Getting home after a blowout?

DeepBlue

As per the title - if you're out on a long spin and get a blowout what do you do?
Spare tubes and puncture repair kit aren't a whole lot of use.

Any advice on how to hobble home bar having to carry a spare tyre?

trad

Taxi!!!!

DeepBlue

trad wrote: »

Taxi!!!!

Lol, yeah I've been using the equivalent of that so far but am trying to be a bit more self-sufficient .

trad

Fold flat spare tyres aren't that bulky. You can usually pick up a bag in Lidl or Aldi that'll take tyre tube, levers etc. that straps on under the saddle. Tape up all the rattley bits to stop the noise cracking you up. Did it for years or you can switch to tubulars, more expensive and no repairs but carry a spare.

silver campaign

According to Lennard Zinn, you should fill the tyre full of grass to get you home, depends on the size of the hole in the tyre I suppose.

kenmc

tyre boot.

Lumen

kenmc wrote: »

tyre boot.

Hacked from your blown-out innertube with your teeth or the 12" hunting knife in your jersey pocket.

victorcarrera

You can buy a cheap foldable tyre to carry with you on long spins that easily fits into back pocket or botttle cage. Its foldable because the clincher retainer is kevlar rather than wire. You can also make a figure of eight shape out of it and put it over your shoulders.
Or carry a few boots approx 5x2cm cut from a curved plastic yoghurt carton or similar with your spare tubes. Small tyre cuts can be difficult to find when the tyre is deflated especially on threaded tyres so if you get a puncture and cant find the culprit check the tyre thoroughly after reinflating. (And maybe 80psi max just to get you home).

Morgan

DeepBlue wrote: »

Lol, yeah I've been using the equivalent of that so far but am trying to be a bit more self-sufficient .

How many blowouts have you had?!

DeepBlue

Morgan wrote: »

How many blowouts have you had?!

Two in as many months usually at the part of the spin that's furthest from home .

Thanks for the suggestions - hadn't heard of a tyre boot before and will add it to the travel pack.

Bambaata

i had a side wall blowout this morning. i pumped it only a small bit, just enough to not have the tube bulging out, and took it very gingerly home.

rottenhat

DeepBlue wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestions - hadn't heard of a tyre boot before and will add it to the travel pack.

Powerbar wrappers or paper money will often work if you're in a jam. (NB I have never had to do this but this is the kind of nonsense they come out with in US cycling magazines).

Straatvark

http://www.conradstoltz.com/a-clever-story-about-a-flat-caveman-teeth-and-ingenuity/#more-899

Jawgap

Send for the team car!:)

Most of my spins tend to be very early morning so the "support car" is available for such emergencies - so far only one such situation has arisen when the handlebars worked loose and I'd left the multi-tool on the kitchen table with the immortal thought of "won't need that today." Phoned the soon-to-be Mrs Jawgap and naturally she was only too happy to drag herself out of bed on a Sunday morning at 7-30am to bring me the multi-tool!!

The tyre boot is an interesting idea - something to add to the pocket survival kit.

blorg

@Morgan- blowouts are not uncommon on the road due the higher pressure, I have had more than a few myself. They tend to take a bit out of your tyre sidewall- often not so much that you can't get home but sometimes there is a hole big enough that when you pump it up you get the tube bulging out.

Tyre Boot is the answer, you can buy a Park one (CRC have them) and and I carry one in my saddlebag but as rottenhat says money is meant to work quite well, it is designed not to rip! A dollar bill is traditional I believe but I am sure a fiver would do if you don't have anything in lower denominations.

blorg

blorg wrote: »

@Morgan- blowouts are not uncommon on the road due the higher pressure, I have had more than a few myself. They tend to take a bit out of your tyre sidewall- often not so much that you can't get home but sometimes there is a hole big enough that when you pump it up you get the tube bulging out.

Tyre Boot is the answer, you can buy a Park one (CRC have them) and and I carry one in my saddlebag but as rottenhat says money is meant to work quite well, it is designed not to rip! A dollar bill is traditional I believe but I am sure a fiver would do if you don't have anything in lower denominations.

I've had the experience of a blowout and tried to put in a fiver around the tube. The fiver didn't work, and is now is several bits. I then tried a chocolate bar wrapper which worked perfectly. Added plus in this country, unfortunately, is that you're bound to find some wrappers at the side of the road if you don't have any on you.

BryanL

I carry a 2 inch lenght of old tyre that i've cut the side beads/wires off, anytime i get a blow out i just put it inside the tyre by the hole and re inflate as normal.
you can run a tyre like this for ages.
With city commuting, huge glass cut holes are too common to buy a new tyre for every time.
Bryan

Al Wright

I had a front tyre blowout on a hot day about 5 years ago while descending towards Drumgoff, a flaw in the tyre further weakened by heating of rim due to the sunshine and braking. Luckily I had slowed down enough to manage a controlled stop. I had a spare tube but as a temporary repair I cut part of the tongue out of my shoe to make a gaiter to insert into the damaged part of the tyre (I had a small penknife in the repair outfit).
Since then I carry a piece of leather (generally a piece of the tongue from a worn out shoe) with the spare tube.

Kurtosis

Reading through this thread makes ye all sound like MacGyver!

turbine?

One of the Mountain Bike magazines a while ago had a list of things to carry on a spin. A tyre boot was one, they made them out of a cut up toothpaste tube. seems like a good idea. It would be tougher than a wrapper, cheaper than paper money! But you would have to be carrying it of course!

DJsail

By reading all of the above its fair to say Bear Grylls is S**ting himself! Mobile phone call to the Girl Friend/Taxi Rank would probably do it for myself!

gaffmaster

I think american dollars work because they are printed onto a type of cotton rather than paper. They dont rip easily.

tomasrojo

You can make a boot that fits handily in your repair kit by cutting up an old toothpaste tube, cleaning the paste off, and cutting out a patch. I've used that and it works well; waterproof too. A patch cut out of old Fedex envelope is ok also.

tomasrojo

tomasrojo wrote: »

You can make a boot that fits handily in your repair kit by cutting up an old toothpaste tube

Ah, Turbine? already relayed this gem. Should have read the thread properly before posting.