arghhhh.... punctures!

Nanazolie

Hi

I have anti puncture tyres on my Dutch bike (the kind that doesn't have a quick release on the wheels, you need to dismantle the whole bloody thing) and in 3 years only got one, which was my fault for not pumping the tyre up enough.

Anyway... I got three within a week. Not the ones where the tyre goes flat immediately, but you find it flat after a few hours. I can pump it up and cycle a good bit with it until it goes flat again. I brought it to the shop twice, the second time I was adamant it was the tyre itself but they assured me it wasn't and replaced the lining inside as well as the tube. Just 24 hours later, the same thing happened. :mad:

Is there an explanation other than the tyre itself? I would have thought the lining would prevent punctures?

Thanks

TonyStark

Nanazolie wrote: »

Hi

I have anti puncture tyres on my Dutch bike (the kind that doesn't have a quick release on the wheels, you need to dismantle the whole bloody thing) and in 3 years only got one, which was my fault for not pumping the tyre up enough.

Anyway... I got three within a week. Not the ones where the tyre goes flat immediately, but you find it flat after a few hours. I can pump it up and cycle a good bit with it until it goes flat again. I brought it to the shop twice, the second time I was adamant it was the tyre itself but they assured me it wasn't and replaced the lining inside as well as the tube. Just 24 hours later, the same thing happened. :mad:

Is there an explanation other than the tyre itself? I would have thought the lining would prevent punctures?

Thanks

Did they figure out what caused the puncture in the first place? I had 2 in a row with my new road bike. Turns out there was a minute shard of metal that had embedded itself in the tyre... literally almost invisible to the naked eye and it took a real close examination since. Having said that, my next step was to replace the stock tyres with something more durable.

In short there has to be something causing the puncture either in the tyre or on the surface that you are cycling on.

Surveyor11

Even puncture resistant tyres will leave sharp enough shards through - I've had this happen on Marathon Plus, Gatorskins and Panaracers (all puncture resistant). Take off your tyre, turn it inside out and examine the inner lining. Could be pinch flats as well -caused when the tube and tyre wall / rim get trapped.

cdaly_

I also found slow punctures to be caused by the tube chafing on worn rimtape, rim or damaged tyre casing. Inspect your tubes and see is the puncture clean or does it show signs of wear around the hole. Then look for marks on the inside surface of the wheel rim. Sand these smooth. I ended up replacing the rimtape on one wheel because of this.

squeaky crank

if there is something embedded in the tyre you could try this -
find the puncture on the tube and measure the distance from the valve - then measure the same distance from the valve hole on the wheel and check the tyre in that position - if there is something tiny embedded in the tyre or it is the wheel thats causing the punctures this will show you roughly where to look.

Planet X

Probably a piece of wire buried in the tyre. You won't see it. You won't feel it but when the tube is fully inflated against the tyre it'll cause you problems.
Replace the tyre and give your head peace.

Happened to me a few years ago with a new bike. Head wrecker with consecutive punctures.
Just binned both tyres. End of....

manwithaplan

cdaly_ wrote: »

I also found slow punctures to be caused by the tube chafing on worn rimtape, rim or damaged tyre casing. Inspect your tubes and see is the puncture clean or does it show signs of wear around the hole. Then look for marks on the inside surface of the wheel rim. Sand these smooth. I ended up replacing the rimtape on one wheel because of this.

Agreed. Next time you get a puncture, pump it up and find the offending spot on the tube. If it's on the 'inside', you almost certainly have worn rim tape or the rim tape has shifted a bit to expose the rim. Anyway, using the valve and the valve hole as a guide, find approximately the area of the tyre or rim which corresponds. Inspect that area well for debris etc.

Three years is a good run on a tyre though, so if all else fails, I would replace it.

Beasty

For normal road tires, look at the tiny slits that you get through everyday riding. When the tyre is inflated they normally are closed up and the tyre surface is smooth. If there is a bit of a gap and/or the tyre is slightly raised, investigate further. Let the tyre down and pinch it around the slit - you'll often find a tiny shard of glass or metal embedded

Cyclepath

I had a series of puncture a few years ago that were caused by a dodgy spoke. Make sure to check the rim tape for holes where a spoke might have pierced it.

If you manage to locate the puncture on the tube (inflate it slightly and immerse in water) you'll be able to tell if the puncture is happening on the internal (wheel rim) surface of the tube, or the external (tyre/road facing) surface of the tube. This will at least point you to the problem area.

When checking your tyre, take it off the rim completely and squeeze the beads together to expose any cracks in the tyre surface, especially between deep treads if the tyre is a treaded variety. You'll see lots of slits and cracks in which crap can get lodged.

Nanazolie

Thanks for all the replies. It looks like the best action is simply to change the tyre, which I suspected. Because at this rate, I could buy a new bike in 2 months!