7 Simultaneous Punctures - How?
dyrlac
Posts: 751
Last night, I rumbled through a minor pothole on the Embankment by Albert Bridge (shortly after CS8 goes south across the river). Immediate pinch flat (the wages of running at <80psi I suppose). Spend ages trying to get the tyre off (Conti Gatorskins) and attempt to reinflate the flat tube to find the puncture and confirm it was in fact a pinch. Tube refuses to inflate (anyone passing would have seen some hilarious mini-pumping action). For a while, I thought my pump wasn't working, but eventually I tested it with the spare tube, which worked. I install the spare tube, spend ages getting the tyre re-seated (thumbs still bloody and sore), and go along my merry way*.
Eventually I get home and try to inflate the flat tube with the trackstand pump. Nothing doing. On closer inspection I find seven (7) punctures including three (3) snake bites and four (4) "ordinary" punctures. So many holes that the tube simply couldn't hold any air at all. The punctures were randomly distributed around 3/4ths of the circumference of the tube. I patched them all, just to see what it would look like and to ensure that I had found all of them.
1) How on earth could this have happened? I could accept 2 simultaneous pinch flats (going into and coming out of a pothole), but 7, some of which don't appear to be snake bites? Performance of the tube was fine before the flat.
2) How, er, thrifty would you have to be to re-use this tube?
*Unrelated shenanigans: I must have twisted the spare tube on installation, because it suffered a catastrophic blowout 30s after I topped up the pressure at home. :roll:
Eventually I get home and try to inflate the flat tube with the trackstand pump. Nothing doing. On closer inspection I find seven (7) punctures including three (3) snake bites and four (4) "ordinary" punctures. So many holes that the tube simply couldn't hold any air at all. The punctures were randomly distributed around 3/4ths of the circumference of the tube. I patched them all, just to see what it would look like and to ensure that I had found all of them.
1) How on earth could this have happened? I could accept 2 simultaneous pinch flats (going into and coming out of a pothole), but 7, some of which don't appear to be snake bites? Performance of the tube was fine before the flat.
2) How, er, thrifty would you have to be to re-use this tube?
*Unrelated shenanigans: I must have twisted the spare tube on installation, because it suffered a catastrophic blowout 30s after I topped up the pressure at home. :roll:
0
Comments
-
Not sure what a trackstand pump is!
If you get a sudden deflation, just rolling on the deflated tyre create a lot of pinch damage in very short order, so suspect you were rolling for a distance with it flat.
I'd use the tube, in fact I'd put it on the bike as I always use a new (but tested) tube as my spare and the 'dodgier' one on the bike.Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.0 -
Crikey! I'd be taking the tyre off and giving it a very thorough looking at.
And you seem to have conflated track pump and track stand. Unless of course you've perfected the art of inflating your tyres while balancing clipped in. In which case chapeau!0 -
Maybe, after the first pothole strike, the tyre deflated enough to cause more pinch holes on small stones, or bumps in the road0
