Changing a wheel/tire?

[DEL 707]

I have a pretty cheap bike, a Carrera Crossfire 1.
The current problem I'm having is that the back wheel has gone through 4 inner tubes in a very short space of time. I've looked over the outside and inside of the tire each time I've replaced the inner tube, but I can't find what's causing the problem.
I'm only using cheap inner tubes from Halfords, but I can't be this unlucky?

So I'm thinking of charging the tire, or maybe the whole wheel. Is there anything I should aim for? What kind of details do I need?

Also on the subject of innertubes, is it a case of you get what you pay for, or do the cheap ones do the job?

 

[slowmotion]

How worn is the tyre itself? I tend to get a whole rash of punctures when the tread is getting pretty thin, once, three in a week. They go away with a new tyre.

Are you totally sure there isn't something lurking in the rubber of the tyre?

Is the valve on the tube OK, or is it slowly leaking?

Is the rim tape OK or is the end of a spoke being a bit naughty from the inside?

Tubes are tubes, in my VHO. Get the cheapest non-silly ones you can find. You can usually get three or four for under a tenner if you stock up, I'm told.

Good luck with a diagnosis.

 

[PaulSecteur]

Are the punctures always in the same place? Inflate the tube and hold under water to see where the air bubbles come from.

If its always near the valve, or same distance from the valve you can work out where to look.

Also, check for any sharp edges (be carful) actually on the inside of the wheel.

 

[Sharky]

Try lining up some writing on the tyre wall with the valve hole and then making a note of where the puncture falls. If the same place each time, then it would point to a fault in the tyre or rim at that point.

You could also try swapping the front with the rear. If the problem transfers to the front, then it must be the tyre/tube. If the punctures carry on at the back, then something wrong with the rim.

good luck

 

[slowmotion]

Also, have a really good look at the tyre from the outside. Use a bent out safety pin to dig out small bits of stone/glass/thorns from the rubber. Sometimes they get buried quite deep and the rubber closes over them, making them quite hard to spot.........but they never sleep........

 

[raleighnut]

 

[steveindenmark]

Slowmotion is right. A stonechip could be caught in the tread and they can be a devil to find.

If you change the tyre, change it for a schwalbe Marathon Plus and your puncture days should be over.

 

[screenman]

When checking the inside of a tyre use a piece of cloth rather than your fingers, I do both to be sure, the cloth will snag on any object. As others have said, compare placing of each puncture in future.

Worn tyres can certainly contribute to punctures, but so can many more things.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Another vote for for giving the tyre a really good close check as thorns or tiny bits of glass can hide themselves quite effectively.

It is possible to get a bad batch of tubes and I've been unlucky enough to have two dud batches from Halfords. It was a pretty distinctive failure though, they all had a bulge and a split near the valve, so quite easy to differentiate from a normal puncture.

I like the standard Schwalbe Marathon tyres for decent puncture protection (only just had my first puncture in 7000 miles since fitting them). The size you currently have will be marked on the sidewall of the tyre (I think the Crossfire uses 700c size wheels) and the simplest is to just get the same size again.

 

[cyberknight]

I think everyones covered it but to add my happeny i once got 3 punctures in the space of a few miles as i had a piece of debris in the tyres that was small enough not to find until i dug it out of the carcass but big enough to cause a puncture when the tube was inflated.
Bin the tyre, i believe the cross fire has 700 x42 tyres so maybe look at some better tyres .

 

[cyberknight]

Something like ?
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-marathon-original-greenguard-rigid-road-city-tyre/

 

[Neilsmith]

Also, have a really good look at the tyre from the outside. Use a bent out safety pin to dig out small bits of stone/glass/thorns from the rubber. Sometimes they get buried quite deep and the rubber closes over them, making them quite hard to spot.........but they never sleep........

+1 for this happened to me quite recently only found the offending thorn not protruding but buried in the rubber once found the problem was solved

 

[steve50]

Run a cotton wool ball around the inside wall of the tyre, if there is anything there it will snag and leave tell tale signs, alternatively turn the tyre inside out and use the same method. are you putting enough air in the tyre, too little air will cause the inner tube to nip against the wheel rim causing it to puncture.

 

[annedonnelly]

To check my tyres I turn the bike upside down, wet the tyres to loosen out any mud then run a wooden skewer round the tread watching for any debris and hook it out. I make sure I go all the way round by starting and finishing at the valve. I repeat this for each groove in the tread.

Just got something out of the Brompton rear this morning so hopefully that has prevented a problem in future.

 

[MichaelW2]

Check the rim for sharp edges at joints and holes and remove with emery cloth. Check for protruding spokes.
Use a quality rim tape (Velox). I have had wear on inner tubes from stiff rim-tape edges.