Pinch flats, Part of the game or a pain in the a***!

[solidthegreat]

So I was out tonight training as per, when I went over a rough section of Tarmac. Nothing major but bounced a little. The kind of bounce you would come to expect if you were riding Pave.
Within a few yards I'm running on the rim. Few expletives and a new tube I'm on my way again.
But It got me wondering, as a cyclist, are pinch flats part of the game or are they a pain in the a*** and avoidable?

 

[smokeysmoo]

I check my tyre pressures before every ride, this certainly seems to help.

 

[Crankarm]

Never had a pinch flat. Either your bike tyre pressures are not sufficiently high or you are heavier than you think.

 

[uclown2002]

+1 ref tyre pressures.
What tyres and psi do you put in?

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Pinch flats should be rare, keep your tyres fully inflated and you should be OK, the last pinch flat I had was a couple of years ago, I was that busy watching traffic whilst turning right that I didn't see a large piece of debris till too late, pinch flat and a split side wall on the rear tyre.

 

[Cubist]

Bit of an occupational hazard on mtbs. Square edges on steps and rain bars are a menace to the unwary, especially if you run lower pressures for grip. Now a thing of the past since going tubeless.
Are you pioneering enough to run road tubeless?

 

[solidthegreat]

I am preparing for Paris Roubaix in 2 weeks time and was testing things out. I was on conti 4 seasons 25mm inflated to 90psi. I went up 10 psi yesterday from 80 as i didnt seen to be an issue..
Wasnt sure of if it was bad luck, under inflated over inflated or somthing else.

 

[uclown2002]

I've got 110 psi in my 25 mm conti 4 seasons and I'm only 147lbs.

 

[ianrauk]

Continental recommend at least 95psi for 4 seasons 25's.

 

[Dave 123]

Antonio Vivaldi never wrote any of the 4 seasons in pinch flat-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Seasons_(Vivaldi)

Neither did he like pizza......

 

[MikeG]

......are pinch flats part of the game or are they a pain in the a*** and avoidable?

No "or" about it". "And" is the word you should have used. Yep they happen, and yep, they're a pain in the neck.

Wickedly shaped stones are the usual suspect, but look out for cattle grids, if you have any in your area. Three pinch punctures at one cattle grid (which we didn't see until it was too late) on our Lejog a couple of years ago taught me all I needed to know about pinch punctures.

 

[fossyant]

Pressure too low. You should only get a pinch flat if you crash into a crater. Rough roads should not cause this. I use 100 front, 110 back !

 

[MikeG]

Pressure too low. You should only get a pinch flat if you crash into a crater. Rough roads should not cause this. I use 100 front, 110 back !

I don't know if you know what the roads are like around here, but all the local clubs are constantly getting pinch punctures, despite everyone I know riding at 100+ psi. I had one on Sunday, and my very new tyres are at 100 front and back.

 

[fossyant]

I don't know if you know what the roads are like around here, but all the local clubs are constantly getting pinch punctures, despite everyone I know riding at 100+ psi. I had one on Sunday, and my very new tyres are at 100 front and back.

Got to be better than round here. Our Council openly admitted it wouldn't fill a hole that you could climb out of !

 

[MikeG]

Oops.........that tyre pressure of mine was a typo. I ride at 110psi, because 120 jarrs too much. Our roads are more like Africa's every year, recently.