Had my 1st Puncture This Morning

Soni

As some of you may recall (Alfablue especially ), i purchased a Trek 1.5 2009 road bike last Saturday.

I have been riding it everyday over the last week, and one day through the week went out twice once in the morning and again during the evening.

I was warned by my LBS that i need to stay away from potholes otherwise i WILL buckle the wheels and get punctures as the tyres are inflated to 110psi (i'm 18st).

I've been hitting a few potholes through the week and nothing happened, as sometimes they are unavoidable due to lorrys/cars coming up the side of you.

This morning i went on an 8-9 mile ride, and about 1.5 miles away from home (luckily as had to get to work) i felt the rim against the road, got off, and my back tyre was flat :twisted:

I just hope i don't have a buckle.....

If i wanted to upgrade the wheels to something a lot more robust what would you recommend? Also, what about upgrading the tyres so i don't get anymore punctures? As i don't fancy replacing an innertube every week! :twisted:

jeepie

I'm planning to get Schwalbe Marathons for my next set of tyres as not altogether pleased with my Bontrager hard case as I've had quite a few punctures - discussed on here. If you are riding for pleasure i.e. not getting somewhere on time, then you can go for a tyre which is more fun to ride, but less puncture proof. If you are commuting to work, as it sounds like, then the consensus on here - I'm quite newbie as well - seems to be Schwalbe Marathon plus tyres so you could try those!

I get less punctures when I:

1) Inflate to 120 psi - scary to keep pumping the air in - but go for it. Be brave.
2) Check that my inner tube isn't bunched around the valve.
3) Remove that screwy metal thing around the valve
4) Check tyres for stones and chips and so forth regularly.

Stronger wheels - I'll defer that to someone with more knowledge than I....ain't that happy with my wheels either so monitoring this thread closely!

meagain

I think in danger of merging two different issues here - tube-deflationary tendencies separate from wheel/rim strength, though the former can have an impact (sic) on the integrity of the wheel which is dependant on its "strength".

And sudden loss of air (you can see that I don't use the P word unnecessarily!) is surely not related to rider weight. Pretty random event anyway: up until about 4 weeks ago I'd had the misfortune maybe twice in 3 months - then 3 in 4 days, different routes, different bikes, different tyres!

No doubt the better (usually more expensive) tyres that claim "resistant" are just that: they are not invincible! Slime can work well in some tyres IMO/E.

As for wheels, other than lightweight "racing" wheels I don't think that any shouldn't stand up to 16 stone. And if hit a hole hard enough to burst a tube, then whatever the rider's stature many a rim will suffer damage.

synchronicity

For relatively cheap, good tyres, you can't go past continental ultra sport. I've got them on a few bikes and never had a puncture!

Mavic aksiums are pretty bombproof. or anything else with 28+ spokes

Soni

Hi guys, thank you for your replies.

I've just looked at te spec on line for my bike and apparently i have Bontrager SSR wheels and Bontrager Select 700x25c tyres.

I'm not sure how many spokes i have, will have a count up in a bit and post back.

Anyway, got up at 6am this morning so i can replace this innertube.

By the way, just for the record, do you guys replace the tube or just repair the puncture with a puncture repair kit? Is a repair really adequate?

alfablue

Puncture repairs are entirely adequate if done properly, will last the life of the tube.

Did you find the thing that caused your puncture?

Note that punctures can be caused by penetrating objects, obviously, but also "snakebite" or "pinch flats" where the tyre is suddenly compressed say by hitting a pothole, and you get a characteristic double puncture on the inside surface of the tube where it has pinched on the rim - these are avoided by having sufficient tyre pressure - the tyre pressure you run needs to increase with increasing weights.

You can also get punctures from the inside if the rim tape is poor/absent and isn't protecting from the sharp edges of the spoke holes/spokes.

Above all, try and find the cause of the puncture before reinserting repaired or new tube, or you may not get very far.

I use Specialized All Conditions Pro's, inflated to 115psi (I'm quite heavy) I do not get punctures.

Personally I wouldn't use slime on the basis that it conceals a puncture so it can "let go" at a later date, and tube repairs may not be possible.

Bikefotos

Had a cracking puncture on Thursday - a shard of glass about an inch long, straight through the tyre and both sides of the tube!! It's easier to stick a new tube in when out on the road and repair the tube when you get back home. Always check the tyre for the cause first though, 'cos otherwise you won't get far before you puncture again.

I've got Continental Sport Contacts on my commuting bike (MTB) and thus far haven't punctured with these. Very good tyres.

PS Why don't they sell all beer in cans?There's just so much broken glass about these days.

pintoo

I had a very poor experience with Schwalbe Marathon Racers, but I'm told this was uncharacteristic. Fair dues to Schwalbe, they replaced them for me FOC. I haven't put them back on the bike yet, but plan to as their ride quality is far better than the Conti City Contacts I got as replacements. The Contis, to their credit, have not even lost pressure let alone had a flat.

I have Conti Sport Contacts on my other bike. Fantastic tyres. Can't fault them at all. Rode over some broken glass this morning and made the "ouchdamnouch" face. THankfully, they seemed to have come through unscathed.

Agree with others - seriously doubt you need to replace your wheels. And if you do plan to, you might be very shocked at how much that'll cost on top of, and in comparison to the total cost your new bike.

chuckcork

Bikefotos wrote:

Had a cracking puncture on Thursday - a shard of glass about an inch long, straight through the tyre and both sides of the tube!! It's easier to stick a new tube in when out on the road and repair the tube when you get back home. Always check the tyre for the cause first though, 'cos otherwise you won't get far before you puncture again.

I've got Continental Sport Contacts on my commuting bike (MTB) and thus far haven't punctured with these. Very good tyres.

PS Why don't they sell all beer in cans?There's just so much broken glass about these days.

I've had a nail and a screw through mine over the years, wasn't hard to work out what the cause was, but for the most part either glass or pinch flats.

I just wish otherwise the wisdom of finding the puncture wasn't correct....IME this is the slow part of changing a tube, which is made all the more diificult if you're next to a busy road and so can't hear anything other than cars, and can't feel the air coming out do to wind/frozen fingers.

Pity there isn't a quick and convenient way to locate a puncture, coloured smoke coming out or something?

BTW, close to 2500 miles on my sunday bike without a flat, the tubes that came with the new bike in April still on it. Surely a record? (Probably get one this sunday now)

alfablue

Bikefotos wrote:

I've got Continental Sport Contacts on my commuting bike (MTB) and thus far haven't punctured with these. Very good tyres.

People have such varying experiences with the same kit - I found the Conti Sports Contacts very poor, I tried them on my commuter after my last set of Specialized All Conditions Pro's wore out, just for a change. Within 3 moths they were noticeably worn and were puncturing weekly. The "anti-puncture" guarantee is worthless, no way am I taking the tyre to the bike shop every time it punctures. I think the rubber compound and the carcass are too soft on these and some other Conti tyres, this may make for good performance initially, but things soon deteriorate. I went back to the Spesh, normal puncture free service resumed.

chuckcork

Ah, puncture guarantees from a LBS....my local one in twickenham said that (Moore Bros) when I got some specialized all condition, not worth a damn though.

If you have to bring in bike with tyre on, particularly if the puncture happens at some inconvenient spot like say 4 miles from home on the way to work (6 miles from home), then you are obviously not going to muck around walking for miles and miles for the sake of a new tube.

False advertising I reckon.

jeepie

Hey Soni - how about changing just one thing at a time to start with. So pump to > 110 psi and see if the punctures stop! Good luck! If they happen again then you can change the next thing e.g. rim tape, maintenace etc...

northernneil

you are going to get punctures no matter what - easiest thing is to carry spare tubes with you then you can repair them back home and use them as the spares to carry next time - incidentally when you repair them if you have a workshop/garage or area where you can do it properly I place a block of wood and a brick over the repair patch and leave it to dry over night, it really helps and tube is as good as new afterwards

MRadd

I've been using Spesh Mondo Pro's for the past 1000miles.... AND (touch wood) NO punctures to date!

I always keep my tyres up to 120psi and check the rims almost daily before riding for buckles etc. Plus avoiding pot holes round were i live... now thats another sport...

bunnerscj

Is there a way of going tubeless like mountain bikers do ?
Seems if you could get stans rim tape and put some slime in this would reduce everyone's punctures ?
I use it on my MTB and its great stuff - 2 yrs, no puctures in the most extreme circs !

:roll:

MRadd

Think i may have partly Jinxed myself by saying i hadn't had any punctures in past 1000miles...

I haven't still... but they guy i went riding with today... he had 2 in 10 minutes... and he's using the same tyres i am... opps...

rally200

Soni

What ever you do, don't ruin the fun of your new road bike with Schwalbe Marathon PLUS ! - I've got them on my commuting hack and though they do exactly what they say on the can (no p...tures in 18 months of daily commuting) they are heavy as hell, and no matter how hard you pump em rolling resistance is awful. but for getting to work, I've saved a huge amount of time not fiddling with levers and mini-pumps at the road side.

Soni

alfablue wrote:

Puncture repairs are entirely adequate if done properly, will last the life of the tube.

Did you find the thing that caused your puncture?

Note that punctures can be caused by penetrating objects, obviously, but also "snakebite" or "pinch flats" where the tyre is suddenly compressed say by hitting a pothole, and you get a characteristic double puncture on the inside surface of the tube where it has pinched on the rim - these are avoided by having sufficient tyre pressure - the tyre pressure you run needs to increase with increasing weights.

You can also get punctures from the inside if the rim tape is poor/absent and isn't protecting from the sharp edges of the spoke holes/spokes.

Above all, try and find the cause of the puncture before reinserting repaired or new tube, or you may not get very far.

I use Specialized All Conditions Pro's, inflated to 115psi (I'm quite heavy) I do not get punctures.

Personally I wouldn't use slime on the basis that it conceals a puncture so it can "let go" at a later date, and tube repairs may not be possible.

Hi AlfaBlue, only noticed the replies since my last post purely by luck - wasn't notified by email as i normally do...... :?

Anyway, yes i sorted out my puncture yesterday morning. I took the old tube out, pumped it up and found the leak, it was a small hole, i was just about to put the new tube straight in but then thought i really ought to check nothing is in the tyre first so took the tyre off the rim and felt around the inside of the tyre with my fingers and felt something, looking closely i could see a small hole in the tyre, so i pushed at it from the inside and something started squeezing out, i pulled it out with a pair of pinctures and it ended up being a blade of glass!

Put the new tube in, but only pumped it up to 100psi as it said maximum pressure on the wall of the tyre is 100psi but I could feel the rim slightly when riding, can i go a little higher? I'm sure my LBS told me they inflated them to 110psi when i collected the bike.....

Went to Halfords and got some patches that are feathered around the edge, the guy said these would be the better ones for a road bike tube, also picked up a tube of glue that he recommended. Going to try out a repair of the old tube through the week as kepy in just in case a repair works - as a tube from Halfords is £4.99 each! Could do with out paying out £20.00 per month on tubes!

Soni

Bikefotos wrote:

I've got Continental Sport Contacts on my commuting bike (MTB) and thus far haven't punctured with these. Very good tyres.

I think these are what the guy in Halfords recommended me yesterday when i went in to get a puncture repair kit, he said they were Continentals and they were about £21.99 each, but he said they went up to about £70.00 each......

Soni

jeepie wrote:

Hey Soni - how about changing just one thing at a time to start with. So pump to > 110 psi and see if the punctures stop! Good luck! If they happen again then you can change the next thing e.g. rim tape, maintenace etc...

Hi Mate, will 110psi be ok then? As i replaced the tube yesterday but only pumped to 100psi, i'm sure i could feel the rim on the road in some places, but didn't prior to the puncture - i'm sure my LBS told me they pumped to 110psi when i collected my bike, but on the wall of the tyre it says 100psi max....

Soni

rally200 wrote:

Soni

What ever you do, don't ruin the fun of your new road bike with Schwalbe Marathon PLUS ! - I've got them on my commuting hack and though they do exactly what they say on the can (no p...tures in 18 months of daily commuting) they are heavy as hell, and no matter how hard you pump em rolling resistance is awful. but for getting to work, I've saved a huge amount of time not fiddling with levers and mini-pumps at the road side.

Hi Rally200, i'll bare that in mind, i suppose its either a compromise of speed for reliability, or an even balance between speed and reliability.....

jeepie

Hi Soni,

I guess if the wall rims say 100 then that's what you should do... Mine I go 120. Alpha Blue goes 110. Basically get 'em as hard as you are able to......Before I wasn't getting my tyres pressures nearly high enough due to a rubbish pump so actually getting these pinch flats which I reckon you are getting too........

Good luck mate - keep me posted!

Cheers
J

alfablue

Hi Soni

I reckon you can have puncture protection without the weight of the Marathon Pluses. My Specialized All Condition's pro's weigh 225g, and they don't puncture. Schwalbe MP's, which are superb for their stated benefits, but they weigh 520g for the 700x25 size. I would use them on a tourer but not my best road bike.

I don't rate conti's (they do puncture a lot in my experience). Maybe try and find a proper bike shop for hopefully better advice (though your Halfords may be unusually good).

When you repair the tube, make sure you apply the rubber solution and wait till it dries before applying the patch. Hopefully you can minimise or eradicate punctures (almost), and repair the tubes when they happen (well, swap the tube and repair at home). I have had some spare tubes for a few years now, I always carry one AND a repair kit, but they have remained unused, but you can never say never...

As for tyre pressures, this chart shows minimum inflation pressures:



Calculate your weight, plus bike weight, and for the rear take 70% of this for the load, add 25% for riding on poor roads. For me, using 700x23 tyres this gives me about 115psi.

Soni

Looks like i'm going to have to upgrade these tyres sooner rather than later.....

For those of you who posted in my other thread re:chain rusting, i bought some white lightning lube and went out to the garage tonight to degrease and re-lube my chain, and when i turned the bike over, i grabed the front wheel and its as flat as a pancake!

I'm not having a lot of luck here, as i had a puncture Friday morning and now i've got another one, the strange thing is i managed to get home ok this morning so it must have happened just before i got off.....its the front wheel this time, whereas it was the rear wheel on Friday morning.

I drove around the route tonight that i ride in the mornings, and was surprised to find its just a little over 10 miles!

But seriously need to get these punctures down to a minimum - i inflated the rear wheel to 120psi the other morning after replacing the tube, but didn't re-check the front, how often do you think i should be checking the tyre pressures?

Soni

Anybody ever used those feathered patches for puncure repairs?

I've been having a nightmare this evening trying to repair a puncture, i had better success once i used sandpaper to rub the tube....however, those feathered patches, i removed the foil on the back, and the patch is left on a clear piece of plastic, once i apply the glue and wait for it to go tacky, i place it ontop of the glue, press it down and rub it all over, and i've even left it for half hour at a time, and it peels back the corners and edges of the feathered patch when you try and remove the clear plastic......i've left it for half hour, and i've left it for 10 minutes, i've left it for two minutes, i've tried everything but it still lifts the edges and corners when i try and remove it....

Does anybody have any tips?

alfablue

You need to split the plastic in the middle by folding the tube and patch over, then peel away from the middle.

Soni

alfablue wrote:

You need to split the plastic in the middle by folding the tube and patch over, then peel away from the middle.

Thanks AlfaBlue, why dont they tell you this on the packaging......

One last thing, how long should you leave the patch/glue for until you pump up?

Even though it started peeling away from the edge/corners, it held up this morning on my 10 mile ride

jeepie

is morning so it must have happened just before i got off..

yea - I got some good advice on here re the above. Did you remove the twisty metal ring thing near the valve? If not - I would recommend it.

Also try 120psi if you are cool with that both tyres and check 'em Sunday and Weds which is what I do.....The monitor to see if the punctures stop.

You'll get there mate. If you are having an utter nightmare then may be you could try Schwalbe Marathon PLUS but these might be a bit of a bore to ride on cos of the resistance on the road.

Soni

jeepie wrote:

is morning so it must have happened just before i got off..

yea - I got some good advice on here re the above. Did you remove the twisty metal ring thing near the valve? If not - I would recommend it.

Also try 120psi if you are cool with that both tyres and check 'em Sunday and Weds which is what I do.....The monitor to see if the punctures stop.

You'll get there mate. If you are having an utter nightmare then may be you could try Schwalbe Marathon PLUS but these might be a bit of a bore to ride on cos of the resistance on the road.

Hi mate, yep both tyres are inflated to 120psi.....

The tyres just seem to be so thin.......think its going to have to be an upgrade,

I found a good deal on Ribble Cycles earlier, 20 packs of Continental Race innertubes for £35.00 which i think worked out at about £1.30 per tube, a bit better than the £4.99 that Halfords are charging...

alfablue

I think 20 inner tubes should last you 40 years (it would me), something is not right, you shouldn't be getting so many punctures. The £35 would be better spent getting some good tyres like Specialized All conditions Pro's (I have them on all 3 of my bikes, never punctured in maybe 8000 miles).

Soni

alfablue wrote:

I think 20 inner tubes should last you 40 years (it would me), something is not right, you shouldn't be getting so many punctures. The £35 would be better spent getting some good tyres like Specialized All conditions Pro's (I have them on all 3 of my bikes, never punctured in maybe 8000 miles).

AlfaBlue, hope you don't mind me asking mate (won't be wasted advise as definetely will be upgrading) but could you point me towards a really decent tyre which will prevent so many puctures but one that will also NOT spoil my ride/speed?

The specialised are the wrong colour really for my green/white bike, don't mind just plain black.

Thanks in advance mate.

Soni