Coping with visits from the P fairy

[adds21]

In winter, I carry Pit Stop (http://www.wiggle.co.uk/vittoria-pit-stop-tyre-sealant/) with me (as well as a spare tube - In the summer, I just carry a tube).

Last year, in the middle of January, I got a puncture on the way home from work in the middle of nowhere. It was dark, very cold, raining, and I was feeling ill. I used the Pit Stop, and was going again within a couple of minutes. In fact, I still haven't got around to changing the tube 4,000 miles later.

I haven't used it since, as I'd rather change the tube by the roadside (especially in the summer), but the fact it worked the one time I really wanted it to has encouraged me to carry it with me.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Her inflated sense of her own importance has led to this dread of even spelling out her name.

She is as pathetic and impotent as she is vindictive and small-minded.

Puncture Fairy? Schmuncture Fairy!

Or as I liked to call her (before I found Marathon Plus) The Pure C*nt Fairy.

GC

 

[byegad]

How short a ride? It's possible to use a CO2 cartridge inflater to inflate a pin pricked tyre long enough to cover 4 or 5 miles. If it's worse than that then a tyre sealant inflater may get you to work, I carry both CO2 and a Seal n Flate can (As well as a pump, spare tube and a repair kit.) on all my rides.

 

[Twelve Spokes]

Go on then, why do you carry 2 minipumps? One for each tyre?

Nah,but had this before where the pump doesn't work or disintegrates.Bloody sods law.Last time I had no frigging innertubes.

 

[Boris Bajic]

Now my serious answer:

Marathon plus are (by all accounts) excellent, but I've never used them. I'm told they're a sod to fit and remove.

When I was commuting and my spouse (emergency driver) was elsewhere, I carried a spare tube, patches, rubber solution and a minipump (Blackburn Airstick in later years).

I am now converted to self-adhesive patches, but that was then...

The Airstick gets a lot of stick in some quarters, but is small, fits in a back pocket and gets easily up to 100psi.

On puncture, I'd change the tube and repair later at home. On second puncture (only happened once) I used the patches and settled down for a long wait while the solution went off.

The BIGGEST issue with punctures while commuting is remembering to replace what you've used after a puncture.

To carry my clobber (and Allen Keys and assorted spanners and tyre levers) I used an old supermarket soup carton (like a big, re-sealable yougurt pot) jamed into a bottle cage. Perfect size, perfect fit, perfectly sealed. Before they came along, I used to cut a window in an old bidon, but they never really did the trick and were hard to fill or find anything in.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Marathon plus are (by all accounts) excellent, but I've never used them. I'm told they're a sod to fit and remove..

Only true for the unenlightened. There is a technique but it's a very simple one.

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XUFVrl0UT4



GC

 

[nilling]

I've used the technique @glasgowcyclist posted fitting Gatorskinz.

 

[beatlejuice]

Sure fixing a P at 6:00am in a dark unlit lane when its pissing it down is good for my cycling soul I don't care for it. I don't want to turn up for work looking like a cyclist who has just fixed a puncture. In fact I try my best NOT to look like a cyclist at all, when commuting! I have car type valves on my Dohan, so the tin of gas and goo is an option. I also want to cut down the clobber I tend to cart about.

 

[Moodyman]

I average 1 or 2 punctures a year at the most. I had one year (2011) with no punctures.

The key is good puncture resistant tyres, but also good management:
1) weekly removal of embedded stones/ glass
2) tyres well inflated - must be very hard to the touch. I keep mine 5% below max. Surprises me how many bikes at work have squidgy tyres.
3) ride further from the gutter.

 

[beatlejuice]

I agree with Moodyman, that prevention is better than cure and his three tips are good. I too very rarely get punctures despite having to ride on broken glass regularly. But on the odd occasion when the do happen a quick squirt with some gas & goo and on to work is so much nicer than fiddling by the roadside with a bike light in your mouth when it will be dark and raining (no negative thinking here!!).

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Had to buy some new tubes for the Ribble, as I only have a couple of spare that have very long valves, for those Roval rims


On a similar tangent, SWMBO rang me a bit earlier, she's had a puncture in the Octavia over at Golcar.

The annoying thing is, I was convincedit had a real spare wheel, but it's got one of those stupid compressors & foam.
Have to try & get a spare (steel) wheel& tyre from somewhere for it!

 

[steve52]

Now my serious answer:

Marathon plus are (by all accounts) excellent, but I've never used them. I'm told they're a sod to fit and remove.

When I was commuting and my spouse (emergency driver) was elsewhere, I carried a spare tube, patches, rubber solution and a minipump (Blackburn Airstick in later years).

I am now converted to self-adhesive patches, but that was then...

The Airstick gets a lot of stick in some quarters, but is small, fits in a back pocket and gets easily up to 100psi.

On puncture, I'd change the tube and repair later at home. On second puncture (only happened once) I used the patches and settled down for a long wait while the solution went off.

The BIGGEST issue with punctures while commuting is remembering to replace what you've used after a puncture.

To carry my clobber (and Allen Keys and assorted spanners and tyre levers) I used an old supermarket soup carton (like a big, re-sealable yougurt pot) jamed into a bottle cage. Perfect size, perfect fit, perfectly sealed. Before they came along, I used to cut a window in an old bidon, but they never really did the trick and were hard to fill or find anything in.

I use marathon plus and yes there excellent,i have no probs fitting them,id even say it was easy.

 

[Jimmy Doug]

I've done over 8000 kilometres on my Marathon Plus tyres and so far .... not a single puncture! Not one - even though I have done three tours on them with a fully-loaded bike and inadvertently cycled a couple of times through broken glass on the floor. What's more the tread still looks brand new. They're quite simply the best investment I've ever made!

 

[Twelve Spokes]

Only true for the unenlightened. There is a technique but it's a very simple one.

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XUFVrl0UT4



GC

Going to try that without tyre levers as my rear tyre is well worn.Always seems to end in disaster if I use tyre levers.