everytime i ride i get a puncture

tindal86

Hi Guys

I am fairly new to road cycling and have just bought my first road bike but everytime i am out i have too call the wife 8 miles from home requiring to be picked up. Initially i put it down to my tyre pressure being 85 90 psi, after reading forums i increased them to 100 105 psi but thats still hasn't helped. I was in my local cycle shop this morning (getting another new tube) and the shop assistant commented on the fact my tyres appeared rather thin for my rims.
Can anybody recommended or advice how they may have delt with similar problems.
I have Kenda 700 x 23 tyres on the front and rear.
I cant wait to complete a ride so therefor look forward too your responses

Thanks

Alan

desweller

What kind of punctures are you getting? Pinch flats, foreign object damage, hole on the inside of the inner tube?

Wirral_paul

From experience, Kenda tyres are pretty ................ crap My Moda came with some Kenda Kaliente tyres and they were the worst tyres i've every used.

What wheels do you have (ie what is the rim width)??

Bozman

A mate kept getting punctures on his new bike, in the end it came down to the crap rim tape with a small burr of alloy poking through from the rim.

godders1

Yeah I've had a burr on one of the spoke holes cause constant punctures.

Also worth giving the tyre a thorough check for any tiny embedded object(s).

tindal86

I am pretty certain it is pinchs that are causing the puncture, but it will do no harm checking the rim tape.

I am not sure the size of the rim. How would i find this?

Thanks

nochekmate

Kenda = crap tyres = punctures.

Buy something more suited to the job - Conti 4 Seasons, Michelin Krylions perhaps.

gmacz

Find out exactly where the hole is and match it to the wheel and see if you can find the problem.
I am at 2200 miles at 80psi max front and rear and no punctures.
I will get one now I have written this.

desweller

tindal86 wrote:

I am pretty certain it is pinchs that are causing the puncture, but it will do no harm checking the rim tape.

I am not sure the size of the rim. How would i find this?

Thanks

Measure across it with a rule.

morstar

A commuting bike that I purchased about 6 years ago had a combination of a burred spoke hole, rim tape that had to be positioned perfectly to cover all the spoke holes and lastly, tyres made of tissue paper.
So many punctures. Ultimately an easy solution though but soul destroying when ride after ride gets spoilt.

DavidJB

tindal86 wrote:

Hi Guys

I am fairly new to road cycling and have just bought my first road bike but everytime i am out i have too call the wife 8 miles from home requiring to be picked up. Initially i put it down to my tyre pressure being 85 90 psi, after reading forums i increased them to 100 105 psi but thats still hasn't helped. I was in my local cycle shop this morning (getting another new tube) and the shop assistant commented on the fact my tyres appeared rather thin for my rims.
Can anybody recommended or advice how they may have delt with similar problems.
I have Kenda 700 x 23 tyres on the front and rear.
I cant wait to complete a ride so therefor look forward too your responses

Thanks

Alan

Also get a saddle bag with a spare tube, tyre leavers and a pump to save your wife some hassle! Takes 5 minutes to change out a tube at the road side although it is annoying. I had 5 punctures in the last 2 weeks after having none for over a year...I think (touch wood) the puncture god has finished with me for the time being!

frosty99

I had Kenda tyres on my Carrera TDF, front tyre was fine but rear tyre picked up about 5 punctures in couple of weeks and ended up with a 5mm hole in it. Replaced the tyres with gatorskins, no punctures since!

rc856

25mm Gatorskins for me too. Been great (touch wood!!!)

wyadvd

OP do you ride on proper roads, following the polishe tyre mark of the cars? or are you following cycle specific "facilities"? The latter WILL give you weekly punctures even on marathon plusses. I know I've been there. As soon as I started riding my road bike on the proper road my punctures stopped!

rolf_f

Hope you find the solution - but either way, you need to learn how to replace a tube while on a ride. Getting your missus to do a 16 mile round trip because you can't change the tube is mean!

mark.gilmour

I had exactly the same problem, just through 6 tubes before i worked it out (last week!) on my 700x23 tyres. I was putting the inner tube on the rim first then offered the tyre to the rim one side at a time. What i didnt realise (probably a noob error too) was that by the valve the side wall of the tyre were not going down in to the base of the rim so the inner tube ended up pinching against the rim and blowing after about 5 miles.

I found that putting at value bit of the inner tube inside the tyre first then offering it upto the wheel and fitting the tyre one side at a time has fixed the issue.

Mark

essjaydee

I bought a cheap ish hybrid and had 3 punctures in as many days Each time was a sharp flint through the tyre, so spent £50 on some Schwalbe marathons, and not one (yet!) in 600 miles 8)

Get some good tyres, as it's one of the areas the manufacturers skimp on to keep costs down :!:

Stone Glider

There is a you tube clip by a chap explaining how to put any tyre on a wheel with just fingers & thumbs and some toe straps/zip ties. As he proceeds he also gives a fine demonstration of how to present a tyre/inner tube to a wheel. Pretty much all you need to know

Shame I can't find the clip :?

cornerblock

Could be worse....

tindal86

Rolf F wrote:

Hope you find the solution - but either way, you need to learn how to replace a tube while on a ride. Getting your missus to do a 16 mile round trip because you can't change the tube is mean!

My frist couple of rides I went out fully equipt and ready for the worst got a puncture and replaced the tube at the road side but could not get the tyre inflated as the small pump I was carrying wasn't up to the job. I had just accepted that as the case but if you can point out a pump that can be carried on a bike and will reach 90 plus psi I would be very greatfull.

I also purchased a set of continental tyres today from Halfords just to let me get out and completed 30 puncture free (which is a first) so delighted by that

tindal86

DesWeller wrote:

tindal86 wrote:

I am pretty certain it is pinchs that are causing the puncture, but it will do no harm checking the rim tape.

I am not sure the size of the rim. How would i find this?

Thanks

Measure across it with a rule.

25mm across Des

shouldbeinbed

tindal86 wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

Hope you find the solution - but either way, you need to learn how to replace a tube while on a ride. Getting your missus to do a 16 mile round trip because you can't change the tube is mean!

My frist couple of rides I went out fully equipt and ready for the worst got a puncture and replaced the tube at the road side but could not get the tyre inflated as the small pump I was carrying wasn't up to the job. I had just accepted that as the case but if you can point out a pump that can be carried on a bike and will reach 90 plus psi I would be very greatfull.

There's loads to be found for 5 minutes on google or in a bike shop. this one is v good, £15ono, pocket sized & you'll get past 90psi without any trouble at all

keef66

Topeak Road Morph is like a mini track pump and will get you to 100 psi if required. Lezyne do something similar.

jibberjim

If the outer dimension of your rim really is 25mm, then that's a very wide rim. What rim is it? And what tyres do you have on it? It's possible that you do have 23's or 25 tyres when you should have 28's or 32's and a symptom of incorrect tyre size is punctures... So exactly what rim do you have? and what size tyres?

dave2041

I wonder if this is what i'm currently experiencing... My tyres are just stock that came with my bike: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/raleigh/team-sprint-2011-road-bike-ec028445#features

But i've gone through three tubes now and repaired 5! (including those three). I'm "only" 12 stone 8 pounds so i don't imagine it's my weight, however, i do tend to use cycle paths given the opportunitie and do ride a lot of uphill and poor road surfaces. I am considering getting these http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/specialized-all-condition-item166051.html to hopefully solve my problems but i hadn't considered before the effect my rim tape may be having... It always appears to be a "normal" pinhole puncture (apart from the time i rode stright into a hidden-in-a-puddle piece of 2x4 and got a snake bite puncture on my front wheel.

Advice/anecdotes welcome.

CiB

I've had a stint of punctures a couple of times. First was caused by a tiny shard of glass that wasn't visible from the outside and was only visible from the inside with my glasses perched on the end of my nose and holding the tyre up to bright sunlight. It only punctured on rides - sitting in the garage didn't cause enough flex etc for the glass to work its way into the tube.

The second one was the rim tape; it may have been damaged from new or from me catching it with the levers on previous punctures but after a similar string of flats I solved them by working round the rim tape with a finger tip to identify any high spots or coarse edges, and then covering them with bits of black PVC tape where appropriate. As before, the rough edges caused flats only when out & about and there was some degree of movement & load on the wheels. Suddenly no flats.

I run Mich Pro Race 3s, commuting through back lanes & main roads and don't find unexpected flats to be a problem. I've had two since the middle of last summer, which ain't bad by any reckoning. Avoid holes, avoid the edge of the road where debris is shoved by traffic, and watch for objects in your path.

shouldbeinbed

+1 to a bit of hidden nasty. it could even be a broken wire in the tyre. they're an absolute swine to find. its one for turning the tyre inside out and spending time going round it with fingers and if needs be a maginfying glass.

are you sure the puncture is/isn't occurring in the same place either in the rim or the tyre. do you mark where your tyre comes off from and ensure it goes back in the same place? I always have the first letter of the tyre name aligned directly with the valve hole. That way if the hole in the tube is always/usually in the same place you have a much smaller area to examine. You could always let it puncture, note where the tyre is and move it round by 180 degrees on the rim and wait for the next puncture. if its in the same place as before, its most likely the rim, if its 180 degrees different, its most likely the tyre. if its just random then you've been unlucky.

desweller

25mm is defo pushing it for 23mm tyres.

See here (near the bottom) for more info. The rim breadths sheldon has listed are internal, but you can estimate from your external measurement.

MichaelW

Strip the tyre, inner tube and rim tape from your wheel.
Inspect the rim and check that spokes are not poking up into the inner tube. Check the valve hole for sharp edges and smooth the edge with a small scrap of fine emmery cloth.
Fit some Velox cloth rim tape.
Replace the Kenda tyres with something decent from Continental, Schwalbe, Vittoria or other quality brand. If your riding style is fitness/fun rather than competition/train then you should fit a wider tyre, 25 rather than 23mm and one with a better degree of puncture protection.
Carry a spare inner tube, tyre levers, patch kit and pump on every ride. Punctures are an inconvenience, not a disaster and with good modern tyres they are quite rare.

Pseudonym

I'n not here to defend Kenda, but there's nothing inherently wrong with Kenda tyres and simply changing your tyres will make sod-all difference. You are getting repeat punctures for one of the following reasons:

- there is a sharp still stuck in the tyre which you have not spotted/removed
- there is a burr on the rim which you have missed
- the rim tape is not properly covering the spoke holes

If you are already running 100psi, then I doubt if they will be pinch flats, unless you are either very clumsy or weigh 20 stone or something...

Will Nunez

+1 Schwalbe, only tyres I have ever worn out without getting punctures (almost 4000 miles), poor experience with Kenda and continentals (gatorskins at that)

+1 for Lyzene, 100psi no problem

+ 1 for pseudonym's reasons for repeat punctures!