No no no no ......

[Joe24]

Im on my second gator skin on my back wheel in less then a year. They square off pretty fast.
The one i have on now hasnt squared off so fast though, mainly because ive been riding my fixed more.

 

[snapper_37]

Im on my second gator skin on my back wheel in less then a year. They square off pretty fast.
The one i have on now hasnt squared off so fast though, mainly because ive been riding my fixed more.

You are talking way over my head Joe.... What is this squared off???

I have had the new tyres delivered today and I am certainly not looking forward to tackling the swap over. What I think I will do is change the rear tyre, where I had all the punctures and leave the front and just see what happens.

 

[jayce]

That would send me scatty touch wood ive never had a puncture with a road bike i think ive been very lucky as i use my bike every day

No pun*t*re but snapped 2 spokes gutted

 

[Eat MY Dust]

I don't think I've had 9 punctures in 5 years and that probably doing around 30k miles. I'd agree with Bonj (as much as I hate saying it!)

 

[snapper_37]

Ok guys, thanks for all your patience and advice....

I WAS going to put the new tyres on tonight but thought I'd check around a bit, following what I've learnt on here.

Now, most (if not all because I really didn't take notice at first) of the punctures are on the inside of the tube, by the valve. I have checked the tyre, yes there are cuts etc but nothing in it. Now, the rim tape (if you can call it that) looks cheap and nasty and some of the spoke holes are finished off like shite.

Could this be the problem instead? I have repaired the puncture (right by the valve). I have attempted to put the tape flush over the holes, done 5 miles and all intact so far .... but this has been the story all along. Goes ok for a few miles and then psssttttt.

So ... I could have purchased 2 new tyres for nothing? What is my next best bet?

 

[jpembroke]

Velox rim tape is the answer.

 

[Radius]

I was just a little surprised as these are conti gators and less than a year old!!!

There's your problem!

Some people love them, but I've heard many a complaint about their tissue-paper-like nature re p*nctures...


PS: Could also be rim tape, but I dunno, if you say your tyres have gashes in them, that's probably a decent enough explanation. Check where the p*nctures are on the tube, inside or out? EDIT: Just read above, ok then, try the rim tape...

 

[Joe24]

Squared off means they arent round no more. When you put them on, they are round, but the tyre wears down in the middle. This means that it sort of squares off, and you can see it.
The rubber in the middle of the tyre is thinner then normal, but the rubber on the outside of the tyre is still thick.
Your more lickely to have punctures when its like this because of the lack of rubber near the centre of the tyre, so little sharp stones or bits of glass get cut through the tyre easier.
Ive got 2 tyres that have done this, one is alot more obvious then the other. Ill take a pic of it tomorrow. It really does look square.
Infact, the Gatorskin i put on in the summer is not as round as it was before already

 

[fossyant]

If your punctures are on the inside, at least eliminate any sharp metal - new rim tape is a good bet too.

I've finally taken my nice Hutchinson Top Slick2's off my MTB - well worn - two punctures in last 3 weeks (having only had one in 8 months previously) despite being rather 'light' tyres...... rear is totally fubar'ed - saw it starting to bulge at the weekend, then removed and found a patch where the thread is coming through...bugger..... put my very heavy semi-slick old vittoria's back on for now.......(the Vittorias are lighter than Marathons though )

Was hoping to drag them out a bit further (bike to work is coming)......nope tyres properly dead..... PS don't want to buy tyres that will be used for a month then binned forever - the MTB will be back on knobblies.........

 

[grhm]

Squared off means they arent round no more. When you put them on, they are round, but the tyre wears down in the middle. This means that it sort of squares off, and you can see it.

I used to have a colleague whose tyre regularly got squared off. They were on his m/cycle and it always happened after he was messing about and doing skids.

Apparently it also make cornering odd - as you lean intothe corner and there is a distinct switch from using the flat bit and the rounder edge.

Joe, are your squared tyres on your fixie? Are you doing too many skid stops? Or is it just the soft compound of the tyres?

 

[Joe24]

Actually, i have cheap tyres on my fixed.
On the geared bike, which i dont skid on(they flat spot easy, i found out after my back wheel locked up by accident) the gatorskins square off.
The Kendas on the same bike squared off.
The Schweble tyres on the fixed dont flat spot, dont square off fast. I did alot of skids on them aswell when i had the smaller gear on it. Now im on 72" i controle the braking more, but you cant help it sometimes, and when i emergency stop the wheel sometimes locks.
It was worth with the Kendas, i put the squared off one on the front(put that set on for abit while i was messing around on it) and you really could feel the difference. It would go in a straight line well, when you went into a courner you could feel it was squared off. More so because it was on the front. When it was on the back it wasnt so bad.

 

[Tynan]

i the holes are on the inside then it's a rim tape problem, as I think I posted very early in this thread, electrical tape, couple of turns of, done

 

[Joe24]

So, if you havent got it already:
If the puncture is on the inside of the inner tube. Its your rim tape.
Just get rid of the tubes. get Tubs. No inner tube to puncher then

 

[snapper_37]

I'm bumping this up because I'm getting to the end of my tether.

At weekend, I put decent rim tape on the wheel and spent ages checking all the rim. Put 2 new tyres on.

Fine yesterday and then psssssttttttt.

I was so mad, I could't be arsed fixing it at roadside so walked the 2 mile to work.

On examination of the tube, the area around the valve was bulging and there was a hole in the rubber at the base of the valve.

I'm using 700s x 25 - 37 with 700 x 25 tyres. When I fitted the new inner tube, it seemed 'too big' around the valve area?

Any ideas before I slit my wrists?

 

[Plax]

Are you absolutely certain that you have got everything out of the tyre? I went through a succession of punctures a month or so ago - I couldn't find what was causing them, and I could cycle 5-8 miles before they went flat. After turning the tyre inside out I eventually found a tiny lump. A tiny bit of glass (as small as a piece of grit) had got into the tyre, but not gone straight through. It was a right sod to get out too. Problem solved when it was removed.