punctures, punctures, punctures!

trevtherev
trevtherev Posts: 372
edited August 2011 in Road beginners
I seem to be getting on average 1 puncture every 2 weeks...is this normal? I have conti's ultragator and it is always glass that appears to get embedded in the tyre and works it's way through, inspection of the tyre shows the glass cuts. Do I persevere?, Do I bring a small handbrush and clear broken glass from my path (sounds a bit extreme!)...or is it time for a bullitt proof tyre...is there such a thing? surely something must be better than having so many punctures, I suppose it is the nature of the 700x23c tyre...
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Comments

  • nochekmate
    nochekmate Posts: 3,460
    No not the nature of 700x23c tyres at all really. Could be just a run of bad luck, your choice of road surfaces or some lingering pieces of glass that have remained in the tyre.

    A run of punctures may however suggest that it may be time to change your tyres - no such thing as a 'puncture proof' tyre really, although some are argued to be more 'puncture proof' than others.
  • geoff_ss
    geoff_ss Posts: 1,201
    You used to be able to buy gadgets which were fitted to the brake mounting bolt and lightly brushed the tyre. They were intended to brush off potential causes of punctures (bits of glass, plastic, thorns etc) before they could work into the tyre. I did try them but I'm not sure if they were effective because I've never suffered greatly from punctures (not a wise thing to say :))

    I use 23mm tyres and don't get any more punctures than when I used 28/32 mm ones or the fatter tyres on the tandem or MTB. Most of my riding these days is on country lanes so thorns or 'snake bite' punctures are the main culprits for me despite carrying my bike when there's hedge cutting and keeping tyres at 100psi.

    The most important thing is not to ride in the gutter.
    Old cyclists never die; they just fit smaller chainrings ... and pedal faster
  • Butterd2
    Butterd2 Posts: 937
    I had my first p******** for over a year this morning on the commute (in the rain!). Conti GP4 seasons 700x25mm.

    The secret is to never, ever use the "p" word, you've gone and used it 3 times in the title alone so I would suggest you go and buy some solid tyres.

    If you are running reasonably new tyres at the right pressure and getting that many P's then you might want to try some Scwalbe Marathon Plus, a little slow and heavy but it takes more than a bit of glass to damage them.
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  • merak
    merak Posts: 323
    Calling them crevaisons is OK :D

    Seriously, You do get the occasional run of bad luck, but I can go for 18 months without one. Conti GP4000s and various sorts of Vittoria Open (but not Open Corsa Evo CX which is ridiculously fragile and fails at about the same rate as the OP)
  • Cleat Eastwood
    Cleat Eastwood Posts: 7,508
    mis aligned rim tape can expose 'nipple holes'.

    Also its hedge cutting time for the fun loving farmers, least round our way, most of my route is a no go area.
    The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns
    momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.
  • maxandpaddy
    maxandpaddy Posts: 85
    Shcwalbe Durano Plus almost bullet proof.
  • red dragon
    red dragon Posts: 263
    I agree with Butterd2 mentioning the "p" word is a no, no. But check the inside of the tyre for bits of debris (glass, thorns etc), this might help.

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