So many punctures :(

danindublin · 26-11-2009 11:15am #1

Have my new bike less than 2 weeks and have had 4, yes 4 punctures! Previously had a mountain bike and got 2 punctures in 8 months. New bike is a road bike with Kenda Kriterium, 700x25mm tyres. My man cycle route is Kilmanham to Donnybrook, mainly along the canal. Am I doing something seriously wrong?

Lumen · 26-11-2009 11:17am

What pressures are you running?

If the answer is "I don't know", the solution is "7 bar" (about 100psi).

oflahero · 26-11-2009 11:28am

danindublin wrote: »

Have my new bike less than 2 weeks and have had 4, yes 4 punctures! Previously had a mountain bike and got 2 punctures in 8 months. New bike is a road bike with Kenda Kriterium, 700x25mm tyres. My man cycle route is Kilmanham to Donnybrook, mainly along the canal. Am I doing something seriously wrong?

Tube is tucked in nicely every time with no folds/rills? Not sitting in right will lead to a pinch flat. Scour the inside and outside of the tyres for debris/shards of glass/nails/pins. More often than not this is the cause. If not, consider changing the rim tape. If STILL no joy, fall on the mercy of your local bike shop.

danindublin · 26-11-2009 11:32am

Lumen wrote: »

What pressures are you running?

If the answer is "I don't know", the solution is "7 bar" (about 100psi).

One I got yesterday was changed in bike shop - I was told that it was set to 100psi

petethedrummer · 26-11-2009 11:32am

What sort of pump are you using?

spoonface · 26-11-2009 11:39am

I use an anti-puncture polymer strip and it works great. I've even gone over a pint glass by mistake without a puncture.

Here's a pic of it:

http://tinyurl.com/yjvxar4

vektarman · 26-11-2009 12:47pm

danindublin wrote: »

Have my new bike less than 2 weeks and have had 4, yes 4 punctures! Previously had a mountain bike and got 2 punctures in 8 months. New bike is a road bike with Kenda Kriterium, 700x25mm tyres. My man cycle route is Kilmanham to Donnybrook, mainly along the canal. Am I doing something seriously wrong?

I had a similar problem, after careful examination of the tyre I found a hardly noticeable nick in the sidewall of the tyre, it wasn't much but it was enough to puncture the tube at high pressure.

Paul Kiernan · 26-11-2009 1:05pm

Investigate where the puncture holes are (e.g. inside of tube, outside of tube, two holes on one side) to look for pattern.

I got my first road bike with Kenda tyres and got loads of punctures. Turned out they were nearly all "snakebites" caused by underinflated tyres!

bugler · 26-11-2009 1:13pm

My persistent punctures were definitely caused by insufficient pressure. I didn't have a track pump, tbh I'd no idea of the importance of gewtting one. Since I've got my pressure sorted I've had no punctures in the last couple of months.

If the OP can clarify what type of pump he's using we might have an answer. I, in my innocence, bought a standard mountain hand pump when I first bought my hybrid, which could only get my tires up to 40/50 psi (I'm guessing here). The only thing I wonder about is how I went so long before hitting my series of punctures.

danindublin · 26-11-2009 1:14pm

petethedrummer wrote: »

What sort of pump are you using?

Well yesterday they were pumped manually in the bike shop, before I've used the pumps in the garage forecourts - both seem to have had the same effect.

Dubba · 26-11-2009 1:16pm

Changed the Kenda Kriterium tyres that came on my bike to Continental Ultra Gatorskin and haven’t got puncture in over a month (touch wood). Also bought a track-pump and make sure pressure is at 100psi every time I go out.

danindublin · 26-11-2009 1:16pm

bugler wrote: »

My persistent punctures were definitely caused by insufficient pressure. I didn't have a track pump, tbh I'd no idea of the importance of gewtting one. Since I've got my pressure sorted I've had no punctures in the last couple of months.

If the OP can clarify what type of pump he's using we might have an answer. I, in my innocence, bought a standard mountain hand pump when I first bought my hybrid, which could only get my tires up to 40/50 psi (I'm guessing here). The only thing I wonder about is how I went so long before hitting my series of punctures.

I'm thinking this might be the issue - for the first week after I got the bike I was fine and then after my first 100km's the problems started. Will have to invest in a proper pump it seems

shergar22 · 26-11-2009 1:18pm

danindublin wrote: »

I'm thinking this might be the issue - for the first week after I got the bike I was fine and then after my first 100km's the problems started. Will have to invest in a proper pump it seems

As it happens I'm looking to pick up a pump at the moment for my road bike. Any suggestions on a good one?

blorg · 26-11-2009 1:18pm

danindublin wrote: »

Well yesterday they were pumped manually in the bike shop, before I've used the pumps in the garage forecourts - both seem to have had the same effect.

You need to get a track pump with a pressure gauge. It is very difficult to get the right pressure using a garage pump. Fine for an emergency but not otherwise.

blorg · 26-11-2009 1:22pm

shergar22 wrote: »

As it happens I'm looking to pick up a pump at the moment for my road bike. Any suggestions on a good one?

I have a Joe Blow Sprint which is excellent.

mfdc · 26-11-2009 1:25pm

Might just be bad luck & the weather. I've just gone through a spell where I punctured every time out (on puncture resistant Gatorskins). After 3 in a row, removing the offending shrapnel each time, I took off both tyres and went through them clearing out every tiny speck of glass. Thought that would sort it, but promptly punctured again the next day. Then to add insult to injury I managed to get a puncture on my commuter, which has bulletproof Marathon Plus tyres. That's only the third in a year, one of the others being a nail which totally destroyed the tyre.

I went 6 months puncture free on the commuter and 4 months on the road bike, before these last two weeks. I'm blaming the crap weather

dario28 · 26-11-2009 1:27pm

shergar22 wrote: »

As it happens I'm looking to pick up a pump at the moment for my road bike. Any suggestions on a good one?

tkmaxx in Stephens green had track pumps the other day - other alternative is lidl /Aldi , prob pay a tenner as opposed to 25/30 in bike shops

Dont loose the faith - my first week or two had a puncture and 2 snapped chains on brand new bike

blorg · 26-11-2009 1:45pm

dario28 wrote: »

tkmaxx in Stephens green had track pumps the other day - other alternative is lidl /Aldi , prob pay a tenner as opposed to 25/30 in bike shops

Track pump it can be worth getting a good one that works, I have had utter disasters from one of either Lidl or Aldi. You could be lucky though.

poochiem · 26-11-2009 2:00pm

I got one of those thin pumps from Cycleways, €18, 120psi. now there's no gauge but I just pumped the tyres until they felt right. Is that daft? Not much effort involved, although the lad at the desk told me the smaller pencil-thin pump would have me sweating like a pedo in a barney suit and to go with the bigger one.

I have a gauged track pump at work but it wasn't reading correctly and couldn't get it to inflate the tyres correctly.

Kind of going off-topic, some of you recommended the Conti 4000 s as all weather tyres, are they worth it for me? they seem to be best priced at nearly €70 a pair, that's a lot no? glowing reviews, great grip even in wet and puncture resisitant but are they overpriced?

Diarmuid · 26-11-2009 2:09pm

I guess what sort of roads you are cycling on makes a big impact. Just had a look at my gps log and I've done over 7000km since my last puncture. I have changed my tires during that period though as a premptive measure.
EDIT: I generally use Ultra Gatorskins and Vittoria Pro Tech's

blorg · 26-11-2009 2:11pm

poochiem wrote: »

I got one of those thin pumps from Cycleways, €18, 120psi. now there's no gauge but I just pumped the tyres until they felt right. Is that daft? Not much effort involved

I would imagine it is unlikely you have them at the right pressure, with road bike tyres I think you really need a gauge. 70 PSI "feels" hard but it is not enough. MTB you can do on feel.

Kind of going off-topic, some of you recommended the Conti 4000 s as all weather tyres, are they worth it for me? they seem to be best priced at nearly €70 a pair, that's a lot no? glowing reviews, great grip even in wet and puncture resisitant but are they overpriced?

They are good tyres and good tyres are a bit pricier. The cheapest I have ever got a really good tyre was €50 a pair and that was a special offer. Not sure I would use them for winter though they would certainly do.

danindublin · 26-11-2009 2:25pm

Strangely I just got a pair of Grand Prix 4000 this morning in the post via amazon.co.uk just to see if they fair any better . . . I'll update in a week or so and see if I faired any better. Gonna order a proper pump also.

short circuit · 26-11-2009 2:50pm

Diarmuid wrote: »

I guess what sort of roads you are cycling on makes a big impact. Just had a look at my gps log and I've done over 7000km since my last puncture. I have changed my tires during that period though as a premptive measure.
EDIT: I generally use Ultra Gatorskins and Vittoria Pro Tech's

Not sure if the same rules apply in different countries .... don't you live in sunnier climate.

Chris Peak · 26-11-2009 2:53pm

danindublin wrote: »

Gonna order a proper pump also.

The one blorg mentioned earlier is the one to go for.

You can get cheaper ones in Argos, but you have to really pump hard to get the tyre up to the right pressure. I have an argos one and I have to put my full body weight onto it. The Joe Blow is so much easier to use.

Avoid the Lidl / Aldi versions. I'v tried a few with no luck. Though their other bike accessories are usually fine.

Diarmuid · 26-11-2009 3:04pm

short circuit wrote: »

Not sure if the same rules apply in different countries .... don't you live in sunnier climate.

yea that was kinda my point.

I guess the first post was a reminder of the condition of Irish roads.

bikenut · 26-11-2009 3:30pm

I've only ever had 3 punctures (all occurred within 48hrs of each other)

I think in this situation, you need to make sure the tyre goes back on in exactly the same place/direction - I did this using a couple of biro marks and arrows - this allows you to find out whether punctures are due to particular part of the tyre.

I only thought about this after the 2nd puncture and hey presto, 3rd puncture lined up with exactly same part of the tyre as the 2nd. Obviously glass stuck there somewhere but couldn't find it even with magnifying glass. Threw out the tyre and no more punctures since.

I think we're too quick to just pull out the old tube and stick in the new tube when a little analysis would tell us a lot more about the cause of the puncture.

Do I over analyse things - probably - will I be the guy stuck half way round the Wicklow200 with no more tubes left - definitely.

Those Kendra Kriterium do have bad reputation for punctures

rottenhat · 26-11-2009 4:11pm

bikenut wrote: »

I think in this situation, you need to make sure the tyre goes back on in exactly the same place/direction - I did this using a couple of biro marks and arrows - this allows you to find out whether punctures are due to particular part of the tyre.

The standard trick for this is to line the label on the tyre up with the hole for the valve in the rim whenever you're putting a tyre on.

Having said that, I rarely remember to actually do this.

poochiem · 26-11-2009 4:50pm

well bizarrely I've found two continental 4000 s for 40quid on Amazon but neither myself nor the seller can trade as Amazon won't let him sell them outside of the UK! ? grrr.

Mint Sauce · 26-11-2009 4:58pm

reakon you can just get unlucky, had my first puncture on my current bike in the summer, have for about five years, after going through the tyres that came with it, and cheapish ones from bike shops, treated the bike to some continental grand prix tyres, got a puncture after about 60-70 miles

Lumen · 26-11-2009 5:04pm

poochiem wrote: »

well bizarrely I've found two continental 4000 s for 40quid on Amazon but neither myself nor the seller can trade as Amazon won't let him sell them outside of the UK! ? grrr.

JE James are cheapest at the moment @ £22.90 each, but delivery is lots and you have to order over the phone.

You'd need to do a large bulk order to make it worthwhile.

poochiem · 26-11-2009 5:29pm

Lumen wrote: »

JE James are cheapest at the moment @ £22.90 each, but delivery is lots and you have to order over the phone.

You'd need to do a large bulk order to make it worthwhile.

sweet jebus!

£25.50 delivery! (where do you apply the vaseline?)

So many punctures :(

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