Punctures, how often?

daysofspeed

Obviously there is no "one a week" type of answer but anecdotally how often can a stone cold newbie expect them?

As a kid I got one very infrequently, put the inner tube in a bowl of water, sandpapered the bit where the bubble came out and patched it. Obviously I was only over the park or whatnot and don't recall being 20 miles away and stuck!

Bike due here tomorrow, chomping at the bit but mindful I don't end up stranded. Have no idea at all about changing an inner tube etc. will google it but curious how hard they were to avoid. No experience at all with a "proper" bike and it's fragility.

Cheers - hope that's not too daft a question, rather look daft here than by the roadside though...

roger_merriman

rather depends on where you ride and the type of tyres.

it's compromise really my road bike is my commute bike so I have chosen to fit heavy puncture proof tyres, as much as any tyres.

CiB

In the modern world we carry a spare tube, levers & a CO2 cannister. In case of a flat whip the tyre off & the tube out, feel for the offending pointy object & remove, then whack the new tube in & inflate with the gas. Have a repair kit + spare gas or s small pump in case of >1 flat but any more than two and you might as well go home anyway. Carry a phone to summon your OH to fetch you home if necessary.

You'll avoid flats by keeping the tube inflated to around 100psi or a bit more, and also by looking at what's on the road - avoid broken glass, piles of sharp stones near the gutter, hedge cuttings; steer clear of drains & potholes with sharp edges etc.

Bottom line is though that you can expect to suffer a flat on some occasions per year; expecting not to have one at all is optimism to the point of insanity so even though you may not have one it's doolally to go out without the means to fix one if it does happen.

b16 b3n

top tip = always carry a tube, mobile phone and a couple of quid.
As in my own stupidity I had to walk back from Southport in road shoes as the buses wouldnt let me on with a bike, I didnt have a repair kit and no mobile. After walking a good 25miles and many hours later I arrived home with blisters.
Since this I now own a seatpack with two tubes, Co2 shots and tyre levers.

parsons1927

There's a massive amount of luck involved with punctures, I've had 3 since the summer, (2 thorns through the tyre and 1 shard of glass) before that I went the best part of 12 months puncture free. Take the necessary precautions, right tyres pressure, check tyre regularly for shards and wear, and learn how to deal with a puncture when it happens, ie carry 2 spare tyres, tyre levers and pump and/or CO2 cannister.

NWLondoner

Tyres are always a compromise between speed,grip,rolling resistance and p****** resistance.

Remember this time of year with rain and salt/grit you are more prone to get p*******.

What are you using your bike for. training/commute/race etc?

Depending on your budget Conti GP 4 seasons are a tough tyre but quite slow. Vittoria Paves are very fast but the side walls are very weak, and can cut up easy if your area has a high flint content. i.e chilterns. They are not cheap either. Michelin Krylion's get good reviews as do Conti Gatorskins.

Just remember whichever you go for do a few test runs at HOME first!!!. Make sure you can remove the inner tube tyre and reseat them.

P******* always have a habit of happening at your furthest point from home and you don't want to be on the roadside not being able the reseat your tyre.

snowy lowey

Ive had 4 punctures in as many days, mahoosive thorns have been the culprit. :evil:
Before that I havn't had a puncture in 4k miles...

Monty Dog

I've probably had a dozen this year - over 10,000km and all sorts of conditions including CX, a couple of rides along the South Downs Way plus quite a few races. Roads in these parts are typically covered in very sharp flints which 'eat' tyres - running wider tyres and not pumping them 'rock hard'. If running 20mm tyres at 120 psi, then you're asking for trouble.

nochekmate

b16 b3n wrote:

top tip = always carry a tube, mobile phone and a couple of quid.
As in my own stupidity I had to walk back from Southport in road shoes as the buses wouldnt let me on with a bike, I didnt have a repair kit and no mobile. After walking a good 25miles and 3 hours later I arrived home with blisters.
Since this I now own a seatpack with two tubes, Co2 shots and tyre levers.

You should have completed another 1.2 miles and then contacted the Guiness Book of Records to log the fastest marathon completed in road shoes!

furrag

Most people would love to run a 3 hour marathon, let alone walk it with a bike and cleats on the bottom of shoes!

I had 4 punctures in 11,000 miles on GP4000s. Feeling smug as everyone else started seemed to be puncturing loads, I boasted about it and have since had 5 in the past 3 weeks. :roll:

b16 b3n

nochekmate wrote:

b16 b3n wrote:

top tip = always carry a tube, mobile phone and a couple of quid.
As in my own stupidity I had to walk back from Southport in road shoes as the buses wouldnt let me on with a bike, I didnt have a repair kit and no mobile. After walking a good 25miles and 3 hours later I arrived home with blisters.
Since this I now own a seatpack with two tubes, Co2 shots and tyre levers.

You should have completed another 1.2 miles and then contacted the Guiness Book of Records to log the fastest marathon completed in road shoes!

Theres always an Einstein, ok then many hours

sungod

depends on tyres, weather, road debris, and luck

road tyres don't have great resistance to penetration, they're designed for grip, lightness and speed

if it's wet, it lubricates the sharp stuff, then it's much more likely to get through the tyre, most of my punctures are on wet days, or on the annoying last few metres of wet road that seems to linger days after it finished raining

city roads seem to have more than their fair share of glass, flints seem more common around parks/countryside, but if you avoid riding close to the gutter then you avoid a lot of the sharp/pointy bits

i always carry a spare tube, a puncture repair kit (rema tiptop tt04), a minipump, and a tyre lever

anto164

In 2011, i've punctured once. That was the other night, on the only pitch black section of my ride. Along the coast, where there was a tonne of wind.

Diogenes

I hate tempting the puncture fairy but can go months without a problem then get 2 or 3 in a row, this sometimes indicates the tyre is on its way out. I do try to avoid glass / thorns etc and dont ride off road.

D

1_reaper

I've had about four in six thousand miles. The puncture fairy's have been kind this year

daysofspeed

Cheers for all the helpful answers.

It'll be long Sunday rides, zero commutes on Specialized All Condition Sport, 700x25c, wire bead, 60TPI, with Flak Jacket protection. (Secteur 2011).

Pigtail

Stock tyres are often quite poor. My Allez had Mondo tyres I think with flak jacket. I had about 8 or 9 punctures in 5 months. I swapped them for specialized turbo elites with black belt in May and I've only had 1 puncture since, from a little curly piece of wire.

Now I don't know for sure if that is luck, better tyres, better road postion, more awareness, or a combination of all of the above, but I certainly attribute most of it to the tyres.

CRAIGO5000

My Allez came with Mondo tyres too, after getting consecutive punctures I swapped in some Vittoria Rubino tyres and I've had one slow puncture in 1400 miles. Tyres make a huge difference and if commuting, I'd want reliability over an extra 0.1mph average speed gained by having super light race tyres.

richh

4-5 over the last 10k miles or so on Michelin Pro 3 Race. Happy with that.

NWLondoner

richh wrote:

4-5 over the last 10k miles or so on Michelin Pro 3 Race. Happy with that.

You lucky sod :-)

daysofspeed

I'll be doing long distance Sunday's and no commuting. Don't care about speed over hardiness and would happily swap out tyres and tubes to avoid over-inevitability of a flat. Cheers for answers, all very helpful to someone as green as me.

islwyn

I'm too lazy to repair a puncture so I just carry 2 spare tubes and a pump on the bike... (Ok I do carry glue-less patches for an emergency) but I've never used the co2... Maybe I should, how many inflates do you get out of your average canister?

rolf_f

Islwyn wrote:

....how many inflates do you get out of your average canister?

1 - unless you are unlucky and something goes wrong (apparently it happens) in which case less than one!! So you need to carry a pump anyway. I don't bother with CO2.

roger_merriman

Rolf F wrote:

Islwyn wrote:

....how many inflates do you get out of your average canister?

1 - unless you are unlucky and something goes wrong (apparently it happens) in which case less than one!! So you need to carry a pump anyway. I don't bother with CO2.

to be fair mini pumps don't nessarlly work well either.

helped some roadies on box hill last friday since CO2 and mini pumps had failed and the MTB has a old full size pump. did the job in a few secs.

islwyn

Rolf F wrote:

Islwyn wrote:

....how many inflates do you get out of your average canister?

1

Then in that case I shall continue not to use it... I'd rather take 2 minutes longer than spend cash on the gas.

FSR_XC

richh wrote:

4-5 over the last 10k miles or so on Michelin Pro 3 Race. Happy with that.

I'd be happy to get 1000 miles out of a Pro Race 3

For OP:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2P1xShdEGY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

richh

That's three sets of tyres. No way I'd get 10k miles out of a single set. 1k sounds very low to me though.