Today is a bad day - my first puncture :(

steve77uk

Rolled out of bed, cycling kit on, got bike out of shed, loaded it up, just about to leave and find...

...my rear is as flat as a pancake!!!! SO disheartening...

I did hit a few bumps yesterday by accident and I think the council cut the hedges next to my route so I am not that surprised, just annoyed I didn't spot it last night - although perhaps there was nothing to spot last night...?

So, considering it is the rear wheel (my nightmare scenario) I am interested to find out how long it takes you guys to change or repair an inner tube.

Do you attempt repair? Do you just change it for another?

I have a puncture repair kit and also some stickies which apparently you just stick over...

I think I am a bit annoyed as I thought these tyres were suppose to be puncture resistant! Going to have to go in the car today as not got the time to change it now and will probably end up in the car anyway due to getting myself in a mess!

Thanks in advance!

Steve

The complaining tadpole

What tyres do you have? I bought a set of Marathon Plus' & they are an absolute b*gger
to fit

linsen

I put on a new set of "puncture resistant" tyres recently and got my first puncture within 30 miles

I just put in the spare new inner tube I had and faffed about with the repair at home later. Removed the glass from the tyre and replaced it - all took 5 mins.

15 mins later I just about managed to get enough air in the tyre to limp home :roll:

With a track pump at home this would have taken much less time, but for out and about I have just bought two CO2 canisters and an adaptor. I was frozen by the time I finished, AND I didn't get to finish the ride :?

cjcp

steve77uk wrote:

Rolled out of bed, cycling kit on, got bike out of shed, loaded it up, just about to leave and find...

...my rear is as flat as a pancake!!!! SO disheartening...

I did hit a few bumps yesterday by accident and I think the council cut the hedges next to my route so I am not that surprised, just annoyed I didn't spot it last night - although perhaps there was nothing to spot last night...?

So, considering it is the rear wheel (my nightmare scenario) I am interested to find out how long it takes you guys to change or repair an inner tube.

Do you attempt repair? Do you just change it for another?

I have a puncture repair kit and also some stickies which apparently you just stick over...

I think I am a bit annoyed as I thought these tyres were suppose to be puncture resistant! Going to have to go in the car today as not got the time to change it now and will probably end up in the car anyway due to getting myself in a mess!

Thanks in advance!

Steve

I repair mine unless the location (e.g. next to the valve) makes it pointless. At £5 a pop for a tube, it's always worth checking whether you can repair it and, if you've tried, but failed, you've only wasted one little patch.

Be careful not to over-inflate the tyre. There'll be a PSI guide on the sidewall. If you over-inflate, you risk a pinch-flat.

Time-wise, I tend to insert a new inner tube and then repair at home. Check the rim to see if there are dents or spokes or other bits which might be the cause, and obviously the tyre itself. If you've got what you think might be a big hole in the tyre (i.e. one which other road guff might get in easily), when the tyre's deflated, insert superglue into the hole and push the tyre together for a bit. This should get you home (which means you should carry superglue with you) .

NFMC

I thought that pinch flats came when a tyre was under-inflated?

I've given up on using patches and puncture repairs. I just use a new inner-tube. I find that once a tube starts getting punctures then you can never get it right again.

farrell

It's a puncture, it's happens, get over it - it takes less than five minutes to fix.

Don't let it ruin your day.

BTW, Superglue never works on tyres and if it makes contact with the innertube it will dissolve it....

weapons

Has anyone used the slime innertubes, that seal the tube if they puncure?

What do you think of them? Once punctured, do they need to be replaced, or does the sealant hold for further riding?

roger_merriman

slime works well for thorns and like but fails with pinch flats. it's also heavy and messy i personally don't use it any more, if the bike needs it i fit fairy proof tires.

alfablue

never used slime so my reasons for not doing so are based on prejudice, but I think:

1) I want to know when I have punctured, not have it saved up to let go at a later date

2) It increases weight, rotating weight being the worst kind

3) Tubes will not be repairable if slime fails

4) Cost

5) may unbalance wheel until slime is distributed during ride

6) bike shops (I have heard) might no want to mess with wheels and tyres gunked with slime

7) good tyres, well inflated, and periodically inspected (for me) remain absolutely puncture free - at least for the last 4 years!

8 ) may cause problems with presta valves and inflation

9) you still need to carry a spare tube, pump and repair kit just in case slime fails

10) preventing punctures is easy, repairing them is easy

So, not for me, but the above, as I say, is based on supposition as I would never use the stuff. (Once used something similar when a motorbike courier, didn't work, and made a right mess of everything).

cjcp

BTW, Superglue never works on tyres and if it makes contact with the innertube it will dissolve it....

It's worked on three pairs of Contis I've had. Perhaps it's down to the particular make of tyre/compound. Good to know about the dissolving the inner tube point though.

@NFMC - is there an impact puncture then? Mine have come when I've hit a hole and the wheel has hit the edge of the hole.

spen666

steve77uk wrote:

Rolled out of bed, cycling kit on, got bike out of shed, loaded it up, just about to leave and find...

...my rear is as flat as a pancake!!!! SO disheartening...
...

If you are lucky you will find its only flat at the bottom of the tyre....


I'll get my coat

itboffin

One of my engineers following in the support vehicle will do a quick wheel swap and I'm back on my way, usually 10-15 secs or so, of course we don't repair the puncture we just throw the wheel thing away

doog442

keep a spare innertube mate and whack it on.....fix the othe tube later..ive got tubes with loads of repairs on them

Get a track pump for home and a good quality mini pump for the road

Ive got some of those 'stickies' as you describe but they dont look good for a permanent repair...buy a cheapo halfords kit and use the proper rubber squares with glue

check the inside and outside of the tyre and more often than not you will find the piece of flint or thorn still in there..

Every few days check your tyres and you will find alsorts half in an out, prize them out before they work themselves in.

There is nothing more satisfying than fixing a pu***ure and cycling off with dirty hands

(ps- have some of the disposable gloves handy- then when you are in the middle of a well hard estate with your bike upside down wearing blue rubber gloves..the gathering crowd of watching chavs can have a brilliant laugh at your expense..has that ever happend to me? ....

steve77uk

farrell wrote:

It's a puncture, it's happens, get over it - it takes less than five minutes to fix.

Don't let it ruin your day.

BTW, Superglue never works on tyres and if it makes contact with the innertube it will dissolve it....

It is more the point that it is my first ever puncture, my first bike where my Dad doesn't maintain it for me, (I am now 31 not 12 since I last rode a bike!) where I have had to repair it myself...

One very messy kitchen floor, 40 minutes later and I find that I put the tyre back on the wrong way (there is a drive arrow and it is now pointing backwards!)...

I have learnt to wear latex gloves next time, and also to put newspaper down beforehand and maybe a good idea to keep the bike clean now and then... I have also learn to hover up the dust first and not use a wet wipe!

But at the end of it all with a new innertube, thinking it took me a while, put it on the wrong way, hurrah I have done it! - it was flat a couple of hours later!!!!

"I am still getting over it"...

Oh well, looks like I didn't run my fingers inside the tyre before I put it back on, but couldn't see anything obvious, good job I was not on a commute in the dark like I usually am...

Good lesson, maybe I could have done it quicker but for someone that is not a very good manual or DIY person, at least I tried and will learn... I will leave it till the weekend now and have a other go outside in the daylight so I don't get any more grief from the wife!

Steve

steve77uk

farrell wrote:

It's a puncture, it's happens, get over it - it takes less than five minutes to fix.

Don't let it ruin your day.

BTW, Superglue never works on tyres and if it makes contact with the innertube it will dissolve it....

It is more the point that it is my first ever puncture, my first bike where my Dad doesn't maintain it for me, (I am now 31 not 12 since I last rode a bike!) where I have had to repair it myself...

One very messy kitchen floor, 40 minutes later and I find that I put the tyre back on the wrong way (there is a drive arrow and it is now pointing backwards!)...

I have learnt to wear latex gloves next time, and also to put newspaper down beforehand and maybe a good idea to keep the bike clean now and then... I have also learn to hover up the dust first and not use a wet wipe!

But at the end of it all with a new innertube, thinking it took me a while, put it on the wrong way, hurrah I have done it! - it was flat a couple of hours later!!!!

"I am still getting over it"...

Oh well, looks like I didn't run my fingers inside the tyre before I put it back on, but couldn't see anything obvious, good job I was not on a commute in the dark like I usually am...

Good lesson, maybe I could have done it quicker but for someone that is not a very good manual or DIY person, at least I tried and will learn... I will leave it till the weekend now and have a other go outside in the daylight so I don't get any more grief from the wife!

Steve

Simon the Pieman

Well done Steve. I did my first dad free puncture repair and it took me about an hour and I looked at the video on this site on how to change it. Had the laptop in the kitchen!

I am down to about 20 mins now and have managed to change one outside of the house. Bit of a catch 22 though as you only improve the more punctures you get.

A - W

I had my first puncture before Christmas in a year or two of commuting.

I think it's more down the luck then anything else not having them.

Bikefotos

But at the end of it all with a new innertube, thinking it took me a while, put it on the wrong way, hurrah I have done it! - it was flat a couple of hours later!!!!

Best thing to do is replace the tube with a new one, repair the punctured tube, inflate and leave overnight to see if it deflates or not. Very often you will puncture in a couple of places ie glass straight through the tube puncturing both sides and snakebites. Saves a lot of hassle with mounting and dismounting the tyre. Always run your fingers round the tyre before inserting a tube. A good tip is to do this with soft tissue paper which will leave a trace if there is something sharp in the tyre - or look for blood !!

Punctures are like buses - none for a while then a few together!!

TRADESIZE

it is essential before you start regular commuting that you familiarise yourself with a puncture repair/innertube change procedure, so you know exactly what to do at the roadside.

Always carry a spare new unreparied tube, and the appropiate tools to change it.

If you do have to repair a tube, then replace it at the next oppertunity with a new one.

one massive tip: It is essential for speed and the purposes of not being frustrated at the roadside that you carry a small qulaity pump that is a 4x action pump that pumps on the in an out stroke. An old school cheapo pump that only works on the in action will take forever

If you've got quick relase wheels as long a s you have familiarised yourslef with the procedure and have the right tools and pump there is no reason why it should take any more than 10 mins max, 15 at the absolute outset if you aint got quick release!

steve77uk

TRADESIZE wrote:

it is essential before you start regular commuting that you familiarise yourself with a puncture repair/innertube change procedure, so you know exactly what to do at the roadside.

Always carry a spare new unreparied tube, and the appropiate tools to change it.

If you do have to repair a tube, then replace it at the next oppertunity with a new one.

one massive tip: It is essential for speed and the purposes of not being frustrated at the roadside that you carry a small qulaity pump that is a 4x action pump that pumps on the in an out stroke. An old school cheapo pump that only works on the in action will take forever

If you've got quick relase wheels as long a s you have familiarised yourslef with the procedure and have the right tools and pump there is no reason why it should take any more than 10 mins max, 15 at the absolute outset if you aint got quick release!

Well yes, I guess you're right and I have just been lucky up to this point, but did have a repair kit prepared which I carried with me all the time, but practice makes perfect and you will always learn from your mistakes...

Off to the LBS today to get some more replacements and have another go later today!

Bit annoyed that these tyres are suppose to be puncture resistant. The are the originals on the Giant FCR 1 (Kenda I think?)

cuttsnake

Plenty of good advice has aleady been posted. Worn or under inflated tyres increase the odds of picking up holes. Dads - makes sure you teach your kids to fix thier bikes! I have some great memeories of my Old Man working with me on my treadly as a kid.

I always have a spare tube or two and will replace imediately and repair at home (or work) when I have time. So far only one puncture at night on my way home - 2kms from home on late shift. Shoes off and walked the rest of the way...

Why don't tyres get punctures on the way to work?

rhext

You're not alone. Got a beauty on tuesday, but noticed it just outside the LBS, where I was taking it for some work. They had to take the wheel and tyre off anyway, so I just left them with the spare tube and asked them if they would mind doing the honours. Then, last night, pondering punctures in general and congratulating myself on the best part of 5,000 miles without one (not counting the one on tuesday because the LBS fixed that for me), down it goes again. But this time in the pitch black and miles from home. Limped half a mile to the nearest street light and breathed a huge sigh of relief when I noticed the nail sticking out (you don't want to be searching for chips of glass in the dark on a winter night)

Hints and tips, then:

1) Always carry a spare tube.

2) Carry a puncture kit in case your spare gets punctured.

3) Always check the tyre for what punctured the tube before you put it back on. Something caused the hole and if you don't find it, it will cause another one. Chips of glass can be a bugger to find, because when the tyre deflates, they will embed themselves back in the rubber. If the hole's not obvious, you may need to flex the tyre as you run your fingers round the inside to expose it.

4) Takes about 5 minutes to do a roadside repair if you have a spare tube.

5) It is well worth fixing the puncture. But if you do so, it's really important to follow the instructions on the kit to the letter: roughen the tube; put enough glue on to cover the whole patch area and a little bit extra; let the glue dry for a bit; put the patch on and then hold it really firm for a couple of minutes (best doing this in front of the telly). If the patch has a cellophane cover (the ones with feathered edges often do), leave overnight before attempting to remove (you can leave them on if you like). The tube is then pretty much as good as new.

I've used Slime on the mountain bike, but the problem with it is that you can't really tell whether it's working unless you have a flat - and that just tells you it isn't. Suffice to say I've never had a flat on a Slime-filled tyre, but on the other hand I've not done that many miles on them either. I don't think that there's any such thing as a puncture proof tyre, although the ones with Kevlar belts are supposed to be more resistant than others. I find that the best defence is to keep the tyres pumped up to the recommended pressure (which in most cases is surprisingly hard). That seems to help them avoid picking up stuff in the first place.

Crapaud

cjcp wrote:

.... If you've got what you think might be a big hole in the tyre (i.e. one which other road guff might get in easily), when the tyre's deflated, insert superglue into the hole and push the tyre together for a bit. This should get you home (which means you should carry superglue with you) .

If you've got a gash that big, a less messy solution is to make a 'boot'.

I made mine out of an old-style washing-up liquid bottle - a bottle of Muc-off has the same type of plastic - but anything similar will do. (Some folk make them by cutting up an old tyre.)

Cut out an oval 1 1/2" - 2" long, 1" wide and sand the edges smooth with a piece of 'Wet'n'dry'. Place the boot between the inner-tube and tyre. I've run around on a 1" slash, from a piece of glass, for around 2 1/2 weeks without a problem.

A pun**ure 'resistant' tyre is just that - Resistant. It's not a guarantee.

Specialized Needs

rhext wrote:

3) Always check the tyre for what punctured the tube before you put it back on. Something caused the hole and if you don't find it, it will cause another one. Chips of glass can be a bugger to find, because when the tyre deflates, they will embed themselves back in the rubber. If the hole's not obvious, you may need to flex the tyre as you run your fingers round the inside to expose it.

3a) If you have time to find where the puncture on the inner tube is relative to the valve, this should help you narrow down the position of the problem in the tyre relative to the valve hole (radial as well as rotational position).

steve77uk

Considering that I am ashamed of finding this originally difficult, I can now proudly say hurrah!

Got myself some new tubes, replaced the back wheel (did it a couple of times as I put it on back to front (the tyre drive - yes - I did it several times! plonk!) and did it all by myself.

Used a video online and also advice from the LBS who were very helpful this morning! They offered to do it for me, but declined the offer.

I know some seasoned folk on here will think WTF it only takes me 5 mins, I did it in 15!

Well done me. I don't think I will be fearing them on my new commuting by bike regime.

(thanks for the advice guys - been very helpful indeed)