Mystery punctures - inside job?

MediaMan

Having got multiple punctures - front and rear - on my commuter road bike from what I believed to be a combination of worn-out tyres and junk on the roads, for the winter commute I replaced my tyres with puncture-resistent Panaracer Ribmos (700x25) and new tubes. Now after a couple of weeks on that setup, I'm looking at a new puncture in the tube on my rear wheel.

There is a small hole in the tube, looks like a regular sharp-object puncture, on the outer surface - i.e furthest away from the rim. There is a similar nick on the inside of the tyre, but the tyre is not cut through - there is no hole or mark on the tread surface.

So seems like a straightforward case of something sharp inside the tyre, except that:
- Both the tyre and the tube are brand new and I checked them carefully before I installed them
- I checked and cleaned the wheel rim cavity very carefully before mounting the tyre
- The wheel rim and the rim tape look in good shape and there are no marks, tears or jagged edges to be seen

I think the puncture is close to where at least one of the previous punctures (with the old tyres and tubes) happened, which would suggest a problem with the wheel, but I can't see an issue in that area of the wheel, and anyway the puncture point was between the tyre and the tube, not near the rim.

I had ~200km on the new tyres before the puncture, so I don't think it was self-inflicted while mounting the tyre.

Any ideas? - 'Cos I'm stumped!

Brian?

Sounds like the tyre. Swap your front and back tyres and see if it follows.

com1

I was getting mystery punctures on my road bike that turned out to be a mixture of deep section wheels, high pressure and bad rim tape... Once I pushed the pressure up over 120 the tube was herniating into the spoke holes which eventually caused punctures.

Problem solved using high pressure rim tape

tomasrojo

Bad rim tape caused something similar for me.

MediaMan

Brian? wrote: »

Sounds like the tyre. Swap your front and back tyres and see if it follows.

I guess it could be, but I've looked at the tyre and and there is nothing protruding from it, either on the inside or outside, in the area where the puncture happened.

com1 wrote: »

I was getting mystery punctures on my road bike that turned out to be a mixture of deep section wheels, high pressure and bad rim tape... Once I pushed the pressure up over 120 the tube was herniating into the spoke holes which eventually caused punctures.

Problem solved using high pressure rim tape

tomasrojo wrote: »

Bad rim tape caused something similar for me.

Yeah, I'm starting to believe that the rim tape, maybe in combination with an imperfection on the rim, is causing the problem, even though the punctures have been on the outer edge of the tube. I think I'll buy some new rim tape and give that a go.

If that doesn't work, it's time for new wheels! In fact, maybe it's time for new wheels anyway .

Brian?

Sounds like new wheels are neede alright. Deep section carbon wheels.

Ole Rodrigo

New bike tbh..fook that.

MediaMan

The saga continues. I took the rim tape off the wheel and checked it and the spokes and everything was fine. I fixed the puncture, and as I was reassembling things, I checked the tyre one more time and discovered that there was actually a hole through from the outside of the tyre, hidden in the tread pattern, and only visible when I squeezed the tyre to separate the area where the surface was cut.

So I can discount the wheel as the source of the problem I guess, but now I need to figure out how come a Ribmo tyre, that most people seem to be able to get several years out of without a puncture, only lasted 2 weeks for me, and there is no trace of what caused the puncture.

:mad:

browsing

@MediaMan,
I had the exact same problem! I didn't want to suggest a cut in the tyre as you said you checked the outside tread!
When I started commuting I was recommended ribmos as the be all and end all.
Personally, I have found that they can very easily get sliced through right down to the tube! I think I went through about 5 of them and then said no more. I've gone onto specialised armadillos or continental gatorskins. They last thousands of miles and I can go months without a puncture (though I did have one or two recently for some reason:().

I took off my last armadillo when I checked the bike before a Saturday spin and realised that I'd worn right down to the kevlar! :eek: Still no puntures though!

I'd really advise you ditch the ribmos. I picked up two gatorskins last week on CRC for 28 each I think. Some shops also might do a deal on two for 70 maybe. Until you get them, you could put a bit of folded paper or bus ticket at the gash to stop the tube poking out and getting punctured which will keep you going for a while.
People complain about the grip out of them but they're no different than ribmos and I think they are all fine anyway as you not racing on teh commute anyway....