double $%$£%*& Pu****re!!!!!

[jpembroke]

Riding home last night I hit a pothole with the dimensions of a belfast sink. Mercifully it didn't have a steep vertical edge - more a ramp with a 2" lip - so I stayed upright. Still, it was enough to pop both tyres. Thankfully both wheels held up (Planet X A57s) and are still completely true. Really annoying though; had to call out the support van. These potholes are everywhere and it's going to take months/years to repair them. Grrrrrrrr.

 

[arallsopp]

I hate that. Same has happened to me before, hence spare tube and repair kit on all rides now. At least you didn't ding the rim. That's a real pricey one

Mind you, if you were riding the bike in your avatar, I should think the smaller wheels are a lot stronger than 700s.

 

[MacB]

Mind you, if you were riding the bike in your avatar, I should think the smaller wheels are a lot stronger than 700s.

That's harsh, drawing attention to his issues, that's a full size bike he's on, don't you think he's sick of comments about how big he is?

Darned unlucky that JP, glad the rims are ok, having experienced a pothole encounter I know the damage it can cause.

 

[jpembroke]

Already trashed my Campag Protons on the best bike (spokes breaking due to old age I think) and I was really worried that I'd knackered another pair. Very surprised they are still in one piece. If these wheels had folded I seriously would be commuting on my avatar bike.

Oh, and I do carry tubes etc but it would have taken ages to sort it out in the pitch dark of a country lane so I decided on the support wagon option.

 

[goo_mason]

Not nice! I'm having fun trying to memorise where all the new potholes are on my route at the mo.

I had 4 flats in 4 days last week - not due to the potholes but to the stone chippings the council used as 'fake salt' during the recent wintry spell. They're razor sharp, like little shards of glass, and riding over so much of the stuff is guaranteed to have only one outcome.

Good that your rims are OK though and that you didn't come a cropper.

 

[jpembroke]

To be honest I am feeling rather fortunate. I went back and had a look at the hole and can't believe I managed to stay upright. Could have been much worse (broken bones, broken bike, broken wheels......).

Know what you mean about the grit they've used. It's everywhere! Not an issue for car drivers so the council aren't going to be in a hurry to clear it up.

 

[PBancroft]

Know what you mean about the grit they've used. It's everywhere! Not an issue for car drivers so the council aren't going to be in a hurry to clear it up.

I managed to get caught out by grit (and other stuff) a week or so after Christmas. Rode the NCN24 and on the last leg home was on a segregated cycle path. ALl of the grit and broken glass had been flicked off the road on to that, and of course no bugger had bothered to clear it. I moved to the road but by then it was too late.

I think I've only just got the last of the glass out. At least the daily punctures have stopped.

 

[goo_mason]

Another puncture tonight. At least it only went down once I was home.

The little bit of 'razor grit' was wedged so firmly in the thick protective rubber layer on the inside of the Stelvio tyre that it took 5 mins to dig the bugger out.

A pox on Edinburgh Council for layering the paths and sidestreets with this stuff. I've a good mind to send them a bill for time and puncture repair kits, since they've ignored my reports to CLARENCE asking for it to be swept away.

 

[arallsopp]

I hear you. SE London is becoming slowly clear of Grit / Gravel / Road shrapnel, thanks mainly to the efforts of my commute which sees much of it carried to Chiswick in my tyres. I think I've got most of it now. A few patchy areas left, but I should manage another run tonight. Kudos to the marathon racers in that they've only punctured once, despite arriving at each end looking like they've been pebble-dashed.

Lots of fun to be had with the pumpkin carving kit. Lightweight. Portable. Is ideal for digging nasties out of rubber.

 

[BentMikey]

More grit to come, sunbeam!

 

[hackbike 666]

Only one question.

How do you get a support van?

 

[goo_mason]

Made it home last night with both tyres still inflated. They were in the same state when I cycled in this morning.

Yippee!! My first commute of the year without getting a flat. Taking a new detour last night to cut out the worst sections for mounds of chippings obviously helped.

Hope I've not tempted fate for the ride home tonight...