Solid Tyres?

Azhar

Good morning,

The only thing that i have trouble with, apart from my fitness, is the knowledge of reparing a puncture. i've seen the videos on youtube etc and they make it look dead easy. my front wheel has the quick release mechanism and the bike wheel is bolted on. however, when i was reading a website on puncture it mentioned you could get solid tyres. they dont need air and if u get a thorn or glass stuck in it then you'd still be able to continue. another thing, because of my weight, 16 stone, the back wheen does deflate just slightly which probably affects performance.

does anyone have solid tyres? would you reccommend them? or is it better to learn how to repair a puncture? i hope solid tyres is most recommended. seems more convenient and probably expensive

squired

Technology has no doubt improved, but a few years back one of my friends tried solid tyres. The ride they gave was pretty harsh and it ended up with his doctor telling him he'd bruised his testicles and should change back to normal tyres.

If you are really worried you can always get a puncture liner to put on the inside of your tyre. They can make the ride more harsh, but are generally fairly effective.

Extralight

Agree with above poster - the ride quality on solid tyres is appalling. Bike technology moved from solid tyres to pneumatic (air) tyres in the Nineteenth century for a reason!

A few other points to note on solid tyres, based on my experiences as a bike mechanic in the late 90s (so they may be better now, but I doubt it). They're extremely hard to fit, and even despite this, there are some safety issues with some people reporting that under heavy breaking, the wheel locks up, but the tyre slides around the rim, ie. you don't stop! Users also found them pretty slippery when wet.

A better strategy is to get some really robust tyres (loads of recommendations and threads on this - my preference is Michelin Krylion Carbon for a light, fairly grippy and tough tyre), keep them well inflated, and to practice doing some tube changes with a more experienced cycling friend so that you can do a roadside repair when you need to.

MichaelW

The most puncture resistant tyre on the market is probably Schwalbe Marathon PLUS. They resist nails, drawing pins, bits of wire and thorns.
Compared to a solid tyre they are much more comfortable and efficient. Compared to a typical sporty leisure tyre they are heavy and stodgy. They are standard equipment on high quality Euro commuter bikes and on many hire bikes.
They are a b*stard to fit and once fitted, a b*stard to remove so make sure that tour wheel is in good condition, you have good (Velox) rim tape and a good quality, new inner tube.

seanorawe

I have Maxxis override hybrid tyres on my bike, They are fast and grippy. I have been using them for a fe months now, and the person who owned the bike before me had them for a year without a puncture.

davis

Aye. As above, just get some Schwalbe Marathon Pluses with decent rim tape and tubes, fit them, and you'll only need to take them off when they wear out several thousand miles later.

Keep. Them. Pumped. Up. It makes a huge difference to their puncture resistance. I think I read you're about 16 stone, so I'd recommend going to pretty much the highest pressure the tyres are rated for.

Initialised

I never got the hang of old school puncture repairs, I use Leeches neoprene patches and tyres with some degree of puncture protection. I'm currently running Gator Skins and used Snow Studs through the winter neither have punctured.

rolf_f

Initialised wrote:

I never got the hang of old school puncture repairs, I use Leeches neoprene patches and tyres with some degree of puncture protection. I'm currently running Gator Skins and used Snow Studs through the winter neither have punctured.

It's worth learning - there really isn't much to learn. Sandpaper the damaged area to key the surface, smear glue over the surface (not buckets but don't be tight fisted about it either). Wait til it is touch dry. Apply patch.

Result = repair stronger than the original tube. There really isn't much technique to learn and it is by far the best method of puncture repair.

@ Azhar - people get hung up about punctures but you don't need bullet proof tyres to avoid them. Just decent, conventional tyres with a puncture guard. Keep the tyres up to pressure (just because they don't look flat doesn't mean they have enough air in them - you need a pump with a pressure gauge and you need to keep the pressure topped up regularly - eg once a week). Otherwise, keep an eye on glass in the tyre - after a while you start to see cuts in the tyre and these often have glass in them which you need to dig out to avoid future punctures. Otherwise avoid riding over hedge cuttings and you should have very few punctures. And it isn't a big disaster when you do! Better to have a couple of thousand trouble free miles on a nice handling bike followed by a puncture than many thousands of punctureless miles on a bike that feels leaden due to the half inch thick armour plating in the rubber!

cjcp

As above, and don't ride too close to the gutter. Apart from the fact that the red/yellow/other lines are slippery in the wet, that's where stuff like broken glass tends to gather.

Azhar

hey folks. thanks for the advice. i will start practicing how to repair punctures. BUT. MichaelW i have scwalbe marathon plus on my tyres (actually didnt realise they are puncture resistant tyres too) but i tried practicing last night taking the tube out, pretending i had a puncture, and then putting it all back together. but i i couldnt get the tyre off to get to the inner tube. i let the air out of course, but it still looked like there was air in it still. i snapped the tyre lever thing trying to get the tyre but i found it nearly impossible. i know that on my brothers typres he has slick tyres and could easily take the tyre off that but the tyre i have, i found it really hard! any suggestions??

godders1

MichaelW wrote:

The most puncture resistant tyre on the market is probably Schwalbe Marathon PLUS. They resist nails, drawing pins, bits of wire and thorns.

Agree that M+ are probably the most p* resistant tyre but they don't resist thick, sharp bits of metal that are longer than the thickness of the protection strip (i.e. nails).

MichaelW

Fitting marathon +.

Long_Time_Lurker

Takes a bit of practice and thumbs of steel. The slicker/thinner the tyre, the harder it is to remove/fit.
I just did what you have been doing. (In a garage so that I could swear loudly without my 5 year-old hearing me).

I wouldn't bother about repairing a puncture at the side of the road. Always carry at least 1 spare inner tube.
It's sod's law that you will get a puncture during a torrential downpour.
Plus, there is always the chance that the tube will go around the valve - there's no way that you can fix them.
Take the punctured one home and repair that in the living room while you are watching telly.

roger_merriman

I've normally gone for new tube, but thats really a indication of the frequency of the Puncture Fairy visits to my bikes, which are a MTB with Downhill tyres, and a SS commuter with Marathon Pluses, neither are have much issue with the fairy, so the inner tubes tend to be a few years old when they fail.

iwearshorts

squired wrote:

Technology has no doubt improved, but a few years back one of my friends tried solid tyres. The ride they gave was pretty harsh and it ended up with his doctor telling him he'd bruised his testicles and should change back to normal tyres.

Could your "friend" not tell himself that his plums were bruised?

daddy0

Most important thing I have found is to keep whatever tyres you have pumped up, all the time. Earlier in this thread someone said once a week, but if I were 16 stone I would check the rear tyre more frequently than once a week, every other day for example. Tyres can lose a few psi overnight. I've only had punctures when I've not checked the tyres for a while, not that this is a magic solution - but will minimise your chances of a visitation.

Second most important thing - replace your tyres when they're worn. Once I've had a couple of punctures on a tyre in quick succession that tyre gets retired! Half decent tyres only cost £10-15 and will last a few thousand KMs.

Also, I don't believe its already been said - check your tyres over for embedded bits of stone or glass regularly. That stuff can get picked up and gradually gets pushed into the tyre.

As someone already said - avoid riding too near the side of the road but also avoid riding through puddles - not to avoid getting wet, but because they might be potholes and could contain unseen road debris too. I pretty much avoid riding over anything if I can help it.

If you've not already got a CO2 inflator I'd recommend getting one and some spare CO2 canisters. Once you've mastered getting your wheels off the bike (which is very easy with quick release - remember to change to your smallest cog on the rear first), and can get the tyre off (2 plastic tyre levers is all I need) swapping a tube and using CO2 makes the whole process very quick - a couple of minutes, i.e. its not really a big problem.

As I hardly ever have visitations from the p****** fairy I don't bother with p******* proof tyres. I did have a visitation on a p******* proof tyre once (needle like bit of metal), and getting the tyre off the rim at the side of the road was extra tough. There is always a compromise with whatever tyre you go for, I prefer to put up with a p******* once in a while and the rest of the time have nice fast rolling 23mm slicks.

The Rookie

Holy thread resurrection Batman........

desweller

I sometimes wonder if there should be automatic locking on old threads. I guess it is useful information...

rolf_f

DesWeller wrote:

I sometimes wonder if there should be automatic locking on old threads. I guess it is useful information...

Why? It's better than a new thread; at least there's less chance that all the comments in the old posts would have to be reposted from scratch.