Puncture in a race - advice needed

scooty

Hi

I recently got back into mountain biking (& racing) after a long absence since the early 90's and am loving it again but a little confused over one area.

I am running tubeless tyres and want to know what I would do if I got a puncture either in a race or out training? In the few races I did over the summer i didn't take any spare tubes etc with me as am assuming they are not compatible with tubeless tyres. If they are and I carry one then the extra weight / pump etc would surely offset against the reason for running tubeless in the first place?

I am guessing that tubeless tyres are difficult to puncture but it must happen at some point, when it does do I just abandon the ride / race and walk back or is there an option to carry on? It frightens me to think what would happen if I got a puncture in bad conditions and miles from base.

Sorry if this seems a stupid question but the scene has changed so much since I was last biking that everyday is a learning curve!

Cheers

njee20

You can just stick a tube in, but you have to remove the valve and things, not a problem out training, but potentially fiddly and time consuming in a race. I've always just carried a CO2 pump with me, racing or training. If a puncture is too big for the sealant to seal, you've probably ripped the tyre and a tube won't help either!

Worked for me for 8 years or so anyway!

cat_with_no_tail

Tubless tyres can be run with tubes if you want / need to so no worries there.

As for extra weight, just get some super-lightweight tubes (90g ish). You should really carry a pump anyway, in case of the dreaded tyre burp. Remember, most people running tubes will still be carrying an extra 1 or 2 theirselves so it's not like you're carrying something they're not.

IMO, running tubeless is more about reliability than a weight saving for most people, once you take into account the extra weight of the core and sealant etc, the weight saving over a very lightweight tube is essentially nothing, but tubeless (when fitted properly) tend to be more reliable.

Essentially, it comes down to the following, IF you get a puncture during a race, you can either call it a day and retire, or you can fit a tube and drop a few places.

It's up to you to work out how many seconds the extra weight will cost you, what that translates to in places and if it's worth it.

scooty

Cheers for the advice. What I wasn't sure about was whether tubes can be put into tubeless tyres and looks like they can so cheers for that.

clwydian_rider92

I was actually watching Cape Epic the other day, and the reason why the Specialized team with Cristopher Sauser lost the race (one of the stages) was because of this problem with fixing a tubeless puncture.

njee20

And you can get irrepairable flats on tubed tyres too, more often in fact!

And on tubs. Anyway, if you're proper 'core you just take the tyre off and carry on!

clwydian_rider92

£1000 rim gone to waste!

Whytepeak

njee20 wrote:

And you can get irrepairable flats on tubed tyres too, more often in fact!

And on tubs. Anyway, if you're proper 'core you just take the tyre off and carry on!

Or if you are sponsored,

I'm pretty sure no-one would ruin a good rim by continuing to ride it, especially lightweight xc rims.

njee20

It was a rather tongue in cheek comment, although a friend of mine did once destroy an Olympic rim by riding it with no tyre for a couple of miles in a race.

The rim on that Aussie blokes bike won't be that much, it's obviously just an alu rim, I reckon a lot of people would chance it in a big race. I'd be more worried about holding it together on the descents, that doesn't look like a flat field!

simplesimoncardiff

Awesome pic above!!

I've often riden home/to base with flats.. You'd be really suprised how little, if any, damage is done to the rim. I just pop the dead tube out as the valve can tear the valve hole if left in place.

xtreem

As I remember, that picture was posted on pinkbike and as the guy it self said, the rim was fine. :shock:

Also when they asked him, why did you take your tire with you, he said:
I'm not that stupid to leave a £60 worth of tire to someone.

Will try to find the original comments.

clwydian_rider92

Was that in the 2008 Olympics?

xtreem

OK, found it.
At pinkbike was POD, and a guy there linked what that guy said what happened.
The explanation, and sorry it wasn't a £60 tire, it was probably more. :oops:
http://www.rotorburn.com/forums/showthr ... e%21/page3

At Pinkbike:
http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/3350918/

harrybostarmix@hotmail.co

iv'e got a new desktop background..

cycleNoodle

Our team has found that if you run stans rims and sealant you are less likely to puncture and as mentioned you can put a tube in to fix although in a race we would carry a co2 cannister and try fixing with that, failing that try and make it back to a technical area for a wheel change. Unless the tyre is ripped the sealant should seal it... hopefully! :?

SiLanc

As well as carrying a tube I can recommend carrying a bandage for your tyre in case it splits. Just get an old toothpaste tube and cut the ends of and cut it down one side. You'll be left with a nice square sheet of strong plastic which can act as a bandage between tube and tyre if you split the tyre. It weighs nothing so just keep it in your saddle bag. During races I carry a tube, toolkit, bandage (see above), co2 cannister plus adapter. That just about covers it. If you're out on the trails and the tyre splits I have heard of people using a fiver or a tenner to do the same job...they're quite resilient apparently but it might mean someone else has to buy the coffee and cakes

Anonymous

njee20 wrote:

And you can get irrepairable flats on tubed tyres too, more often in fact!

And on tubs. Anyway, if you're proper 'core you just take the tyre off and carry on!

OMG! he is destroying those rims, wonder how much they are worth new, and after

Andy B

RichardJiles wrote:

OMG! he is destroying those rims

Xtreem wrote:

As I remember, that picture was posted on pinkbike and as the guy it self said, the rim was fine. :shock:

Xtreem wrote:

http://www.rotorburn.com/forums/showthr ... sie!/page3

At Pinkbike:
http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/3350918/

*AL*

RichardJiles wrote:

OMG! he is destroying those rims, wonder how much they are worth new, and after

They were undamaged....

Mr Determination wrote:

First I would like to say the rim survived with only a few small scratches, they are quite strong. I used it the following weekend in Houffalize, Belgium, this was the next round of the World Cup Series.

HERE

Sir HC

RichardJiles wrote:

njee20 wrote:

And you can get irrepairable flats on tubed tyres too, more often in fact!

And on tubs. Anyway, if you're proper 'core you just take the tyre off and carry on!

OMG! he is destroying those rims, wonder how much they are worth new, and after

This link was posted before your post: http://www.rotorburn.com/forums/showthr ... ost1839513
:roll: