CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting

Puncture woes

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  1. cb
    Member

    - Last Monday 3 mins from the house, got a puncture on my 'station' bike.

    - Late wednesday night realising I needed bike for the next day, executed a hasty repair.

    - Thursday morning, tyre was flat. Grr. Grab track pump, inflate, ride to station.

    - Thursday evening, get off train and inflate tyre. Seems to go down a bit quicker on the way home; very soft by the time I get home.

    - Take the tyre off again (Schwalbe City Jet - absolute b***** to get off) find, locate and fix another hole. Think, 'that must be it', reassemble wheel (checking tyre and rim /again/ for sharp bits).

    - Next morning tyre is flat again. Wish I'd just stuck a new tube in, but having now invested /three/ patches I /will/ fix it.

    - Using basin of water find two more holes in random other locations.

    - Fix the latest holes, pump up tube and leave it for a bit.

    - Later on, the tube is still inflated. Great - prepare to do battle with the stupid Schwalbe again, but hang on...

    - ...tube now has a rattle - didn't notice that before! There's something inside.

    - With a heavy heart, take Stanley knife and make small cut in tube.
    Extract the following (no not the coin).


    Puncture culprit by ccbb7766, on Flickr

    How did it even get in there leaving no visible trace in the tyre?

    Anyway it's fixed now and still inflated (and I put the Specialized Crossroads on the bike and condemed the City Jet to the cupboard).

    Posted 13 years ago #

  2. kaputnik
    Moderator

    That is well impressive! I guess when the tube is inflated it goes in through a hole the same size as the piece of glass. When the tube deflates the hole becomes smaller?

    How it gets through the tyre though is just witchcraft.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  3. crowriver
    Member

    Maybe you need a new tube? The old one can be handy for cutting up into strips and placing under things you want to clamp onto your bike frame/bars.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  4. spitters
    Member

    I too have puncture woes - was flat in bike shed last night - threw in tube from the saddle pouch which was not new and might have been punctured before - flat again this morning, no time to change it, sore leg so decided take the bus - diversion because of mound
    forgot work pass.
    Get in work - replacement security pass, realise key to my drawer also on my pass, no glasses, no cash.
    Can I just go home and back to bed now please?

    Posted 13 years ago #

  5. cb
    Member

    I also forgot to mention that my track pump broke, roughly half way through all of that.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  6. kaputnik
    Moderator

    The faeries hunt in packs. My last-but-one visitation happened in this order;

    flat
    replace tube
    frame pump bottom seal went
    walk home
    inflate
    30 seconds from house
    rapid deflate
    walk home
    replace tube
    inflate
    30 seconds from house
    explode
    walk home
    replace tube
    inflate
    explode
    check tyre - ripped and snagging tubes against rim
    walk to Bike Works
    new tyre, 2 new tubes
    success!

    (and I subsequently managed to re-insert the seals in the bottom of the frame pump. I think)

    Posted 13 years ago #

  7. Claggy Cog
    Member

    One past experience was three punctures, all in different places, all repaired successfully, all in one day within hours of each other. New tyre purchased and fitted, no more punctures!! Result. This has happened since too, so I would say that once you get a run of punctures it is time to consider changing your tyres as they are probably worn.

    Posted 13 years ago #

  8. cb
    Member

    "I also forgot to mention that my track pump broke, roughly half way through all of that. "

    Woe level has now decreased.

    It was the Schrader part of the nozzle that is broken - the wee bit that depresses the vavle seems to have stopped moving.

    I contacted Genuine Innovations, explained the problem and asked if they had any UK distributer for spare parts.

    They got back to me, asked for my address, and posted me a new hose and nozzle, free of charge.

    Thanks you Genuine Innovations!

    Posted 12 years ago #

  9. wingpig
    Member

    I bought three new tubes three weeks ago: one to be fat enough to live inside the 28mm Armadillo with which I was replacing the 23mm Gatorskin on the front and then two spare as an indication of my mistrust of the canal between here and Falkirk. No punctures on that trip but then my front blowout last week and a sneaky bit of glass which ripped through the rear wheel's six-month-old Armadillo 28 on Bothwell St on the way home last night have used them all up.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  10. fimm
    Member

    I managed to pull the valve out of the tube when attempting to top it up with air last night. It would be the Brompton back wheel, of course (quick release they are not). At least I didn't have to spend any time looking for the causes of the hole, and now I have presta valves on both wheels (rather than the schrader which I could never get the pump off...)

    Posted 10 years ago #

  11. jdanielp
    Member

    I don't think I grumbled about it at the time, but I had an awful few weeks in May and early June following my decision to try out some different tyres after my Specialised Crossroads tyres wore out. I replaced the front tyre with a Schwalbe Landcruiser in January and then had a Schwalbe Silento fitted to the rear when I had my bike servied prior to Easter (the intentional mismatch being because I wanted to experiment with a grippy front tyre and a smoother running read tyre).

    Following my Easter break, during which I didn't have much time to cycle, I then got back on my bike on the commute following the PoP weekend. Within a week I suffered my first ever major puncture on the way into work - the rear fully deflated on the towpath close enough to work that I elected to push the rest of the way and fix the puncture at lunch. As it turned out, it was probably a double-puncture caused by the same, unknown source, because I suffered a slow puncture on the front later that week, which I assume took longer to manifest itself because of the reduced front weight.

    Over the course of the next 4-5 weeks I had to deal with a series of punctures (more in that time than the previous tyres had suffered in 4-5 years) to both tyres and went through a number of replacement tubes and attempted patches. In the end I decided enough was enough and fitted a new pair of Specialised Crossroads tyres in early/mid June, which are still running fine!

    Whilst there may have been a degree of bad luck with regards to debris on my route during that period of time, I can't help but feel that the Schwalbe tyres were seriously under-engineered despite claiming to have kevlar puncture protection. Certainly, after only 4-5 months of use for the front tyre and 4-5 weeks of use for the rear, there was already quite a lot of minor damange to the tyres evident, aside from the major cuts (even through the thickest parts) which lined up with the location of the numerous punctures.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  12. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @jdanielp

    I had Schwalbe Landcruisers on this winter after fitting them for trail riding last summer. They were perfect on the trails - some of which were really quite rugged - but succumbed to a blackthorn thorn on Gogar Station Road that looked like something out of a mediaeval reliquary and went straight through my thumb when I was feeling around the inside of the tyre for what I thought was the usual shard of glass.

    I've now gone back to Specialized Nimbus, a make that has only ever punctured on me once in twelve years. I don't know what caused that puncture, but whatever it was, it cut the tyre in two and took a chunk out of the rim. Are there great white sharks in Dundas Street? Can I claim a wildlife highlight?

    Posted 10 years ago #

  13. wingpig
    Member

    Now that I have a 28 at both ends I might try and get up to the loft to retrieve one or two of my dead-and-tread-separating-from-carcass 23s off which I can slice the beads and strip the remaining tread to create a couple of high-tpi boots for added pointy-thing resistance.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  14. kaputnik
    Moderator

    Rear tyre got glassed this morning around Ravelston Dykes. Sat on Coltbridge Viaduct in the sunshine installing a temporary patch. On days such as this I don't really mind having an excuse to stop and sit in the sun for 15 minutes.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  15. kaputnik
    Moderator

    Given the rear tyre went flat on me twice today (neither of which was "fixed" with anything more than the application of some more air), I'm going to say that the lifespan of the temporary patch referred to above is 5 days commuting plus some weekend bimbling, c. 120 miles.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  16. Baldcyclist
    Member

    This happened yesterday on the way to work...

    Whilst replacing the tube I 'pinched' it, and in the process used all of my remaining CO2. 2nd spare tube in pannier no use to me. Walk to train station.

    'Fix' the puncture in the evening. Get on bike this morning and get as far as Aberdour, another flat. Walk to train station.

    'Fix' the second flat at lunchtime, discover the patch I had put on last night has come of.

    Looking at bike just now, the tyre is flat again. Don't know cause as yet. The tube I used I inflated last night and left for 4 hours, fine.

    Walk to bike works and get them to fix it (see how long that lasts), or... Walk to train station?

    Posted 10 years ago #

  17. SRD
    Moderator

    get bikeworks to put in new tube?

    Posted 10 years ago #

  18. kaputnik
    Moderator

    Was it a "real" patch or one of them self-sticky ones. I've had problems with the latter seemingly holding well for a while and then repeatedly deflating.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  19. Baldcyclist
    Member

    "get bikeworks to put in new tube?"

    Yep, sometimes giving in gracefully is the thing to do, eight of my pounds have now been handed over.

    Although, despite the hassle, part of me would feel vindicated if it was flat again in an hour.

    "Was it a "real" patch or one of them self-sticky ones."

    Self sticky ones. I've used them quite successfully until now, I had put it down to operator error.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  20. paddyirish
    Member

    If I've found the offending article, the pinch issue is my big problem and the secret is not using tyre levers - a bugg3r with my Schwalbe marathons...

    This is how to fix a puncture

    Posted 10 years ago #

  21. Kenny
    Member

    Had a puncture today near Roseburn. It was a pinch flat / snakebite, and I can see from camera footage the pothole in the road that caused it.

    Is there any point raising this with the council? I know that such flats are generally caused by underinflated tyres - I didn't realise my tyre was too flat, but it's a while since I last inflated it in fairness. However, I'm more interested in seeing whether they'd actually fix the road due to the puncture they caused. Am I beating a dead horse by even thinking about it?

    (The tube was able to be patched, incidentally, so total cost to me is approx 42p. I'm such a tight-arse.)

    Posted 10 years ago #

  22. Cyclingmollie
    Member

    @Baldcyclist Tyres inflated with CO2 can deflate overnight. I've been caught out by that a few times.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  23. acsimpson
    Member

    @Kenny, If the pothole is able to cause a puncture it's certainly worth reporting through Clarence. I don't think you'll get anywhere with your compensation claim though.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  24. Kenny
    Member

    I don't think you'll get anywhere with your compensation claim though

    Even though it would only be for 42p? ;) If Clarence is the way to go to report it, sounds good to me.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  25. Kenny
    Member

    I think the topic name pretty much sums up my day, which was pretty bad in many ways, but made all the worse by punctures.

    On the way to work, I got a puncture, but as I was about 200 metres from work, I thought that luck was on my side. If it was, it left pretty much immediately.

    I fixed my tube at work around 09:30, and left it pumped up all day to ensure it was fixed properly. I couldn't find any evidence of pointy objects on the inside or outside of the tyre, so assumed something else had caused the minor hole.

    I left work with a friend, and within a mile, the tyre was flat again. So, I figured there had to be something in the tyre - surely, right? But once again, I could not find anything. So this time, I changed the tube.

    Within about 500 metres, the brand new tube was flat. Sigh. I sent my companion on his way this time, no point in us both getting cold and wet. Again, nothing to be seen in the tyre. Another patch applied - I was fast running out of patches and tubes now, with only one of each remaining.

    I decided to *not* pump my tyre up too much this time to try to limp home. I managed a whole 2 miles! But then it was flat again. I pumped it up a bit, carried on for about 200 metres, and it was flat again.

    I called the wife to come pick me up.

    Back home, I found the offending item in my tyre (see below). Not sure how I didn't find it before, but then it was dark and wet. So having removed it, and all other shards of glass from my trusty Gatorskin, I patched the 2 holes in my tube, put it back in the wheel and pumped it up to 105psi, where it stayed for a few minutes.

    I went to feed the dogs.

    BANG!

    Holy [expletive], what was that? The tube had exploded and the tyre was outside my rim. Surely my rim has just exploded, considering the noise? No, that was just the tube. The rim is still in one piece. The tube is not. The hole is big enough to fit my hand inside.

    Get the other tube that punctured earlier today, patched it, pumped it to 90psi (too scared to go higher this time). I've not heard any explosions so far while typing this, but is it still @ 90psi?

    [ goes to check ]

    Yes it is.

    The real test will be to take it out for a spin. That'll be tomorrow's job, I'm in no frame of mind to head out again, especially in the dark and wet.

    There is one lesson I learnt in all of this, aside from the fact I need to get better at finding shards of glass in my tyre. And that's when putting the tube back in, you shouldn't put the wee silver ring thingy on the valve until you've pumped the tyre up a bit. If you do, you can't get the tyre's bead inside the rim. It's obvious when you realise it.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  26. DaveC
    Member

    I have a good pair of tweezers in my mail puncture repair kit now to remove very small pieces of glass and wire should I not be able to remove them with my fingers.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  27. wangi
    Member

    Everything's a lot easier when it's f'off obvious...
    https://twitter.com/talkporty/status/535130176125165568

    Posted 10 years ago #

  28. wingpig
    Member

    Bagh. Rear flat this morning, unfortunately not noticed until rolling the bike out when it was time to go. Unfortunately my thumbs were still sore after trying to get a 28mm Gatorskin onto the properbike's front wheel the previous evening. At least, with it happening at home, I had the luxury of a brand new tube, a track pump and the option of just sticking a 35mm Armadillo back on rather than faffing about checking the inside of the 30mm Winter for bits of glass or the protruding insides of studs, though I'll determine where blame lies this evening.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  29. wingpig
    Member

    After eleven months of maintenance-free pedal-cycle-ownership the wingpiglet appears to have had his first flat this morning on the way to nursery, possibly traceable to the patch of glass on the Restalrig path we had to kick out of the way on the way to the allotment last weekend. I shall have to check that I have some viable glue in my repair kit at lunchtime.

    Posted 9 years ago #

  30. wingpig
    Member

    Large chunk of glass still embedded in the tyre is the main suspect for the front 28mm Gatorskin's flatness this morning, announced as a suspicious bouncy feeling just as I was going south over the London Road/Elm Row roundabout.

    Posted 9 years ago #

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