The new 28mm Gatorskin emplaced after the puncture on the previous page punctured this morning. At lunchtime I shall go and buy an Armadillo before fixing the tube; this evening I shall return the unused 28mm Gatorskin atop the kitchen cupboards to Ribble for a refund and return the three-week-old punctured tyre, complete with foreign body, to Continental.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting
Puncture woes
(62 posts)-
Posted 9 years ago #
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Punctured last night and ended up walking home for 2 miles, all because some tube had smashed a glass bottle on the win dust path near Westfield Ave.
Thought I'd avoided it all, but a sneaky blighter "jumped up" from the side of the path and slashed my fairly new Marathon on the side. Then decided to release itself, hiding all evidence of the deed. Now looks like the tyre won't last much longer.
Went back and cleared away the glass with my foot to hopefully save another cyclist.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Another Gatorskin failure, another lunchtime Armadillo-shopping and repairing...
Posted 9 years ago # -
@wingpig That's mad. What's getting through, is it glass?
Posted 9 years ago # -
@wingpig - I swapped from Duranos to Gatorskins a few years ago. To my dismay, the Gatorskins punctured frequently, cut-up far too easily and were utter swines to get on and off the rims of the wheels I had at the time.
I switched back and changed up to Durano Plus tyres, which have proved excellent. First time I've ever ridden a rear for so long that it wore through to the blue layer beneath the tread! Don't think I ever punctured en-route with that set of tyres either - front still going strong after almost 3 years, rear was replaced a few months back.
Maybe worth considering a change of brand?
Posted 9 years ago # -
@threeftomleith Going back to Armadilloes. Moved off them as they didn't work well at 23mm but they're fine when fatter.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Strangely I run gatorskins (25/28) and probably average one puncture a year (including the one I'll get tonight for saying this).
Posted 9 years ago # -
They've averaged two punctures per tyre this year since March. Armadilloes were about one puncture every three tyres...
Posted 9 years ago # -
I've had my rear develop a slow puncture (two days spent sitting in the stair well for the last deflationary disaster) so whatever is the problem I'm obviously not solving it with the trusted running a thumb round the rim and inside of tire method.
I did realise at last change that the tires are well overdue a changing in any event (they're not *supposed* to have a flat-ish edge where the tire comes into contact with the road, are they?) so hoping replacements will put an end to problems. Meantime, I'm amking a point of walking to York Place for a tram so I at least get some exercise.
Posted 9 years ago # -
I'd like to sing the praises of both Panaracer and Schwalbe puncture-resistant tyres. Panaracers got one puncture (well, four, but it was all the same piece of wire over a couple of days; once all bits located and removed it was fine) in c. 2000 miles. Then replaced those, as they'd worn out, with Schwalbe marathon pluses which managed NO punctures in the next 2000 odd miles. All while under pressure from Rather A Lot Of Luggage and a rider eating her own bodyweight in donuts every 24 hours, with some bonus excursions onto tracks that really needed a mountain bike due to the lies google mapping likes to tell cyclists.
Very impressed with both sets of tyres - I had resigned myself to fixing punctures on a regular basis (and was carrying a preponderance of spare tubes etc.).
Posted 9 years ago # -
Yeah. Marathon Plus tyres are just incredible. Years of riding with no problems. Standard Marathons seems to be pretty near indestructible too, but the Plus really is a plus. I still carry spare tubes on longer rides, but so far they have just occupied space in the saddlebag or pannier before returning to the garage...
Posted 9 years ago # -
+1 for marathon plus
Posted 9 years ago # -
Have had 6 punctures in last 2 months with the cheap and nasty tyres provided with my bikes. Transferred a semi used pair of marathon pluses to one bike and bought Continental Touring plus (LBS stocked them in preference to marathons now) and hoping for a change in luck.
It is puncture season- came across 2 cyclists with punctures in each direction today.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Grrr. Big pop from the back a quarter of the way up Leith Walk this morning, which initially made me think the rim had spanged, but it was probably just the swiftly-escaping air wafting at my leg. I prefer the punctures which happen nearer work - a quarter of a mile earlier and I'd've judged it worth going home for the sparebike.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Didn't have time yesterday lunchtime to do more than slightly reduce the squidginess of my rear tyre on the way in with the partially-functional trackpump in the office car park. After getting it back to full strength just before leaving this morning there was a telltale hissing when I left the house, centered around the valve area. Managed to get a few hundred metres up Leith Walk before it started bottoming out, but at least it'll probably only be a straight tube-swap rather than a trying to find a puncturing agent.
Posted 8 years ago # -
I think I managed to survive the whole of 2015 without a single puncture (not riding for the last 6 weeks helped). I paid the price this morning though and was visited shortly after leaving the house.
I suspect not pumping up my tires after the FRB closure is the biggest culprit.
Posted 8 years ago # -
I've been visited by the fairy today too, even though I recently fitted Marathon Supremes to replace the easily-perforated stock tyres on my Croix de Fer. Tell-tale 'click-click' followed by that (literally) sinking feeling, just after turning onto West Coates. Turned out to be a one-inch nail very firmly embedded in the rear tyre, which would have done for pretty much anything I suspect, even a M+.
At least it was easy to find...
Posted 8 years ago # -
If Panyagua was changing a tube outside the former Donaldson's School about 815AM this morning, then I'd like to retrospectively claim a spot.
Posted 8 years ago # -
@kap
Yep, that was me. The wall and railings were handy for wheel bracing while pumping. The offending nail may still be sitting discreetly on the wall.
Posted 8 years ago # -
AAAAAAAAAAAAG.
After only two and a half commutes out of the refitted Schwalbe Winter my front started bouncing suspiciously going around the Picardy Place roundabout, where three or four punctures in the last twelve months have made themselves known. At least the rain will lubricate it when trying to refit it. The extra-fun thing is that I was going to put on brand new and hopefully more resilient 38mm Winters but was waiting for a delivery of some wider anti-flat tape, to avoid having to fit then remove again to install the tape.Posted 8 years ago # -
I broke my golden rule this morning - don't cycle on the Innocent path between Brunstane and Duddingston Road W when it's wet. And what happens? A p***e, of course.
Managed to get to KB though with two sets of inflation. I'll need to fix the p***e at lunchtime.
Posted 8 years ago # -
@amir - why does it being wet make it more likely to get a puncture on that stretch? Wondering if I can get a tip here to avoid future woes...
Posted 8 years ago # -
@nobrakes
It is part of folk legend and lived experience that p*nctures are more likely when it rains. Theories;
1) Water lubricates the passage of glass through rubber.
2) Rain washes nails, thorns etc out into the carriageway.
3) The P*ncture Faeries like rain.Posted 8 years ago # -
Thanks @IWRATS, something to bear in mind now I have gone back to skinny tyres after a long number of years on knobblies. I was wondering if maybe the faeries lived on the innocent path specifically or something :)
Posted 8 years ago # -
There is always glass on the Innocent. The council would need to sweep it daily.
To add to the theories
4) it's hard to see glass when it's wet
5) glass sticks more readily to the tyres (before being lubicated through!)
6) the faeries like to see suffering and it's always worse fixing a p***e in the wetPosted 8 years ago # -
After two successive days' multiple instances of clenching over several patches of glass my rear Armadillo was soggy this morning; at least it waited until it got home. I'll treat it as an opportunity to test the fit of winter tyres. Fortunately the sparebike was left ready-to-go after a couple of adjustments a few weeks back.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Despite my internal grumbling about the deep siping on modern Armadilloes being a risk as far as spiky little particles are concerned the spiky particle seemingly responsible for my puncture had made it all the way in through the maximal tread thickness, just in the right place to have a go at the tube where the anti-puncture tape had ridden up. Under the general heading "don't put off stuff you're dreading" I just got on with fixing it rather than messing about trying to see if my fat new winter spikes fitted.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Posted 6 years ago #
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When went to make some toast at mid night checked my tyre pressures, do every night. My rear winter tyre at back was flat. As expected a stud had come through. The second rear tyre to fail this winter. I tried a liner twice, slime, remove studs none worked that well. I found taking dead weight of bike by not loading up pannier may have worked, using a ruck sack if heavy weight. Last week in bad weather used panniers wed to sat, as did not want glass in ruck sack in case came off. I have changed tyre using my last slightly used winter tyre.
I went on line to order a spare but cant see any on chain reaction.
I have found winter tyres on line but they are sized in American. 28 x 1,35" and a 28 x 1,20" or a 28 x 1,60 or a 28 x 2,00. I want a 700, 30 or 700, 35 metric which size do I order?
Posted 6 years ago # -
My rear Schwalbe Spikey Whatever turned out to need more than just a top-up this morning. Fortunately, it should not be needed again until later in the year, but I had been hoping that by the time studs became no longer useful I would have finished my new rear wheel and could have just left the studs on the existing wheel in the shed for three whole seasons. Also fortunately, the colleague to whom I lent my scooter was going to return it today, so a walk to work would not mean a walk home too.
Posted 6 years ago #
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