Punctures

[ian emmerson]

Hi,
Im relatively new to cycling and enjoy commuting on a daily basis, My question is " Having changed tyres from the ones which came with my hybrid following almost daily punctures , i bought schwalbe land cruisers which claim to have puncture protection.
Although i am not experiencing as many i am still suffering punctures regularly.
I know i am probably suffering from bad luck and i do check the tyre after each punture thoroughly for anything protruding throug the tyre.
Tyres are correctly inflated and inspected for damage regularly.
Is their anymore i can do ? and is their an inner tube which others may consider add to the punture protection ability of the tyre ?
Thank you

 

[Darkmarkster]

Hi,
Im relatively new to cycling and enjoy commuting on a daily basis, My question is " Having changed tyres from the ones which came with my hybrid following almost daily punctures , i bought schwalbe land cruisers which claim to have puncture protection.
Although i am not experiencing as many i am still suffering punctures regularly.
I know i am probably suffering from bad luck and i do check the tyre after each punture thoroughly for anything protruding throug the tyre.
Tyres are correctly inflated and inspected for damage regularly.
Is their anymore i can do ? and is their an inner tube which others may consider add to the punture protection ability of the tyre ?
Thank you

I believe you can get some more durable inner tubes that offer more protection for the likes of commuting and such they have some at http://www.wiggle.co.uk although ive never used them personally and I know they also do some sort of Slime for minor punctures that you put inside the tubes,but again ive never had any experience with those items.

But I think if you get a good pair of puncture resistant tyres it will help,although your never going to fully eliminate the puncture factor and a lot of it is down to luck and just being careful on what routes/where you pick to cycle.

 

[HLaB]

But I think if you get a good pair of puncture resistant tyres it will help,although your never going to fully eliminate the puncture factor and a lot of it is down to luck and just being careful on what routes/where you pick to cycle.

+1 You can maybe look at you're riding position ian, do you tend to cycle close to the kerb, as well as other problems that area tends to be full of rubbish which causes p'tures.

 

[Tynan]

defo all the holes are on the road side? not unknown for new wheels to flat the tube from the inside

how regular is 'regular'?

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

+1 You can maybe look at you're riding position ian, do you tend to cycle close to the kerb, as well as other problems that area tends to be full of rubbish which causes p'tures.

+1 stay out of the crap in the gutter and watch for stuff in the road (but also watch for the traffic)

However - do you know what is causing the punctures? Different types of hole in the tube tell a story. I can spot thorn from pinch from glass.... If you can identify the cause you can fix the issue (to a large extent). New tyres shouldn't puncture really.

 

[addictfreak]

Increased punctures could just be a sign of how bad the roads are at the moment.
Having gone almost a year without a flat, I have suffered 5 or 6 in the past 2 months. Most caused by potholes. Sadly I think its something we are going to have to put up with for some time to come.

 

[Darkmarkster]

Hi,
Im relatively new to cycling and enjoy commuting on a daily basis, My question is " Having changed tyres from the ones which came with my hybrid following almost daily punctures , i bought schwalbe land cruisers which claim to have puncture protection.
Although i am not experiencing as many i am still suffering punctures regularly.
I know i am probably suffering from bad luck and i do check the tyre after each punture thoroughly for anything protruding throug the tyre.
Tyres are correctly inflated and inspected for damage regularly.
Is their anymore i can do ? and is their an inner tube which others may consider add to the punture protection ability of the tyre ?
Thank you

Forgot to add that sometimes you can get pieces of debris lodged inside the tyre which are not always visible without a thorough inspection even when you have removed the tyre,and if its not found it will just puncture the new tube again which could possibly explain your new tubes being punctured from something embedded in the tyre from a previous puncture.

I find that running my fingers around the inside of the tyre when im replacing the tube usually will spot anything that shouldnt be there,although be careful not to cut yourself.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Increased punctures could just be a sign of how bad the roads are at the moment.
Having gone almost a year without a flat, I have suffered 5 or 6 in the past 2 months. Most caused by potholes. Sadly I think its something we are going to have to put up with for some time to come.

Ride around potholes. (If Traffic allows). Or scan ahead for potholes and postion yourself in the traffic in good time to avoid them. On regular routes one can learn where to be on the road. If caught out - bunny hop. All of which lessens the issue but everyone will get caught out..........

 

[Darkmarkster]

I mean if the worst comes to it you can always get one of these

 

[rh100]

Is the rim tape in good order?

 

[Janrhino]

I bought some of the slime tubes and on my first run out I had a puncture from the tiniest thorn, so not too impressed. Replaced it with an ordinary tube and been okay since.

 

[ian emmerson]

Thanks guys for your replies which has given me a few things to think about.
5 punctures in 3 weeks , including 1 today and 1 yesterday.
Thoroughly checking the tyres after each puncture, checked the rim tape, pressures ok and carefully planning my route doesnt seem to be making much difference.
Each puncture produces a different type of hole just to confuse things.

By the sound of it i guess im just unlucky !!

Thanks again

 

[rh100]

I had a spate of this last year on my mountain bike - twice a day at times. What had happened to me, and I realise this may not be the problem you have, was that some glass had got stuck in the tyre. It was not not visible from outside or inside, it was just the right size to hide within the tread and had a smooth side on the outside of the tyre so not obvious. What I think happened was that when pumped up and riding around, when that part hit the edge of a slab or ridge or tarmac or such - it was enough to push it through and puncture the tube. I found by taking off the tyre and bending it inside out and (carefully) feeling for it - once out had no more probs. May also be worth another inspection of the tread when at full pressure. You may also have more than one item stuck - so after removing one peice of glass continue to look for others.

 

[ian emmerson]

Update..... 3 punctures since last saturday. have again had the tyre off , turned inside out and thoroughly checked, rim tape checked again. pressures ok .
Always the same tyre ( front) and now wondering if by any chance i may have a defective tyre ?
Has anyone else ever had this problem ?

 

[HLaB]

You've said a few times your pressure is OK, what are you actually using?