No more flat tyres - guaranteed!

Tragic followers of our blog on e-bikes and bicycles may recall a previous story about punctures in bike tyres and how we should be avoiding them as a matter of pride as sentient beings. Basically the story is that many people cycle and get flat tyres and think it's a fact of life and put up with it or worse, eventually ditch the bicycle. Compare that to motorists - they buy tyres which rarely get flats and they have a spare wheel and tools to replace it in the car with them at all times, even though they don't necessarily know that. In fact, you can't buy a car without those essentials. Surely motorists aren't of a higher intelligence than cyclists?? So let's lift our game.

We recommend the Schwalbe Marathon Plus as the most puncture proof tyre that we know. They sell for $80 each in our store. Although Schwalbe has campaigns and slogans such as 'we make your bike flat-less', there has always been a disclaimer somewhere saying 'we can't actually guarantee your bike will be flat-less' or similar. It's understandable why the disclaimer exists, but we're convinced by the tyre. Our friends' epic cycle trip from Port Augusta to Darwin used these tyres with zero flats on both bikes. Read here about Jim's story 'a tribute to a tire'.So we decided to put our money where our mouths are and offer an actual, practical guarantee against punctures and it goes like this:

"If we equip your bicycle with Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres, we will fix any punctures you get on your bicycle for free for a year". The fine print goes like this:

• you have to buy them from us and we're installing them. Cost: $160 for two tyres, fitting is free.
• you also have to prove to us you own a floor pump that works. Either bring yours in and show us or buy one of ours (they start at $35). Why? Because riding your bike with flat tyres increases your risk of punctures. Cost: from $35
• 'equipped with Schwalbe Marathon Plus' means buying schwalbe innertubes from us as well because they hold their air for longer (see page 34 of the Schwalbe 2011 catalogue) and they are high quality - lower chance of valves leaking. Cost: $24 for two tubes.
• 'equipped with Schwalbe Marathon Plus' also means buying Schwalbe high pressure rim tape from us as well, because flats aren't just caused by glass and nails piercing the top of your tyre - the rim can puncture your tyre if the rim tape is low pressure rated, degrading or low quality. Cost: $8 for two wheels
• 'fixing your punctures' still means you have to bring the bicycle or wheel into the shop, we can't come and pick you up in our electric cargo bike, sorry! If it happens to you on the road and you fix it yourself we will give you a Schwalbe innertube and set of Schwalbe tyres levers.

So who will you be? Another cyclist with cheap tyres or racing tyres inappropriate to city riding, getting punctures all the time and walking the bike home or a smart one who can't remember the last time they got a flat?

Schwalbe Marathon Plus is available in 20", 26" and 700c. The thinnest they have is a 700 x 25c. If you want thinner consider a Durano Plus for puncture protection (but no warranty). Other tyres we can recommend if you don't have the budget for Marathon Plus or prefer something lighter include Schwalbe Marathon, Vittoria Randonneur and Panaracer RiBMo. See the Schwalbe 2011 tyre catalogue for more details, downloadable here.

Last fact - our eZeebike electric bikes come with Marathon Plus, schwalbe tubes and rim tape as standard, which is why our e-bike warranties cover everything, including flat tyres.

See you soon for a flat-free future.