punctures

[efc]

ive only recently taken up cycling and think ive been a bit unlucky with punctures - since april ive beem out on the bike about 4 times a week and had 7 or 8 punctures - only one on rear wheel ?? is this a lot more than average or are the roads so full of crap that i should expect that many ??

 

[Maz]

Depends on a few things: Are your tyres inflated to the correct pressure? Are you riding in the gutters where there's more glass etc?

Could be pure bad luck, of course, and that happens to all of us.

 

[Wolf04]

ive only recently taken up cycling and think ive been a bit unlucky with punctures - since april ive beem out on the bike about 4 times a week and had 7 or 8 punctures - only one on rear wheel ?? is this a lot more than average or are the roads so full of crap that i should expect that many ??

Firstly you should never use the P word it's bad luck and attracts the P Fairy who brings more pxxxtures. Lots of variables with your problem. Cheap tyres? Not pumped to a high enough pressure? Have you found what caused the pxxxtures or could glass still be stuck in your tyre?

 

[Mortiroloboy]

Could be various reasons, are your pressures high enough, what are the roads like round your neck of the woods, how worn are your tyres? Visits from the 'P' fairy are all part of the rich tapestry of cycling.

 

[efc]

tyre pressure is about 110 and im not in thje gutter - guess must be run of bad luck but have bought a couple of kevlar tyres and gunge inner tubes so hopefully will sought it out !

 

[alecstilleyedye]

avoid patches of gravel in the roads too.

 

[fossyant]

What tyres are you running ?

 

[efc]

erm - what tyres good question - they were michelen - nice blue and black ones - have replaced the front with another michelen made from kevlar - and will be doing the same for the back bacause today - yes you guessed it - it punctured arrrrghhhhhhhhhhh

 

[gbb]

What tyres are you running ?

Not Conti Ultra Sports i hope I've had more vists with them than any other tyre

 

[alecstilleyedye]

good plan, kelar lined tyres are a lot tougher.

 

[Kirstie]

Have you checked for stuff embedded in the tyre wall that may cause repeat p**nctures? Have you also checked where in the tyre the p**cture is because if it's in the same place you've got something stuck in there...

 

[Wolf04]

Also are the holes in the tube facing the tyre or the wheel. If their facing the wheel then you probably have a sharp edge or spoke nipple on the rim. Replacing the rim tape should help. Next are the holes in the tube single or double. If double then you are getting snake bite pxxctures which are usually caused by underinfated tyres or hitting hard surfaces such as potholes.

 

[Over The Hill]

If they are multi coloured things then they are probably those things that are about as thick as an inner tube.
Get a decent bit of rubber between the road and the air inside the tube.
I have done about 1500 miles without a flat on Michelin transworld city tyres (which are a bit of a tight squeeze on my bike) I got them for the winter as I ride on lots of wet gravelly country roads but as the summer was so bad they stayed on. I guess the bike may be a bit heavier as a result but not enough to notice.
They have p*** resistance stuff in the rubber which I guess works!

 

[Paulus]

First of all, there is no such thing as a puncture proof tyre. Some tyres are more resistant than others. It is best to keep them pumped up to the recomended pressure. I find that I get more punctures in the wet? Does the rain soften the compound somehow? I know that more rubbish gets washed into the road but the small flints seem to stick in easier.

 

[ArDee]

The water will wash more stuff into the load, so first you're reading over more bits of stuff that can cause an unplanned deflation event (UDE) (please stop mentioning the P word even by abridged reference, I’m getting nervous). Secondly, it’s more likely that the water causes the pieces of flint to stick to the tyre, rather than failing off and with each rotation it can get push further into the tyre causing the afore mentioned UDE.

The reason the piece of flint sticks to the tyre is probably something to do with the surface tension in the water layer between the piece of flint and the tyre; but, I’m sure there is somebody on here that knows the exact reason.