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After fixing a puncture on the back wheel of my road bike this morning, I decided to head out for a cycle, only to get a flat 0.5k from my house. I decided to head back to mine to fix it. After fixing, I headed out again, only to get another flat. So again I headed back to mine and essentially gave up the idea of heading out.
Fitted a new inner tube so I could cycle over to my ladies place, got about half way there, I had another bloody puncture!!!!
What am I doing wrong? Each time the hole has been in a different place, I've checked the inside of the tire and rim and there's no damage or anything stuck in the tire. I've also been careful not to pinch the inner tube when refitting the tyre.
Please could anyone offer any advice or suchlike? TBH I feel a bit of a moron having to ask but there you go...
Ride an MTB and go tubless. 😉
the flint can be a devil this time of year, only needs to be tiny to be a recurring puncture if undetected
New tyre, could just be worn?
Check your tubes to see where the punctures are, if they are on the rim died then you have a rim tape issue or could show up cuts around the valves.
Switch tyres for some "armoured" one, I switched to Spez Armadillo ones a few years ago and despite commuting pretty much daily since and in all weathers not had a single puncture.
A drop of milk in the tube?
Sometimes you're just unlucky.
What pressures are in the tyres?
And how old are the tyres?
3 punctures on my MTB yesterday... All in the front tyre...
Got home, changed the tubes for new and guess what, flat again this morning 🙄
And no, no thorns in the tyres, but I do think Maxxis Beavers are the thinnest tyres known to man.
+1 for tyres just being worn out if you're certain you removed the offending item.
I use GP 4Seasons tyres and find they last very well, but like you I did get 4 punctures in 2 rides (3 in one ride) a few weeks ago. Had flats in each wheel, culminated in a slash which ruined the tyre, definitely not the same object each time!
Could be:
- Worn tyre. Replace immediately.
- Tyre pressure too low and unforgiving road surfaces.
- Racing tubes. Doubtful, but have experienced multiple punctures with these on normal commutes.
- Bad luck.
I use Continental Gatorskins which are fine until it's time to replace them. Seems to be every 2-3000km after which they let pretty much anything through.
Is the puncture in the same place each time? Chances are it's a tiny flint buried in the casing. This is the real reason for lining up valves and logos.
@johnclimber - great suggestion, yes I'm tubeless on my mtb and I never have any issues at all. 🙂
@titusrider - my tyres are pretty new, they're gp4000s, so guessing pretty puncture resistant. The punctures are all small pin pricks on the tyre side and are in different places each time. That's why I'm perplexed as to what schoolboy error I'm making
Do you line up valves and tyre logos? If not then it could well be in different placeson the inertube caused by the same flint in the tyre.
Pressure is 100psi, been using lightweight specialized inner tubes but wouldn't expect so many failures
@fourbanger - could be the case although I tried not to move the tyre round too much when changing the tube. I'm guessing the only remedy to flint in the tyre would be a new tyre?
Could be a thorn just, and no more, sticking through, they can be a beggar to find.
I ride on Specalized All Condition Armadillos and in 7,000 miles with them i have never had a penetration puncture.
They do only last about 2k each but good grip and puncture resistance make them more than worthwhile.
I have also heard the Gp4000 4 seasons are very robust.
I experienced this on my road bike a few years back; went like this, 1, 2 & 3rd tubes gone, then the remaining leach patches...phone wife for a rescue 🙄
Turned out to be a tiny bit of flint, or chip from a stone chipping, that was sitting just between the inner and outer surfaces of the tyre; becoming a problem only after inflation + body wt forces 'coupled' to finally cause it to rub through the tubes etc. I must have looked at that tyre for hours (on and off) before I found it and removed it with tweezers.
I feel your pain.
Argh, didn't realise you left the tyre on when changing tube. I just rip it all off so I can check it. Take it right off and turn it inside out. This should stretch any nick or tears and open them up. Bend any nicks you see to open them up even more and use a metal implement (Stanley knife works well) to dig in and feel for anything solid. If its a big gash, clean it and use a dab of superglue to fix the hole.
Wet weather and flinty areas can be a nightmare. A group of 5 of us suffered 16 puntures on a 70mile ride a few years ago. 1 guy with 8. We wlked the final .5 mile! Im not a roadie, but learnt something new on that ride!
Iv had 3 in my last 3 rides with Kevlar protection Mtb tryes just unlucky really and not sure if the last one caused my crash into a wall yesterday or was because of the crash but I'm hurting and the bike is scratched grrrr
Might be bit of glass had this a few times over the years.New tube fine get to work ok back in bike shed later down.Look alot closer in tyre and dig out really small piece of glass after i got what i thought was the main bit out.I changed the tyre fine then.
Thanks for the advice all. I'll be getting my tweezers and magnifying glass out then 🙂
I was getting punctures on nearly every ride, cr4p shwalbe that came with bike, I swapped to Panaracer Ribmos and only had 2 in a year.
Take the tyre off and scrub it clean under the tap using degreaser as well. Then under a strong light and using a very fine knife, go over the whole thing - investigate any nicks or cuts in the tyre cos chances are there'll be a tiny piece of glass or flint in one of them which won't puncture until you pump it all up and sit on it. Anything like that, flick it out with the knife blade and put a bit of superglue or puncture repair glue on the cut.
And yes, I feel your pain, I've done 3 tubes like that in the last week. Once the tyre is worn, you'll just keep getting them. Move the front tyre to the rear, put a new tyre on the front and bin the old rear. Saves money and gets a bit more wear out of the tyre - a front one will often last twice as long as a rear.
xcwanabe - disagree - I just got glass in my specialized armadillos, resulting in a 5km walk and a nice ride on the train tomorrow. Bollocks.
Can anyone recommend some good 700x23 tyres for commuting? Schwalbe Marathons? Continentals?
I've had great success in London with GP 4 Seasons. On one memorable occasion I went over some glass, and had to stop to pick out a shard the size of an m&m from the front. Didn't puncture though.
If you didn't find the cause of the puncture, and it wasn't a snake bite, then the cause is still embedded in the tyre. I don't swap a tube unless I can find what caused it. It's very rare that the debris isn't still in the tyre, and in that case, I'll make sure I find the hole that it went through.
Getting the debris out can be tricky - sometimes pushing hard with tyre lever from the inside of the tyre will push it up.
Other causes I've had for a run of punctures:
- Replacing with a badly repaired tube
- Finding and removing a second, harmless bit of debris
- Inflating with CO2, then coming back 2 weeks later to find the tyre flat again
Some good advice here.
A simple on which has caused me issues in the past is the pressure they are pumped up to
I am a bit heavy and if I dont pump them up past 100psi, I find punctures quite common one broken surfaces when going faster.
+1 for the worn tyre issues too (exacerbates the above)
(My mini pump struggles to get enough pressure in the road tyre, this has caused a couple of multi puncture trips in itself!)
Check the rim tape is not deformed as this can cause punctures at the spoke drilling. If the tape has dimples in it then it's time for a new one.
Sandwich the "King of Punctures" round these parts!
Some great advice indeed. Thanks all