Rate of puncturing

Khannie

What is your rate of puncturing? Like 1 puncture every 1000Km? More? Less?

I reckon I've done around 1700K since I got my new bike. I've had at least 7 punctures. 3 in the last two weeks alone! My tyres are good (conti gp 4000s). I keep them hard (100psi). I'm wondering if I'm just unlucky, or doing it wrong.

twinsen

Well, I did about 8k since February 2010 and had two only. So your tires are not the best to be honest. I am cycling on these http://bontrager.com/model/00443.

Chips Lovell

Usually around a few months with none (1,500km or so) and then two or three once the tyres start to near the end of their life. But you'll always have incidents of bad luck. Over the past two years I've trashed two virtually new tyres through glass cuts.

I keep mine at 120psi, but I'm quite a big fella, so 100 would do for a lot of people.

I use latex tubes on mine, which are more high maintenance and more expensive but definitely flat less.

Chips Lovell

I'd rate GP4000s very highly in terms of avoiding flats.

EDIT: Also, how you ride can have an impact on your puncture rate. Staying too close to the edge of the road will see you riding through all the crap that accumulates there.

Beasty

I've got the GP4000s' - I've done over 4,000km so far this year, and would guess I've had 2 or 3 punctures, and probably no more than 7 or 8 over the past 3-4 years (I used to use Gatorskins though, which are more puncture resistant than the GP4000s')

Khannie, we're commuting on the same roads for most of the way - do you find you're getting more punctures nearer town?

One thing I do do every week is closely scrutinise the tyres for foreign objects, and make sure I remove any small pieces of glass or stones

The other thing I've noticed is that whenever I mention my relatively small puncture rate on here I inevitably get one the next time I'm on a bike ...

EDIT - I keep mine at 120psi also, but like el tonto (well actually not quite like him ) I'm heavier than average

Chips Lovell

Beasty wrote: »

One thing I do do every week is closely scrutinise the tyres for foreign objects, and make sure I remove any small pieces of glass or stones

Good tip. I do it every time I wash the bike. You'll often find a few little things in there that will eventually worm their way in through the casing.

Khannie

el tonto wrote: »

I'd rate GP4000s very highly in terms of avoiding flats.

That's what I had read on here alright. A lot of people seemed to be using them.

el tonto wrote: »

EDIT: Also, how you ride can have an impact on your puncture rate. Staying too close to the edge of the road will see you riding through all the crap that accumulates there.

I have been trying to cycle a bit further out alright. I've kinda learned that the hard way.

I'm reasonably light (around 70KG at the moment, but I'll be 65 by the end of August) so I thought 100 psi was probably ok. I'll bump it to 110 and see if that makes a difference.

Plastik

3 in about 5,500km, the vast majority of which were covered on GP4000s Conti's.

Chips Lovell

A run of punctures can be indicative of something being lodged in the tyre. So it's always worth checking it carefully before putting in a new tube.

Vélo

I'm obviously very lucky. In the last 3 years and about 15k of cycling I've only had 3 punctures.


I've been using Gatorskins and GP4000s and make sure I have them pumped to the correct pressure.

Actually one of the punctures was on a different type tyre and I can't remember what it was.

Khannie

Beasty wrote: »

Khannie, we're commuting on the same roads for most of the way - do you find you're getting more punctures nearer town?

Definitely. One in Swords, two in Drumcondra in the last two weeks. One before that was in Santry. Actually, I haven't had one between Skerries and Swords now that I think about it.

Beasty wrote: »

One thing I do do every week is closely scrutinise the tyres for foreign objects, and make sure I remove any small pieces of glass or stones

Nice tip. I'll check them out before I cycle home. Cheers.

Beasty wrote: »

The other thing I've noticed is that whenever I mention my relatively small puncture rate on here I inevitably get one the next time I'm on a bike ...

/me shuts up

triggermortis

I had 3 or 4 in my first few months, but that was Feb/March and I wasn't as particular about maintaining the correct pressure.
Now I check it before every ride and top up if needed. I'm on the heavier side (14.5 stone) so maybe I need more than 100psi that I use now..

That said, I've not had a puncture in 2 years on my tubeless mountain bike - until last week when I got a big rip. Then the tube I put in to get me home had a slow puncture.

Beasty

Khannie wrote: »

Definitely. One in Swords, two in Drumcondra in the last two weeks. One before that was in Santry. Actually, I haven't had one between Skerries and Swords now that I think about it.

I think it comes back to el tonto's "crap on the road" point - you're more likely to get broken glass in and near town than on the country roads, particularly if you're on cycle lanes/tracks which don't get regular motorised traffic clearing a lot of the stuff away with their own tyres

Chips Lovell

Try working across the road from Coppers. Broken glass city. I've flatted several times either going into or coming out of the office.

seamus

el tonto wrote: »

Try working across the road from Coppers. Broken glass city. I've flatted several times either going into or coming out of the office.

+1
When I rode my MTB in last winter, the very first day as I pass coppers and turn into work, double flat. Fuuuuuu...

Pherekydes

I bought a pair of gatorskins back in April and I've gotten one puncture, a pinch flat on an unseen crack in the road. Not bad going for a 93kg rider. I think that keeping the pressure high is reducing my puncture incidents.

Beasty

Beasty wrote: »

The other thing I've noticed is that whenever I mention my relatively small puncture rate on here I inevitably get one the next time I'm on a bike ...

Well Khannie I'm holding you personally responsible for what happened to me this morning - my first commute after making the above comment.

Exactly half-way into work I had a blow-out - a 2-3cm split along the sidewall on a gatorskin. I tried replacing the tube but that blew at 40psi, so ended up getting a taxi home and swapping the wheels, so if anyone saw someone commuting in North County Dublin on a pair of Zipps this morning, it may well have been me.

Of course, this alos had to be the morning when I was going for a record. Even on my second attempt I was within 30s of a PB (and was held up in traffic a lot more), so you've a lot to answer for Khannie:D

This will (possibly;)) be my last post on the topic of punctures ....

Khannie

HAHAHAHA.

/cycles away, very, very fast

Cookie_Monster

2 in 4,400km

one drunkenly cycling over a smashed glass, the second hitting a massive hole hidden in the shadows, dunno how I didn't wreck the rim also.

Khannie

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

2 in 4,400km

Impressive. What tyres are you using?

Cookie_Monster

Khannie wrote: »

Impressive. What tyres are you using?

conti 4000gp iirc, whatever came as standard on the roadlite 6.0