MTFCA Forum

Dan, do yourself a favour and trot down to your local bicycle shop to get some 24" tubes. These can be cut open to make a close fitting rim liner for a 23" rim, and they do not get in the way fitting the tyre, don't get out of place within the tyre and don't knock a great big hole in your T budget.

Allan from down under.

Ahhhh...the eternal question....does he really want a rim liner or a FLAP....????

DIfferent solution for different problems - no???

Yes - he's asking about flaps BUT Allan deems then unnecessary ?

Have you tried other sources?
https://www.google.com/search?q=30+X+3+ ... UTF-8#ip=1

I'm pretty sure I've got a set for a 1915 touring clenchers. I didn't use them. I used motorcycle rim strips five years ago.

Flaps & rim strips provide 2 different services - rim strips don't provide any protection from irons whilst mounting tires - rim strips are used on wire wheel centers !

Run without flaps.

Flaps are an expensive insurance policy for those who might be clumsy with tyre levers or whose tyre fitting technique involves levering on the tyres one side at a time.

They also have a tendency to migrate in service or when the tyre is being mounted, and add considerable weight to the wheel. A rim liner gets around these problems.

Allan from down under.

Admittedly I am by no means an authority on Model T parts, but I do read a fair amount and I am constantly amazed at the apparent (to me) confusion between a rim liner and a flap.

Could it be due to a language interpretation difference? A bonnet is one thing in some countries, a hood in another; a boot is one thing some places, a trunk the same thing elsewhere. See https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/do- ... uto-parts/

To this New Englander, a rim liner is a giant wide rubber band that fits rather snugly in the "valley" of a wheel rim, and provides a covering, a liner, between protruding spoke ends, and other possible rough spots, and the inner tube - especially on "split rim" rims.

A flap, to me, is a heavy (yes, weighty) wide piece oif thick rubber that is contained WITHIN the tire (tyre - in some countries), and is deliberately made thick and heavy to prevent the tube from falling into the crack between the edges of the clincher tires (tyres) AND to protect the tube from the inadvertent pinch of the tire iron (levering bar) when removing or replacing (mounting-demounting) the tire (tyre).

Both items protect the tube (Liner and flap) but both are in different places....against the rim, or within the tire (tyre). A camel and a donkey both are used to carry people and things, but are different animals altogether.

So I think...

What kind of oil should I put in my Model T?

Well, aren't you just being an instigator, my friend ?

David, your description is right on, except in one detail. Rim liners should not be used on split rims. There is considerable movement at the split when contracting the rim and then expanding it again to close the latch. Settling a liner during this process is problematical. Split rims and lockring types use flaps. They are assembled within the tyre and the whole assembly then dropped over the rim.

Allan from down under.

Thanks. Correction noted.

I probably should have said that rim liners are best used with (what some of us call) "balloon tires"....tires with pressure around 30-35 psi.

Dan. It's best to run MOTOR OIL in your Model T. Should I use Marvel Mystery Oil?? bobt

David, one could probably get away with using one of the rim liners I make from inner tubes on a split rim. Both the 24" bicycle tubes and the ones I cut from a 13" car tube outer diameter are a stretch fit on a 23" rim, and pulling the rim in with the tool would see the liner contract with it. That same stretch fit means they never get out of place when fitted. I love the fact that my tyre shop gives me the old 13" tubes. It sure beats paying between $40-50 for a great big heavy flap.

Allan from down under.

Thanks.

Shipping costs are out oif hand up here...they must be prohibitive to send things from mhere to you...

I am sure I will receive criticism but here goes:

I raced motorcycles for years and initially rim flaps were used to protect the tube from the spoke ends. Years ago we stated using Duck Tape around the rim. It works better for several reasons. First of all it doesn’t slip around and it’s permanent. I have followed this practice with Model Ts as well.

Now as to the discussion about pinched tubes:

Motorcycle cycle tires are installed differently than Model Ts. A Model T tire is installed as One Unit. I will elaborate. First with the exposed rim, inspect the rim for any sharp spots and the edges for dents. Repair as needed. Install the Duck Tape. Next install the tube inside the tire and inflate to remove any twists. Deflate the tube. Place the tube and tire on the rim, starting at the valve stem. Push both beads into the rim. Place a ratchet strap around the rim and tire to hold the tire in place. Using the curved end of a tire iron, start installing both the tire and tube onto the tim, working away from the valve stem until you finally install the tire.

Follow this procedure, there is little chance of pinching a tube between the tire and rim.

Dan McEachern wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 18, 2023 12:43 pm

What kind of oil should I put in my Model T?

No oil in your water pump, grease. . .