Yet another puncture

neonman

Hi all, as the title says yet another puncture back wheel again. No biggie changed to a new innertube within 10 mins and I was back on the road but I am thinking it is time to get some puncture resistant tyres? (Around trip for the day is 44km)

What is best puncture resistant innertubes or puncture resistant tyres or both?

Thanks all.
Neon

Alanstrainor

Get Continental Ultra Gator Skin tyres, i was getting about 3 punctures a week with my last tyres, bought a set of these and haven't had a puncture since i got them, which is about 2 months or circa 1000kms. I bought them online, i think it was www.chainreactioncycles.com.
Btw, i use standard inner tubes now too.

Muller_1

Alanstrainor wrote: »

haven't had a puncture since i got them,

That's the kiss of death!

Any good set of Conti's should be good enough. I don't bother with gator skins but get what is ever on offer on ProBikekit.

As usual ensure you have good strong rim tape and that you have the right pressure in your tyres.

neonman

Cheers guys, i'll check them out..

@ Muller_1 what do you mean when you say "have good strong rim tape"

Newbie here so even reading the words rim tape just sounds so wrong to me..

What is it used for?

Muller_1

Hi Neonman,
Rim tape is the strip of material\plastic that is placed inside the rim to protect the tube from the sharp edges of the tops of the spokes, sometimes the rim tape that is supplied with wheels is not that strong and if you inflate your tube to the max the tops of the spokes can come through the tape and nip your tube.

bcmf

I use the Conti's Grand Prix 4000s with the Black Chilli compound.I travel on some seriously **** roads and have only taken 1 flat and that was last night.Avoided pot hole but hit rock. Fairly bulletproof and grippy enough and fast enough.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=18796

tomasrojo

I use Specialized Armadillos. I can't remember the last time I had to replace a tube by the roadside, but it was over two years/14000km ago. As often mentioned here, they're a little treacherous in the wet, but I haven't had any problem with them, apart from an incident with a Luas line in pouring rain.

I'm not sure what other people do when using gatorksins, etc, but I check both tyres for glass and nails every weekend without fail, and prise whatever I find out with the tip of a nailfile. I rarely find nothing embedded.

christeb

+1 on Arma's, 1 puncture in ca. 12 months of cycling (4,000 kms or so)

TheBandit

+1 on Continental Ultra Gator Skin. I do about 250k a week and so far they've been puncture free weeks

neonman

TheBandit wrote: »

+1 on Continental Ultra Gator Skin. I do about 250k a week and so far they've been puncture free weeks

Got the same tyres last night. Put them on and guess what ?!! yep I got a f**king puncture this morning :-(

I must be the unluckiest cyclist out there at the moment (when it comes to punctures)

Could it be due to the fact that I might not have had them at the correct pressure that might have caused the flat? it was a slow puncture. Will fix it on my lunch break as it only happened close to work.

I look forward to puncture free days never mind weeks.

Lumen

neonman wrote: »

Could it be due to the fact that I might not have had them at the correct pressure that might have caused the flat?

Maybe, or perhaps you damaged the tube whilst levering the tyre on.

blorg

Armadillos are massively puncture resistant but have a nasty ride quality. 2 years/14,000km is entirely believable. If you are commuting and don't care about the ride quality, fast cornering, etc. they are a good choice.

Gatorskins will puncture but not that much and have a much nicer ride quality, are inexpensive, and come in a range of sizes.

Many other "race" tyres including GP4000S and Schwalbe Ultremos are also pretty puncture resistant and have a better ride quality still, but are more expensive and many come only in 700x23 or sometimes 700x25c.

I use Gatorskins on the commuter and Ultremos/GP4000s on the road bike.

BostonB

You'd need to analyze the punctures, see if theres a pattern to them. Maybe the problem is with the rim, a spoke, how your fixing them, part of your route might have sharp stones, or a lot of glass etc.

TheBandit

I agree with Boston B there has to be something afoot. I travel on pretty bad roads and have cycled over some glass a few times with no problems. Have a look at your rims to see if there are any burrs or something that might nick the tube. If worse comes to worse you could always just fill your tire with expanding foam and prepare for a bumpy ride

BostonB

I have Armadillos on my MTB and while I'm only doing 40~60 km a week I've had them for over a year and a half with only one puncture (2 weeks after getting them). That was a glass shard that I couldn't avoid as there was glass all over the exit of a roundabout in traffic. Since them I keep a better eye out for glass and try and avoid if possible.

short circuit

You are not riding with "Velo" by any chance are you ....

He is a charmer and just when you are thinking about the nice company ... bam ... you end up with a puncture ...

Do not trust that guy till I finish with my experiment on a bike ride with him ....

I've had this experience so far on puncture resistance:-
1. Gatorskins - 4500kms front and back before they gave up the ghost
2. Kenda Kevlar - not sure the exact name as they came with the bike, but they have lasted over 5000kms on the front with just 1 puncture. But are heavy.
3. Ultremos - only around 2500kms at the best of times. But are expensive and also very light.
4. Rubino Pro - these could leap frog to 2 but I've only had them for 500kms so far .. but they are holding up pretty well with no nicks or cuts and are the cheapest of the 3 and comparable to foldable gatorskins for weight.

One advice which I have come to learn with difficulty ... do not get white tyres ... absolutely impossible to pick out pieces of glass etc from them as you can see them. Black or other dark colours are best.

ROK ON

I was in CSS a few weeks back and got talking with one of the blokes that works there about tyres.
He reckons the only thing that you can depend on are Spesh Armadillos (but are an ugly ride).
He hates Gatorskins and has punctured loads on them (as have I): this is how we ended up talking about them.

He had an interesting theory however, which is, that most of these tyres are reviewed in bike mags where people cycle on significantly better road surfaces that in Ireland (UK/COntinent).
He reckons that anyone who cycles regularly on Irish country roads will simply get more punctures per 1000km of cycling due to road quality and road surfce (loose stone covered with bitumen).

Just thought that I would share that.
Reality is that you can just be unlucky. We will all puncture sooner or later.
However, I must say that I was impressed with the Ultremos that Tiny has, in that he has a gapping big hole, yet no massive blowout (but that could be luck also).

bcmf

ROK ON wrote: »

I was in CSS a few weeks back and got talking with one of the blokes that works there about tyres.
He reckons the only thing that you can depend on are Spesh Armadillos (but are an ugly ride).
He hates Gatorskins and has punctured loads on them (as have I): this is how we ended up talking about them.

He had an interesting theory however, which is, that most of these tyres are reviewed in bike mags where people cycle on significantly better road surfaces that in Ireland (UK/COntinent).
He reckons that anyone who cycles regularly on Irish country roads will simply get more punctures per 1000km of cycling due to road quality and road surfce (loose stone covered with bitumen).

Just thought that I would share that.
Reality is that you can just be unlucky. We will all puncture sooner or later.
However, I must say that I was impressed with the Ultremos that Tiny has, in that he has a gapping big hole, yet no massive blowout (but that could be luck also).

Ha just wait till Sun. We will all be waiting for the 'BANG'

The way i look at the tyres is that we are very rarely treated to the smoothness of decent roads and basically view every ride as trip across the pave. Get a tyre that is proven that can handle a serious pounding.

ednwireland

maxxis re-fuse folders for me £20 from crc not had a prob but only doing 200km (about 1500km this year) a week but i am a fb. trashed one on a turbo annoyingly though

blorg

ROK ON wrote: »

However, I must say that I was impressed with the Ultremos that Tiny has, in that he has a gapping big hole, yet no massive blowout (but that could be luck also).

That tyre has a documented problem and should be subject to a full recall. It's the new Ultremo R rather than the original Ultremo.

http://www.schwalbetires.com/ultremo_warning_home

Nietzschean

sounds like it sort of is a recall? ish? you don't need to wait for the defect anymore, email them a picture of the code and they will sort out replacements if its one of the effected batches?

blorg

Nietzschean wrote: »

sounds like it sort of is a recall? ish? you don't need to wait for the defect anymore, email them a picture of the code and they will sort out replacements if its one of the effected batches?

Apparently so from that... previously they were advising people just to cycle until the tyre failed :eek: or so I heard. More reasonable if they will review your production codes.

neonman

Well put replacement tube in at lunch and pumped up the wheels to 100 psi

I hope I go at least a few weeks without one now.

All punctures have been to the back wheel :-(

First one= Glass
Second one= 2inch long piece of metal
Third one= unknown will check when I get home but had a quick look when changing the tube and couldn't see anything that may have caused it.

The punctures will not bet me. at this rate I'll be like an F1 pit lane changing tyres in seconds.

blorg

co2 is fantastic stuff, takes a lot of the pain out of it. Cost is €2-3 per puncture, I'll happily pay that rather than struggle with a mini pump for 10 minutes.

bcmf

blorg wrote: »

co2 is fantastic stuff, takes a lot of the pain out of it. Cost is €2-3 per puncture, I'll happily pay that rather than struggle with a mini pump for 10 minutes.

yeah they are but make sure the needle that pierces the canister is still in the pump section. Mine had fallen out and when I had to pump my tyre on Mon I had to resort to RobFowls mini pump.

lukester

blorg wrote: »

co2 is fantastic stuff, takes a lot of the pain out of it. Cost is €2-3 per puncture, I'll happily pay that rather than struggle with a mini pump for 10 minutes.

I've heard a few tales of people having problems with the CO2 cartridges. Met a guy on the W200 whose cartridge failed, and had to rely on a passer by's pump. Would not be fun if you were riding solo.

Mini-pump for me.

bcmf

replaced mine yest in LBS and yer man recokons the BBB one is the best set up of the lot.Then again he would as it was the only he stocked.

blorg

lukester wrote: »

I've heard a few tales of people having problems with the CO2 cartridges. Met a guy on the W200 whose cartridge failed, and had to rely on a passer by's pump. Would not be fun if you were riding solo.

Mini-pump for me.

I don't believe I wrote anywhere that it means you don't need to also carry a mini-pump I carry both at all times, mini-pump is the backup. co2+inflator is so tiny (about 1/2 the size of a tube) that it easily fits in a pocket or saddle bag.

lukester

blorg wrote: »

I don't believe I wrote anywhere that it means you don't need to also carry a mini-pump I carry both at all times, mini-pump is the backup. co2+inflator is so tiny (about 1/2 the size of a tube) that it easily fits in a pocket or saddle bag.

Aha, fair enough. Didn't realise the CO2 gizmo was so small, I see the appeal.

Still don't like carry excess stuff on the bike though.

bcmf

I carry 2 spare tubes, 2 cans of gas, a puncture repair kit and a track pump adaptor. Some tubes dont hold co2 so I can pop into a service station and slowly top up if needed.