Lots of punctures = new tyres????-

DavidfromWarboys

Hi,

I've had three punctures in the last 5 days riding across both wheels. Always cleaned the tyre out and not one straight after the other so they are independent.

I am currently running Continental Gatorskins which have been on for about 18 months and must have a couple of thousand miles. Do they need replacing or is it just that time of year?????

If so can I thoughtlessly go from 23mm to 25mm?

The Gators have been great until recently but this now my winter bike so might go for something with a bit more tread to avoid toppling over. Are these any good?

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-marathon-plus-smartguard-rigid-road-tyre/

Thanks,

dM

iron-clover

As a general rule, yes- although I would expect more in the rear as it will have worn faster. Also it assumes they're not pinch flats from being under inflated.

Also with Gatorskins, how often do you check the tread for small embedded flints? I found after a thousand miles or so that they would be more susceptible to the small flints that work their way in over a few weeks- checking regularly helped a lot!

As for other hardy tyres, Gatorskins are as good a choice as any, and are certainly a hard wearing tyre. I got about 6k miles out of one pair- although they had been worn a bit flat by then! You can go straight to 25C without any problems, and I found them easier to mount as a bonus.

The Marathon Plus tyres are the most indistructable pneumatic tyre I've ever come across, and I use the original Marathons on my town bike for their 'fit and forget' nature. They do feel a bit like hosepipes though and they don't feel as grippy in the corners but they won't let you down. For sole road use you don't want tread on your tyre as it is the tarmac that bites into the softer rubber, so any gaps in the rubber reduce your grip. Off road the opposite is true so you need the knobbles to bite into the dirt. Aquaplaning isn't an issue with high pressure bike tyres either- at 100psi you need to be doing over 90mph before they'll aquaplane.

Fitting them is so hard that you wouldn't want to do a roadside repair anyway- wide rims do help a lot though.

Scwalbe Duranos are also worth a look- I think they're a lot more supple than the Gatorskins and they do also get great reviews, but I doubt they'll be quite as puncture resistant or last as long.

Good luck!

singleton

I had lots of punctures in the same wheel - it got to the point where it wa almost every ride.

I checked the tyre and rim and couldn't find anything, but in the end I fitted new tyres and I've had no punctures since. Maybe the sidewall was going off, maybe there was a small piece of something stuck in the tyre itself and didn't show up without load on it - I don't know what it was but the new tyres fixed the problem for me.

DavidfromWarboys

In two cases I found tiny sharp pieces of flint in the tyre just peeping through to the inside.

Do I want a folding tyre or not, what's the difference?

paulbnix

I use 25mm Duranos and normally get between 5000 and 6000 miles from them.
Of course I do get some punctures but not often.

The folding versions are easy to fit and if you look around you can sometimes find them for less than £20.

A friend recently fitted some Michelin Pro 4 Service Course (they were an incredible price from Decathlon) but has gone back to Duranos because he was getting wheel spin climbing steep wet hills.

Giraffoto

As an important question for the OP, did you find what had caused the puncture? If not, it's a fair possibility that the punctures all have the same cause.

charlie_potatoes

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19750266#p19750266]Giraffoto[/url] wrote:

As an important question for the OP, did you find what had caused the puncture? If not, it's a fair possibility that the punctures all have the same cause.

Yep. Worth checking the rim/rim tape as well as the tyre

simon_masterson

Gatorskins are really hardy, I commute on them and have punctured about 4-5 times in 4-5 years - my suspicion would be that it's being caused by something embedded unless the tread is very conspicuously (as in, blindingly obvious) worn through - in which case, replace the tyre.

As for folding vs wired, a folding bead is flexible and lighter. I personally don't worry about the weight too much with Gatorskins as they're utilitarian and rock hard, and the wired ones tend to be much cheaper, but folding tyres are also easier to store and carry. (if you ever need to)

cadseen

Yes just swop them over, making sure you have enough clearance first. Although it should be ok unless you have close fitting mudguards. With the 25mm you will also be able to run them a little lower pressure and will handle better in the bad weather a slippery roads.