Does rain = p**ctures?!

mask of sanity

First time riding in the rain on my road bike today and I loved it, right until I got a p**cture... This was my first p**cture so was wondering if it’s more common to get them in wet conditions? (pretty sure it wasn't a pinch p**cture as I hadn't ridden over any holes in the road etc. and it was a single hole, a rather large one though!)

Thanks,

Rich.

P.S. Apologise if this has been asked before but I couldn’t find anything on a search...

EdHarris

I've always been told, and some times experienced myself, that you're more likely to suffer from punctures after recent rain fall because the rain washes small stones, grit, thorns and other puncture producing material onto the road.

So yes, rain does equal punctures!

Surf-Matt

I definitely get more punctures on the road in Winter/when it's wet on my MTB. Only just got the road bike but imagine it's the same.

Headhuunter

Yep, most definitely. I got one on the way home last night after rainfall. Many a time I've sat by the side of the road changing a tube in the rain (and cold in winter)...

Garz

The smaller gravel and dirt sticks to my tyres on the wet, so I would definitely agree your more likely to experience a puncture.

Surf-Matt

I think rain needs some positive PR - apart from making sure our lawn is green and keeping tourists out of the sea (when I'm surfing), it's not really got much going for it...

Garz

It washes the sweat into my eyes.. damn still not positive!

mask of sanity

Surf-Matt wrote:

I think rain needs some positive PR

Well it was fun until the p**cture! It's good riding conditions If there's no wind and you don't mind not being able to see cos of water on your 'sun'glasses :P Definitely easier then riding in the heat that we've had lately! Don't even need to carry water, just look up and open your mouth! lol.

sicknote

mask of sanity wrote:

Surf-Matt wrote:

I think rain needs some positive PR

Well it was fun until the p**cture! It's good riding conditions If there's no wind and you don't mind not being able to see cos of water on your 'sun'glasses :P Definitely easier then riding in the heat that we've had lately! Don't even need to carry water, just look up and open your mouth! lol.

Thats ok unless you live down the road from an insinuator, then drinking what comes out of the sky would not be my first choice :shock:

gtitim

I definitely get more punctures in the rain

EdZed

Apparently rubber is more susceptible to being cut when it's wet/in contact with water; when combined with rain washing small stones, grit, thorns etc to the part of the road most cyclists use means punctures are more likely in the wet than in the dry.

I was told to try slicing an old tyre with a sharp knife e.g. a Stanley knife and then try the same thing underwater to see the difference, it's meant to be easier to cut underwater. Haven't tried this but I have no reason to doubt it.

ocaaaaa

Makes sense, I also just got my first puncture a few days ago whilst riding home in the rain

bompington

Sicknote wrote:

ok unless you live down the road from an insinuator, then drinking what comes out of the sky would not be my first choice :shock:

exactly what is it you're insinuating?

andrewjoseph

... insinuator...

Sorry, had to laugh at this. Is this equipment that pumps nasty rumours and suggestions into the atmosphere?

sicknote

bompington wrote:

Sicknote wrote:

ok unless you live down the road from an insinuator, then drinking what comes out of the sky would not be my first choice :shock:

exactly what is it you're insinuating?

Not me, I mean an industrial incinerator (plus the joy of having dyslexia, and why did they have to make that word so hard spell :roll: ) :oops:

singlespeedexplosif

Apparently rubber is more susceptible to being cut when it's wet/in contact with water; when combined with rain washing small stones, grit, thorns etc to the part of the road most cyclists use means punctures are more likely in the wet than in the dry.
aye, spot on.

sicknote

andrewjoseph wrote:

... insinuator...

Sorry, had to laugh at this. Is this equipment that pumps nasty rumours and suggestions into the atmosphere?

try to help where I can :roll:

keef66

I wonder if the condom manufacturers have taken into account this increased puncture risk when wet?

Durex Featherlite Armadildo 4 Seasons anyone?

will3

When I was still running Conti Speed Kings on my CX bike, rain = a puncture 100% guaranteed :twisted:

curiously though I never got a second puncture after fixing the first, so perhaps lower tyre pressures help with puncture resistance in the rain.

DomPro

I too had a puncture yesterday, first one in about a month. My theory is that the rain lubricates the sharp objects like flints and thorns so makes them penetrate the tyre layer more easily.

funckchicken

not automatically, but the incidence of punctures increases when it rains i find.

by the way, bollocks to all this superstitious nonsense.

puncture, puncture, punctures, punctures, double punctures, pinch flats 100 x to all of it.

mask of sanity

funckchicken wrote:

not automatically, but the incidence of punctures increases when it rains i find.

by the way, bollocks to all this superstitious nonsense.

puncture, puncture, punctures, punctures, double punctures, pinch flats 100 x to all of it.

Oh how I'm hoping you get one on your next ride! :P

raynaw

Years ago I was told that the water acts as a lubricant reducing friction as sharp objects move through the rubber - so they are more likely to make it through. At the time there was an advert of an inner tube being stretched over a broken milk bottle but it was pointed out that this was possible with any inner tube providing that it is bone dry.

funckchicken

Oh how I'm hoping you get one on your next ride!

120 miles today. and in the wet. nada :P

mask of sanity

funckchicken wrote:

Oh how I'm hoping you get one on your next ride!

120 miles today. and in the wet. nada :P

There's always next time! lol.