You're right, not a lot of ebike shops in your area; however, keep checking with other local bike shops-somebody's got to be game! Court made a handy
Guide to Fixing Flat Tires on Ebikes that has some good suggestions for tackling it on your own. As a long time ebike shop and repair center, we don't recommend patching that tube unless you're stuck by the side of a road. Better to get the right size Thorn Resistant tube (they're 4 times thicker than a regular tube) or at least a Tire Liner (Mr. Tuffy, or similar thicker liner). There are wide tire liners available now; more pricey than normal width ones but well worth the reduced headache of repeated flats. The extra weight and torque from the hub motor does make rear flats more likely and investing in heavier duty tires will help prevent a flat, too.
If you're doing this on your own, you may find it easier to do with the bike flipped upside down, then gravity helps you. Just make sure that the console or any control device, lights or cell phone holder are rotated from contact with the floor. Once you get the wheel removed then remove the whole tire this time to examine the rim itself for burrs or for a misaligned rim strip that could allow a spoke to puncture the tube. Also check the valve stem hole in the rim for smoothness, I've seen rough edges from there cut the valve stem. If you're going to re-use the tire then check the inside of the tire and the bead to make sure none of the threads inside are broken or feel really rough. Some tires will have metal or very stiff threads along the bead which if broken are sharp enough to flat a tube. A lot of time, the bead gets broken when a tire is repeatedly ridden with low tire pressure or the tube is worn by too much movement inside the tire, so watch the psi!
Let us know how it goes,
@Chuck Caho; you'll be a pro at this in no time!
One other suggestion; do the same upgrades for the front wheel at the same time and save yourself future trouble.
