Puncture Preparedness

[Aravis]

I imagine those of us who consider ourselves experienced cyclists reckon we're OK on this. A cautionary tale from my ride a couple of days ago...

With about 3½ flattish miles to go, a tell-tale softening in my rear tyre, a Marathon Greenguard. It was just about able hold enough air for me to limp a short distance, so with several pauses for reflating I made it home safely. Investigating today, I found the culprit (the object on the right, about 5mm long):

It was the hooked end which was embedded, only the very tip of the straight end being visible and impossible to detect by touch.
At home I used an awl to expose enough of the tip to get a firm hold with sharp-nosed pliers and pull it out, and only then did I know there was a barb on the other end. With what I had available at the roadside I don't I'd have had a chance of shifting it.

As I've been writing this I've realised that a piece of tyre casing, which I usually carry as an emergency tyre boot, could probably have solved the problem long enough to get wherever I needed to go. And unless we're in the middle of a pandemic we can always knock on a door for assistance. But having located the foreign object in a tyre it had never occurred to me that I might not be able to remove it.

 

[wafter]

Indeed. Had to deal with a fat thorn a while ago, which was dug out only thanks to my incidental-carry pocket knife..

 

[ColinJ]

I carry a piece of old tyre for emergency boot duties.

I had a problem extracting a shard of glass from a tyre last year so I now carry a paper clip which I have fashioned into a shard pushing tool. I have only had to use it once; it did the job.

I think that I might add a pair of tweezers to the rides toolkit to help remove awkward sharp objects from my tyres.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I have tweezers in my puncture repair kit, but that bent nail looks like it would bend my tweezers!

 

[EltonFrog]

You know that thing on a Swiss Army knife that no one knows what it’s for? I use that for digging stuff out of tyres. Also the little tweezers that are stored in the handle.

 

[cyberknight]

on my commuter i carry a pair of tweezers for pulling stuff out

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I carry a piece of old tyre

Is it attached to the rim? 🤔

 

[Tail End Charlie]

I carry a small multi tool thing from Wickes which folds out into a pair of pliers. For a tyre boot I have a piece of rubber. Failing that the £50 note I always carry would have to do.
BTW @Aravis impressed that you've used a halfpenny for scale!

 

[steveindenmark]

I carry a very small leatherman in my tool kit. My boot is an empty colgate toothpaste tube, cut into different sizes.
I have heard of people using banknotes and even leaves as a tyre boot

 

[Drago]

I used to run both armoured tyres and slime on my commuter. You didn't want to be late for work and hauled in front of the Inspector for a bollocking, or an "interview without coffee" (back when it was a disciplined organisation and,they were allowed to bollock you without being accused of bullying), so reliable transport was essential.

It deadened the ride a touch, but not painfully so. More than once over the years I'd notice a foreign objected in the tyre, usually thorns, sometimes multiple, and it'd still get me to and from work for the rest of the week without deflating. Once there were so many it took some effort to peel the tube from the inside of the tyre and it hadnt gone flat on me while in use.

It wouldn't save me from a split, or course, but being a diligent rider with ninja like reflexes nd zen like awareness I've never suffered such a failure.

 

[Juan Kog]

I carry a very small leatherman in my tool kit. My boot is an empty colgate toothpaste tube, cut into different sizes.
I have heard of people using banknotes and even leaves as a tyre boot

@steveindenmark I strongly disagree , Corsodyl toothpaste tubes cut up are far superior

 

[MichaelW2]

I carry a Leatherman mini in my bike toolkit. Any of the smaller ones with good pliers will work. I used to carry small pliers. Also good for siezed valve rings, trapped cables and countless other bike repair duties. A toolkit without pliers is not complete.
Flint shards are the tyre killer in these parts and I have always used a small blade to ease them out. For thorns, both tools work but wire needs pliers.
Never heard of the toothpaste tube boot before.

 

[sleuthey]

I have a brilliant solution. I work from home.

On a serious note, another vote for tweezers.

 

[13 rider]

Tubeless , runs away to find hard hat 😁

 

[Ming the Merciless]

You just have to decide what you are prepared to sort out and whether that includes carrying stuff for those once in a blue moon situations.