First Puncture (since I started riding again)

wytco0

Yesterday about 6 miles into my planned ride I got a puncture and the tyre deflated very quickly, I wasn't too bothered as I had a spare and a pump and some tyre levers, however the bike was pretty muddy and so were the wheels.

Took off the wheel but I could not remove the tyre as my plastic levers were completely useless and just bent (they are now in the bin), I had a plan B which was to phone partner and she arrived in about 20 mins. I also noticed that my hands got cold pretty quickly which along with the mud made the job pretty unpleasant.

Back home I removed the tyre with some old metal levers and found that there were 2 bits of sharp glass embedded in the tyre and one very small puncture in the tube, I was surprised as the tyre went down in a few seconds.

But it got me thinking and thought I would ask a few questions:

• Should I carry more than one spare tube?
• Should I just throw the puncture inner tube away or are they worth repairing?
• Should I also carry a repair kit etc? I haven't carried one as I normally find it next to impossible to find the puncture without a bowl of water.
• Is it worth carrying some gas to pump up tyre, I am a bit worried that I would struggle to get the pressure up to 100+ with my tiny lezyne pump.
• If you do carry gas any recommendations?

Thanks

cougie

Should I carry more than one spare tube? For me - 1 tube is normally fine. If it was a BIG ride or an important one - take two.
Should I just throw the puncture inner tube away or are they worth repairing? Depends on the hole - where it is and how big it is. I'd err on the side of caution for the sake of £3 though.
Should I also carry a repair kit etc? I haven't carried one as I normally find it next to impossible to find the puncture without a bowl of water. Stick on patches take up no space and might help you or others out.
Is it worth carrying some gas to pump up tyre, I am a bit worried that I would struggle to get the pressure up to 100+ with my tiny lezyne pump. My Lezyne works really well to get up to a decent pressure.
If you do carry gas any recommendations?

Monty Dog

Worth checking your tyres regularly for embedded flints/glass - they can take a while to work their way into the tyre.
I repair tubes at home - when I get to fourth puncture on a tube it gets binned, unless it's big rip - I've never had a patch fail in over 25 years. I carry two spares in winter plus a sticky patch kit.
If you want to keep your hands clean, stick some disposable gloves in your seatpack.
Gas isn't 100% reliable, particularly in the cold and wet IME.

MichaelW

Some tyre and rim combos are just a tight fit but you can ease the situation by placing the wire bead into the central well of the rim. Pressing the sides of the tyre together usually does the trick.

Inner tube repairs using traditional repair kits last for years.

kajjal

In the winter make it as easy as you can for yourself as you will soon cool down. I carry two spare inner tubes, a pump, multitool, tyre leavers and puncture repair kit. Anything that won't fix is a quick call to the wife

I use 4 seasons tyres which are made to grip in the wet and resist punctures. So far only a one inch nail and a farmer spraying thorny head trimmings all over the road has punctured them. Even then it was a single puncture each time.

simon_e

Start with good, puncture-resistant tyres. They may not roll as well as the really light ones due to the puncture belt but they are really worth it in the winter months.

A good mini pump should do the job fine, it may take a little longer but at least you won't get cold

Practice removing and refitting tyres at home.

MichaelW wrote:

Some tyre and rim combos are just a tight fit but you can ease the situation by placing the wire bead into the central well of the rim. Pressing the sides of the tyre together usually does the trick.

This is shown in a video I saw demonstrating how to remove and fit tyres without levers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNhLPXfd8FM

keef66

+ 1 on the puncture resistant tyres.

I normally run 25mm Conti 4 Seasons all year round, but when I was trying to build a second bike cheaply I bought a pair of Rubinos. Which were OK while the roads were warm and dry, but as soon as the roads started to get wet and muddy I had a shard of flint go straight through the tread and lacerate the innertube repeatedly, some of the cuts going through both sides of the tube, and close to the valve so fit only for the bin.

Of course it was the back wheel, so was glad I carry a pair of disposable gloves. And grateful that I managed to find and remove all the offending flint fragments from the tyre despite my failing eyesight. Because if my one and only spare tube had failed I'd have been buggered; I'd forgotten to pick up my mobile phone as I left the house, realised this after 5 minutes but thought "when's the last time I had a problem?"

Needless to say the 4 Seasons are back on the winter bike now.

mpatts

I take 2 tubes with me, plus a lezyne kit (Which has tyre levers and some patches, and also enough room for a chain link).

The main cure, as I have found, is to buy 60 CO2 canisters, I haven't had a puncture since!

wytco0

Wow again the forum rules, thanks for all the ideas and pointers.

I spent a little while looking at youtube video's of people removing tyres without levers but when I tried I just could not do it, either I am a wimp or my tyres are much tighter that the ones in the videos.

Anyway I have found some old steel levers and they are fine for removing the tyre , it came off easily with them, I am going to have a look at some of the tyre options mentioned here as I am hoping to ride through the winter and the lanes get pretty muddy in Norfolk.

The plastic/rubber glove idea is also good I will be pack a couple of pairs along with my repaired tube plus one extra new one.

It was hard work pumping the tyre up with my little pump but I soon realised that after a puncture I would more than happy with 50PSI (or even 25) to get me home ;-)

Only outstanding problem is that the Mrs doesn't like being on standby for Plan B especially since I have had to use plan B !

keef66

"the lanes get pretty muddy in Norfolk"

You're not wrong about that. I did the Wymondham 50 a few weeks ago and after 18 miles the heavens opened. For the next hour or so we were frequently riding through streams of orange slurry with that unmistakable hint of pig. Funny day; even before the rain started we saw dozens of people stopped fixing punctures; after the rain it was even worse.

Happily for me and my 2 colleagues we escaped with just the soaking.

simon_e

wytco0 wrote:

I spent a little while looking at youtube video's of people removing tyres without levers but when I tried I just could not do it, either I am a wimp or my tyres are much tighter that the ones in the videos.

Don't fret, I linked to the video merely to show the technique. I still use tyre levers and yes, some tyre+rim combinations are tighter than others.

If you're well prepared Plan B shouldn't be used too often

socistep

After a very good run with commuting this year I have a bad patch recently

- Puncture 1 - On way to work, swapped over inner tube as carry spare, happened right by Halfords so they lent me a track pump
- Puncture 2 - Leaving work that evening, got to the car park gates and it went again, no inner tube so had to repair with patches which took me a couple of goes - that was a friday evening so frustrating but got home
- Puncture 3 - On the monday morning, pumped up tyre got 100m onto main road and went again, went home and swapped out inner tube
- Puncture 4 - Got 1/2mile longer and it went again, I checked on all the above but couldn't see any glass etc. but noticed on this one a small tear on side wall of tyres (conti 4000s) - I pumped up to half pressure and got home on that - pretty sure it was related to that in that the inner tube was going through the hole and puncturing - good learning to check more thouroughly on the initial puncture as good have avoided some

After puncture 1 I ordered some conti 4 seasons and fitted them on the tues evening however...

- Puncture 5 - 2 days later my bike started making a funny noise and wheel not turning too well, turns out I'd gone over a 2inch nail on the brand new tyre....I admit at that point I just found it amusing

Its been fine since!

Couple of things I changed

- Take time to check better
- Leave spare inner tube at work if one goes on the way in

Jon_1976

I've been lucky in respect that I've only had 2 punctures in over 4500 miles. First one was hitting a pothole at 30mph. That was an eye opener :shock: I was nearly home so carried the bike home as there was a large rip in the sidewall (GP4000s).

Second one happened the other night. I did a 20 odd mile loop and everything felt fine, a tad slow but I thought it was the head wind. Got home and noticed rear tyre was a bit soft. Discovered a tiny piece of metal (looked like wire) in the tyre, it had to use tweezers it was that small. I can't believe something so small and thin could have pushed its way through the tyre (giant defy stock 25mm).

pete8uk

+1 for Conti 4 Seasons.

They might not roll quite as quick, but grippy in wet, and no punctures this winter yet (touch wood). And only 2 last winter (over 1,000 miles)

Despite my low puncture count, I always carry two tubes and a (as yet unopened) patch kit. You just know the first time I leave a tube at home is when I'll double puncture!