first puncture of the year - long walk home

[zizou]

had my first puncture of the year today - a bit of metal which ripped the tyre pretty bad so had to try and cover up the hole with some patches and folded paper to keep the new inner tube protected...it worked for about 5 minutes before i had my second puncture of the year. had to walk home after that, a 20 minute cycle turned into a 2 hour walk because of my cycling shoes. feet are in agony now!

is there a better method i should use to cover such a hole in a tyre if it happens again? the cut was was about 3 cm long maybe about 2 or 3 mm at the widest bit.

 

[BentMikey]

Carry a few park tyre boots?

 

[Crankarm]

Yes, carry a section of tyre about 6 inches long in your pouch. Don't throw your now knackered tyre away, flatten it and then cut a section out so that you get the full width from bead to bead 6 to 8 inches long. You can always cut it down. I helped out 2 fellow club riders last year whose tyres split/burst. They had spare inner tubes but no spare old tyre to put between the replacement tube and exisitng tyre to plug the hole/split thus protecting the tube from coming into contact with the road and bursting.

Rotten luck having to walk home in cleats in this weather.

 

[Landslide]

Business cards or old train tickets can come in useful if you've nowt better to hand.

 

[Armegatron]

Ive had 4 this week - its rotten luck I tell thee

 

[hackbike 666]

I've had none since 2008.TIA.

 

[Crankarm]

Business cards or old train tickets can come in useful if you've nowt better to hand.

Schwalbe inner tube card boxes are surprisingly durable. Tearing one up and folding into several layers made a good makeshift repair which held for about 40 miles. Was unsure whether to actually change it for a replacement tyre as it was doing so well.

 

[threefingerjoe]

In a pinch, paper currency works well as a boot. I don't know about pound notes, but in the U.S., "paper" currency really isn't paper. It's mostly cotton and linen. It holds up pretty well.

 

[Debian]

I've often wondered about the viability of carrying a spare folding tyre - extra weight to carry and extra money to spend for no real gain. I've only ever had one tyre give up on me when the wire came away from the bead but that resulted in a five mile walk home whilst pushing/carrying a mud-caked MTB with a very flat rear tyre.

It's bound to happen to me again and in this example a patch would have done do good at all - the tyre was undamaged except for the bead wire so it wouldn't stay on the rim.

 

[Jambon]

yep 3 mile walk home for me last night aswell! bloody potholes have pinched my innertube so had a flattie last night! Changed the tube when i got in and used it as an opportunity to clean my bike.

 

[numbnuts]

always carry a folding tyre

 

[hackbike 666]

always carry a folding tyre

Looks like i've been lucky...I've never needed one.

 

[Tynan]

old tyres I have

never thought about carrying a section before, I ahve walked with busted tyres on two occasions though, although was the side wall

there's another peice of tut for the pannier

 

[BentMikey]

I'd prefer a Park tyre boot - it's sticky so will probably hold better.

 

[Tynan]

surely anything inside a 23mm tyre pumped up is ging to stay in place?