Many punctures from many thorns. In one go. What now?

Miggins

After ploughing (and tumbling) me and my bike through gorse at high speed yesterday, I thought I'd give the bike a good going over today. The rear tyre was half flat (slow punctures). Turns out to be many microscopic thorns (from the gorse, I assume). I have removed many of these with tweezers but now I'm worried there are probably more that I can't see or even feel, ready to let the air out of any newly fitted tube.

If, after fitting a new tube, it is apparent that there are still thorns present, is it time to bin the tyre? Just thought I'd see if anyone has any tips before I fork out.

bails87

Run a piece of tissue around the inside of the tyre, any thorns will snag it, so you can remove them.

Miggins

Tissue. Of course. Thanks bails87; knew there'd be a good tip from someone.

bails87

No problems, and then go tubeless!

peter413

bails87 wrote:

No problems, and then go tubeless!

SHUT UP ABOUT TUBLESS :twisted:

hunterz

bails87 wrote:

No problems, and then go tubeless!

whats the point of going tubless are there any benefits over tubed and do you need a special rim or will any do.

cheers

JamesBrckmn

you don't need a special rim, but you may need new tyres, and you will need rim strips and sealant, so it would be about £50 plus the cost of new tyres, if you need them.

Radioactiveman

JamesBrckmn wrote:

you don't need a special rim, but you may need new tyres, and you will need rim strips and sealant, so it would be about £50 plus the cost of new tyres, if you need them.

The method above is using your existing rim,the best way to go tubeless is to fit a tubeless specific rim but there is obviously an associated cost with this £25-£50 per rim. Then tubeless tyres on top of that £25-£35 each

A cheaper option similar to above is "ghetto" tubeless which involves using a sliced inner tube to make a rim sealing strip.

I currently use tubeless, Mavic XM819 UST rims on hope pro2s.
Advantages- Less/No pinch flats ( most common flats round where I ride in the lake
district)
- Small penetrations i.e. thorns tend not to deflate the tyre rapidly/if at all
especialy if used with sealant

Disadvantages - Initial fit can involve pumping like a maniac with a track pump
- Tyre choice is limilted ,and a little more expensive
-Still have to carry spare tubes in case of a big hole,split
- IME mavic valves have a tendency to unscrew occasioanly when
removing valve caps

Overall lack of pinch flats is the overriding factor for me as the rides I do tend to be on rocky terrain. If you time upgrading to UST at the same time as buying new wheels the cost is no different to changing wheels anyway.

hunterz

Thanks for the advice.one thing though what do you meen by' pinch flat' I've never heard that before

JamesBrckmn

when the tube get's squashed betwwen the tyre and rim. it happens when you have low pressure in your tube, and/or are riding rocky terrain or have just landed a big drop or jump, as the tyre will compress

Miggins

FYI; The inner-tubes have been repaired (well, almost - ran out of patches). Had 9 punctures, 5 in one tyre, 4 in the other. New Continental MTB tubes are in now, and the tyres have been pumped up. Hopefully my tweezer skills in conjunction with the tissue trick will have paid off and the tyres will still be inflated tomorrow morning, ready for another ride.

Tip: don't wipe-out through gorse. It's a pain in more ways than one (although probably a better alternative than a rocky track at nearly 40MPH!)