Do you carry puncture equipment in a race?

joey54321
joey54321 Posts: 1,297
edited September 2018 in Amateur race
As per the title really. During a road race do you carry anything in case you get a puncture?
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Comments

  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    That depends on where the race is ... and what you'd need.

    I'm on clinchers - so for TTs I tend to carry a tube, a lever (or 2) plus 1 x gas - in the hope that I'll at least be able to ride back to HQ even if I don't get a time. Other TTers don't bother and just risk the walk - or phone for a lift.

    Circuit "road" racers don't bother - it's such a slim chance and you're close to home anyway.

    I think if I was out on a RR then I'd probably carry the tube, lever & gas as a minimum - it's hardly going to slow you down- but if there's a broom wagon that'll pick you up anyway then it's not worth the bother.
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    Also depends on whether there is race service or not. Most open road circuits are relatively short loops anyway, and there is always going to be someone around to give you a lift back to HQ if needed. I've never bothered carrying anything and the only puncture I ever got during a road race was right next to the HQ anyway.. ;)
  • fenix
    fenix Posts: 5,437
    A clubmate punctured on a TT one year - he rode back to HQ - about 8 miles on it. If anyone wanted to destroy a carbon disc wheel - that's an excellent and quick way to do it...
  • Matthewfalle
    Matthewfalle Posts: 17,380
    Fenix wrote:
    A clubmate punctured on a TT one year - he rode back to HQ - about 8 miles on it. If anyone wanted to destroy a carbon disc wheel - that's an excellent and quick way to do it...


    Good to see his club mates looked out for him.

    Clubbies, eh........
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • tlw1
    tlw1 Posts: 21,831
    Fenix wrote:
    A clubmate punctured on a TT one year - he rode back to HQ - about 8 miles on it. If anyone wanted to destroy a carbon disc wheel - that's an excellent and quick way to do it...


    Good to see his club mates looked out for him.

    Clubbies, eh........
    I thought it was you............
  • thistle_
    thistle_ Posts: 7,121
    Our club TT is short and there's loads of shortcuts back so don't carry anything for that.
    Anything over a 10 miler I take my backpack (!) with tubes, pump, levers and keys just because I'm paranoid about losing them out of my jersey pockets when hitting/jumping a pothole.

    I ordered one of those bottle cage tool holders from PlanetX that were £1 so I can stash stuff in there, just waiting for it to arrive.
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    35 years plus of cycling and I don't think I've ever had anything jump out of my jersey pockets.
  • cycleclinic
    cycleclinic Posts: 6,865
    I use tubeless so the most I carry is tyre worms but if I am wearing a skin suit I risk it and carry nothing. So far I have been lucky but I also don't race in fragile tyres.
    http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.
  • fenix
    fenix Posts: 5,437
    Fenix wrote:
    A clubmate punctured on a TT one year - he rode back to HQ - about 8 miles on it. If anyone wanted to destroy a carbon disc wheel - that's an excellent and quick way to do it...


    Good to see his club mates looked out for him.

    Clubbies, eh........

    "Clubbies" don't have a hive mind - how the hell were we supposed to know he was doing that ? I don't think I even saw him on the road at that race.

    I think you've been watching too much pro cycling on TV. No following cars and radios for us.
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    Our club TT is short and there's loads of shortcuts back so don't carry anything for that.
    Anything over a 10 miler I take my backpack (!) with tubes, pump, levers and keys just because I'm paranoid about losing them out of my jersey pockets when hitting/jumping a pothole.

    I ordered one of those bottle cage tool holders from PlanetX that were £1 so I can stash stuff in there, just waiting for it to arrive.

    backpack on a TT?! flippin eck - most I'd do is wear a normal (tight) jersey - under a skinsuit if you like - and put a tube, lever & (gas) pump in there. Never had anything jump out of a jersey pocket and you should be avoiding potholes anyway. I'm more bothered about the aerodynamics of shuving a pump in my back pocket - but then figure it's not going to make a huge difference - and I'd rather not have to walk....
  • LWLondon
    LWLondon Posts: 55
    I use tubeless so the most I carry is tyre worms but if I am wearing a skin suit I risk it and carry nothing. So far I have been lucky but I also don't race in fragile tyres.

    Is there not a bit of a juxtaposition between being so concerned with aero that you wear a skin suit, but not using good tyres?
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    LWLondon wrote:
    I use tubeless so the most I carry is tyre worms but if I am wearing a skin suit I risk it and carry nothing. So far I have been lucky but I also don't race in fragile tyres.

    Is there not a bit of a juxtaposition between being so concerned with aero that you wear a skin suit, but not using good tyres?

    Not really. The difference between 'good' tyres and 'average' tyres is fractional, IMO...
  • Matthewfalle
    Matthewfalle Posts: 17,380
    Fenix wrote:
    Fenix wrote:
    A clubmate punctured on a TT one year - he rode back to HQ - about 8 miles on it. If anyone wanted to destroy a carbon disc wheel - that's an excellent and quick way to do it...


    Good to see his club mates looked out for him.

    Clubbies, eh........

    "Clubbies" don't have a hive mind - how the hell were we supposed to know he was doing that ? I don't think I even saw him on the road at that race.

    I think you've been watching too much pro cycling on TV. No following cars and radios for us.

    The fact he was either standing at the side of the road looking at his wheel with a flat tyre or riding bolt upright at 3mph wobbling everywhere on a bike with a flat tyre may have given it away.

    Nice to know you lot look out for each other.
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • Matthewfalle
    Matthewfalle Posts: 17,380
    Back on track, rolled up pre taped tub in back pocket with a couple of co2 canisters in the other.
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • whatleytom
    whatleytom Posts: 547
    Imposter wrote:
    LWLondon wrote:
    I use tubeless so the most I carry is tyre worms but if I am wearing a skin suit I risk it and carry nothing. So far I have been lucky but I also don't race in fragile tyres.

    Is there not a bit of a juxtaposition between being so concerned with aero that you wear a skin suit, but not using good tyres?

    Not really. The difference between 'good' tyres and 'average' tyres is fractional, IMO...

    Lol, whereas the difference between good tyres and bad ones is probably almost a minute on a quick 10 course.

    Something like a gatorskin will have a CRR aproaching 0.006, whereas a tubeless vittoria corsa speed will be closer to 0.002.

    Have a go on mywindsock on you're nearest TT course, should give you an idea of how important tyre choice can be in terms of rolling resistance alone.
    Blog on first season road racing http://www.twhatley.com/
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    whatleytom wrote:

    Lol, whereas the difference between good tyres and bad ones is probably almost a minute on a quick 10 course.

    Something like a gatorskin will have a CRR aproaching 0.006, whereas a tubeless vittoria corsa speed will be closer to 0.002.

    Have a go on mywindsock on you're nearest TT course, should give you an idea of how important tyre choice can be in terms of rolling resistance alone.

    Like I say - fractional. Worth reminding people that the OP is talking about road races - not TTs. And if you miss out on a top 10 in your local evening crit - well, let's just say it won't be because of the .004 loss in CRR...
  • Andymaxy
    Andymaxy Posts: 197
    Lucky enough where I live pretty much all races have neutral support, besides those weekly races where everyone get together and just have fun. I don't see any riders bring spare here because of the awesome support crew.

    Personally I don't bring anything because I run tubeless tires and there is a very very low chance of puncture. Even if there isn't any neutral support and that I'm running clincher, I wouldn't bring spare because that defeats the purpose. If you get a puncture during a race, then by the time you fix it it's race over for you, so I wouldn't even bother to carry the extra weight.
  • whatleytom
    whatleytom Posts: 547
    Imposter wrote:
    whatleytom wrote:

    Lol, whereas the difference between good tyres and bad ones is probably almost a minute on a quick 10 course.

    Something like a gatorskin will have a CRR aproaching 0.006, whereas a tubeless vittoria corsa speed will be closer to 0.002.

    Have a go on mywindsock on you're nearest TT course, should give you an idea of how important tyre choice can be in terms of rolling resistance alone.

    Like I say - fractional. Worth reminding people that the OP is talking about road races - not TTs. And if you miss out on a top 10 in your local evening crit - well, let's just say it won't be because of the .004 loss in CRR...

    Hardly fractional, the difference between that amount of CRR is probably getting close to 15w. Tell me you wouldn't feel the fresher being able to average 15w less sitting in the bunch after an hour of racing.
    Blog on first season road racing http://www.twhatley.com/
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    whatleytom wrote:
    Imposter wrote:
    whatleytom wrote:

    Lol, whereas the difference between good tyres and bad ones is probably almost a minute on a quick 10 course.

    Something like a gatorskin will have a CRR aproaching 0.006, whereas a tubeless vittoria corsa speed will be closer to 0.002.

    Have a go on mywindsock on you're nearest TT course, should give you an idea of how important tyre choice can be in terms of rolling resistance alone.

    Like I say - fractional. Worth reminding people that the OP is talking about road races - not TTs. And if you miss out on a top 10 in your local evening crit - well, let's just say it won't be because of the .004 loss in CRR...

    Hardly fractional, the difference between that amount of CRR is probably getting close to 15w. Tell me you wouldn't feel the fresher being able to average 15w less sitting in the bunch after an hour of racing.

    Freshness after an hour of racing has more to do with how much work you have done/had to do during the race and whether you have sat in for an hour, or spent the race attacking or off the front. It really has fck all to do with your tyres.
  • whatleytom
    whatleytom Posts: 547
    Right.... Next time you race then try running 30psi :roll:
    Blog on first season road racing http://www.twhatley.com/
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    whatleytom wrote:
    Right.... Next time you race then try running 30psi :roll:

    Straw man argument. We were talking about tyre quality, not tyre pressures.
  • fenix
    fenix Posts: 5,437
    Fenix wrote:
    Fenix wrote:
    A clubmate punctured on a TT one year - he rode back to HQ - about 8 miles on it. If anyone wanted to destroy a carbon disc wheel - that's an excellent and quick way to do it...


    Good to see his club mates looked out for him.

    Clubbies, eh........

    "Clubbies" don't have a hive mind - how the hell were we supposed to know he was doing that ? I don't think I even saw him on the road at that race.

    I think you've been watching too much pro cycling on TV. No following cars and radios for us.

    The fact he was either standing at the side of the road looking at his wheel with a flat tyre or riding bolt upright at 3mph wobbling everywhere on a bike with a flat tyre may have given it away.

    Nice to know you lot look out for each other.

    He carried on racing as far as I know. I take it you've not raced yourself or you'd know how these things work. I think I was back at the finish as he was our latest start.
  • whatleytom
    whatleytom Posts: 547
    Imposter wrote:
    whatleytom wrote:
    Right.... Next time you race then try running 30psi :roll:

    Straw man argument. We were talking about tyre quality, not tyre pressures.

    So if you're not fussed about rolling resistance why bother inflating tyres to the correct pressure :wink:
    Blog on first season road racing http://www.twhatley.com/
  • LWLondon
    LWLondon Posts: 55
    Imposter wrote:
    whatleytom wrote:
    Right.... Next time you race then try running 30psi :roll:

    Straw man argument. We were talking about tyre quality, not tyre pressures.

    To get back to my previous point, I guess I wasn't debating good v average tyre, I was debating going for an average tyre if you're serious enough to wear a skin suit. I would have thought if you're in a skin suit (not that cheap), you're going for somewhat of a "marginal gains" approach - and you'd get just as much (if not more? I don't know) benefit from better tyres?
  • Matthewfalle
    Matthewfalle Posts: 17,380
    Fenix wrote:
    Fenix wrote:
    Fenix wrote:
    A clubmate punctured on a TT one year - he rode back to HQ - about 8 miles on it. If anyone wanted to destroy a carbon disc wheel - that's an excellent and quick way to do it...


    Good to see his club mates looked out for him.

    Clubbies, eh........

    "Clubbies" don't have a hive mind - how the hell were we supposed to know he was doing that ? I don't think I even saw him on the road at that race.

    I think you've been watching too much pro cycling on TV. No following cars and radios for us.

    The fact he was either standing at the side of the road looking at his wheel with a flat tyre or riding bolt upright at 3mph wobbling everywhere on a bike with a flat tyre may have given it away.

    Nice to know you lot look out for each other.

    He carried on racing as far as I know. I take it you've not raced yourself or you'd know how these things work. I think I was back at the finish as he was our latest start.

    I may have done a race or two. I'll check my memory banks.

    So he was the last man to go so loads of people had finished - including yourself - so the marshalls etc would have got word back that he had punctured and you couldn't be bothered going out to get him because you were too busy sitting around doing nothing?

    Great clubmanship there. That's belonging.

    I take it you have never raced further than local club level?

    Good to see that at least he knows what to expect next time and the level of support he is required to give you.
    Postby team47b » Sun Jun 28, 2015 11:53 am

    De Sisti wrote:
    This is one of the silliest threads I've come across. :lol:

    Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour :D
    smithy21 wrote:

    He's right you know.
  • DeVlaeminck
    DeVlaeminck Posts: 8,719
    Imposter wrote:
    whatleytom wrote:
    Imposter wrote:
    whatleytom wrote:

    Lol, whereas the difference between good tyres and bad ones is probably almost a minute on a quick 10 course.

    Something like a gatorskin will have a CRR aproaching 0.006, whereas a tubeless vittoria corsa speed will be closer to 0.002.

    Have a go on mywindsock on you're nearest TT course, should give you an idea of how important tyre choice can be in terms of rolling resistance alone.

    Like I say - fractional. Worth reminding people that the OP is talking about road races - not TTs. And if you miss out on a top 10 in your local evening crit - well, let's just say it won't be because of the .004 loss in CRR...

    Hardly fractional, the difference between that amount of CRR is probably getting close to 15w. Tell me you wouldn't feel the fresher being able to average 15w less sitting in the bunch after an hour of racing.

    Freshness after an hour of racing has more to do with how much work you have done/had to do during the race and whether you have sat in for an hour, or spent the race attacking or off the front. It really has fck all to do with your tyres.

    Irrespective 15 watts is still 15 watts - why would anyone turn that down for the sake of a slightly increased risk of a puncture ?

    It does seem odd to eschew carrying a pump and tube but then not use race tyres - especially as average tyres are not puncture proof so there is still the risk of having to walk back to the HQ.
    [Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    Irrespective 15 watts is still 15 watts - why would anyone turn that down for the sake of a slightly increased risk of a puncture ?

    It does seem odd to eschew carrying a pump and tube but then not use race tyres - especially as average tyres are not puncture proof so there is still the risk of having to walk back to the HQ.

    Sure I'd take any power gain, but let's try to get things in perspective. I've said this before, but I've seen members of the GB junior academy rock up to local evening crits and win comfortably on their training wheels (Aksiums and Gatorskins, as I recall). Meanwhile, some of us are obsessing about buying 15 watts...
  • whatleytom
    whatleytom Posts: 547
    Imposter wrote:
    Irrespective 15 watts is still 15 watts - why would anyone turn that down for the sake of a slightly increased risk of a puncture ?

    It does seem odd to eschew carrying a pump and tube but then not use race tyres - especially as average tyres are not puncture proof so there is still the risk of having to walk back to the HQ.

    Sure I'd take any power gain, but let's try to get things in perspective. I've said this before, but I've seen members of the GB junior academy rock up to local evening crits and win comfortably on their training wheels (Aksiums and Gatorskins, as I recall). Meanwhile, some of us are obsessing about buying 15 watts...

    I've seen members of my team do the same, but they're stronger guys that typically have bags of talent and belong in higher categories. As an average 2nd Cat, if I want to win in a field of particularly strong guys (many of whom should be 1st or even Elite) then I have to make sure I do as much as possible to push the odds in my favour. That's everything from being as aero as possible, making sure my drivetrain is optimal and make the right equipment choices. If you just want to "get round" then I guess its a different mentality, but I don't spend 10-15 hours a week training to not make the most of my chances, especially when it comes to spending a few quid on tyres.
    Blog on first season road racing http://www.twhatley.com/
  • daddy0
    daddy0 Posts: 686
    I don't carry any PR kit. All the TTs and RRs I have entered have marshals spread around the course, so at worst it would mean a mile or so walk if I punctured. The only time I did puncture (on worn old tyres) was right next to some marshalls, so I just had to wait until the end and someone came to pick me up. RRs generally have a bunch of support cars with spare wheels, who will then give you a tow back to the bunch. Crits are all round short circuits, so I leave my saddle bag at the start/finish line.

    BTW - the nearest I came to a win was 0.028 seconds. If I'd had better tyres I'd have probably won, but I don't have the budget to take it that seriously.
  • ShutupJens
    ShutupJens Posts: 1,373
    whatleytom wrote:
    Imposter wrote:
    Irrespective 15 watts is still 15 watts - why would anyone turn that down for the sake of a slightly increased risk of a puncture ?

    It does seem odd to eschew carrying a pump and tube but then not use race tyres - especially as average tyres are not puncture proof so there is still the risk of having to walk back to the HQ.

    Sure I'd take any power gain, but let's try to get things in perspective. I've said this before, but I've seen members of the GB junior academy rock up to local evening crits and win comfortably on their training wheels (Aksiums and Gatorskins, as I recall). Meanwhile, some of us are obsessing about buying 15 watts...

    I've seen members of my team do the same, but they're stronger guys that typically have bags of talent and belong in higher categories. As an average 2nd Cat, if I want to win in a field of particularly strong guys (many of whom should be 1st or even Elite) then I have to make sure I do as much as possible to push the odds in my favour. That's everything from being as aero as possible, making sure my drivetrain is optimal and make the right equipment choices. If you just want to "get round" then I guess its a different mentality, but I don't spend 10-15 hours a week training to not make the most of my chances, especially when it comes to spending a few quid on tyres.

    Those guys who you say are stronger on your team, must have been at your level at some point right. Do you think they got better by treating regional A races like world champs? If you think that you can't win unless everything is "just right" then you have already been defeated imo

    I used to race on FMBs but it wasn't worth the money really, no way did riding clinchers instead of tubs ever mean the difference between having a good race and just getting round