Four punctures in eight days.....just bad luck?

[cabern10]

Hey Everyone, I'm brand new on here and I'm looking to soak up some of your cycling wisdom!

Just recently started cycling to work over the last couple of weeks - it's pretty much all on roads and I see a good few cyclists en route. But, since I've started commuting, I've had 4 punctures in 8 days? Am i just being incredibly unlucky, or am I using the completely wrong tyres?? My bike is fairly new (old one got nicked!) - it's a Specialized Vita and I'm using the tyres that it came with. They are thinner than my old ones but I'm sure I've seen thinner ones on my fellow cyclists. Any hints, tips, ideas?

Cheers C

 

[Sittingduck]

Hi C

What tyres are they? Probably crummy ones, with that record! Stay clear of the gutter and 'glass!'


SD

 

[accountantpete]

Even with crap tyres you shouldn't be getting that many punctures.

Step 1 - always identify how the puncture came about. If it is a snakebite puncture it could be lack of air or incorrect installation.

Step 2 - if it is glass or thorns then check the inside of the tyre for sharp objects protruding though before re-assembling the tyre/innertube.

 

[biggs682]

i weny yhrough a stage where i was getting punctures all the time for no reason , lbs had no answer at all , i changed tyres etc etc still got them , then they stopped happening same roads etc etc , so no answer .

just try and use good quality puncture protected tyres for the kind of terrain you ride on with correct pressures etc etc

 

[BrumJim]

Sometimes luck just goes against you. Sometimes you forget to check the bike tyre for bits still in it.

 

[Dave Crampton]

I've been told to keep the pressure high too, but I don't know if that would help stop a puncture? But I have Schwabe Marathon Plus, which are heavy, but I've not had one puncture yet, in 6 months of riding.

I got a Specialized Rockhopper from a LBS who put on Nutrak tyres, but that bike was knicked and the insurance replaced it from Evans which came with Specialised Tyres, which made me think the bike I got from the small local bike shop had had the specialized tyres swapped from some which may have been cheaper???

I ride mostly on cycle paths but a friend won't ride on them saying there is too much glass, and says he doesn't mind the rush hour traffic, as the route is clear of debris.

 

[growingvegetables]

fwiw - has anybody flailed a hawthorn hedge anywhere along your route recently? IME, those thorns are ******** and can take days to work their way through a tyre. Slowly, inexorably and definitely maliciously.

 

[CopperCyclist]

Its a possibility its your repairs which are the problem. Have you definitely identified the cause of the puncture and removed it? i.e. the thorn in the tyre, the spoke end sticking out through the rim tape etc.

Four in eight days is a lot, but I guess you could just be unlucky!

 

[cabern10]

Hey, thanks for the tips folks.

My tyres are Specialized All Weather Durable tyres so I thought they would be up to the job. A couple of the punctures have been from glass, they've been easy to spot and not so sure about snake bite punctures. What would a snakebite puncture look like?

 

[Friz]

two holes directly across from each other. (looks like fang marks) But you'd really only get those if you are running low pressure and bounce the wheel off something rather hard. The punctures happen when the tube gets pinched between the tyre and the rim.

 

[daSmirnov]

The other half has been commuting on a Specialized Vita - whatever this year's cheap model is for about a month with no punctures - might have done about 100 miles by now. According to Evan's specs its got Specialized All Condition Sport tyres on it.

Sounds like you've just been unlucky, make a note of the position on the tube/tyre where they seem to be happening just to rule out something still stuck in the tyre or something in the rim causing it.

 

[Arsen Gere]

How long does it take for the tyre to go down?
Snake bites are usually immediate, two holes lots of air out.

If it's something left in the tyre they tend to go down over the course of a day or two.

Look at any holes in the tyre (not the tube) and fold it so it opens right up there may be something in it that gets pressed in when your weight is on it.

Try marking the rim with a pen rather than the tyre where the puncture occurred. When you fix the puncture the tyre moves round the rim. It could be a spoke protruding through the inside or a bur where the rim was drilled. The tube would show damage on the inside rather than the outside.

See if you can put the tyre back on without tools, by hand with a bit of grunt. It could be the tools nipping it when you put it on.

I've had two punctures at the same time from potholes and two punctures in a week but 4 is very unusual.

 

[tyred]

Check and then check again that there is nothing stuck in the tyre and that the spokes aren't pushing through the rim tape. It could just be bad luck. I fitted a new set of Michelin World Tours to a bike last October and had 5 punctures in a fortnight and not a single one since on that bike (~900 miles covered).

 

[calibanzwei]

Sometimes you forget to check the bike tyre for bits still in it.

+1
When I first started cycling, took 4 punctures for me to eventually figure something was in the tyre itself

 

[Leaway2]

I don't know if your repairing the tubes, but for the price of new ones from Ebay, its not worth it.