Rode over broken glass - odds of a puncture?

pinkteapot

Rookie mistake - noticed the patch of broken glass in the road too late. It was the sort you get from a broken car light - small pieces but fairly chunky/rounded rather than the shards of a broken bottle.

To the more experienced here - anyone know the odds that I'm going to return to my bike at 5pm and find a flat?

p.s. Hybrid tyres, not road tyres....

sungod

if it wasn't instant you are probably ok

before riding again, check for embedded bits of glass, if you see any just pick them out with something pointy

goonz

As above if you didnt deflate instantly or notice any sponginess in the rest of your journey you should be ok. Although it may be worth popping out at lunch to have a quick look and check for any embedded pieces.

estampida

err 50:50 on whether it is still inflated at 5

if the tyre or ground was wet there is a greater chance of a flat

and yup lunch time assessment on flat repairs.......

Anonymous

Do you have a spare tube and tools to deal with it if it is flat?

pinkteapot

Nope because I only commute 4 miles. There's a train station half a mile away where I can get the train to another half a mile from home, so it's not worth the faff of carrying kit and trying to fix it in the car park.

Alternatively I have a husband with a Mondeo that the bike fits in the back of who can be on rescue duty!

I carry bits on longer weekend rides.

Tyre and ground were dry. Tyres were hard as I pumped them up to a slightly higher PSI than previously just the other day. :?

goonz

You should be fine. Just check it over at lunch.

alihisgreat

estampida wrote:

err 50:50 on whether it is still inflated at 5

if the tyre or ground was wet there is a greater chance of a flat

and yup lunch time assessment on flat repairs.......

not really.. the only reason punctures are more frequent in the wet is since more debris get washed into the road.

It has no bearing on whether a particular piece of debris will puncture or not.

Anonymous

Also the moon is low in the sky because we are approaching the summer equinox ;-)

Anonymous

A sharpened spoke! That sounds a bit unhinged :shock:
Guessing its a bladed one ;-)

topcattim

Try letting the air out of your tyre before you look for any previously inserted bits of glass - they will be easier to spot and to dig out if necessary.

goonz

topcattim wrote:

Try letting the air out of your tyre before you look for any previously inserted bits of glass - they will be easier to spot and to dig out if necessary.

I was wondering this, thanks for confirming.

pinkteapot

Thanks for the tips all. Just checked and the tyres are still firm and I couldn't see any bits of glass. I'll have another look at home tonight when I've got more time and better light just to be on the safe side.

Learning a lot from these forums!

marylogic

Good luck.

I am amazed at the number of times I've been anxious that I may have hit glass (some of the bike paths round here are a nightmare) only to discover things are fine. I've only punctured once and that was due to something unknown lurking in a puddle. After that I got puncture resistant tyres which I would thoroughly recommend if you're into riding rather than racing.

hipshot

Completely deflate the tyres and squeeze them all the way around to open up any cuts, carefully flick out any flints/glass with a large sewing needle, its amazing how much cr#p gets sucked in .

pinkteapot

marylogic wrote:

Good luck.

I am amazed at the number of times I've been anxious that I may have hit glass (some of the bike paths round here are a nightmare) only to discover things are fine. I've only punctured once and that was due to something unknown lurking in a puddle. After that I got puncture resistant tyres which I would thoroughly recommend if you're into riding rather than racing.

Only had my new bike a few weeks and I'm just on the tyres it came with. Whyte WTB All Terrain Comp 700 x 35c with Flat Guard apparently....? Not sure what the flat guard is/does...

keef66

I think the clue is in the name. Stops people breaking into your flat, obviously.

Lots of tyres have some kind of puncture protection strip built in. Some it's just a thickish layer of denser material, other dearer ones employ a thinner lighter kevlar type.

pinkteapot

I just meant I didn't know whether "flat guard" was actually something that might be effective, or a marketing fluff phrase.

And greetings Suffolk boy, from the Essex/Suffolk border.

pinkteapot

Just checked the tyres more thoroughly and did find a small piece of glass embedded in the tread, so I prised it out. Thankful I have hybrid tyres with tread that's probably 4mm thick as it was stuck in a piece of tread so hadn't made it all the way through!

Thanks for the tip, and I'll be checking my tyres regularly in the future.

team47b

There's two days Im not gettin' back

Mikey41

pinkteapot wrote:

I just meant I didn't know whether "flat guard" was actually something that might be effective, or a marketing fluff phrase.

It will likely be a kevlar band under the tread or something similar. It's getting harder to find tyres without some form of puncture protection now, though their effectiveness varies. I've only had one puncture so far, which surprises me as I thought the standard Giant tyres might be vulnerable, but they've proved to be pretty tough.

Bike Radar

ALIHISGREAT wrote:

not really.. the only reason punctures are more frequent in the wet is since more debris get washed into the road.

It has no bearing on whether a particular piece of debris will puncture or not.

I've always been under the impression that water acts as a lubricant which makes rubber easier to cut/puncture.

estampida

Bike Radar wrote:

ALIHISGREAT wrote:

not really.. the only reason punctures are more frequent in the wet is since more debris get washed into the road.

It has no bearing on whether a particular piece of debris will puncture or not.

I've always been under the impression that water acts as a lubricant which makes rubber easier to cut/puncture.

yup that was my point as well

it does act as a lubricant, and this is a very logical and reasonable idea, unsure why he is a thought fascist

but its been obvious for some time that some people on here are bigger experts in things they know nothing about..........

its weird that people will come barging in and say outright "your full of sh1t" when i'm clearly not....