The Sahmurai Sword tire repair kit, which is named after its inventor and competitive biker Stefan ‘Sahmurai’ Sahm, is from South Africa. The kit is a new, easy to use and store method of taking a kit along to fix tubeless bike tires using a worm-like plug. The kit stores the wormlike plug, as well as the reamer tool and it fits right inside the bike handlebars.
Tubeless tires are the kind that most high-end mountain bikes have. If a rider gets a small leak, it normally seals itself. However, a larger hole is another story. Now, thanks to this new tubeless tire repair kit, repairs on the trail will be much easier and safer.
The two-part method uses the same kind of sticky wormlike repair that is also used on leaks that happen with tubeless car tires. In the past, some bikers have brought the kits used for fixing cars along on their journey, but it is somewhat dangerous because it has sharp points and is hard to carry on the road.
But the new Sahmurai Sword repair kit uses handlebar plugs, so if a tire gets a leak, the rider can pull out one of the plugs, then twist it to bring out the tools inside of the handlebars and start fixing his tire.
The kit includes a reamer that looks like an awl, which is used to make the leak big enough to put in the worm plug. The worm plug is stuck into the leak with the enclosed fork tool, and the plug can be cut to the size to match the hole.
No other tools or special items are needed to fix the tire except what comes with the kit. Then, voilà, the leak is repaired and the rider can continue on his way.
The Sahmurai Sword kit is now for sale in South Africa and costs about $29 US dollars. It is expected to be distributed internationally in the future.
Sahm says that he created the Sahmurai Sword tire repair kit because he wanted something he could easily carry with him, as he was tired of having to carry repair items in his backpack and having the plugs lose their stickiness, get wet, or run the risk of jabbing him with sharp points if he put it into his pocket.
He says that through the use of his Sahmaurai Sword tire repair kit, he can now plug up a leak in his tubeless bike tires in less than 20 seconds with practice. Sahm created the repair kit along with an engineer, Anton du Toit, who had the engineering know-how to help create the product.
Sahm added that travelling light is something that is vital when riding a mountain bike, especially in a race. The fact that the Sahmaurai Sword repair kit is lightweight and easy to store and use is a big advantage to riders.
