The "P" word

trevorh

I think we all know what I'm talking about!!! 2 on the way home Tuesday, 1 on the way in yesterday and 1 this morning. Running Spesh Armadillo all condition tyres which are supposed to be puncture resistant but haven't really proved it!! I am running 700c x 25 but am thinking about going 28 on the back as it now has a hole in it and cannot be used (at least without risking further P's. Anyone else having issues? I commute from Banstead to Leatherhead and there seems to be rubbish all over the place at the moment.

imatfaal

trevorh wrote:

I think we all know what I'm talking about!!! 2 on the way home Tuesday, 1 on the way in yesterday and 1 this morning. Running Spesh Armadillo all condition tyres which are supposed to be puncture resistant but haven't really proved it!! I am running 700c x 25 but am thinking about going 28 on the back as it now has a hole in it and cannot be used (at least without risking further P's. Anyone else having issues? I commute from Banstead to Leatherhead and there seems to be rubbish all over the place at the moment.

I thought the Spec Armadillo were rubbish and punctured multiple times before binning. If you dont care about the ride, and can put up with the scorn of roadies then look at some Schwalbe Marathon Plus; they are as good as tubed tyres get. With a bit less protection but less woodeness and much less weight you can use one of the Gatorskin varieties from Continental or Durano Plus from Schwalbe. Some people swear by Vittoria Randonneur Pro but I am not convinced.

From my experience (I am sad enough to take notes)
Marathon Plus - worn out five sets (two punctures) - ride for entire winter season. Grip not great.
Continental Grand Prix - worn out four sets ( 6 punctures) - tend to use in summer. Grip much better. Expensive
Schwalbe Durano Plus - worn out three sets ( 4 puntures - and a day when I rode over tacks scattered on road). Grip very nice in dry
Vittoria Randonneur Pro - chucked after approx 1000km having had half a dozen punctures - was a very wet and scummy winter and my commute was colossal and on bad roads. Grip and ride much much nicer than M Plus

trevorh

The bike originally came with Espoir Sport tyres which only punctured twice but frayed at the side walls and had to be binned. I may go back to those or just adjust my riding line to miss the rubbish. The only issue is I have to get the tyre replaced at lunchtime today so may not have much choice.

TonyJams

Another vote for Marathon Plus tyres. They feel a bit rigid and lifeless but I'd rather that anyday over punctures on a winter commute.

jamesco

Vote against M+ at 28mm.

I'm as puncture-wary as most, but 28mm M+ are just too uncomfortable, IMHO; they're basically like riding on solid rubber with the relatively high pressure (of 28mm tyres), stiff sidewalls, thick tread and consequent lack of cushioning.

Some cheapy Continental Contact+ tyres came with a bike I bought and they were okay and haven't punctured (in not much use, to be fair). I'd even take GP 4 seasons over M+ and put up with the punctures.

The Rookie

Did you find the cause of the P each time or just multiple punctures by not finding the original cause?

2 P's in 6500 miles for me, neither stopped me as both were due to glass debris on campus so managed to complete the last few hundred yards before it deflated.

fenix

I've marathon plus on the winter bike too. I've done adventure races on those tyres too and they didn't let me down.

A bit heavier than my summer gp4000s but I can cope with that in winter. Better training innit.

They also have a reflective band around the side which isn't a bad thing for a commuting tyre.

trevorh

The Rookie wrote:

Did you find the cause of the P each time or just multiple punctures by not finding the original cause?

2 P's in 6500 miles for me, neither stopped me as both were due to glass debris on campus so managed to complete the last few hundred yards before it deflated.

Flint for the first puncture, badly repaired inner tube for the 2nd, there was a hole right through the tyre and was rubbing against the inner tube causing punctures 3 and 4. As my lbs is a spesh dealer I went for a 28 Armadillo All condition on the back and signs of the fairy again yet. When the front needs replacing I will put a 28 on the front too.

mr_eddy

I used to go with the really heavy duty tyres like the Marathon's and also the Randonneur 2 and to be honest whilst they do protect from small debris I punctured both sets within 6 months (not pinch flats as I had them close to max pressure) , For me the massive rotational weight and numb feel was a put off. No tyre in the world will stop a nail or big piece of glass so I ended up just going for a decent 25c Vittoria Pro and squirted some sealant into my tubes. I am in no doubt that eventually I will puncture as its just par for the course but at least I can enjoy the road more in the meantime.

I tend to focus on avoidance rather than protection now, Wherever possible I tend to cycle 1m away from the road edge as that is where most of the crap is and I also avoid cycle lanes (unless the road option is unsafe) as I find that cycle lanes are even worse for debris that then road. I also get my tyres up to about 85% of max pressure (currently 90psi) to avoid pinch punctures but still retain some cushioning.

squired

Nine this year for me, running GP4000s. Three of them were due to sidewall failures. I'm finding at the moment that my commute seems to be littered with broken glass for practically the whole 20km route. Before this year I'd had about two in ten years of commuting.

squired

Make that ten for me now. Once again the sheer volume of broken glass on london's roads is the problem. Two separate shards of glass went through one tyre. Thankfully the holes were small enough for me to be able to get home, but still extremely frustrating. It seems that the local councils simply aren't cleaning roads anymore and what can you do when you are met with a dozen piles of shattered glass in the road every single journey?