Do you check your tyres for glass?

snooks

Well it had to happen on the way to work eventually...My first punc***e!

Riding along, tell tale wiggle of the rear wheel, and the sinking feeling as the tyre deflates beneath me. Anyway it wasn't until I took the tyre off, had a good lood at it, and saw the amount of small pieces of glass in my Schwalbe City Jet tyres. 4 or 5 pieces (including the offending air remover) in the rear tyre and two more bits in the front.

It wasn't until I had a close look that I noticed they were any there at all....Anyone else check their tyres for glass regularly?

jstutters

Anyone else check their tyres for glass regularly?

Yep, I give the tyres a quick look over and a brush before the bike goes back in the garage in the evening. Might seem a bit excessive but the road through Acton is pretty much paved with broken bottles at the moment :evil: .

Clever Pun

now and again yes... flick out the bits leaving the scars in the tyres

it's scary how much stuff you cycle over without seeing as such

pst88

not regularly, every now and again.

karl j

its scary the size of some of the bits of glass and stuff you can pick up without P*'ing too.

So in answer to the question - Oh Yes

woodford2barbican

No. Can't be bothered. Puncture every two months or so. Don't really mind that much either - only takes 15 minutes to patch and inflate with CO2 pump.

_Brun_

Collected brand new bike Monday evening. Did the 8-mile round trip to work on it yesterday, followed by 15 miles round north London in the evening...

...puncture on the way in this morning.

downfader

woodford2barbican wrote:

No. Can't be bothered. Puncture every two months or so. Don't really mind that much either - only takes 15 minutes to patch and inflate with CO2 pump.

You're not as lazy as me then. Thats why i bought Race Lites - for the strip protection in them. I dont think I could bother with sorting out tyres all the time. I've had the Lites on since before christmas and they've been great - only a small "slash" or two from broken bottles on friday (not enough to even worry about)

prj45

jstutters wrote:

Might seem a bit excessive but the road through Acton is pretty much paved with broken bottles at the moment :evil: .

Acton and Shep Bush on a Monday morning is like riding through that scene out of Die Hard when he runs across the glass.

That and just outside the Walkabout on the Embankment.

dondare

Perhaps once a year. I use Schwalbe Marathon Plus so the puncture fairy has no power over me.

prj45

dondare wrote:

Perhaps once a year. I use Schwalbe Marathon Plus so the puncture fairy has no power over me.

Ah yes, but what's going to slow you down more, the occasional puncture which robs seven minutes of commute time (and 10 of free time as you repair the tube) or the slowing effect of heavy bullet proof tyres?

dondare

prj45 wrote:

dondare wrote:

Perhaps once a year. I use Schwalbe Marathon Plus so the puncture fairy has no power over me.

Ah yes, but what's going to slow you down more, the occasional puncture which robs seven minutes of commute time (and 10 of free time as you repair the tube) or the slowing effect of heavy bullet proof tyres?

I don't mind being slow, or having to work harder to be fast. I do mind having to change an inner tube in the cold, or dark, or wet or at any other time for that matter.
In the past I've had punctures caused by tiny bits of glass that I couldn't find in the tyre but stayed in and simply punctured the new tube; and I've had punctures every day for a month which made me give up cycling for a while. SMPs work for me now.

victor ludorum

Weird. what do you guys do to your tyres to puncture so frequently?

I ride more than 9000 miles a year of which around 5000 is commuting. (I'm not making out that this is a titanic amount, I just say it for reference sake). I also ride through the broken glass of Acton and Shepherds Bush, on Conti Ultrasport Kevlars (which are supposed to be puncture prone) and hardly ever puncture (I will now get six).

I had a double recently, but I had accidentally ridden over a steel belt, edge up in the road, which also cut a gash up my leg. I've ridden Schwalbe Marathons and I doubt they would have survived that. The time before that was the day I rode to Hyde Park to see the TdF prologue last year. More frequently than that and I'd think something was wrong.

Surf-Matt

Don - looked at the Schwalbe website and those SMPs do look good. What sort of pressure do you run them at?

Might stick some on my old Stumpy (fully rigid) - my "town" and potential tri training bike.

dang65

I fix any punctures I get with the tube still on the bike. Just flip the bike over, lever off the tyre, pump up the tube and find the puncture. While I'm waiting for the glue to go off I make sure I find whatever the cause of it was. Having the tube still on the bike helps to locate the position on the tyre where it was punctured. If I find the cause and clear it quickly then I usually go round the rest of the tyre looking for anything else which might get through.

Biggest cause of punctures round my way though is thorns from hedges, and they tend to go straight through even Schwalbe Marathons, so "checking" for those is not usually an issue because they've already done the damage.

My missus got a puncture once, about a mile from home, and walked the bike back without removing the thorn that had caused the problem. When I went out to fix it, the tube looked like it had been the victim of a crazed knife attacker.

dondare

Surf-Matt wrote:

Don - looked at the Schwalbe website and those SMPs do look good. What sort of pressure do you run them at?

I don't check the pressure, I just pump 'em up hard.

jedster

Victor,

Conti Ultrasport Kevlars

Supposed to be puncture prone? What's the kevlar for exactly?

Seriously, I think you're going to be stalked by the puncture fairy after that post. She laughs in the face of puncture free hubris!

J

snooks

I did have a thought...Feel free to shoot me down in a blaze of glory or just ridicule me forever onwards....but

Seeing where all the glass is embedding it's self in the central part that runs on the road, and that's where the glass goes in. I got thinking about how tough rim tape is at stopping sharp spokes....

So...would there be any merit of sticking a layer of rim tape round the inside of the tyre, or would the glass just cut through this as well??

Or should I just patch my tyre up, and forget about it till the next one strikes?

Running 1.5 26" Schalbe City Jets btw

dondare

Try it and let us know how well it works.

ESSEXMIRAGE

I run Schwalbe Marathon plus and don't check them any more than once a week but they seem to hold pressure well and grip well in both dry and wet conditions, can't say ive found any glass embedded yet . . . . . . must just be lucky (so far) or perhaps its the wobble stylie riding I do that dodges it all ha ha :roll:

head wind

I promise I don’t work for Conti but I can’t praise Gatorskins enough. I started commuting along the A13 cycle path (sponsored by the broken glass collective) and nearly gave up I had so many punctures.

Now ride 23mm gators and not a single puncture in 6 months this is on a 20 mile round trip commute and weekend rides pushing my luck on tow paths

victor ludorum

jedster wrote:

Victor,

Conti Ultrasport Kevlars

Supposed to be puncture prone? What's the kevlar for exactly?

Seriously, I think you're going to be stalked by the puncture fairy after that post. She laughs in the face of puncture free hubris!

J

I know. But seriously. I was replacing the Vittorio Rubinos I was running on my commuter and came across the Conti Ultrasport Kevlars. I looked at a whole bunch of consumer reviews which basically said 'Kevlar puncture resistance? Hah!', but was won over by their other attractive features (i.e. dirt cheapness) and bought them. As I say, so far, I've only had the one incident and it was a biggy.

Maybe I'm just more fastidious than most. But, as I said, I can't avoid the broken glass etc of Acton and Shepherds Bush any better than anyone else. The Contis are basically treadless, which might mean that despite riding over them, they pick-up fewer potential puncture causing glass fragments, sharp stones and thorns than treaded tyres. Also, I keep my tyre pressure high, because I hate the sluggish feeling you get otherwise, and that makes puncturing less likely than soft tyres.

I am waiting for nemesis to follow my hubris...

Greg T

victor ludorum wrote:

follow my hubris...

I've followed through on my Hubris, Guniness as well but those Greek Lagers are a killer - not good.

I use Conti Gatorskins for no better reason than the LBS said I should try them...

I carry three tubes with me now (one in bum bag thing underslung saddle and two in rucksac) just in case I get a double pinch puncture on the same manhole cover (Sheen - pushed it home).....

I reckon on puncturing every couple of months on a thirty mile a day 5 day a week (mostly - cough) commute...

After reading this thread I checked my tyres for glass the weekend (as a bit of light relief from trying to get my shagging deraillier to work on "one click") and dug out five shards.... I don't usually bother but think I'll do it as part of my weekly "cup of tea and clean my bike" Sunday morning bloke routine.

Surf-Matt

I actually tried to puncture my new tyres (Conti Mountain Kings Protections) by cycling over glass, through brambles and over spiky branches on Saturday but failed.

Which is handy.

victor ludorum

Strangely, even though I haven't ridden since Friday, my rear wheel was flat as a pancake this afternoon. (I'm working from home, but was going out for a lunch time ride....)
Seems to be the valve rather than a puncture. Hmm... must stop mixing the Hubris Extra Strength with ouzo...

'Like flies to wanton boys are we to the gods,
they kill us for their sport.'
(King Lear, Act IV sc i)

victor ludorum

You couldn't make it up.

The puncture fairy has been and wreaked her vengeance for my lack of humility. I'm sitting here looking at punctures, front and back... :oops:

I'd just replaced one of the tubes because of a faulty valve, and now its holed...

For some reason the kevlar beads on my tyres, normally a dream to change, are being especially recalcitrant. I've split one tyre lever and another seems to have bent itself straight (and they're Park Tools as well!) I'm going to go and get some of the Soma steel core levers and have a good look at myself (and my tyres).

Greg T

You have scared the air out of your tubes and and welded your tyres to your rims with your power!

I'd buy new wheels (made out of Kryptonite) and hang these with your other trophies.....

ChrisLS

...I had to stop and pick glass outta my rear tyre this morning. There is a lovely little footbridge that passes over the cycle lane. The cycle lane used to be a road but is now closed to cars, rather idyllic, but some person the evening before had decided to drop a bottle from the foot bridge and smash! I ride through the debris... :? :x