3 punctures, 1 commute, no spares.

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jashburnham

New Member
P*nct*red at the weekend (rear wheel), so got all the kit out of my commute bag changed the tube etc, got into work fine on weds. Then yesterday evening got on the bike only to discover I had another rear wheel p*nct*re. I'm on the singlespeed and have forgotten to put my spare tube, multitool, pump and tire levers back in the bag. Cue a 10 min walk in cleats to the nearest bike shop. Bought a tube, borrowed some tools, thoroughly checked the tire and rim for glass/debris, changed the tube. Got halfway home before I p*nct*red again. Evil or Very Mad Ended up walking 3 miles in my cleats, and forgot to take off my nice new overshoes, when I got home I discovered I'd worn a hole in the heel of each one, clearly not designed for walking. All in all a very bad commute and a reminder to always make sure you carry spares and repairs, especially in the winter months.
Today I'm carrying:

2 tubes
2 CO2 canisters
1 minipump
1 multitool
3 tire levers.
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
Bad luck....that's nasty..
 

Tynan

Veteran
Location
e4
puncture repair kit?

they're hardly expensive or bulky are they?

I carry a tube but only for emergencies, a patch means the wheel and hopefully most of the tyre can stay where it is
 

Maz

Guru
Is there any way of getting roadworthy (roadside repair) if your chain snaps?
Mine did just that a couple of days ago.
 

Sh4rkyBloke

Jaffa Cake monster
Location
Manchester, UK
It's not just me then?

My last commute before Christmas - puncture in real wheel, repaired and replaced wheel, got about 200 yds before discovering repair was no good (or had pinched it when replacing onto wheel?) so went to nearest Halfrauds (I know, sorry, I was in a rush to get home) to get a replacement tube. Duly fitted it and got home, went to pop into town a couple of days later to find that the rear wheel was flat again!!!! No idea whether I have a crap tube (slow puncture) or what as I haven't had the time/light to check it over... bloody annoying though!

Ordered replacement set of tyres/tubes and some nice winter gloves last night though to cheer me up. The tyres looking a bit shredded in parts due to nasty punctures over the last year or so. :tongue:

I think I'll use some superglue though in the tears as has been mentioned elsewhere in here, and keep them as backups.
 

AtmoLav

New Member
Location
Northampton
Maz said:
Is there any way of getting roadworthy (roadside repair) if your chain snaps?
Mine did just that a couple of days ago.

I always carry a link remover as well. Happened to me once and fixed it relatively quickly.
 

Tynan

Veteran
Location
e4
if you're even thinking the tyres need changing, do it surely?

they're not that expensive and it's really not something to take chances on if you don't like punctures

I've got a link remover form the mists of time but it's in the kitchen with the foreign coins, perhaps it should with the other minimal tools and spares in the bottom of the pannier

can any link be broken and remade?
 

gambatte

Middle of the pack...
Location
S Yorks
Maz said:
Is there any way of getting roadworthy (roadside repair) if your chain snaps?
Mine did just that a couple of days ago.

Carry a SRAM powerlink.

Helped a guy a couple of months back who I saw at the side of the road (next to Don Valley Stadium) who'd snapped his chain.

Means you can get your chain off quickly as well to clean (if you're into that kind of thing)

Just make sure you get the right one (8 and nine speed powerlinks are different, ones gold, ones silver)
 

Brock

Senior Member
Location
Kent
I really don't understand the aversion to punkchewer repair kits... Spare tubes are sooooo heavy.
 

Maz

Guru
Brock said:
I really don't understand the aversion to punkchewer repair kits... Spare tubes are sooooo heavy.
Unfortunately, you can't choose where you have your punctures. Sod's Law says it'll be pitch black, windy, pouring with rain in the freezing cold. Not ideal for trying to do a repair. Much easier to change the inner and fix the puncture in the comfort of your own home.
 

Maz

Guru
@gambatte - thanks for the advice. My new chain on order has a 'power-link'. Simple yet great idea.
 
Maz said:
@gambatte - thanks for the advice. My new chain on order has a 'power-link'. Simple yet great idea.

Hi Maz

Make sure you can use it too - practise a few times at home. My chain snapped on a dark and stormy night, halfway up a hill 15 miles from home. Luckily I always have a chain tool with me.

As far as repeat punctures go, I had a similar run of three punctures in the back tyre with no obvious cause. I even thought someone was maliciously puncturing my tyre.

It turned out that the offender was a piece of metal, probably a staple, that wasn't proud of the inner surface of the tyre when the tyre was off the wheel and not under pressure. Pump the tyre back up and ride it, and it was in contact with the tube again to wreak its worst. It's worth turning your tyre inside-out to check it thoroughly.
 

gambatte

Middle of the pack...
Location
S Yorks
Twenty Inch said:
Hi Maz

Make sure you can use it too

Agree with this. They're dead easy to apply, but theres a knack to separating them. Not difficult, it'd just be better to have done it once or twice in comfort!
 

bonj2

Guest
i've done both the aforementioned things... the latter only today

few months ago was on the mtb ragging it down porter clough bridleway (rocky) and got snakebites in both at once, and only had one tube. pushed about 2 or 3 miles to my mate's house.

then over christmas, rode to lincoln to do xmas shopping n cycle path, and had one puncture on coming back to my bike, and another just outside town! so had used up both my spare tubes and couldnt' risk another so came back on the road.

and only today, got 3/4 of the way to work and my chain decices to keep throwing itself off! I know why, it's 'cos i joined it together shoddily and thought it would do, but it's got worse, and as one of the links is 'splayed out', so every time the chain rotates it throws it off, can just about ride it on the middle ring with trimming, but didn't fancy riding it all the way back so had to go on a bloody BUS! :smile: grr...! am going to get a sram powerlink...
 
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