Do road bikes get many punctures?

[chris667]

It varies, really. I had a road bike once that seemed to get one most days, and one that was reliable as a bond film at Christmas. Same tyre.
Really narrow tyres need respect and skill, though, and although it's something you can pick up fairly quickly I don't ride with skinny tyres because I want a wheel I know shouldn't break if I hit a pothole and they aren't that much faster than wider tyres. 28mm is much, much more comfortable and still gives a really fast, exciting ride.

 

[accountantpete]

If you use country roads always keep a lookout for a freshly cut hawthorn hedge.

 

[Black Sheep]

i'm about 10 stone and the wheels on my bike are the first set of wheels i built and have been on there for two years without having to true them (ought to get round to that) in that time i've only had about 2 punctures, this was due to a very worn out tyre and another that bulged and pinched the tube (exploded in the bike shop!)


i have pinched a tube when replacing a tyre but i don't think that counts.

 

[HJ]

If you have good wheels and tyres it shouldn't be a problem, from experience I can recommend Mavic Open Pros and Conti GatorSkins...

 

[swee'pea99]

15 miles every working day, in London, on supposedly reasonably puncture-resistent tyres (either Conti GP4000 or Gatorskins - 700/23 & kept reliably at 120psi back, 100 front), I reckon over the last five years I've probably averaged a puncture a month. Maybe I'm unlucky. (As someone said, the odd thing is they seem to be like buses - none for ages, then three come all at once...)

 

[HJ]

One a month I have been averaging one per 1,000 miles...

 

[on the road]

I've been averaging 1 puncture every 3200 miles over 4 years (roughly).

 

[Tynan]

I've tried and discarded Conti Gators and GP4000s for cutting and flatting, one a month chimes with my opinion on those tyres

cheap as chips Luganos and Blizzards run well, wear well and have been far better for flats

pretty colours too