Road bike puncture prevention

max174

What do you recommend to reduce the frequency of dreaded punctures? I have used gatorskin tyres for several years with pretty good results. However I have been plagued with punctures recently.
I even tried slime inner tubes - lasted two days before my last puncture.
Any advice, particularly on tyres, will be gratefully received.

cooldad

Go tubeless

singleton

There's only once that I had regular and repeating punctures - and after having too many of them I eventually found a tiny piece of flint stuck into the rubber of my tyre.

ricky_h-2

I find Stan's latex filler works pretty well on the commuter and helps reseal minor punctures.
Also a good idea to deflate the tyre and pick out shards of glass/crap that the tyre picks up fairly frequently

keef66

I've always had 25mm GP 4 Seasons on my winter bike and found them pretty puncture proof. They are bloody expensive now though, and they wear relatively quickly. But every time I've tried a different tyre in the wet I've had punctures from tiny flint shards we get round here, so I'll likely stick with them.

Punctures in the summer I can cope with. Few things more relaxing than sitting on a verge in the sunshine, swapping an innertube and scrutinising a tyre.

In the winter when you're 30 miles from home, the light's failing and you can't feel your toes, the last thing you want is that funny wobbly feeling then the sound of your wheel rim hitting the road.

Maybe I'll try tubeless when I've retired and I have the time and money to invest in new cycling tech...

thistle_

Ricky h wrote:

Also a good idea to deflate the tyre and pick out shards of glass/crap that the tyre picks up fairly frequently

+1
My tyres have puncture protection strips in them, and haven't had a puncture yet ( :roll: ) but the rubber was full of bits of glass the other day which I spent half an hour picking out pliers/tweezers. Little cut marks 3-4 mm long in the rubber give away their location.
I think if I'd left them in, eventually one of them would've got through.

cycleclinic

your already using tubeless Keff66 if you drive a car or ride a motorcycle. It is well worn tech and motorcyclist know how to fix a puncture because they cant get the wheel out and put a tube in.

gatorskin tyres are not that puncture resistant

lettingthedaysgoby

I’ve only had one puncture in the last 18 months/3.5k miles.

The secret? Apparently it’s to do nothing other than use GP4000’s with whatever tubes my local bike shop sells, can’t remember the brand. :?

In other words, I think an awful lot of it is down to luck...

timothyw

Luck is a big part of it.

Have you definitely established what has been causing your punctures? It could just be bad/misaligned rim tape or something embedded in the rim that you haven't found yet.

Bumo_b

Another one here for GP4000II. I check for cuts after each ride and fill any small cuts with adhesive. Only one puncture over winter. A lot mst be luck though

StillGoing

I use GP4000s II with Stans Tyre Sealant. Not had a puncture I know about since.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/stans-no-tubes- ... 1248664142

milemuncher1

https://tannus.co.uk

I’ve been using them on one of my bikes for over a year. No punctures, ever.

svetty

In our group a number of guys have stuck with GP4000s over the winter instead of using winter tyres. Funnily enough it is often these guys who puncture during group rides. Compared to other summer race tyres I think they are probably more puncture resistant but they aren't up to the rigours of a Yorkshire winter IMO.

keef66

thecycleclinic wrote:

your already using tubeless Keff66 if you drive a car or ride a motorcycle. It is well worn tech and motorcyclist know how to fix a puncture because they cant get the wheel out and put a tube in.

That's true I suppose. So when I replace my worn out RS10 wheelset I'll be sticking with rim braking but want:

reasonably robust, wider rims
tubeless ready
well sealed cartridge bearings in hubs that are DIY friendly
handbuilt for ease of repair
sensible spoke count

65kg leisure rider using the same roads as you, but a lot slower. Not commuting or carrying loads..

What would you suggest from your selection?

(and if I wanted a dyno hub front wheel, are the bearings user- serviceable?)

svetty

thecycleclinic wrote:

your already using tubeless Keff66 if you drive a car or ride a motorcycle. It is well worn tech and motorcyclist know how to fix a puncture ....

This is true but it's a bit of an apples vs oranges comparison - mainly because the pressures are different. Road bike tyres are typically 75-100 PSI, car/motorcycle tyres are 28-45 PSI.

Poppa Wheelie

Definitely recommend tubeless.

Slime filled inner tubes are not the same thing so don't let any bad experiences with them put you off.

With slime filled inner tubes if you get something sharp penetrate the tyre they'll only seal it if the sharp object goes fully through both the tyre carcass AND the inner tube. If it only 'just' goes through the tyre carcass it will be moving in and out of the inner tube as the wheel rotates, preventing the sealant from sealing the hole properly. This doesn't happen with tubeless tyres as the tyre carcass holds the sharp object still enough for a seal to form.

milemuncher1

On a road bike, tubeless won’t help with intrusion punctures, owing to the higher pressure relative to a big off road tyre, for example. You don’t have an inner tube, so the possibility of a pinch flat is eliminated, but personally, I don’t remember the last time I had a pinch flat anyway. Anyone who thinks that a road tubeless tyre is the way to go, to avoid intrusion punctures, is having a laugh. When they do puncture, they are a messy nightmare to sort out as well, mostly due to the tricky ness of getting them re seated in the clincher rims, without a capacitance pump, if ( when ) you get a big enough hole.

lettingthedaysgoby

Milemuncher1 wrote:

On a road bike, tubeless won’t help with intrusion punctures, owing to the higher pressure relative to a big off road tyre, for example. You don’t have an inner tube, so the possibility of a pinch flat is eliminated, but personally, I don’t remember the last time I had a pinch flat anyway. Anyone who thinks that a road tubeless tyre is the way to go, to avoid intrusion punctures, is having a laugh. When they do puncture, they are a messy nightmare to sort out as well, mostly due to the tricky ness of getting them re seated in the clincher rims, without a capacitance pump, if ( when ) you get a big enough hole.

So those videos of people riding over glass, nails and tacks and the tyres sealing themselves are fake?

And surely the point of tubeless is that you run lower pressures compared to normal road tyres?

Monty Dog

Love the critical comments of tubeless from those that have patently never tried it! Was out yesterday on my winter trainer which is a CX bike shod with 40mm tubeless Schwalbe G-Ones - there were a couple of guys out on 'summer' bikes with skinny tyres - on a long downhill I just dropped into a tuck and rolled past a guy who was pedalling to just hold pace on 23mm tyres. Most of our riding is on small country roads with lots of run-off from fields that brings mud and tiny flints - anyone that rides Conti tyres of any flavour is treated with suspicion knowing they'll likely puncture.

Poppa Wheelie

For the life of me I can't understand why cyclists still persist with inner tubes.

The reason all other road vehicles went tubeless years ago is that inner tubes can puncture and deflate instantly like a kids party balloon stabbed with a pin. That's where the term 'blow out' comes from. These days it's used to describe any old puncture but when cars used inner tubes it mean a rapid deflation which almost always resulted in a crash.

Given that most road cyclist can go well over 30 mph downhill, if your front tyre instantly deflates at speed you'll be picking gravel out of your skin. Or worse.

To me, that risk far outweighs any possible argument for using inner tubes, hence my original statement.

Vino'sGhost

Poppa Wheelie wrote:

For the life of me I can't understand why cyclists still persist with inner tubes.

The reason all other road vehicles went tubeless years ago is that inner tubes can puncture and deflate instantly like a kids party balloon stabbed with a pin. That's where the term 'blow out' comes from. These days it's used to describe any old puncture but when cars used inner tubes it mean a rapid deflation which almost always resulted in a crash.

Given that most road cyclist can go well over 30 mph downhill, if your front tyre instantly deflates at speed you'll be picking gravel out of your skin. Or worse.

To me, that risk far outweighs any possible argument for using inner tubes, hence my original statement.

Possibly they persist with Inner tubes because road tubeless is not a perfect solution yet for many reasons. Thats not to say some people dont prefer it and there are reasons why they might but it isnt the perfect panacea.

Helmets to wear or not, disk brakes or rim brakes Shimano or campag, non of it matters much really just ride.

SHHH

My vote goes to Schwalbe Durano Plus. Ride is a bit harsh, but for puncture protection they're very good.

dstev55

Ride the right tyres for the right conditions. Getting fed up of clubmates getting punctures in winter to find out they're running summer tyres with less puncture protection than a Conti GP4000s. Also ensure tyres are at the optimum pressure for your weight. Again still have 70-80kg clubmates who think they need their 25c tyres at 120 psi.

timothyw

To be fair, at least they won't pinch puncture at 120psi.... It's only their arse that's suffering (well, and their legs from the bit of extra rolling resistance....)