Flat tyres

Keiron Curtis

I want to commute on a regular basis,but flat tyres are becoming more and more frequent,causing problems with punctuality,and quite frankly,taking the pleasure out of the experience.

Have any of you amongst the commuting fraternity tried puntureless tyres,I've managed to find "TOOBZ" on the internet,what are they like?Can you advise me?

ScumOfTheRoad

Go to your local bike shop, or go online to Wiggle etc. and buy a pair of Specialized Armadillos. They have a kevlar belt, which means a very high puncture resistance.

At the same time, spend a few quid on a track pump. That is the vertical type of pump, which you stand on the supports and pump up and down. Get one with a pressure guage.
Pump your tyres up really, really hard.
It might surprise you, but road bikes are generally pumped up to over 100 psi.
Obviously a mountain bike will be a lot less!

A combination of kevlar belted tyres and high pressure should see off the punctures.

alfablue

I agree with Specialized Armadillos at the correct pressure (and check your rim tape), or Specialized All Conditions Pro tyres - these are effectively puncture proof in my experience of using them for 4 years.

Another possibility is Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres - these really should be the ultimate in puncture-proofness, but all tyres will allow pinch flats (snake bite) if under inflated.

I would personally not bother with sealants that go in the tubes - they may well just conceal punctures for later reappearance, with difficulty in then making a repair, as the responsible sharp thing will remain in the tyre - best to stop the sharp things getting through in the first place.

What sort of bike are you on?

mazcp

Keiron Curtis wrote:

I want to commute on a regular basis,but flat tyres are becoming more and more frequent,causing problems with punctuality...

Nice pun.
Agree with the advice above. I wouldn't recommend the bog standard Spesh ACs as they are not very puncture-proof in my experience.

Dublin Commuter

There is an awful lot of glass on my commute so after lots of punctures I have found the solution to be:
Specilaized armadillo tyres
Track pump - wheels pumped to 80PSI on my hybrid
As an extra precaution tyre liners - they have saved me on a few occasions despite the fact that I already had the armadillos and the high pressure http://mywheelsandmore.com/bicycles/bic ... eLiner.htm[/list]

Keiron Curtis

OK Alfablue,

I'm about to get a Carreras Subway 8,although I've been riding a Raleigh Chiltern 3-speed town & country bike for over a year now.Still very much the novice,I'm afraid.but flats are making me miserable,there's so much glass everywhere it seems,on the roads,towpaths,cyclepaths,no matter where I seem to go,I end up with a flat.

The tyres suggested so far sound promising,but the "TOOBZ" I found on the internet would seem to guarantee no punctures??Hasn't anyone tried them??

franklin pierce

Keiron Curtis wrote:

The tyres suggested so far sound promising,but the "TOOBZ" I found on the internet would seem to guarantee no punctures??Hasn't anyone tried them??

They don't seem too keen on divulging their "technology" in my quick perusal of their site, but if they are, as I suspect, foam-filled tubes, at least you'll only be out 30 or so, for the pair, when you discover for yourself why these things are generally known to be a terrible idea.

Hint: the entire air chamber of a "normal" tyre is a spring.

Dublin Commuter

2 good tyres, a good track pump and tube liners should reduce the number of punctures you get significantly - 6 punctures a year max. And if you start to get alot of punctures again it probably means that it is time to change your tyres again.

ddraver

yep...tyres and tubes it is........ Spend soem dosh and you ll be fine - touch wood - i have nt had a puncture for months with some decent roadie tyres tubes and checking they re pumped up well


you are cycling 1m away from t kerb are nt you! not in the gutter, if not that will make a huge difference.

alfablue

Agree with Dublin

For ultimate puncture proofness get some Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyre and pum them up to the upper end of the recommended range on the sidewall, and check regularly. Even with loads of glass and debris around you just shouldn't get punctures (okay, maybe 1 in 3 years) - I don't.

ScumOfTheRoad

Kieran, forget the "Toobz"
Another advantage of pumping tyres up really hard is that there is less rolling resistance - ie. the bike feels easier to pedal. If these Toobz are foam filled you will likely have soft squishy tyres.

I have a Subway 8 also - nice bike. I don't use it that often to be honest, and have just left the original tyres on it. Pump em up hard and take care with that glass and you should be OK.

DavidTQ

alfablue wrote:

Agree with Dublin

For ultimate puncture proofness get some Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyre and pum them up to the upper end of the recommended range on the sidewall, and check regularly. Even with loads of glass and debris around you just shouldn't get punctures (okay, maybe 1 in 3 years) - I don't.

I dont wish to tempt fate, but both the spare tubes Ive brought for my bike are unused in their boxes, and my puncture repair kit is unused. Only been 6 months I guess. Id like to see it stay that way.

franklin pierce

DavidTQ wrote:

I dont wish to tempt fate, but both the spare tubes Ive brought for my bike are unused in their boxes, and my puncture repair kit is unused. Only been 6 months I guess. Id like to see it stay that way.

They're more as charms than anything. I carry two spare tubes and a patch kit, and the last time I flatted it was four punctures in the space of six miles*.

If the gods aren't with you, you're screwed.


* Not a latent thorn in the tyre, either. Dif'rent spots every time.

The Lunch

I recently rode to Paris (for charity) in a team of 40+ souls. Those with Armadillos were easy to spot - they were repairing the all-to-frequent punctures of the uninitiated!

I even took a footpump to keep my tyres @ 100psi. 2kg of pump weighed-up against friction-free cycling.

They're not THAT much more expensive and you save on those late-night-home-with-bike-in-a-taxi moments...

flattythehurdler

DO NOT USE armadillos. I have used every kind of tyre in about 6,000 miles commuting yearly and will only use schwalbe marathon pluses which are way way better than anything else. Armadillos are no better than any other tyre, just more expensive, and should be avoided as they offer no more protection than any other normal tyre. Marathon pluses well just pick them up and feel them. I commute over a carpet of glass and get about one puncture a year with them.

alfablue

flattythehurdler wrote:

DO NOT USE armadillos. I have used every kind of tyre in about 6,000 miles commuting yearly and will only use schwalbe marathon pluses which are way way better than anything else. Armadillos are no better than any other tyre, just more expensive, and should be avoided as they offer no more protection than any other normal tyre. Marathon pluses well just pick them up and feel them. I commute over a carpet of glass and get about one puncture a year with them.

I have to disagree, I have tried many tyres including Conti's and Hutchinsons which supposedly had puncture protection. I have used Armadillo 700c tyres on my audax bike for 7 years (got through 2 sets) and have never punctured. I have used Specialized All Conditions Pro's on my mtb commuter - never punctured. All the other brands I have tried have done so. I have ultimate faith in the Marathon Plus tyres (I haven't actually used them though) just by virtue of their design, and good experience touring with Marathon regulars, but to say Armadillos are the same as all the rest is plain wrong. I don't know why you have had a bad experience with them (I wouldn't dare to suggest you used them past their wear limit or underinflated) but I think this is untypical.

Schwalbe Marathon Plus are most probably the Ultimate (although maybe the new Schwalbe Marathon Supremes are the Ultimate ) but the extra weight penalty means I am happy with what I have, in preferance, as they have been 100% puncture free.

Sepulchre

flattythehurdler wrote:

DO NOT USE armadillos. I have used every kind of tyre in about 6,000 miles commuting yearly and will only use schwalbe marathon pluses which are way way better than anything else. Armadillos are no better than any other tyre, just more expensive, and should be avoided as they offer no more protection than any other normal tyre. Marathon pluses well just pick them up and feel them. I commute over a carpet of glass and get about one puncture a year with them.

Yep I have to agree with you there. I've posted about this very issue on a cycling forum just this week and have found both Specialized Armadillos and the Elites not fit for purpose, i.e. commuting.
http://groups.google.co.uk/group/uk.rec ... 158916f08b
I do watch out for glass and keep relatively far away from the gutter but they are NOT up to the job. Plain and simple by virtue of me repeatedly bending over yet another puncture in London.

I appreciate others may have a different experience, but mine is awful.

I'm gonna buy some Marathon tyres tonight. Should have done it ages ago and taken the hint whilst reading about the Battle of Marathon.

Cheers

jumbolugs

For those using 650C wheels: Continental Sport Contact tyres are excellent, probably the most puncture-resistant tyres I've ever used, also very low rolling resistance. I use a cycle path with a lot of glass on it and the only puncture I've had this year was when I rode over a one-inch nail

alfablue

jumbolugs wrote:

For those using 650C wheels: Continental Sport Contact tyres are excellent, probably the most puncture-resistant tyres I've ever used, also very low rolling resistance. I use a cycle path with a lot of glass on it and the only puncture I've had this year was when I rode over a one-inch nail

I tried these for a few months, found the rubber soft and sticky (retains debris), wore fast, picked up punctures, went back to Spesh All Conditions Pro's, 100% reliability restored. One mans meat...