Walk of shame

[cyberknight]

Yes for the 1st time in a good few years i had to phone for assistance this morning
Got a puncture which turned out to be a metal spike that i couldnt get out so a new tube wouldn't solve anything , luckily i was only a mile from work so i walked it back and phoned FIL who came and picked me up .
Nothing apart from pliers or a new tyre would have fixed this one , debating whether to get some slime tubes as maybe they would have sealed it enough to get home ?
Fecking front wheel bust a spoke the night before too !

 

[Threevok]

It depends on how big the spike was

I hit a hob-nail back in the summer and all the tube did was cover the bike and my arse with slime as I slowed down

I stopped and allowed it to seal, then pumped the tyre back up, but only got 500 yards before it deflated again.

The hole was just too big for the slime to cope

That said, there have been numerous times I have taken my tyres off, to find evidence of sealed punctures I never even knew I had.

They are worth it

 

[confusedcyclist]

I've had to call for help twice, once when my disc pads were so worn, the piston shoved the pad out of the calliper body, fouling the disc and the other was a standard flat but in -3C pitch black lane, and there was no chance my gloves were coming off to wrestle with a wet tyre. The former could have been avoided, but no preparation could have avoided the latter.

 

[mjr]

I don't think slimes are worth it for routine use. I used to use it, didn't find it that great and then had a cut it failed to seal where the main result was it made the actual repair much messier because now everything was coated in brown film. However, I do carry a sealant canister in winter when it's too cold to take the gloves off, for use as a last-chance punt instead of walking home.

 

[Bazzer]

Put a mini Leatherman-type knife-with-foldy-pliers thingy on your Christmas list.

What he said.
They take up very little space and are invaluable when required.

 

[HLaB]

I especially hate p'tures like that caused by someone else's negligence or maliciousness and not a natural occurrence (thorn, etc). I fell victim to one of those the other week and pulled a 1 inch nail out of my tyre. With it damaging my tyre I was surprised I got another 7miles before I got a natural p'ture and being a lightweight I decided to scoot the bike 16minutes rather than try to patch the tube in the pitch black.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

Pssstt!

I have these in my Audax tool bag: (Cheaper elsewhere)

https://www.leatherman.co.uk/style-ps/25.html

 

[12boy]

I have had good results with tubeless tire sealant. Not as messy as slime and easier to put air in tires.

 

[RichK]

I carry a pair of small needle pliers in my pannier. Usually for changing brake pads which always seem to finally give up & need changing on the way to work.

I tried slime filled tubes once. Didn't work for me, so it wasn't repeated.

 

[sleuthey]

I haven't had a puncture in 5 years 7000 miles. If I had one tomorrow like the OPs, then I would walk it to a recovery point, change the tube. I would not install slime or carry extra tools because I would not want the permanent weight, clutter and pinchables for a one in 5 year event, I would prefer to just have 1 hours hassle every 5 years.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I haven't had a puncture in 5 years 7000 miles.

That's an impressive total. What tyres are you running - M+ by any chance?

 

[potsy]

Put a mini Leatherman-type knife-with-foldy-pliers thingy on your Christmas list.

If he's quick Aldi are selling a cheapo version at the moment, should be good enough to stick in the bag.

 

[rivers]

I've had 1 puncture in nearly 15,000 miles over 3 years. On my summer bike, I'm running GP4000s. Winter bike currently pirelli cinturatos, tubeless. In the past, I've had tubeless hutchinson overides and on my old winter bike vittoria rubino pros. If I had an unfixable puncture, I would just phone my wife or a friend for a lift home.

 

[cyberknight]

99 % of my flats are on the bit of cycle path i have to use , its that or risk the roundabout of death coming out of work which is bad enough in a car so i would rather get a couple of flats a year than be splatted which i would be as its terrible with cars doing 40+ and lane hopping .
i will look for a pair of small pliers

 

[sleuthey]

That's an impressive total. What tyres are you running - M+ by any chance?

Vittoria Randonneurs the whole time.
I have tried M Originals and Kenda Kwests but the wet grip just isn't the same.