
Bell No-Mor Flats Bike Inner Tube, 20-x 2.125-Inch]

. it fit easily within the Big Apple 60-406 (20x2.35")
but not so easily within the
next smaller size of Big Apple; [13.2.21:
the 2.35 version of the Big Apple is not longer made,
but my halved solid tube still works perfectly
within an Odyssey Aaron Ross P-Lyte 20" x 2.35"
]

.  I wasn't so sure that large a tire
would fit on the back of my bike;
[ what you see above is a trike]
so, for the rear tire of the bike I'm using just a
solid tube with no pneumatics,
but the back has got great suspension,
and unlike the front, is less likely to get
 pushed off the rim during a turn .
. it was so hot today
that the soapy water was quickly drying out,
so I was glad to have the space in that huge tire
to make assembly easy and quick .

cutting the solid tube:
. used a razor to score the sides
where I wanted the cut depth,
. then finish cutting away that depth
by cutting along the circumfrence;
the razor and its handle are designed for
scraping paint off windows .

may require organic filter:
. while opening the polyurethane tube
I began to get very sweaty,
and then afterwards I got very dry skin;
this may be a sign that the foam contained
hormone-modulating vapors
that were released when I cut into it .
. this might be avoided with an organic filter mask .
eg, 3M 60923 Organic Vapor/Acid Gas Cartridge/P100 Filter
with the 3M 7500 Series Reusable Half Facepiece, Model 7502.