Why do i get punctures in the wet?

gt-arrowhead

Every time ive had a puncture for as long as i remember, its ALWAYS been in the rain, apart from the puncture i had which was caused by a nail in the dry. that was the only dry puncture i could remember. I always get punctures in the rain...sometimes i get 2 in one go, I take the same route every single day, infact i probably ride the same "line" accurate to about a foot every day.

I dont know what causes this, anyone have any ideas? i thought it could be because the debris possibly sticks to my tyre on contact and when the tyre makes contact with the ground again on the 2nd revolution the debris is pushed into my inner tube. Anyone else experience more punctures in wet weather?

By the way, i never find the object that causes the puncture, and they arent sudden losses of air, i can hear it deflating slowly when i get home and put my bike in the back garden.

bennett_346

Trail pixies don't like the dry.

gt-arrowhead

bennett_346 wrote:

Trail pixies don't like the dry.

What do you mean?

njee20

Debris sticks to the tyre in the wet, and is more likely to work it's way through the carcass.

gt-arrowhead

njee20 wrote:

Debris sticks to the tyre in the wet, and is more likely to work it's way through the carcass.

Hmm, so my theory was correct

gt-arrowhead

Just out of interest, is there such thing as a puncture proof inner tube? i know you can puncture proof tyres, but dont know about inner tubes

omegas

GT-Arrowhead wrote:

Every time ive had a puncture for as long as i remember, its ALWAYS been in the rain,

Take any old knife and try and cut a piece of rubber with it , not easy . Now wet the knife and rubber and see how easy it cuts .

gt-arrowhead

omegas wrote:

GT-Arrowhead wrote:

Every time ive had a puncture for as long as i remember, its ALWAYS been in the rain,

Take any old knife and try and cut a piece of rubber with it , not easy . Now wet the knife and rubber and see how easy it cuts .

You know what, im not gonna try that, but it actually can see it being easier :O Thats a good point! So rain not only makes the debris stick easier, but allows it to penetrate easier, thanks

The Rookie

Reduces the friction as it slides in, like grips slide off easier wet than dry.....

You can get the puncture proof strips that sit between tyre and tube, or slime filled tubes that self heal, but no, no such thing as a puncture proof tube. Some tyres are more resistant than others as well.

What sort of punctures are you getting, pinch flats are due to too low a pressure for the impacts for example.

gt-arrowhead

The Beginner wrote:

Reduces the friction as it slides in, like grips slide off easier wet than dry.....

You can get the puncture proof strips that sit between tyre and tube, or slime filled tubes that self heal, but no, no such thing as a puncture proof tube. Some tyres are more resistant than others as well.

What sort of punctures are you getting, pinch flats are due to too low a pressure for the impacts for example.

Ahh i see,

My tyres are REALLY soft, im judging by the amount of wear ive got in such a small amount of time. That could be the reason too,
I run 55 PSI front and back, and the holes are absolutely tiny, you wont be able to see them unless you inflate the inner tube, thats how small they are.

echowitch

It's always easier to penetrate when it's wet :twisted:

On a serious note all of my punctures seem to be when it is damp. (Like the one I had this morning.) Never when it is raining, and only occasionally when it is dry. Although I've noticed the dry one's tend to be because the drunk cretins of Reading like to break beer bottles along the cycle/foot path alongside the A33 littering it with shards of glass for me to ride over the next day grrr

gt-arrowhead

echowitch wrote:

It's always easier to penetrate when it's wet :twisted:

On a serious note all of my punctures seem to be when it is damp. (Like the one I had this morning.) Never when it is raining, and only occasionally when it is dry. Although I've noticed the dry one's tend to be because the drunk cretins of Reading like to break beer bottles along the cycle/foot path alongside the A33 littering it with shards of glass for me to ride over the next day grrr

Omg...too right about the glass. My brothers inner tube literally exploded on the way back from our house. I then decided to take him a new inner tube that i had. I rode along an A road, the pavement was ABSOLUTELY COVERED in glass, unbelievable. guess its because not very many people walk along there and cars going fast flick off glass from the road on there too. + there are quite a few pubs along the way.

Was so lucky not to get a puncture from that, god knows how i didnt. I still slightly ironically got a punture cause of a nail. hahaha. My brother offered to repair mine while he did his aswell, but luckily the nail was stuck in my tyre so it lasted long enough for me to get home and pull the nail out there.

Ouija

For 700c wheels try something like the Kenda Thorn resistant innertube. The tube is actually twice as thick on the road side as it is on the spoke side to make it harder for thorns to push their way through the tube (actually have a pair of these unopened, which i bought for an old 700c hybrid bike i sold before i could fit them... so can't say how well they work).

gt-arrowhead

Ouija wrote:

For 700c wheels try something like the Kenda Thorn resistant innertube. The tube is actually twice as thick on the road side as it is on the spoke side to make it harder for thorns to push their way through the tube (actually have a pair of these unopened, which i bought for an old 700c hybrid bike i sold before i could fit them... so can't say how well they work).

Ahh, that sounds pretty smart, but i run 26 inch wheels

The Rookie

Try dropping pressures, 55psi is very hard for an MTB tyre, it will makeit easier for thorns etc to stick into.

gt-arrowhead

The Beginner wrote:

Try dropping pressures, 55psi is very hard for an MTB tyre, it will makeit easier for thorns etc to stick into.

I use a pretty much full slick tyre and ride on the road, would you still recommend dropping pressure?

Chunkers1980

You're in the wrong forum then!

gt-arrowhead

Whats the point making a whole new thread when i could just ask it here since we are already on topic?

Ouija

GT-Arrowhead wrote:

Ouija wrote:

For 700c wheels try something like the Kenda Thorn resistant innertube. The tube is actually twice as thick on the road side as it is on the spoke side to make it harder for thorns to push their way through the tube (actually have a pair of these unopened, which i bought for an old 700c hybrid bike i sold before i could fit them... so can't say how well they work).

Ahh, that sounds pretty smart, but i run 26 inch wheels

So do i, hence the reason they've stayed in their box. You can buy 26" versions for larger mountain bike tyres but i tend to run skinny sub 1.6" slicks so they are out of the question.

And i tend to find that running the tyres hard is better at avoiding punctures than running them soft, as the hard tyre tends to flick thorns and other things out to the side whereas soft tyres tend to wrap themselves over the stone/thorn and give it nowhere to go but straight up through the tyre.

The Rookie

GT-Arrowhead wrote:

The Beginner wrote:

Try dropping pressures, 55psi is very hard for an MTB tyre, it will makeit easier for thorns etc to stick into.

I use a pretty much full slick tyre and ride on the road, would you still recommend dropping pressure?

OK...would have helped to make it clear at the start!

I run slicks on my commuter, at 80psi, 2 punctures in over 3000 miles.

What is causing the puncture (what are you removing from the tyre?)

gt-arrowhead

Yeah, i was looking to get maxxis detonators at one point but gave up on that, they were meant for 29ers but they were available in 26.

And thanks for that info Ill do some more reasearch to see whats best, but im guessing both too high and too low increase the likelihood of a puncture. Too high and i guess it will stretch the tyre and tube making it easier to burst, and too low will cause it to as you said wrap around it and give it a single path, into your tube.

gt-arrowhead

The Beginner wrote:

GT-Arrowhead wrote:

The Beginner wrote:

Try dropping pressures, 55psi is very hard for an MTB tyre, it will makeit easier for thorns etc to stick into.

I use a pretty much full slick tyre and ride on the road, would you still recommend dropping pressure?

OK...would have helped to make it clear at the start!

I run slicks on my commuter, at 80psi, 2 punctures in over 3000 miles.

What is causing the puncture (what are you removing from the tyre?)

Ohh, sorry haha.

Well, im not removing a single thing!! No nails or glass or anything. the puncture is absolutely tiny. You have to inflate the inner tube once its removed to see and feel where the puncture is. And i cant ever find anything that would cause the puncture. Thats what i find quite odd. Especially because ive only had such problems in the wet. I even check inside the tyre and all the way around. I clean inside the tyre before putting it back on again after the repair, then when it rains, pop again.

Chunkers1980

Seems odd. I've never not pumped up a nude tube to fully find all the punctures. Sounds like thorns are going in and out.

gt-arrowhead

Thats true, thats possibly whats happening. My best guess is that it goes in easy beacause of the rain but also comes out easy, or gets washed off once i ride over a puddle or something.

@Beginner: Are you sure its safe to ride at 80 psi?? my tyre says max 45 psi. Haha. I dont know about my inner tube. Its probably shyte considering i got it from tesco

Chunkers1980

Full of questions aren't you!

I do hope you get a dry puncture soon, just to go against your theory.

Tyres have max ratings to keep the legal people happy. Generally fatter tyres will take lower max psi.

Max psi can also be rim rated so pick the lowest common denominator.

gt-arrowhead

Chunkers1980 wrote:

Full of questions aren't you!

I do hope you get a dry puncture soon, just to go against your theory.

Tyres have max ratings to keep the legal people happy. Generally fatter tyres will take lowest max psi.

Max psi can also be rim rated so pick the lowes common denominator.

Haha indeed i am, cmon im 16 (good enough excuse?)

Thanks for the info, ill just notch the psi up to 65/70 and leave it at that to be sure i dont damage anything. My rims arent the best in the world. And hell no, i dont want a puncture cause that means ill have to take the bmx to school! So slow the only fully functional bike apart from my Arrowhead is my bmx so yeah. Its the back up