Lezyne Release Taipei Plugs to Save Your Tyre (And Your Wallet) - Taipei Cycle Show 2023

Mar 24, 2023
by Henry Quinney  
photo

We've all been there - slicing a tubeless tyre that has barely touched dirt. In recent years, tyre plugs have become a lot more common, but the bacon-rasher system doesn't always feel that refined. Not only that but in my experience at least they tend to not do so well on narrower road-style tyres.

That's not to say that they don't work but in the past whilst riding on repaired tyres, I have found the plugs run the risk of being agitated and breaking the air seal. Personally, I normally consider them more of a mid-ride rescue than a long-term fix and I am not above using a standard puncture repair kit, some resin and some gorilla tape to make an airtight patch when I get home for a longer-term solution.

The new plug system for Lezyne though helps to provide a remedy. You feed the plug into the whole from the inside of the tyre. You can then use grips to seize the metal part of the insert, which is coarse to the touch to help stop pliers from slipping. Once pulled through, you remove the cover of the circular part of the plug, add some glue and pull it through entirely. You then trim off the excess from the outside.

A kit of six plugs will include three different sizes and will sell for around $16 USD. After showing these off at Eurobike last year, Lezyne has finally got them ready for market and you should see them on shelves shortly.

photo
photo

The Airtag tracking device is something that bicycle accessory manufacturers have picked up and run with. The art is in making it somewhere that is discreet and won't be just ripped off should the bike be stolen. We've seen various options, even including sitting inside the tyre itself, but this is Lezyne's.

They incorporate it into the bottle cage and even include an off-size key and bolts to make sure that the thief will not be able to easily remove the cage should they be wise to the tag. Although not a prevention tool, for some people devices like this may well give some peace of mind, especially if they happen to store their bike in a distant garage or communal storage. The air-tag compartment is waterproof. They also have another Airtag holder that attaches to the rails of the saddle but is slightly less discreet in my mind. It will have a retail price of $30 USD.

photo

This pressure gauge is nothing massively new, but it now includes a 90-degree head to make it easier to use on tyres. The gauge will read up to 400PSI.

Posted In:
Reviews and Tech First Looks Taipei Cycle Show 2023


Author Info:
henryquinney avatar

Member since Jun 3, 2014
322 articles
Report
Must Read This Week
Police Called to Scott Sports Headquarters as CEO Dispute Continues
63820 views
First Ride: Fox Releases New Grip X & Grip X2 Dampers
46036 views
Pinkbike Poll: Center Lock or 6-Bolt Brake Rotor Mounting?
42318 views
Tech Briefing: Fancy Suspension, Carbon Wheels, Spring Apparel & More
37082 views
Pinkbike's DH Fantasy League: Get Your Team On The Line for Round 1
33262 views
SRAM Patent Shows Compact Motor x Battery Unit
31376 views
Bike Check: Craig Evans' Airdrop Edit V5
30390 views
First Look: Fair Bicycle's Drop Best Offset Saddle Clamp is Universally Compatible
29081 views

78 Comments
  • 69 9
 New plug system?? Rebranded motorbike tyre plugs that have been around for decades you mean.

Bacon strips have always been a temporary trailside fix that you remove and put a proper tyre plug/patch on later.
  • 99 0
 Have never done that and had lots of customers run multi bacon strips in various holes in a tire for the life of the tire. Pretty resilient.
  • 50 1
 Thats true, it took months of development ahem seconds of searching:

www.amazon.de/Pilzf%C3%B6rmige-Nadelstecker-Reparatur-Motorrad-Fahrrad/dp/B01N23JCE7
  • 1 15
flag markb2392 FL (Mar 25, 2023 at 0:26) (Below Threshold)
 @bonfire: Case study of 'loads' proves it
  • 7 0
 @JohSch: danke schön.

This one is for the UK customers.

Bouchetrou 24pcs Universal Rubber Car Tyre Repair Patch, 6 mm Wired Mushroom Stud for Cars and Motorbikes Suitable for Repairing Holes from 4 to 6 mm amzn.eu/d/e25KPFQ
  • 5 0
 @bonfire: same, but they can be ripped out by rocks etc depending on where they are. 9 times out of 10 they stay in place, especially the ones next to the rim where you get 'snakebites'.
  • 7 0
 Yup, been using them for years. If nothing else, look nicer than anchovies sticking out. Not exactly a trail side repair, and need to break the bead and clean a patch of sealant off, then wait for glue to set, but there's no way one of those is ever going to fall out mid ride. And anchovies certainly can't be considered a permanent fix for road (and gravel?) tyres
  • 4 0
 I can't get any type of glue to adhere to the inside of a Maxxis or a Schwalbe tyre. What am I doing wrong? Because of this I tend to leave the bacon strips in until I need a new tyre.
  • 7 1
 @dglobulator: someone hasn't patched many tubes eh? hehee
Rubber cement and sanding the surface first
  • 16 0
 @JohSch: there goes PB comments section ruining another mtb 'innovation' at double the price of the non mtb product lol
  • 5 0
 @dglobulator: you need the correct glue... jarukindustries.co.uk/products/rema-tip-top-sc-bl-special-blue-cement
  • 8 0
 @dglobulator: never had any problem with normal puncture repair glue. Wipe off all the sealant, then give it a good rub with coarse sand paper. I guess there's probably some mould release agent left on the insides that the sand paper removes
  • 10 0
 @bonfire: Agreed. Also, I've put a bacon strip with a bit of glue into my car's tyre instead of using a spare wheel. I thought it's not going to last, be here we are 2 years later, and it still works like a champ.
  • 4 0
 Yup, these have been around in many sizes in the automotive industry for a long time. Certainly not a trailside repair, but good for a permanent repair.
  • 3 0
 @dglobulator: I've had great success with Shoe Goo and the regular black and orange patches/bits of old tire, but you still have to prep the surface really well (clean, sand, alcohol/acetone wipe), clamp the glue joint for a while, and give it time to fully cure. Ran one of these sidewall patches for 1000 miles on my gravel bike. This was after multiple failed attempts with the regular patch kit vulcanizing glue.
  • 12 0
 I'm waiting for the ebike approved versions, even tho I don't have an ebike
  • 3 0
 @JohSch: Thanks for the tip. You get 24 pieces for 27€. Vielen danke!
  • 1 0
 @DizzyNinja: But it would be a good beginning Smile
  • 1 0
 I've done this to a couple of Z rated car tires and it is not an easy process to do correctly. I'm imagining the difference between these and those used for motorcycles and cars is the ability to flex with the casing. Car and moto tires are very rigid where bicycles tires are not.
  • 2 1
 @filwhip: 4-6 mm? ie 3/16-1/4 inches in freedom size Big Grin
  • 6 0
 @dolmen: no idea what those numbers are
  • 1 0
 @dglobulator: got to agree. I had a Schwalbe tyre and must have gone through four or five or these mushroom plugs and not one stuck. This was using a Rema Tip Top kit, so legit materials. Gave up in the end as if it wasn’t going to bond, I didn’t want to risk it. Stans sealant and roughed up the carcass with sandpaper and scraped and wiped all the sealant off.


And I’ve fixed plenty of tubes over time,
  • 1 0
 @Tambo: thanks for this link, going to try a tube of this.
  • 1 0
 @mountainsofsussex: do they work for slices/cuts of approx 1-2cm?

Sewing + normal tire/tube patches from the inside didn't hold up under hard braking, plugs were ofc too small anyways
  • 1 0
 @Archimonde: non western European countries do that all the time, offroaders, too
  • 2 0
 @JohSch: I'm not sure anything works for cuts that size. So many plies would be trashed, is reckon the structural integrity of the tyre is toast. Kevlar thread and a hooked needle might do it as a get you home, but I'd not trust it forever
  • 2 0
 @JohSch: have used a bit of thin plastic (eg coke/milk bottle to cover the cut, and duck tape to hold it in place...but only with a tube inside and even then it was just enough to get me home - the plastic creeps out of position slowly. I reckon that with some sewing, the glue I linked above and these patches you'd get a repair that lasts decently well; jarukindustries.co.uk/products/rema-tip-top-tube-patches-rad-repair-patch-series-100
  • 4 0
 My assegai with 2 6-month old bacon strips disagrees
  • 1 0
 literally thats what we use on car tyres just thicker
  • 1 0
 At home I've got this pretty cheap tire plug system that works with the regular bacon strips and screwdriver handled plugger and reamer, but you also apply rubber cement to the plugs. There is even a small razor included to trim off the excess. When I have a slow leak that I'm fixing at home or when a previously plugged hole doesn't hold, I use that. It stays put and whatever small gap it does leave (or which eventually develops) gets sealed by the sealant anyway. Before I actually retire a tire, it carries several of those plugs which still work perfectly fine. I prefer to install two plugs simultaneously and always trim them after installation, also when I'm fixing them trailside.

That said, tire slashes are a different story and I can't see myself fix these with a strip. A patch from the inside would probably work as a temporary fix but as has been mentioned already, with the carcass already ripped that'd be a temporary fix too.
  • 1 0
 After reading this article, I still have no idea how they actually work. Lol. Henry is usually amazing at his job, so hopefully this was him using someone else's copy or just having an off day.
  • 2 0
 @pgomez: It works like a regular tube patch. You need to thoroughly clean and sand the inside of the tire where the patch will be applied, then add glue, then pull the long part through the puncture from the inside of the tire. You trim off the excess on the outside of the tire. It is a plug and patch in one, very common in many other industries with tires. There is a bunch of youtube videos that show how to install a plug patch.
  • 1 0
 @bonfire: I had an old model Fast Trak on my training bike with 7 Dynaplugs in it. Ran it until I wore it out.
  • 1 0
 These are the best value I think www.ebay.co.uk/itm/155325684041
  • 45 0
 Seems crude, but once that bacon goes into in and gets gunked up with sealant, I’m riding that tire till it’s dead
  • 5 4
 Probably seems crude because they took an existing product, released it as an "innovation" and just hope people don't use the internet to find it.
www.amazon.de/Pilzf%C3%B6rmige-Nadelstecker-Reparatur-Motorrad-Fahrrad/dp/B01N23JCE7
  • 18 0
 @nickfranko: don't pretend like you found that German Amazon link on your own bud
  • 1 0
 @MrHuntso: Well, fair enough, Pinkbike is internet too. He's just being helpful to whoever scrolled straight to the comment section and overshot the first thread.
  • 17 0
 A New Plug System? Lol. I made a video about how to use these (from the automotive industry) 8 months ago:
youtu.be/y_ppxrgg3sc
  • 14 0
 Is Lezyne really promoting this as a “new system”?

These plugs have been around for years, they’re available all over the internet. A pack of 24 plugs is $10 online.
  • 11 0
 Yes, but if you buy these ones you can get 6 for $16!
  • 7 0
 That's the MTB industry for you. There are so many things that already exist, but they get labeled as MTB products and suddenly they're an innovation and triple the price.

I mean, look at body protection. Go look at MTB body protection, then google MX/dirtbike armor and you can often find identical protection or better at 30-50% of the price.
  • 13 2
 I get tractor tyre patches from the local agricultural depot.... or I should say I once got them 10 years ago coz I got 100 for £10 , I've got about 90 left. Might sell em at half the price of these "new" system ones and still maje a huge profit
  • 6 0
 The spelling and grammar mistakes help us know that Henry is writing the article himself and not just using an AI.
  • 2 2
 You know you can tell the AI to write it as if it was written by an overworked journalist burning midnight oil, right? That's exactly the kind of thing it's good at.
  • 3 1
 Hah I have both the tire gauge and the air cage. Both work great and are well-designed. The tire gauge is nice cause the entire body rotates so you can see it regardless of where your valve is at time of measure. The air cage is so discreet that you'd never know there's a tag in there - I exhaustively searched all the various airtag mounting options and settled on this one as the least invasive / most discreet / lower likelihood to be plucked off quickly/easily in the event of theft. I also read that some of the "deeper" options (steer tube from bottom or top cap, bell, in the frame) decrease the signal strength greatly.
  • 8 3
 An air tag is entirely useless if the bike is stolen, there is no benefit whatsoever in “hiding” it, as the thief can simply use their phone to locate it.
  • 1 1
 $30 USD for Airtag holder, same price as gps jammer in case the thief miss notofication on his phone
  • 1 0
 I had two bikes stolen from me in recent years. One while living in LA and another one in SF.
I found both posted on Craigslist for sale later.
On both bikes all the accessories like, bottle cage, handlebar, seat and pedals where either modified or swapped with what I assume where parts from other bikes the same people stole.

A friend of mine’s bike got stolen in San Francisco, he had an tile on it. We where able to locate the tile, got police to go to the place but they could not enter the house and therefore found nothing.
Only spooked the thiefs or what I assume where stolen bike wholesalers and the bike was never seen again.
  • 5 2
 Can't wait for the E-bike version of the tire patches to be released /s

Just get radial tire patches for $5 for a pack of 10 from Canadian tire. The bike industry is hilarious.
  • 2 0
 I’ve been using these on MTB from my motorcycle kit. Good results so far. There are also small rubber mushroom shaped plugs you can use off the trail, way ahead of the bacon strips. Again, Asian ideas for motorcycles.
  • 2 0
 Link?
  • 1 0
 Mushroom plugs have been around forever. Just installed one last week. They tend to last the remainder of the tyre life. Now, if someone could create one that could be inserted from the outside with a tool of some kind...AND have good internal patch adhesion over all the dried sealant residue...That would be interesting.
  • 4 1
 Duh duh duh duh duh duh DYNAPLUGS for the win! 9 out 10 times they last if you use the right one and don’t leave too much hanging out.
  • 2 1
 Yes the only plugs to buy. Bacon strips belong in your mouth not your tire…
  • 4 0
 Rema, the classic tube patch kit company, makes patches for tubeless tires too. Thicker patch and a different blue glue.
  • 4 0
 I only clicked the link because it looked like a horrific accident with a nail through a palm. I was disappointed.
  • 1 0
 To permanently repair a tubeless tire, even on trail, simply cut an old tube into about 3mm-5mm wide strips.
Befor stuffing them into the hole. generously coat them with vulcanizing glue from a patch kit. Applying them in the same way you would apply a bacon strip. Clip the ends sticking out and your tire is permanently fixed right on trail.
The little tube of glue and some rubber strips easily fit most containers like the ONE-UP EDC tool meant to hold bacon.

FYI: this is not some crazy Hack I came up with, this was the official way Hutchinson recommended when they developed the true tubeless (UST) tire-rim system. They even sold kits like that but just like the whole ust system, even though it was really really good, this way of fixing tires is mostly forgotten now.
  • 4 0
 Those plugs feel good on the whole.
  • 4 0
 That's not what they're for sir
  • 1 0
 Said the actress to the bishop...
  • 2 0
 That gauge looks like it's their shock pump without the pump and the addition of a cool head. Love the rotating idea but my Lezyne shock pump's gauge was garbage.
  • 4 0
 “ You feed the plug into the whole..” into the whole? or hole?
  • 3 0
 The whole hole.
  • 2 0
 Air tag in a bottle cage, great until next week when every thief knows about them, pretty easy to remove a bottle cage.
  • 2 0
 It might take them long enough to remove it that you can call the cops and get your bike back
  • 1 0
 I wonder if that lezyne pressure gauge still has there patented valve core removal feature?
  • 1 0
 Usually for free, sometimes for $5, the local tire store will put a boot inside a tubeless tire that will last forever.
  • 1 0
 I just get a new bike when a tire stops working. Only peasants fix things.
  • 1 0
 These work great, had a large puncture, it spit out 3 plugs. This saved me from buying a new tire.
  • 2 1
 You feed the plug into the *whole* from the inside of the tyre.
  • 1 0
 A hole of a tire vs a whole of a tyre - the latter is a big whole lot of a hole! Big Grin
  • 1 0
 $16/6 = a $2.66 patch....
Below threshold threads are hidden







Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv56 0.050303
Mobile Version of Website