i have fucking had it with fucking punctures

Kieran_Burns

Sesquepidilian wrote:

So about 3 weeks ago I picked-up a pucture; coincidentally about the same time I bought a proper racing bike. No big deal, I had no repair gear so I accepted it, walked home and fixed it up the next day. That next day I got another flat; walked it home and figured I must have pinched the tube. Fitted a spare and made extra sure it was in right. Couple of days pass and I get up one morning to find yet another flat tyre. Couldn't see any obvious issues so fitted another tube and went on my way. A few days pass and a I had a blow out on the rear; a flat spot had opened up and nailed the tube. I does the walking thing YET AGAIN and this time I take no chances. Two brand new Schwealbe Ultremno R1s and Michelin tubes go in. Not two days later, tonight, I hit a pot-hole that flattened front and rear. I've just gotten back from an eight mile walk home and I have ******* HAD IT. If I find tomorrow it's done the tyres and the tubes I'm gonna cut this ******* bike up with the oxy-acetylene. This bloody thing is cursed; it's cost me £50 in tubes and £50 in tyres in less than a month and I've probbably only ridden 3 or 4 days in each of those weeks while waiting for stuff to arrive.

:evil:

Aaahhhh - the Chronicles of Ridden

rolf_f

MarksMintness wrote:

What's your secret Rolf? Any recommended tyres/tubes general tips etc?
Teach us your way Jedi master!

Lol! It isn't hard

1) Don't ride in the gutter - that's where all the crap ends up
2) Try to avoid crap - and don't do as I do and commute along roads with scrap yards on them
3) Keep the tyre pressures up - soft tyres puncture far more easily
4) Maintain your tyres - all those little cuts; a lot of them will still have the things in them that made the cuts; leave them in and they work their way through to the inner tube over time
5) Just be careful where you are going - try not to ride through roadworks debris, hedge cuttings, glass etc.
6) Don't ride when it's wet - that's when you are most at risk. I do but then I'm not scared of punctures!
7) Repair your inner tubes. It really doesn't take very long at all; there is no excuse not to. Each inner tube repaired is equivalent to a free pint of beer!

I'm not that convinced that if you do all the above, that it even matters that much what tyres you use. I've managed a few hundred (dry) miles on ancient Michelin World Tours with not a hint of puncture guard in them without problem. I use Schwalbe Ultremo, Durano, Durano S and Delta Cruiser and I'm not sure that any are more or less prone to punctures than the others despite very different levels of puncture guard.

mrushton

With Planet X selling tubes at £1.99 it's often not worth repairing them (or just do it once) as at that price it's less than a coffee and cake at most stops,. There isn't a secret to not puncturing and Rolf has it all covered. Prob. Marathon+ are the most bulletproof tyres but not the fastest

Tom Dean

Sesquepidilian wrote:

had a flat-spot on a tyre let-go taking 1 tube with it

When you say 'flat-spot' do you mean the tyre was worn through?

MarksMintness

Thanks for your help and advice guys. Made it home with no probe, will be carrying pump spare tube and tyre levers in future.

daviesee

nevman wrote:

Damn it now Ive got one-how can you ride 114K then leave it for 4 days to find it flatted.Its catching.

Our group heard a tyre go bang while sitting at an outside cafe when no-one had been near a bike for at least 10 minutes. :shock:
A slow flat fair enough, but a gunshot bang :?:

Pross

daviesee wrote:

nevman wrote:

Damn it now Ive got one-how can you ride 114K then leave it for 4 days to find it flatted.Its catching.

Our group heard a tyre go bang while sitting at an outside cafe when no-one had been near a bike for at least 10 minutes. :shock:
A slow flat fair enough, but a gunshot bang :?:

Was it a hot day or had you done a steep descent just before the cafe?

daviesee

Pross wrote:

daviesee wrote:

Was it a hot day or had you done a steep descent just before the cafe?

It was outside the cafe in Petra, Mallorca. Hot-ish but only 20 degrees roughly.
Other person's bike so I cannot vouch for the route or braking involved. We had been there for 10 minutes, and them longer but an unknown time. There's not that much of a hill in the immediate vicinity though. Is there?
Conti 4000S if that would make a difference.

I will make a guess to answer my own question. Tyres pumped up close to max on the morning before ride when it was only 14 degrees. Temperature then rises to over 20, tyre temp/pressure rises with use and then is left in the direct sun to heat up a bit more. Makes a bit of sense but still comes as a fright

fossyant

Stop bloody walking - take a kit, pump and a spare tube or so with you. Oh and check your rims for any sharp bits.

Or blame Wiggle.

Redhog14

I worry about the state of your cleats, as well as your sanity! Why do you not ride with spares?

Sesquepidilian

Well I'm still having problems with these damn skinny tyres & tubes. I've decided it must be the fact I'm running iffy tyre pressures due to a moody shrader adaptor. What do you guys do to get proper ie; >100psi in tyres ? Joe-blow and the like ? If I could get racing tubes with shrader valves it would be much easier.....

desweller

Schrader adaptors are notoriously leaky. Are you trying to use a car footpump? They're not designed to reach road bike pressures anyway.

CyclingObsession

I've been there mate, I'll tell u solutions to my problems may help, continuous flat tyres measns either psi is not correct if it's a pinch flat, or else your tires need replacing, my advice would be to get gator skin continentals. a random flat ie over night means the valve is slightly broken as over time from pumping it gets damaged and air escapes, More consistent flats ie the next day check the tire to make sure there is nothin in it, double check the rim tape is not damaged, a tip is to Sellotape the rimtape so it does not move. To avoid the walk of shame but either a co2 pump or a crank brothers mini pump with a psi gauge so u know u r getting it up to the right psi, Do not use a MTb pump they will not ge enough psi in and cause another flat on your new tube, tires should be changed or looked over every 1500-2000 miles depending on weight of rider and type of riding done. I hope this helps I've been in your situation and I found by checking psi once a week to make sure it's at 110 is so important. Best of luck

esspeebee

Sesquepidilian wrote:

Well I'm still having problems with these damn skinny tyres & tubes. I've decided it must be the fact I'm running iffy tyre pressures due to a moody shrader adaptor. What do you guys do to get proper ie; >100psi in tyres ? Joe-blow and the like ? If I could get racing tubes with shrader valves it would be much easier.....

A track pump with a pressure gauge built in. Pump until the needle reaches 110, then stop. You can pick one up for twenty quid or so, and dispense with adapters.

Sesquepidilian

My Joe Blow arrived today so the tyres got 120psi shoved in 'em and it felt wicked. I did ~40miles tonight instead of my usual ~20. Got a flat ofcourse - can't have a rideout without a puncture can we ? - but the spare tube got me home so no walk of shame or internet rant. The tube had done 34ish miles at that point but I CBA'd investigating the leak as I decapitated the valve anyway.
The original tube did had an iffy repair in it so I wasn't so surprised but my new tubes haven't arrived yet and, after waiting a few days so the Joey to arrive, I really wanted to go out, especially while the weather is so awesome.


Last note: I had to stop near St Clement Danes School on the A404 nr Chorleywood; if the dude who stopped to check up on me is reading this thanks very much man!

Sesquepidilian

Still picking up punctures, though I've not had one for about a month which is a fucking miracle since I got this bike, but I've now had two in as many weeks. last night I managed to repair the tube only to find the endcap on my hand pump was missing but just about managed it with the CO2 - though it was flat this morning so will have to be re-repaired I guess.

I'm gonna go right ahead and blame the bike. I used my old bike for about 6 months on and off and suffered no punctures; this bike I've since done 11tubes in 4 months - 2x Kenda, 4x Spesh, 4x Michelins and now a Conti. EDIT - oh and one tyre.
Plus after 4 months and I guess an average of about 20 miles a day it's looking pretty fooked - worn out handle tape, frame all sratched up 'n' scuffed, nosiey running gear. Cheap shit it is.

bartman100

I'm on my 2nd pair of Vittoria Rubino Pro's - never had a puncture with them in several thousand k's. Give them a try.

t.m.h.n.e.t

This might be a daft question but what part of the road do you ride your bike on?

Sesquepidilian

T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:

This might be a daft question but what part of the road do you ride your bike on?

Not in the gutter if that's on your mind, so to speak lol.

dylanfernley

Always ride with a support vehicle

rolf_f

Sesquepidilian wrote:

I'm gonna go right ahead and blame the bike. I used my old bike for about 6 months on and off and suffered no punctures; this bike I've since done 11tubes in 4 months - 2x Kenda, 4x Spesh, 4x Michelins and now a Conti. EDIT - oh and one tyre.
Plus after 4 months and I guess an average of about 20 miles a day it's looking pretty fooked - worn out handle tape, frame all sratched up 'n' scuffed, nosiey running gear. Cheap shoot it is.

At some point you are going to have to bite the bullet and blame the rider! It's your fault! Nobody elses, not the bike, not the tubes, not the tyres.

Now stop buying new tyres and inner tubes, stop riding in the gutter, through hawthorn clippings etc, maintain your tyres, pump them up and join the rest of us who don't have these problems.

You should be scoring about one puncture every 3000 miles with a bit of luck.

And what the hell are you doing to your bike? My Ribble, for example, has managed over 5000 miles - th bar tape isn't worn, the frame isn't scratched and the running gear is fine. You need to look after your stuff.

And repair your bl00dy tubes!

Manc33

All I can do is tell you what I do, or what I take out with me on rides that go over 3 miles away from home...

1. Spare inner tube (sod repairing it, might be raining or anything).
2. Tyre levers.
3. A decent pump that fits in a rucksack.
4. Chain breaker. VITAL.
5. Every size allen key the bike needs.
6. Box spanner (although I think on my bike there isn't one single hexagonal nut on it)
7. Puncture repair kit (in case I get 2 punctures, I would repair the one I took out).

Thats it, apart from a drink, a coat and 3 bananas (which I often don't even eat whilst out but they are there in case).

As for so many punctures in such a short time, I can't say. All you can do is always have your tyres at max pressure and remember a road bike tyre will go soft far quicker than a MTB tyre does. My MTB tyres hold 65psi for weeks on end, never going under say 55psi even if left for 4 months, but my 115psi road bike tyres, jeez, its literally three days and they lose enough to need pumping up.

There are so many dangers associated with under inflated tyres I cannot even go into it here.

You don't have crappy tyres... so the only thing left is under inflated, or you just have one hell of a lot of glass around where you live.

I had a phase of getting punctures... most times it is brown glass, don't ask me why that is, yeah I know its a smashed bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale or Bud... but it is always brown glass. The other times it was a thorn or bit of sharp metal. If it was glass, it was brown glass. Odd.

I hate even talking about it because... well erm how do I say this without actually saying it.... its been an inordinate amount of time since I last had an erm.... tyre malfunction.

Thing is you can't really get a road tyre up to 115psi with a compact pump. When it does happen to me, I think you're going to have to get home on about 90psi or something. I dunno, my pump is one of those £25 Topeak ones, they try to sell it as a mini track pump but it isn't anything like as good.

Zingzang

Sesquepidilian wrote:

Still picking up punctures, though I've not had one for about a month which is a ******* miracle since I got this bike, but I've now had two in as many weeks. last night I managed to repair the tube only to find the endcap on my hand pump was missing but just about managed it with the CO2 - though it was flat this morning so will have to be re-repaired I guess.

I'm gonna go right ahead and blame the bike. I used my old bike for about 6 months on and off and suffered no punctures; this bike I've since done 11tubes in 4 months - 2x Kenda, 4x Spesh, 4x Michelins and now a Conti. EDIT - oh and one tyre.
Plus after 4 months and I guess an average of about 20 miles a day it's looking pretty fooked - worn out handle tape, frame all sratched up 'n' scuffed, nosiey running gear. Cheap shoot it is.

I'm genuinely sympathetic about the punctures, but from your last remarks it's hard not to detect there some evidence of mechanical insensitivity.
Worn out bar tape and noisy running gear = neglected maintenance
Frame all scratched up 'n' scuffed after only 4 months = abuse

Neglect and abuse cost dearly, and not just financially, as I'm sure the inconvenience with the punctures has amply demonstrated to you. You will only start to get real pleasure out of riding your bike when you start to get pleasure out of looking after it.
And btw, it's sesquipedalian.