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Tires Losing Air
I have had a lot of issues with my 19 inch wheels holding air for a long time. I have found that the two biggest reasons were a sticker and the filler stem. On one wheel it leaked out so fast that it dropped 15 pounds in two days. After a proper inspection we found a 1 inch long by 1/4 inch bar coded sticker on the bead part of the tire. Once taken off the tire now holds air. Imagine that. When you get new tires make sure that they peel the sticker off before installing them. Why is this not always done to prevent such a thing anyhow.
On two wheels the stem had either been installed wrong or hardware had been left off. For the hardware one a flat washer was not reinstalled, likely after the wheel had been refinished. On the other wheel the stem had been tightened, and overtightened, likely due to seeing a slight leak, so many times that the rubber was torn. So much for R & R quality.
Moral of this story, Whenever you get new tires or have your wheels refinished have them replace the aging, and likely deteriorated, air valve and assure that they use the proper hardware. Sorry, but I expected these steps to be taken during either thing. I guess not.
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