How to Prevent Getting Punctures with Your Electric Scooter

Nothing can put a damper on your day quite like getting a flat tyre. As annoying as these can be, flat tyres are inevitable on an electric scooter, especially when riding over rough terrain.

This is also true if your electric scooter comes with pneumatic tyres (or air-filled tyres) and not tubeless (or airless tyres). But punctures don’t necessarily need to be the bane of your existence. All it takes is maintaining the condition of the tyres of your e scooter to prevent flats.

Proper maintenance of your scooter tyres will also ensure that they remain in mint condition for as long as they possibly can.

How common are flat tyres in electric scooters?

While it’s not unheard of for electric scooters to get to a flat tyre every once in a while, you may be wondering how often you could potentially experience a puncture.

First off, you are most likely to experience a flat tyre if your electric scooter has air-filled tyres (or tyres with an inner tube), as these types of scooter tyres can get pierced more easily. Additionally, you could experience flat tyres more often if you habitually ride over rough terrains where the conditions are less than ideal.

Conversely, you aren’t likely to experience a puncture if your scooter has tubeless (or airless) tyres simply because tyres are as solid and as impenetrable as can be. Also, experiencing punctures in an electric scooter designed specifically for off-road riding is not a high probability because it is designed for this very purpose and usually has wider, thicker tyres with more grip and resistance than ordinary tyres.

Realistically speaking, though, you could experience a flat tyre twice a year or so, potentially more, if you don’t take the necessary steps to prevent flats.

Causes of Tyre Punctures in Electric Scooters

Sharp Objects

There is a greater chance of getting a flat or punctured tyre on your electric scooter when you encounter particularly abrasive road debris or sharp objects lying about the road that can pierce the tyre easily. Such encounters will usually lead to a penetration puncture; this is where the air-filled tyre is pierced or slashed by the sharp object in question.

Potholes or Curbs

On the other hand, pinch punctures can cause a flat tyre when your electric scooter hits the jagged edge of a curb or pothole. This pinches the inner tube on the rim of the tube, which can also result in a flat tyre.

Wrong Tyre Pressure

You can also experience a flat tyre on your electric scooter if you don’t have the correct tyre pressure. What this means is that both under inflated and over-inflated tyres can get punctured.

Incorrectly Installed Tyre

Your electric scooter could also get a flat if you install the tyre incorrectly. That said, if you are unsure about how to go about replacing a punctured tyre, you could have a mechanic replace it to put your mind at ease.

How to Replace Flat Tyres on an Electric Scooter

Things You Can Do to Avoid Punctures

If you want to prevent your electric scooter from getting a flat (for as long as is possible), there are things you can do to reduce the odds of getting punctures and prevent the need of replacing tyres as often, which include:

Make sure the tyre pressure is adequate

 This means your electric scooter’s tyres should neither be underinflated nor over-inflated. You can check the tyre pressure by using an air pressure gauge to test the air pressure level within the inner tube. Generally, most electric scooters have a tyre pressure or PSI ranging between 40 and 60 PSI. But it’s best to read the user manual to check the ideal tyre pressure for your scooter model.

Add a tube sealant within the inner tube of the scooter tyre.

 Using green slime as an inner tube sealant works as a protective barrier against punctures by sealing small punctures closed within a few minutes. Tube sealant works most effectively on small holes so that you don’t have to replace the inner tube entirely.

Choose airless (or tubeless) tyres

Choose airless (or tubeless) tyres for your electric scooter if you want to alleviate the hassle of having to repair unnecessary punctures. This comes with its own pros and cons, though. For example, while airless tyres are not prone to getting flats, they can negatively affect the ride quality of your electric scooter.

Opt for a heavy-duty inner tube

When replacing a flat tyre, you could opt for a heavy-duty inner tube instead of ordinary scooter tyres. Heavy-duty inner tubes are more resistant to puncture damage and can end up extending the lifespan of your scooter tyres considerably. Additionally, using anti-puncture tape or tyre liners to protect your scooter’s tyres can make all the difference in improving resistance to punctures.

Avoid riding in wet conditions

Avoid riding your electric scooter in wet conditions, as wet weather can increase the possibility of your scooter tyres skidding into sharp corners and surfaces, resulting in pinch punctures.

Replace your tyres instead of repairing them

Also, you should replace your tyres (instead of repairing them) if they are visibly worn out or, conversely, if you’ve had them for a very long time.

Practice your riding stance

Practice anticipatory riding techniques. What this means is riding in anticipation of a bumpy ride ahead. This has to do with practising your riding stance, which means bending your knees and leaning back as you approach a dip or bump in the road. Added to this is choosing the path of least resistance if the road ahead looks particularly rough and distinctly more uncomfortable to ride on. And also keeping a lookout for dodgy debris lying about in the street.

Perform routine checks

The best way of preventing punctures in e scooters is through proper maintenance of your e scooter. Therefore, routine checks are necessary to spot anything out of the norm before it gets out of hand. In other words, prevention is better than cure when it comes to electric scooters and their tyres!

Additional Benefits of Using a Tyre Sealant

Final Thoughts

Getting a puncture on your e scooter at some point in the foreseeable future is pretty much inevitable – we know this much.

However, with the proper measures in place, it needn’t cause as many headaches or disruptions to an otherwise perfect outdoor riding experience. The key lies in getting to know the ins and outs of how your electric scooter works that will determine the frequency and severity of how often punctures occur and the potential damage they can cause.

You’ll also become familiar with what keeps your e scooter performing optimally. Through routine maintenance and good general care, you’ll be able to spot the difference in the riding performance of your electric scooter. For punctures though, the difference will most certainly be noticeable especially when punctures are so bad that the tubes need replacing. However, for minor punctures, you may feel only a slight difference, but a difference all the same.

So why not give your electric scooter the TLC it deserves if you want to experience many more days of uninterrupted riding fun!

Author:
Nely Hayes

BIO: 

Nely is an adrenaline junkie and one of her life goals is to sky dive, but until that day she gets her kicks from testing fast electric scooters. Part time scooter fanatic & part time SEO analyst. Nely’s favourite scooter is the Dualtron X.