DIY repair of tubeless tyres

It isn't just the engine and body of a car that have changed over the decades. Tyres, too, are subject to progress, and now more advanced tubeless designs are used alongside tube constructions. Such tyres have a solid rubber layer that's impermeable to air. These tyres sit tightly on the rim, which is what gives them their airtightness. The valve for inflating them sits in a special hole in the rim.

The advantages of tubeless tyres include:

• a slow pressure drop when punctured;
• lower weight, and therefore reduced load on the wheel hubs and suspension;
• less heat build-up during prolonged high-speed driving.

Possible failures

Cases that call for tubeless tyre repair include:

• punctures from a nail, a bolt and the like;
• cuts from a shard of glass or metal;
• bulges caused by a break in individual cords of the carcass.

The simplest kind of damage is a small-diameter puncture. Such a problem can crop up on any road at the most unexpected moment. However, this is also the defect that's easiest to fix. And although a tubeless tyre loses air far more slowly than a tube-type one, this kind of fault should still be dealt with as quickly as possible.

How to deal with a puncture

If the shop that does professional tyre repair is far away, you can solve the problem of a hole in the tyre yourself. The simplest way to get rid of a puncture is to fill it with sealant. But this method has negative consequences — the tyre becomes unbalanced, which worsens ride quality and can even cause an accident.

To plug a puncture properly, use pliers to pull out whatever object damaged the tyre. Then work the puncture. To do this, insert a twisted reamer awl coated in adhesive activator into the hole. Turn the awl a few times in the puncture. After that, insert a repair cord made of wear-resistant cord material. The cord is first coated with the same adhesive as the awl. Once the cord is inserted, trim off the excess. All that's left is to check the tyre for airtightness — and go on using it.