So many punctures :(

danindublin

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

What pressures are you running?

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

oflahero

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

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

What sort of pump are you using?

spoonface

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?)

Alkers

Hmmm I have one of those Aldi/Lidl track pumps and it's the business, think it was €7.49 or something crazy. I've even used it on a moped tyre no bother on it.

mmclo

I'm all for pumping up at Garages but surely that's with Schrader valves which seem to be rare on road or many hybrid bikes? I don't like presta valves anyone on why they are standard on road bikes?

Roadtoad

For me 2009 saw 6 punctures on 700/25s (a single, a double and one horrible commute with a triple) over 2000 miles, mostly around Leinster.
Carry new spareS, and put repaired tubes on the bike so that spares are as guaranteed as possible.
Buy the electric Aldi compressor the next time it appears, to hell with the cost! Tell her you intend spray-painting the house next summer, it'll pay for itself dear ..........

blorg

mmclo wrote: »

I'm all for pumping up at Garages but surely that's with Schrader valves which seem to be rare on road or many hybrid bikes? I don't like presta valves anyone on why they are standard on road bikes?

Mainly because they are narrower so you don't have to put as big a hole in the rim, which compromises strength. Higher-end mountain bikes tend to use presta as well incidentally.

Jobst Brandt says:

Jobst Brandt wrote:

Many valve types have come along since the invention of the pneumatic tire but for bicycles mainly Presta and Schrader remain in use. The Presta valve is the more slender of the two and is slightly more cumbersome to use, having a lock nut instead of a spring to ensure closure. However, these two features have kept the Presta valve in use on many bicycles.

In the past, sports and racing bicycles used Presta valves because they are slender and enabled racers to inflate tires with a simple pump with attached chuck (pump head) and no hose. Presta valves are easier to pump than Schrader, because they have no valve spring to overcome. Although a valve depressor for Schrader valves could alleviate this, it would require a check valve, impractical to house in lightweight pump heads.

The small diameter of the Presta valve requires a smaller hole in the rim, whose size is important for narrow rims where cross sectional strength of is significantly reduced by a stem hole. In narrow rims, clincher tires also leave insufficient space between tire beads for larger Schrader valves.

In contrast Schrader valves are more robust, universally used, and have an easily removable core. Spring closure makes them simpler to use because one needs only to press the inflation chuck onto them at an automobile service station. For hand pumps, a screwed or lever chuck provides the valve depressor. The depressor not only makes inflation easier but is necessary to read back pressure in the tire.

You can get a cheap and tiny adapter that converts presta to Schrader, letting you pump up at a garage.

Roadtoad wrote: »

Buy the electric Aldi compressor the next time it appears, to hell with the cost!

Pumping is SO easy with a good track pump I really couldn't see the need for an electric compressor.

Turbulent Bill

I have a Joe Blow pump (the Max II I think), but it behaves a bit strangely with Presta valves. If I inflate from low pressure (<50psi), it can inflate the tyre to 100psi+ without any bother. If I'm just topping up from high pressure, though, the pressure just seems to build up in the pump head and hose rather than going into the tube - releasing the pump head lever drops the gauge pressure to zero. I've tried fiddling about with the pump head mounting on the valve but without any success.

Using the Schrader pump head is fine.

Any ideas?

blorg

Turbulent Bill wrote: »

I have a Joe Blow pump (the Max II I think), but it behaves a bit strangely with Presta valves. If I inflate from low pressure (<50psi), it can inflate the tyre to 100psi+ without any bother. If I'm just topping up from high pressure, though, the pressure just seems to build up in the pump head and hose rather than going into the tube - releasing the pump head lever drops the gauge pressure to zero. I've tried fiddling about with the pump head mounting on the valve but without any success.

Using the Schrader pump head is fine.

Any ideas?

Are you pressing in the presta valve head to release a little air before pumping? I get what you describe if I don't do that.

abcdggs

blorg wrote: »

Are you pressing in the presta valve head to release a little air before pumping? I get what you describe if I don't do that.

+1

kavanagh_h

mfdc wrote: »

Might just be bad luck & the weather. ...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

When we cycled from dublin to Paris (delighted to get that in:D!!) there were very few punctures. On the last day, after really heavy rain, three teams of ten had 5,7 an 9 punctures repectively. So maybe the weather has a lot to do with it!

petethedrummer

kavanagh_h wrote: »

So maybe the weather has a lot to do with it!

It does, so it does.

Different Kinds of Flats

Most flats are caused by a sharp object that sticks in your tyre and punctures the tube. This happens more often on wet days than on dry ones, because the water and oil on the road make objects stick to your tyre.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A480313

Turbulent Bill

blorg wrote: »

Are you pressing in the presta valve head to release a little air before pumping? I get what you describe if I don't do that.

Yes, if I want to inflate from 90psi to 100psi (say) then I have to deflate to a much lower pressure, then re-inflate to 100psi - this works fine. What I don't get is why you can't pump from 90psi to 100psi directly, as you're going through the same pressurisation process.

Anyway, it works in the end and I'm not going mad, thanks .

ednwireland

Simona1986 wrote: »

Hmmm I have one of those Aldi/Lidl track pumps and it's the business, think it was €7.49 or something crazy. I've even used it on a moped tyre no bother on it.

i have a lidl one as well as a zefal one, the lidl one is slightly harder to get to 110 psi but it has better foot rests and handle

+1 on releases a small amount of air from the valve before pumping the valves seem to get stuck after a while

blorg

Turbulent Bill wrote: »

Yes, if I want to inflate from 90psi to 100psi (say) then I have to deflate to a much lower pressure, then re-inflate to 100psi - this works fine. What I don't get is why you can't pump from 90psi to 100psi directly, as you're going through the same pressurisation process.

Anyway, it works in the end and I'm not going mad, thanks .

I think the high air pressure in the tyre forces the valve closed- you'll notice the valve stays out and closed when there is air in the tyre while when the tube is empty the valve will jiggle open or closed no problem. Releasing a bit of air reduces the pressure making it easier but I think more importantly simply unsticks the valve.

It is actually possible just to hammer up the pressure in the pump head, you will probably get the gauge rotating well over its max, 200 PSI or more, but the pressure will eventually overcome the stuck valve's resistance and will unstick it. But that is much harder and presumably has a higher risk of damage to the pump than simply releasing a bit of air before pumping.

danindublin

I changed my tyres a couple of days later to Continental Gran Prix 4000's and got them pumped up to the right pressure. So after just over a week, 220 km's and a variety of routes and weather conditions later (country roads and ice . . . I haven't had a single puncture

Vélo

Since I started cycling last year and after doing 5000kms of cycling, I've only had one puncture and that was the same day I posted saying I never had any.

I'm not normally superstitious but I think I'll regret saying that.:(

Beasty

Vélo wrote: »

Since I started cycling last year and after doing 5000kms of cycling, I've only had one puncture and that was the same day I posted saying I never had any.

I'm not normally superstitious but I think I'll regret saying that.:(

I had a very similar experience. Not on the bike today though, so feel safe to mention it:)

LastGasp

Went out on Sunday afternoon in a hurry as I didn't want to spend the whole spin in the dark. Looked at the front tyre as I went and said to myself "a bit soft but sure it'll be grand..." Got almost as far as Roundwood, ran over a bit of plastic - perfect snakebite twin punctures. That'll teach me !

Planet X

Last Saturday I had a front flat at the bottom of a descent (thank God), was telling the guys that "that was my puncture for the winter" (On Gatorskins). Found a thorn, big lad. Dave Peelo said "Fair enough, at least you found something, nothing worse than changing and not finding the cause of the puncture"


Don't ever tempt fate!

The next morning, Sunday, flatted again down the N11, front. Weird I thought. Paul O'Donoghue found the hole on the "rim facing surface of the tube". He told me to check the rim tape for wear. Good idea. Wouldn't have thought of it myself. Tape seemed OK.

Dave Peelo thought a piece of grit from yesterday, Saturday, might have got in while I was changing tubes. Again, wouldn't have thought of that either.
You live and learn from experienced guys like that.

Have ordered new rim tape also.

fletch

Got three punctures in as many days two weeks ago (running Continental Gatorskins). Ordered two Schwalbe Marathons Plus's that night in a rage..inspected the Gatorskins and found LOADS of glass embedded in the tyre (I remembered cycling over the remains of a burnt out car) so I thought that probably explained the three punctures, cleaned out all the glass. Marathon Plus's arrived but decided not to put them on as they were very heavy...WHAM hit with another puncture yesterday evening! Why is it always the rear tyre. Anyway when I got home, attempted to put the Marathon Plus tyres on....OMG what a nasty job, they so difficult to fit. Took me the guts of an hour with my Dad to fit them. Such was the pressure needed the skin tore from under my nail and started to bleed. Barely able to change gears this morning. I don't think I could have changed the tyre without the help of my Dad, I certainly don't think I could do it on a dark, rainy evening at the side of the road...is this normal?

Edit - Oh yeh and is it okay to mix tyres? I hadn't the energy left after puttin the rear Marathon Plus on so I left the front wheel with a Gatorskin tyre on it.

blorg

fletch wrote: »

Edit - Oh yeh and is it okay to mix tyres? I hadn't the energy left after puttin the rear Marathon Plus on so I left the front wheel with a Gatorskin tyre on it.

No, the rear tyre knows you have a Conti tyre on front and will puncture out of spite. You have to keep them from the same company for the puncture protection to work.

fletch

blorg wrote: »

No, the rear tyre knows you have a Conti tyre on front and will puncture out of spite. You have to keep them from the same company for the puncture protection to work.

lol I suppose it's a silly question really...I'm guessing I should be fine once I don't go leaning into fast corners in the wet over drain covers