Alternative to fixing punctures

beckenham

I don't want to spend any of my precious time put aside for cycling stood at the side of the road repairing punctures.

Previously I just had a MTB and never had a puncture even before I put Armadilos on it.

I've just brought my first road bike and intend to put on suitable Armadilo's or something similar (any suggestions for road going tyres?). In the meantime I've bought one of those sprays that are supposed to reinflate the tyre and fix the puncture at the same time. I'm aware that they are only a temporary measure but are these things actually any good?

powenb

I have used a can that inflates and seals at the same time, in a race last year.
And it did the job. Wouldn't trust it to go a great distance though.

As for tyres, the Amadillo's are suppose to be near on puncture proof. My LBS guarentees they are.
An alternative tyre would be Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase, which I use on my commuter. I found a small flint inside the tread, but it could not get through to the tube!!
Another option is the Conti Ultra Gatorskin. A lot of people use these for Sportives as they are a very nice tyre as well as having good protection.

Good luck

alfablue

I wouldn't personally want to use gunge stuff, it has "patchy" reliability. Just take a spare tube.

The Specialized All Conditions Pro is a superb tyre which has never punctured for me, just keep the inflation at the high end of the stated range.

sqwerl_mk2

powenb wrote:

As for tyres, the Amadillo's are suppose to be near on puncture proof. My LBS guarentees they are.

Good luck

Excellent. When you get a puncture you can go in and give them sh1t!
I've had punctures with Armadillos, Ultra Gators, etc. and that's after lining them with kevlar flat tape. I ride 2 x 8 miles through London every day.
Sooner or later a tyre's going to puncture.
At the moment I'm using Schwalbe Stelvio Plus and so far (after 3 months)(fingers crossed) they've been without incident.

pieinthesky

Getting a puncture is part of cycling - like filling up with petrol is a part of driving.

I dont think fixing a puncture takes much longer than filling the tank (no I dont have a 4wd) and it occurs much less frequently.

So why do people percieve punctures as such a problem??

Just "Fix and Forget"

inaperfectworld

i hear good things said about schwalbe marathon plus, but i have no idea of tyre sizes available, they do however increase rolling resistance, so are better suited to commuting rather than sporty rides

JustRidecp

Take a spare tube. Can replace it really quickly. Just make sure you check the inside of your tyre or you might be stopping again soon. That way you can repair the tube properly when you get home. Alternatively, I had positive experiences using Park patches on the go. They get me home but I repair the tube properly that night so dont know how they cope on the long run.

Punctures are a part of cycling. Just got to man up and deal with them

blorg

I have a 700x25 Armadillo rear and a 700x28 Vittoria Zaffiro front on my tourer/commuter and have over 9,000km on them without a puncture. I did have a Zaffiro on the back too but suffered quite a few punctures ending with a blowout and went back to the Armadillo on the back. There are hundreds of pock marks and indeed bits of stone and other stuff embedded in them, but nothing got through. This is an example (front); as you can see, this spare tube has not seen much action!



Have the stock Bontrager Race Lite 700x23s on my road bike and maybe puncture every 500km or so, but always have a (rather newer) spare tube in my saddlebag so not so bothered.