Punture prevention

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BusDriver

New Member
OK. I'm using my bike to commute to and from work. As I'm a bus driver I can't be late for work, or the bus won't have a driver and other people won't get to work. I'm thinking of punture prevention.
Should I pump some slime into my inner tubes?
Fit a couple of Marathon Plus tyres?
Or do both?

What do you think?


Simon
 
Fab Foodie

Fab Foodie

hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
Location
Kirton, Devon.
Can't help on the slime, but Marathon plusses have a pretty good reputation for toughness. BTW, forum etiquette demands we never write the P-word in full, P*ncture for instance is OK, otherwise bad luck may befall you courtesy of the P*ncture faries...! Actually, we never say H*lfords either!

P*nctures will happen once in a blue moon even with the toughest tyre. Good idea to practice changing a tube in the comfort of your own home, if you carry a spare and tools that work it takes very litttle time IMO.
Also, having a track-pump at home and keeping tyres at their proper pressure also helps prevent P*nctures.
 
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bonj2

Guest
You may get one, but you would be very VERY unlucky to get two in a commute, depending on how far you ride.
Once you're fairly practiced at it you can get one changed in 10-15 minutes, so just set off that much earlier.
Don't put slime in, it doesn't work very well and probably adds quite a bit of weight.
Just get some good tyres, but do pay some attention to other properties of the tyres, such as rolling speed, grip, weight, etc. not just puncture protection, I did this and got some specialized armadillos and didn't like them that much. Replacing them when they start to let punctures in is more important than getting the 'most puncture resistant' ones in the shop in the firstplace. Remember, OLD tyres are far worse than BASIC but new tyres.


And, without wanting to be condescending, most of them are only biddies off to the bingo or post office, or schyoo-dents on their way to the fish and chip shop (with cheque books at the ready due to having spent their entire week's loan allowance on fags and your fare), so I wouldn't worry TOO much if you're a bit late.

But I never really understood the logic of commuting TO a job where you then drive ROUND all the time, probably covering many times the distance of your commute. I know you can't, but it just would seem more logical and efficient to me to park the bus at your house and just set off from there.




edit: oh, another point - make sure you can get the tyre off the lever without too much effort. If you can't do it, you're not going to be able to recover from a puncture very well, so it's as bad as not having any puncture repair equipment.
 
B

bonj2

Guest
Fab Foodie said:
Can't help on the slime, but Marathon plusses have a pretty good reputation for toughness. BTW, forum etiquette demands we never write the P-word in full, P*ncture for instance is OK, otherwise bad luck may befall you courtesy of the P*ncture faries...! Actually, we never say H*lfords either!
Click to expand...


This is bollocks.
PUNCTURE
HALFORDS
SHIMANO
PUNCTURE
HALFORDS
 
C

Crackle

..
bonj said:
Once you're fairly practiced at it you can get one changed in 10-15 minutes, so just set off that much earlier.
Click to expand...

10-15 minutes: I'd 'a frozen by then. You mean a patch job or changeing the inner tube? Inner tube change is about 5 I reckon. Don't forget to check the tyre for what caused the P*nct&re in the first place.

bonj said:
But I never really understood the logic of commuting TO a job where you then drive ROUND all the time, probably covering many times the distance of your commute. I know you can't, but it just would seem more logical and efficient to me to park the bus at your house and just set off from there.
Click to expand...

Eh! Mind you I used to know someone who brought his home for dinner. Times were different then. Took the whole bloody street up it did.
 
Fab Foodie

Fab Foodie

hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
Location
Kirton, Devon.
bonj said:
This is bollocks.
PUNCTURE
HALFORDS
SHIMANO
PUNCTURE
HALFORDS
Click to expand...

Much like your posts....:sad:

As Crackle says, to swap-out a tube, 5 mins.
Patch a tube, 10 to 15.
Frankly I always carry 1 spare tube if going more than a few miles.
 
I

Ianj5

New Member
Location
Canterbury, Kent
Personally I have found slime does work for small pin holes from thorns etc. On one occasion I couldn't work out why I had green flecks on the frame until I realised I had a puncture. The slime had worked and it got me home 3 miles without going flat. When I removed the tube I found 4 other greenspots on the tube from previous p**t*res that had sealed. What I will say though is if you get a hole that does not seal it is difficult to get a patch to stick, so carry a spare tube and replace.
 
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bonj2

Guest
Fab Foodie said:
Much like your posts....:sad:

As Crackle says, to swap-out a tube, 5 mins.
Patch a tube, 10 to 15.
Frankly I always carry 1 spare tube if going more than a few miles.
Click to expand...

5 real minutes or 5 cyclechat minutes? :thumbsup:
if timed from the start of the actual operation to the point of getting the wheel back on, then possibly. But i was talking about the actual time lost, including stopping, taking gloves off, getting stuff out of and putting back in saddlebag, checking got everything before setting off, etc.
 
C

Crackle

..
I used to change a tub in 15 minutes - no idea if that's good or bad but it's certainly messy and hard on the hands. Mind you, it took me considerably longer to fix it at home.
 
A

another_dave_b

Guest
BusDriver said:
OK. I'm using my bike to commute to and from work. As I'm a bus driver I can't be late for work, or the bus won't have a driver and other people won't get to work. I'm thinking of punture prevention.
Should I pump some slime into my inner tubes?
Fit a couple of Marathon Plus tyres?
Or do both?

What do you think?


Simon
Click to expand...

I'd vote for puncture proof tyres. They're not so expensive, and marthon pluses are not the only game in town.

Never used 'slime', but I fitted a Schwalbe Silento II to the rear wheel last autumn, and its not been holed yet.
 
Andy in Sig

Andy in Sig

Vice President in Exile
Location
Sigmaringen, Germany
Go for belt and braces i.e. fit the most P-proof tyres you can find and always carry two spare inner tubes and simply replace rather than patch. Then you can patch up later at home. This might sound obvious but having got the holed tube out, don't forget to run your hand carefully along the inside of the tyre to confirm that whatever it was that did the damage is still not sticking in.
 
summerdays

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
I'd go for the P-resistant tyres, well that's what I have done only 1 in the last 14 months. I was warned off the slime as being very messy if it was anything other than a small hole.
 
F

frog

Guest
P&*cture Repair - a technique evolved over 35 years.

Locate hole in tube

Abrade hole area with sandpaper

Spread film of rubber solution over abraded area

Allow to dry for 15 mins

Apply patch

Rub down with back of tyre lever

Split paper backing and peel off outwards

apply thin film of rubber solution onto fayed edge of patch

Allow to dry for 15 minutes

Apply chalk or talc

Refit to bike



Or

Fit spare inner tube and fix in comfort of . . etc etc etc :sad:

All the times I've rushed a roadside fix I've regretted it within a mile or so.

Fit Marathon Plus and most of the above don't happen :thumbsup:
 
4F

4F

Active member of Helmets Are Sh*t Lobby
Location
Suffolk.
Go for the marathon plus's and carry a spare tube just in case. You can then repair the other tube in the comfort and time of home.
 
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