Talkum powder in your tyres
 

I just received this tip from a vintage scooter expert. Put a two teaspoons of talkum/Baby powder inside your tyres (this is for 10" wheels, so more for your average motorcycle tyre). This is supposed to counteract condensation in your rims, preventing corrosion of your rims that ultimately can lead to punctures of your innertubes. Wether this 5 cent tip really works or not, I'm not certain, but I can't see how it could be of any harm to your wheels or your wallet. The rims of the ride i will be using in Africa are made of steel, and rust is a definate issue.

Can anybody collaborate on this tip?

Talcum powder
 

Hi There

If you think about it, it wont work, because once the talc has absorbed the first condensation, what then? It won't absorb more because it's saturated, so you're back to square one.

Why not put a lacquer or varnish or paint in your wheels ? -that's what we usually do to stop rust...

But steel doesnt rust so quickly that you'll have a problem anyway..

It was a scooter owner who told you this, so be afraid, very afraid!

Good roads!

Never heard of all the other stuff mentioned but TP is always useful when mounting tubes; makes the surfaces slipperier in a dry way (esp around the maybe-still-tacky patch) and so reduces the chances of a creased or pinched tube. Smells great too.

Chris S

Wheel corrosion
 

Internal corrosion is definately a problem with tubeless tires. With my BMW I've had slow leaks all because the bead wasn't sealing properly. It was caused by internal corrosion in the bead area of my alloy rims. I clean them with scotch-brite and very carefully examine them before mounting a new tire. Some use a smear of silicone sealant. It nearly killed me once when I had just overtaken an enormous wide load of earth moving equipment on the freeway when my already leaking front tire suddenly lost all it's air when doing 130 Km/hr. I could hardly control the bike and I knew just behind me doing 120 Km/hr was a million tons of truck which wasn't going to stop. Using the superhuman strength given by fear, I wrestled the bike onto the hard shoulder while the wide load thundered by, almost decapitating me. Not good.