Testing 2.5mm and 5mm width rubber O rings on MX 2.8 Badlands. 90mm Inside diameter w/video

[Notorious J]

A short bench trial to see how the O rings would work. The 2.5mm fit nicely between the lugs. The 5mm cause the tire to distort. A slight larger inside diameter for the 5mm might be better suited. Both wheels have two winds of previously added 50lb fishing line which became immediately ineffective once the O rings were installed. Immediate conclusion without any outdoor testing, is that the 2.5mm, glued, would be effective enough to keep ballooning to a required minimum. I will return the 5mm x 90mm and opt for something around 5mm x 95mm for another test.

 

[SrC]

Nice work. Always thinking out of the box. Thanx.

 

[Notorious J]

Nice work. Always thinking out of the box. Thanx.

It was a recommendation by @jondilly1974. I cannot take credit for the idea, and thank him for sharing it.

 

[Porschetech🇬🇪]

It was a recommendation by @jondilly1974. I cannot take credit for the idea, and thank him for sharing it.

I’ll take the credit then. Kthnx













?

 

[jondilly1974]

I don’t remember who recommended it to me but someone did. Sorry whomever you are. Wish I could give credit where due.

Just make sure to glue those things down. They fly off quickly otherwise. ??????

 

[DoNoHarm]

KT made a YouTube post about his friend's tires, and the guy actually cut very small holes very low in the tread, and looped fishing line through the holes he cut. It looks like it'll hold very well.

 

[Mr.Duke]

Interested in your findings J and how this goes.
We use a lot of crazy size orings on the industrial side of business and they make a size to fit almost any application. If you get stuck in between sizes here’s a chart with what we reference as “dash size” found in the blue boxes at the link
https://www.allorings.com/O-Ring-AS568-Standard-Size-Chart

 

[Mongoose]

Nice! This has got to be so much faster than braiding the tires.

 

[Notorious J]

KT made a YouTube post about his friend's tires, and the guy actually cut very small holes very low in the tread, and looped fishing line through the holes he cut. It looks like it'll hold very well.View attachment 61901

I did use fishing line before, and I actually put the line through two complete rows using a heavy duty sewing needle. Unfortunately, the line gets shredded pretty quick. To do just wraps in between the lugs, if one line breaks, everything is gone.

Interested in your findings J and how this goes.
We use a lot of crazy size orings on the industrial side of business and they make a size to fit almost any application. If you get stuck in between sizes here’s a chart with what we reference as “dash size” found in the blue boxes at the link
https://www.allorings.com/O-Ring-AS568-Standard-Size-Chart

Thanks for the chart @Mr.Duke. I took the Typhon out for a spin, but today wasn't the best testing day. Still to slick with ice and snow, so didn't really test to see how durable the rings were. I will say that they kept ballooning down to almost nothing. I used the 2.5mm width, 90mm i.d. I don't thing anything bigger than 3mm would work without distorting the tire. The 2.8 Badlands outside diameter is about 110mm between the lugs, so how someone came up with the 90mm being just the right amount of tension without distorting the tire, had to be a lot of trial and error. If you plan on giving it a try with different tires, bring home as many different i.d. sizes as you can, and just start giving it a go. The width might add to the durability, but if they start to press hard against the lugs, the tire definitely takes on a different shape. If you do get around to it, please post your findings for various tires. Backflips and Backflip Lp's would be high on the list.

Nice! This has got to be so much faster than braiding the tires.

It really is easy, and like @jondilly1974 said, a little dab of glue at each lug seemed to have done the trick. Hopefully they don't break prematurely, and I can get a long term conclusion on how they wear once the lugs start to go down.

 

[Mongoose]

Hey @Notorious J do you have any updates on the 5mm x 95mm’s? I'm finally ready for them!

 

[Notorious J]

Hey @Notorious J do you have any updates on the 5mm x 95mm’s? I'm finally ready for them!

After some very brief testing, the 5mm are definitely too big. They deform the tire when applying and stick out too far. 2.5 to 3mm is more than enough. How long they will last is another story, but long term tests are still pretty far out.

 

[Warby]

You just reminded me @Notorious J . I tried some 95mm x 3mm orings and they sit in the grooves well but the 95mm seem too small. Its deforming the tyre, too tight, pulling the tyre in against the foam. They may stretch over time though.

 

[jondilly1974]

Remember the thinner the ring, the less strength it has to deform the tire. So as you go from 5mm to 2.5mm, if the ID is the same, it will deform the tire less even though the ID is the same ???

 

[Notorious J]

You just reminded me @Notorious J . I tried some 95mm x 3mm orings and they sit in the grooves well but the 95mm seem too small. Its deforming the tyre, too tight, pulling the tyre in against the foam. They may stretch over time though.

Remember the thinner the ring, the less strength it has to deform the tire. So as you go from 5mm to 2.5mm, if the ID is the same, it will deform the tire less even though the ID is the same ???

My thoughts apply to both of these comments. The 95mm id is tight, but the thinner 2.5mm stretches more easily. I did not notice as much deforming with the thinner rings, and anything larger in id would have little effect in decreasing ballooning. The 5mm were literally crunching up the tire and would have made them wobble like crazy. After getting the 2.5mm on, I just went the full circumference pulling on it to make sure it sat evenly, then glued it in place at each of the lugs. Will these thinner rings last? Time will tell.

 

[Mongoose]

My thoughts apply to both of these comments. The 95mm id is tight, but the thinner 2.5mm stretches more easily. I did not notice as much deforming with the thinner rings, and anything larger in id would have little effect in decreasing ballooning. The 5mm were literally crunching up the tire and would have made them wobble like crazy. After getting the 2.5mm on, I just went the full circumference pulling on it to make sure it sat evenly, then glued it in place at each of the lugs. Will these thinner rings last? Time will tell.

If you were to buy them again, what size would you buy to get a better fit? 96mm ID x 2.5mm wide?

 

[jondilly1974]

If you were to buy them again, what size would you buy to get a better fit? 96mm ID x 2.5mm wide?

I can only find increments of 5mm in ID, so if you could find a 97.5mm ID x 2.5mm lmk

 

[Mongoose]

I can only find increments of 5mm in ID, so if you could find a 97.5mm ID x 2.5mm lmk

I have a 97mm or 98mm.

97mm McMaster #9262K955
98mm McMaster #9262K956

 

[Notorious J]

I have a 97mm or 98mm.

97mm McMaster #9262K955
98mm McMaster #9262K956

I like the 95mm id x 2.5mm. They are elastic enough to cause little or no distortion and tight enough to effective. In the end, it's a personal choice, so ideally you would want to try different sizes. This would get pretty expensive. I'm sure the 97 and 98mm id would be fine as well. You might even be able to use a larger width of 4 or 5mm with the increase in id. It is trial and error until we find a site where someone has tried all the different sizes. I've got two down.

 

[Notorious J]

You just reminded me @Notorious J . I tried some 95mm x 3mm orings and they sit in the grooves well but the 95mm seem too small. Its deforming the tyre, too tight, pulling the tyre in against the foam. They may stretch over time though.

I can only find increments of 5mm in ID, so if you could find a 97.5mm ID x 2.5mm lmk

I have a 97mm or 98mm.

97mm McMaster #9262K955
98mm McMaster #9262K956

Everybody put on the brakes. I just realized that I'm quoting 95mm id. The ones I used on my 2.8 Badlands are 90mm, as was suggested by @jondilly1974 who knew someone else who tried them. We jumped to 95, 97 and 98. @Warby said he tried 3mm x 95 and they were too tight, but my 2.5mm x 90 felt good. I had noted that I would try the 5mm x 95 to see if they would fit similar to the the smaller ones, but haven't got around to it yet. Seems like there are some varying opinions here. This can get really expensive, as nitrile rubber o rings are not exactly dollar store buys. If you look at my video above, you'll see that the 2.5mm x 90 caused little to no distortion. I can't figure out why @Warby feels like the larger 95mm were too tight when they were only .5mm wider and 5mm larger id.

 

[Mongoose]

I’m going with the 2.5mm x 90mm’s.

I can get 10 for $11.50 off McMaster. Anyone have a better option?