‘How-many-tyres’ is a question often asked.
What use is a spare tyre if you have no puncture…
What use is a punctured car with no spare?
My midway solution is to carry:
One ready-made extra spare (that is two spares and four road wheels)
One unmounted tyre, outer cover
Two or three spare tubes
Valves and valve caps,
Set of BIG tyre levers
Puncture repair kit
Sidewall patches (now illegal in Europe)
The weight of the spare wheel is moderate, of the remainder it is negligible.
In several long desert trips across rock, sand, scrub and camel thorn, I have been puncture-free – but luck, not skill, probably played a part.
Desert taxis and locals run their tyres down to the canvas – amazing - and are always on the lookout for good outer covers.
Take as many old covers as you can carry – someone will be please to trade some service for them en-route.
If you are really weight-watching (and you should be), leave out the spare wheel, just take the additional tyre. Practice doing a wheel-change and puncture repair before you leave – it is a lot easier to perfect the technique at home, than to wrestle with unfamiliar tools and unpractised skills in the heat of the desert.
Bon Voyage…
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Kitmax - Traveller
Desert Pictures at
http://www.kitmax.com/kitmax/kit03ph...velgallery.htm
homepage
http://www.kitmax.com