Punctures

fatgav

First of all, before I go any further, I get that punctures are a reality of cycling, but on the off-chance that I'm doing something wrong, I feel the need to seek advice.. and vent.

I'm mainly a weekend cyclist. Having started last year on a hand-me-down hybrid, I bought a racer in January and I'm working towards my first sportive in June. But punctures keep halting my progress! In the last five weeks, I've got four. Three have been on the rear tyre, and one on the front. The first one I repaired myself, and then the same tyre went pretty soon afterwards, so I'm happy to admit that maybe I didn't do a brilliant job. But I've brought flat tyres to the local bike shop twice and both have subsequently blown.

All of the punctures have come on relatively busy roads, typically in the hard shoulders. (Maybe I shouldn't be riding in the hard shoulders? But it seems the obvious thing to do...). Most of my riding, though, is on rural roads. I'm not the smallest man in the world - look at the username!

I'm riding a Trek 1.2 by the way, if that's a factor.

Any tips/advice or am I just having a bad run?

Brian?

What pressure are you inflating your tyres to?

Alanbt

When you replace the tube you should inspect the tyre thoroughly. There might be some sharp objects imbedded

Anytime I've had a run of punctures I've always found some glass stuck in the tyre. If left there it will cause further flats

What tyres are you using by the way?

arybvtcw0eolkf

There could be a number of factors at play.

Are your tires old & worn, and are you running them at the correct tire pressure?

When you repair the puncture yourself have you checked for glass etc inside the tyre before replacing the tube?

Some stock tires are cheap to keep the cost of the bike down.

You'll laugh at this one ~ during wet weather tires will puncture easier due to both debris being washed into the side of the road, and the water acting as a lubricant allowing things to pierce the tyre easier.

What tyres are you running at the moment?.

I'm running Continental Gator Skins on my road bike, and just this week I've put Schwalbe Marathon Plus on my hybrid.

After a nightmare winter of punctures (2014-15) I put Gator Skins on my road bike and haven't had a puncture since. And the Schwalbe Marathons get fantastic reviews (time will tell).

lissard

If you are running a reasonable pressure, you should be able to avoid puncturing regularly. In my case 90-100 psi. I check the pressure before I go out if time allows. Regular punctures at this pressure normally means worn out tyres. Other thing worth doing is periodically letting the air out of the tyres and inspecting the tyre for embedded shards of glass. Just squeeze the tyre, you'd be surprised how much crap you will find. Since wearing of the tyres that came with my bike I've been running continental gp4000s. I replace them about once a year (5000k).

fryup

use this stuff

smacl

As said above, right tyres at the right pressure will hugely reduce the number of punctures, and making sure you find the cause of the puncture before putting the tyre back on will similarly reduce the likelihood of re-puncturing.

I've 32c marathon supremes on the hybrid and cross bikes, and 25c Durano plus on the road bike. Both offer pretty solid puncture resistance and I tend to puncture about one per year with ~5,000km, nearly all on poor rural roads with some off road.

But I've brought flat tyres to the local bike shop twice and both have subsequently blown.

Take the time to learn to do this yourself and carry a couple of spare tubes. Punctures are also much less of an issue if you can handle them quickly enough by yourself at the roadside.

van_beano

Aldo Sweet Supernova wrote: »

There could be a number of factors at play.
I'm running Continental Gator Skins on my road bike, and just this week I've put Schwalbe Marathon Plus on my hybrid.

After a nightmare winter of punctures (2014-15) I put Gator Skins on my road bike and haven't had a puncture since. And the Schwalbe Marathons get fantastic reviews (time will tell).

Marathon Plus are a fantastic tyre but weigh a tonne. Also quite a struggle to fit them as they're very rigid. Have mine on for over a year now, had Gator Skins beforehand. Got the pair of them online for about €62 or so. Only one puncture this year, long nail managed to go straight through the tyre. I'm cycling on a route that has a lot of broken glass, burnt out bins etc. Definitely recommend this tyre.

smacl

Jinxed! Got my first puncture of the year this afternoon, although travelling fast enough over rough cut gravel so fair enough. One great thing about not having new tyres on is that they're very easy to get on and off, I'd say I was less than five minutes from puncturing to being back on my way again. If it had been new marathons, I'm guessing there would have been a lot more time and expletives involved.

Red Kev

I'd second Schwalbe Marthon Plus. Have them on a road bike, self built hybrid and a tourer.

About 4000km around Dublin over three years on the hybrid: 1 puncture
6000km on the road bike; 2 punctures
4000km on the tourer on the continent and here: 2 (or 3?) punctures.

Yes they're a bit heavier, but if you're not a serious club cyclist I don't think the weight makes a difference.

Slydice

I've found myself getting more punctures with thin or balding tyres.

Thicker tyres (like with more rubber I think? is it?) seem to not get as many punctures.

arybvtcw0eolkf

smacl wrote: »

Jinxed! Got my first puncture of the year this afternoon

I was thinking to myself 'Lenny you're going to jinx yourself' when I posted earlier ~ I'm taking the bike out this evening, lets see

Chuchote

Lidl have little tubes of glue for €2 at the moment, and they list rubber as one of the things they stick. Would they be suitable for adding to the puncture repair kit?

saccades

I would doubt it - pressures involved are too high, glue needs to be elastic (rather than most that set) and you wouldn't want to glue the tyre to the inner tube.

brianomc

You can get glue for putting in cracks in the tire itself. I haven't seen the Lidl one so don't know if it's same one.

I used it on a big crack after popping out some glass but got 2 punctures within a week after doing so, so the tire went in the bin. I hadn't had a puncture on that tire before, it was a precautionary measure that seemed to go horribly wrong. But I may have applied too much/little, who knows?

Chuchote

Ah, so tyres go in the bin, not in any special recycle centre?

Unknown Soldier

Chuchote wrote: »

Ah, so tyres go in the bin, not in any special recycle centre?

If you knew how recycle centers worked, you wouldn't ask that question.

Do you really think they trust people?

Cee-Jay-Cee

brianomc wrote: »

You can get glue for putting in cracks in the tire itself.

What's the name of that glue?

brianomc

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

What's the name of that glue?

l will check for you when I get home. I think I got it from ebay but my account on my phone isn't going back far enough to find it.

Fian

Counter intuitively high tyre pressure reduces the number of punctures, and the heavier you are the more important it is to have high tyre pressure.

Look at the punctured tubes, if you see two holes near each other (a "snakebite" puncture) then the punctures were caused by not having enough pressure. This causes a "pinch flat" where the tube deforms and is pinched by the tyre walls. Rear tyre more commonly gets this, since most of your weight is bearing on that tyre. You want 110 psi or perhaps even more. If you don't have a track pump with a pressure guage you need to get one. Joe blow II is the one I use and it is good.

Check if there is anything stuck in the tyre as well, or if there is any small tear in the tyre that the tube can squeeze into and get punctured. Examine the outside carefully and remove any glass etc. embedded in it, then flip the tyre inside out and run your fingers along the inside of the tyre looking for anything sticking into the inner area. Finally check the rim tape - make sure that the tape on the inside of the rim is intact and is covering all the spokes where they enter the rim.

Puncture resistant tyres, like continental gatorskins or marathon rimbos will help avoid punctures caused by running over debris. There is a cost though, they generally are more slippy in the wet, they are harder to fit on the rim and they don't run quite as well.

Chuchote

Fian wrote: »

There is a cost though, they generally are more slippy in the wet

Yikes! Really?

tomasrojo

Gatorskins are ok, I think. I've never slipped on them in 5+ years anyway, wet or dry. However, I don't go all that fast. Brisk, at most.

Chuchote

tomasrojo wrote: »

Gatorskins are ok, I think. I've never slipped on them in five year anyway, wet or dry. However, I don't go all that fast. Brisk, at most.

I've just put a Marathon on mine. Hope it's not slippy, I'm terrified of falling in the wet.

tomasrojo

I had Marathons before (can't remember which ones), and they seemed ok for slipperiness. My bakfiets has Marathons too, and no problems there, but bakfiets are very stable bikes anyway.

tomasrojo

Other people's experience will be different, I'm sure. I really don't go all that fast, especially cornering. Not often anyway.

Chuchote

You remember that cartoon — Mr Magoo, I think? — where the parking meter officer is holding up a measuring tape and saying "You're right, he is moving!" That's me.

brianomc

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

What's the name of that glue?

It was Loctite 480, I'm pretty sure I saw the recommendation from someone else on here. Black Witch Glue was another mentioned.

Wishbone Ash

Fian wrote: »

..Puncture resistant tyres, like continental gatorskins or marathon rimbos....

Schwalbe Marathon and Panasonic Ribmos - two different brands/models!

tomasrojo wrote: »

Gatorskins are ok, I think. I've never slipped on them in 5+ years anyway, wet or dry. However, I don't go all that fast. Brisk, at most.

I have had a few hairy moments with Gatorskins especially the Hardshell version which are very dodgy on wet urban roundabouts.

Chuchote wrote: »

I've just put a Marathon on mine. Hope it's not slippy, I'm terrified of falling in the wet.

Schwalbe Marathons are fine in my experience. I used them for several years on a commuter without incident (apart from several spills on black ice which would have happened on any tyre).

Fian

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Schwalbe Marathon and Panasonic Ribmos - two different brands/models!

oops! It is rimbos i have on my commuter, they are slippier than gatorskins i think. ofc i am more likely to be running over a wet manhole on my commuter than on the other bikes so could be a sample distortion.

magicbastarder

Fian wrote: »

oops! It is rimbos

[pedant hat on]ribmos - short for RIde Bike MOre, which is a stupidly clunky quasi-acronym[/pedant hat].

the annoying thing is that when choosing puncture-resistant tyres, which are more desirable in winter, that they seem to be less grippy in the wet...

Beasty

The only times I ever seem to get punctures is shortly after posting in this forum about how rarely I get punctures (not had one on the road for over 2 and a half years - did head into the garage to discover a flat in the meantime).

I keep them fully inflated, and regularly examine them and remove any foreign objects.

Continental GP2000S II's are both puncture resistant and work well in slippery conditions. I have them on year-round

I am deliberately not going to cycle into work tomorrow in a desperate attempt to avoid the Boards "gloating" jinx striking yet again....

tomasrojo

"Rimbo" is easier to say, I suppose. They might have to give in and re-name. Happened to Orpah Winfrey.

magicbastarder

last time i had a puncture was in the car last halloween. someone apparently decided to sprinkle thumbtacks over the road resulting in me needing a full set of new tyres. thankfully i've had more luck on the bike.

sfmcar

Try increasing your tube to the next size. Worked for me

Wishbone Ash

magicbastarder wrote: »

last time i had a puncture was in the car last halloween. someone apparently decided to sprinkle thumbtacks over the road resulting in me needing a full set of new tyres...

Your car tyres must have been very worn if thumbtacks caused them to puncture!

magicbastarder

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Your car tyres must have been very worn if thumbtacks caused them to puncture!

the pin part of them was easily over half an inch long, which caused us worries that someone had done it in our driveway (based on whether they'd have stood pin up in the road).
thankfully, i reckon the tyres were a good 75% of the way through their lifespan, which made replacing them hurt just a little bit less.

Chuchote

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Your car tyres must have been very worn if thumbtacks caused them to puncture!

Maybe carpet tacks? More popular with messers.