Puncture proof tyres?

yost72

Having had 2 punctures on the same ride today (thankfully my wife was able to come and collect me as I was out of inner tubes) I thought I'd look at getting some puncture proof tyres.

So the question is a/ is this a good idea in terms of them actually working and not losing too much speed/performance and b/ if yes, any recommendations which type and best place to purchase?

I have a Boardman Road Team Carbon so the current tyres are 700x25c.

Stupid final question, I assume I just need normal inner tubes to go with them?

Monty Dog

Unless you go for something bombproof like a Schwalbe Marathon Plus, no tyre is genuinely puncture-proof, just some have better degrees of protection. Search "what tyres?" threads - there's countless of them. You just need regular 700x23 tubes.

yost72

Monty, can I just check you mean 700x25 or do I need to get smaller tubes than the tyre size?
Funnily enough I was looking at the Schwalbe Marathon Plus. Looks like they might be a good option.

scottishgeek

What tyres do you currently have fitted? Marathons are a bit on the heavy side when compared to other tyres. There is likely something in the middle that will give you a suitable level of puncture resistance.

BrandonS

Do you know what caused the punctures? What kind of pressures were you running?

yost72

ScottishGeek wrote:

What tyres do you currently have fitted? Marathons are a bit on the heavy side when compared to other tyres. There is likely something in the middle that will give you a suitable level of puncture resistance.

Currently have the Continental tyres which came as standard with the bike

BrandonS wrote:

Do you know what caused the punctures? What kind of pressures were you running?

First puncture I think was just riding over something sharp - haven't had a chance to check the inner tube properly yet. I fitted the replacement and it also went within a couple of minutes. I don't think it was due to something stuck in the tyre. I think I maybe got the inner tube twisted when replacing it as it felt a bit bumpy when I was riding. In any case, just having a puncture at all is enough to make me think that puncture proof may be the way forward.

scottishgeek

Looking at some stock photos of the bike online the tyres appear to be Continental Ultra Sport which, according to reviews, are not renowned for their resistance to punctures. I use Continentals GP4 seasons on my commuter due to the better reviews.

As has been said nothing is puncture proof only more resistant. My advise would be to get some more resistant tyres and practice tube replacement. Marathon plus IMHO would be a last resort.

garyk72

I use Schwalbe Durano S tyres, reasonably light and with pretty low rolling resistance. Been using this type of tyre for 2 years now and have only had 1 visit from the puncture fairy in that time. These tyres are pretty highly rated in any magazine or online reviews that you might care to read, including a couple on this site i think?

Marathon plus will feel woody and uncomfortable IMHO and you will lose speed if you use them.

As mentioned earlier did you have your tyres pumped up to a decent psi? Lower pressures can cause flints etc to get forced in to the tyre whilst higher pressures should help deflect foreign objects a bit better.

ugo.santalucia

Have a read

http://paolocoppo.drupalgardens.com/con ... hat-doesnt

fat_cat

Another one for Schwalbe Durano Plus here.

Have also used Gatorskins which are as tough as old boots, but not as grippy in my opnion.

cougie

And you can get stick on patches now for your inner tubes - so there's no excuse for needing rescuing. They only take up a tiny amount of space.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/park-tools-punc ... 1260769680

whoof

Before considering Schwable Marathon Plus, how good are you at putting tyres on? They can be a real pig. Spa Cycles has a video showing you how as it's a struggle sometimes to even get them started. I put on a new one yesterday and at one point I was considering trying to get the last bit on with a tyre lever. Instead I had another sip of tea and then rolled it on by hand.
Also they are a touring tyre so expect an accompanying touring speed.

drlodge

Getting two punctures is pretty unlucky, the only time I've known it to happen is when the offending article wasn't removed from the tyre and it re-punctured (was a mate I was riding with).

As suggested above, make sure you are comfortable replacing an inner tube. You might want to carry 2 inner tubes just in case, and I also carry a TipTop puncture repair outfit (comes in a little box, TT04) just in case the worst should happen again.

GP 4 Seasons, GP 4000S or MIchelin Pro4 SC are all good tyres, the former being a little more resistant to punctures and what I use for winter use. Nothing worse that doing long miles on tyres that feel like hosepipes.

earth

Depending on your intended use my suggestion is Bontrager Racelite Hardcase. For commuting and general use they are the most puncture proof tyres I have found. I can't remember when I last had a puncture with them in years of use. Only downside is they are a bit heavy, probably due to having a wire bead.

navrig2

Yost72 wrote:

First puncture I think was just riding over something sharp - haven't had a chance to check the inner tube properly yet. I fitted the replacement and it also went within a couple of minutes. I don't think it was due to something stuck in the tyre. I think I maybe got the inner tube twisted when replacing it as it felt a bit bumpy when I was riding. In any case, just having a puncture at all is enough to make me think that puncture proof may be the way forward.

Did yo remember to check the inside of the tyre for that "something sharp" before installing and inflating the replacement tube?

If not it is likely that your 2nd puncture was caused by the same "something sharp" object embedded in your tyre.

You didn't mention what pressure you were running at - this is important as too soft and there will be many more "something sharp" things which will pierce your tyre. Higher pressures help resist piercings.

rolf_f

Fat Cat wrote:

Another one for Schwalbe Durano Plus here.

Have also used Gatorskins which are as tough as old boots, but not as grippy in my opnion.

Gartk72 was actually recommending the Durano S - a much nicer proposition than the Plus! I'd go for the middle option - the standard vanilla Durano if in doubt though normally I use the S.

cougie wrote:

And you can get stick on patches now for your inner tubes - so there's no excuse for needing rescuing. They only take up a tiny amount of space.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/park-tools-punc ... 1260769680

No point - proper patches are far more reliable and not really any more bother. Stick on ones have to be repaired properly anyway when you get back home and ideally you just carry a spare tube or two anyway. A long time since I repaired a tube on the road......

kajjal

To give you an idea I weight around 100kg and use 23mm 4 seasons at 105psi. Only had two punctures. One was a pinch puncture caused by crashing through a pot hole at speed by mistake. The other was when the hedgerows were being cut with thorns all over the road, I nearly got to the end of the road but a branch punctured the front wheel.

ai_1

As others have mentioned. 2 punctures on the same wheel within minutes is hugely unlikely to have been two separate incidents. It sounds more likely you caused the second one by either leaving the cause of the first one in place or not fitting the second tube properly. It might be an overreaction to go straight to bomb proof tyres. There's a compromise involved in doing so. "Puncture proof" tyres will be much heavier and less flexible and you'll lose out on grip, comfort and handling in order to, maybe, save an occasional puncture. Unless you ride on really horrendous roads, it's unlikely you'll get large numbers of punctures anyway especially if you go with a moderately protected tyre like a GP 4 seasons.
I've ridden on GP 4 seasons for about 18 months and if I recall correctly I've only had 1 puncture. I don't ride much in urban areas which may help but I don't think this rate of punctures is unusual. I carry a pump and have a spare tube and patches at all times in my saddle bag so I wouldn't ever expect to need rescuing due to basic punctures.

I previously used Gatorskins for a similar period of time. With these I think I had two punctures of which one was a pinch puncture and I the other was a shard of glass I think. These figures are so low that they're not statistically relevant and you can't say which is better. The GP 4 seasons are definitely nicer to ride on, though more expensive. Neither punctures regularly under normal conditions (or at least my normal conditions - yours may vary!).

MichaelW

Ai_1 wrote:

"Puncture proof" tyres will be much heavier and less flexible and you'll lose out on grip, comfort and handling

the heavy duty ones like Marathon Plus ride better in wider sizes.

Initialised

I have two sets of tyres that I have never punctured, Schwalbe Snow Studs and Maxxis DH ST High Rollers they are both extremely heavy and have tread patterns suited to their intended use (riding in snow/ice and downhill MTB) so they aren't good for road riding at all. I've pulled thorns out of the Snow Studs that would have popped most tyres and ridden them as low as 20 PSI without a pinch so I'm fairly confident that they are bomb proof which is exactly what you want in a winter tyre.

On the road side of things Specialized Espoir tyres seem pretty good at resisting punctures based on the size metal, glass and flint shards I've dug out of them on my weekly inspections.

But there's the thing, I'll give them a quick check before a ride and during a wash to check for puncture fairy teeth, chances are this checking is more important than tyre choice.

dyrlac

Also keep in mind that "puncture proof" tyres are, as a rule, very very very difficult to get on and off the rim, which means when you do hit a thorn, you're in for a struggle, and in the dark/cold/wet, possibly a ride-ending one.

Initialised

Dyrlac wrote:

Also keep in mind that "puncture proof" tyres are, as a rule, very very very difficult to get on and off the rim, which means when you do hit a thorn, you're in for a struggle, and in the dark/cold/wet, possibly a ride-ending one.

I'll second that, Snow Studs and Gatorskins both have me reaching for the levers. I ended up running out of tubes by pinching my spare when replacing it in a Gatorskin worst part was the pinch blew a hole in the tyre's sidewall. I found folding Duranos no more puncture prone but 10 times easier to change at the road side, more grip in the wet and a nicer ride despite going from 32mm to 28mm.

zcapp96

I found the Durano to be a good tyre but prone to punctures, had four in the month they were on the bike and then had a slice in the side wall with the tube poking through. I have switched to Vredestein Fortezza Tricomps. Brilliant tyre, faster than the Durano and seems to have better protection. Adding bonus is that you can pick them up for around £20 a tyre!

kingstonian

When I was about 5 years old I had a bike with solid rubber tyres. Completely puncture-proof. Weigh a ton though.

drlodge

Kingstonian wrote:

When I was about 5 years old I had a bike with solid rubber tyres. Completely puncture-proof. Weigh a ton though.

Yes me too, my bike with solid tyres was a fixed gear

Grenouille

I have Schwalbe Durano Plus tyres. They are one of the most puncture resistant of any road tyre on the market and come in 23mm and 25mm sizes.

I like them as I use my bike for commuting, leisure, training and sportive riding and I wanted some pretty hassle free tyres. I don't find they have affected my speed or rolling resistance much if at all.

A word of warning about buying online too - I bought mine from Chain Reaction Cycles and they arrived zip-tied together. One of them kept blowing off the rim when I was putting it on and on closer inspection it had been damaged by the zip tie which had rubbed the rubber off the beading!

keef66

In the days when I had just the one bike I used 25mm Conti 4 Seasons which, as the name suggests, were ridden all year round and in all weathers. They were suggested by the shop I bought the bike from as a light and grippy tyre with good puncture protection. In 7 years I've had just a hand full of punctures. A couple were pinch flats caused by potholes coupled with my failure to pump up the tyres before night rides. And one was a thorn like a javelin which went straight through the sidewall, so I don't hold that against them. When they wore down to the carcass I bought some more.

Only downside is they ain't cheap :shock:

koalacube

TLDR: Know what is causing the punctures before you spend money on new tires.

I second the opinion of others who have said that you shouldn't jump to the conclusion that the tires are causing you trouble. With decent quality tires in decent condition, inner tube fitted properly, etc., punctures are actually very rare. I've recently had a similar problem with frequent flats, and below are some of the things I learned. Hopefully some of these points might be of interest to others than the OP. In the end of the post I'll tell the story about the the particular issue I had.

When you have a flat on the road the first thing to investigate is the cause. A flat is not just a flat (read more here
http://sheldonbrown.com/flats.html). In my experience frequent flats indicate that something is wrong and you must find out what. It is very important that you check the location of the puncture on the tube, before you replace it. Is it on the inside (facing the rim) or the outside (facing the tire)? If it's facing the rim, there could be an object (not necessarily easily visible!) inside the wheel. Is the puncture above a spoke? If it's facing outwards then check the tire thoroughly both on the inside and outside for damage or stuck objects.

Changing the tube is pretty straight forward, but it isn't always as simple as it seems. It usually goes okay even if you're not all that careful, but then again you'll be more likely to inflict some bad luck on yourself. The tube should be inserted rather carefully inside the tire, without twists of any kind. The tire beads shouldn't squeeze the tube anywhere, be especially aware of this problem near the vent. Be very careful if you have to use levers to fit the last part of the tire or you might easily damage the tube.

A final points is about the 'bumpy' ride after changing the tire: Are you making sure that the tire is seated properly (see http://sheldonbrown.com/flats.html#seating)? If not your tire might have one or several 'flat spots' -- it isn't sitting evenly around the wheel circumference -- and the ride might feel bumpy or unusual. It can also feel like you're riding on very low pressure (as if it's almost flat), even though it is fully inflated.

Personally I think these small details are easily overlooked unless they've caused you trouble at some point and made you learn a thing or two. In fact, until very recently I rarely thought of these things myself. I had two flats in about 100 miles of riding a brand new bike. This was very strange considering I had practically no flats during 1500 miles last year on my previous bike. After both flats, being somewhat frustrated, I just changed the tube to get back on the road. Instinctively I thought that the tires just weren't suited for the rather rough roads around here. However, at the bike shop I was told that I really shouldn't be having such problems with these tires. He instead advised me to check the location of the hole in the tube. Turned out that the whole had appeared on the same location (relative to the vent) on both tires, facing the rim, and right over a spoke. Still, to me everything seemed perfectly fine in this area on the wheel so I returned to the bike shop to explain my findings in hope that they would have experience with similar problems. I was told that punctures of this kind had to be caused by an object lying inside, that I must have had really bad luck since the wheel seemed to be in perfect condition. I figured maybe there was something stuck in there that I didn't catch the first time, but had somehow disappeared after having the second flat. Although I didn't truly believe that I figured what the hell so I just took the bike home again. I went for a ride later that same day, in awesome weather, and had yet another flat only 6 miles into the ride, again facing the rim. This time I was pretty sure the flats couldn't be coincidental. After another detailed examination of the wheel I couldn't find anything except that the rim tape seemed to have a tendency to slip towards the edge of the rim in certain places. Visually it didn't seem to expose any of the spoke holes, but maybe it did ever so slightly, or that it could've been further displaced when fitting the tube. Anyway, returning to the bike shop with this new information they offered to change the rim tape to a slightly wider type. Clearly that solved the problem as I can now ride my new bike without having a flat every 40 miles or so.

I still find it very weird that this would be a problem on a brand new £1900 road bike. It's not like I had made a careless replacement of the rim tape or anything. I guess it just shows that it's important to conduct some thorough detective work when you have unusual flats. For me the trouble wasn't all for nothing though, because I actually ended up learning quite a bit. Especially about flats. I also realized the importance of seating the tire properly.

ai_1

Good post koalacube.
I agree, if you don't know what caused your punctures then any action is premature. I don't think I've ever had a puncture and not known the specific cause. If it's something penetrating the tyre then you should be able to find the offending thorn, glass or whatever lodged in the tyre adjacent to the location where your tube was punctured. If it was a pinch you'll normally get the two parallel cuts where the rim pinched the tube. Puncture resistant tyres will only help with sharp items coming through the tyre. If that's not what's causing you trouble then it's worse than a waste of money, it's also potentially an unnecessary compromise to performance.

drlodge

I *always* pump up the punctured inner tube before replacing it, to work out where the puncture is and hence ensure I find the root casue (e.g. thorn or pinch flat). It amazes me the number of people who have a quick fumble in the tyre then just fit the new inner tube without first establishing what caused the puncture in the first place.

dj58

I use this Panaracer Race Type D EVO2 in 25mm on the Rear wheel.
http://www.panaracer.com/road.php