Thorn Cycles Forum
Community => Muppets Threads! (And Anything Else) => Topic started by: PH on January 14, 2023, 09:08:26 pm
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I don't mind them really, the occasional one seems a fair price for riding on decent tyres, it's usually just an excuse for a short break, step off the bike, eat something, do something different for a few minutes...
But flippin heck, two weeks into 2023 and I've already had more than in 2022, two last year and THREE this, on different wheels - One slow one that got me home after adding air, pin hole but worryingly couldn't find anything in the tyre, then a thorn on the canal path yesterday, went out to check the pressure on that this morning and front was flat from a shard of glass... If it keeps up at this rate I'll have to eat my words and buy some Marathon Pluss :'(
(https://dgtzuqphqg23d.cloudfront.net/Ld2d3hkCM62zka8juBxEozvzZ_CMww93a4-9zS8gnz0-2048x1536.jpg)
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I feel for and with you, Paul.
I just had a rare front puncture on the nearly new Continental UltraSport fitted to my Fixie. I put it down to a particularly bad road I had to ride to and from my former doctor's medical clinic -- and my frame of mind. Found out they have breached privacy laws and the whole of my medical records -- for the last 9 years! -- have been interleaved with those of a cancer patient currently in extremis and no one at the clinic seemed to care about his immediate medical needs or my privacy, despite three hours spent there with the clinic manager explaining the law and seriousness of the problem.
Whatever, it kept me from being as watchful as I should have been and as a result I nailed a piece of glass square-on and psssssssssssss! In the pouring rain, of course, and no cover to be found. Glad I had a spare at the ready as successfully applying a patch would have been iffy in the moment.
Next time, I need to compartmentalize and focus better on the task at hand.
That said, damp/wet days do make rubber easier to cut. Remembering back to my public school science class days, we could hack and saw away on rubber Bunsen burner tubing all day with no result but wet the blade or tubing with water first and it cut like a hot knife through butter. I always get more punctures in winter than summer and this may be why....
Best and in empathy, Dan.
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Funny you should mention punctures. I've been excitedly running my Mercury's original Schwalbe G-One Speed 50mm tubeless and convinced this tech was the way of the future. Loved the way the white sealant would lead me to the site of a puncture, and how quick and easy it was to plug without removing a wheel.
Then the rear, tread well worn, slowly goes down and stays down. Adding sealant doesn't help, and no evidence of the leak. I'd bought a set of Rene Herse Extralights that I'd been dying to try and so threw one on the rear - discoverig that on my rim it would need a tube, which RH recommends anyway in the fine print. Said recommendation including the observation that if run tubeless, the sidewall will start to leak as the tyre ages.
Fast forward to an early morning recently when Lizzy and I go to dig out the bikes for a spin and I have a flat front. Diagnosis goes the same way as the rear: adding sealant just wastes it but no sign of tread damage.
Forensic examination in a sink full of water discovers a trail of tiny bubbles from a part of the tyre near the rim.
My guess: it is not only RH ultralights that start to leak from the sidewalls as they age.
So the other RH is now on the front and I'm back to tubes at both ends. Only happy bit is the discovery that patches now come self-adhesive and are reported as working well.
Most annoying bit is the return to removing the wheel in most cases when effecting a repair.
I'm enjoying the Extralights but not convinced they offer so much excitement that I won't return to less exalted competitors that run on my wheels tubeless. We'll see.
I'm not even sure the Extralights (rear) are that pretty.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-LPcv5Jm/0/d763c37f/L/i-LPcv5Jm-L.jpg)
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Most of the snow here has disappeared from sublimation. Since Christmas have only had a slight dusting of fresh snow. The heavy snow was before Christmas. Did a 20 mile ride for exercise a couple days ago, first ride in over a month. No ice, thus have not installed the studded tires yet. No punctures yet this year, but I only average one a year. I had one puncture last year, thus an average year. As I type this, it is minus 2 degrees (C) outside.
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Jeez, George, not even sure that qualifies as winter ;)
Sounds pretty good, tho', I have to say.
-19 C here this morning, tho' it must be said thatwas the coldest night of the winter -- until now, we've had loadsa snow, but only one night down to -10. The snow is already at approx half of our annual average of 220 cms, with the snowiest month (Feb) still to come. Strange times, if nowhere near as malevolent and the weather in Buffalo NY.
So, no cycling at all at chez moi since mid-November: the road conditions, esp motorists' behaviour, make it just too dangerous. Here's an enjoyable & thoughtful vid on winter cycling in Canadian cities (excluding, of course, those in southwestern BC), and how & why they do it so well in Finland:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU) (It's 15 mins long, & you can skip the last couple of minutes.)
Ah yes, the link to punctures: Reading with interest all your experiences with tubeless and/or light'n'fast tires. Tho' I won't have to contend with winter punctures, I'm thinking about buying an RH 650B x 42 mm as a front tire for day rides on Freddie. If I buy one, I'll spec the "endurance" casing, & use Schwalbe's XXlight tubes. My only experience with RH tires was in the summer of 2017. Bought a pair of Naches Pass 26 x 1.75s for my Raven, seeking slightly more volumes than the Schwalbe Supremes 26 x 1.6s I was running at the time. The RHs ("Compass" at the time) were lovely tires, comfortable and a cog faster than the Supremes.
BUT. There were two problems. The first was minor: installed, they were the same size as the Supremes, 40 mm inflated. So, no greater volume, although the more flexible sidewalls did make them a little more comfortable (as well as faster) than the wholly-acceptable Supremes.
The second problem was, for me, a deal-breaker: in three or four day rides totalling about 400 kms over ten days or so in Ottawa and surrounds, I had three punctures on three separate rides, one at the front and two at the rear. These were slow-ish leaks rather than big cuts or blowouts; and were central to the tube, not a product of sidewall cuts. I repaired or replaced the tube en route each time. After those three punctures I decided then & there not to use the Naches Pass tires for any touring, and in fact stopped using them entirely.
So, an expensive experiment, and I'm not in any rush to buy the next (650B) iteration.
Good luck to all with your winter riding. Mine will be strictly aboard my trainer bike.
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I have been happy enough with Schwalbe Marathon series tires (including Dureme, Extreme, etc.) over the years that I doubt I will buy anything else for pavement riding. And with occasional sales pre-covid, at this time have so many unused tires in inventory that it will probably be years before I buy another.
Compass/Rene Herse, I am sure they are nice but I do not mind being a bit slower, so not interested at this time.
And tubeless, since in a typical year I ride five or six different bikes, about three or four of which get a lot of miles on them, I would probably spend a lot more time maintaining sealant than I spend on the occasional tube change. So, sticking with tubes. I do not see tubeless as being any advantage to me. That said, if I had one bike and put all my miles on that one, I might be more inclined to use tubeless.
I will probably have to put my studded tires on in a month or so. Another reason to stick with tubes, in a typical year I am switching between non-studded and studded tires on my Nomad Mk II twice a year.
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Compass/Rene Herse, I am sure they are nice but I do not mind being a bit slower, so not interested at this time.
Very lightweight tyres might be slower if you factor in the time spent repairing punctures.
Having been satisfied with lightweight Schwalbe One on my old derailleur lightweight I tried Schwalbe One on my Brompton.
3 punctures in about 200 kms, at that rate even Marathon Plus are globally faster. So I sold them and put something heavier on the Brompton.
What I didn't realise at the time of purchase was that the Schwalbe One comes in several different types. The 700C on my lightweight had a lightweight puncture protection belt, this was absent on the 16" Brompton tyres.
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... and how & why they do it so well in Finland:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhx-26GfCBU) (It's 15 mins long, & you can skip the last couple of minutes.)
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Thanks for posting, great video.
Here expect about a half inch of rain (~12mm) tomorrow, just above freezing, but the ground is frozen so it will probably be a mess.
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PH, the bike looks like your 'new' Nomad. Aside from the puncture, how are you getting on with it? Do you find yourself using it more than the Mercury? How does it compare?
Kevin
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I've not had sidewall leaks on the G-One Speed tyres and wonder if they get too much flexing if a bike is well loaded. I'm currently riding on tubeless G-One Allround tyreswhich are approaching 1000 miles since fitted in September. So far there are no noticeable punctures but pressures need to be topped up by a few PSI every week or so. I like a bit of tread when using the mucky winter roads which these tyres provide but they also roll very nicely. It might be wishful thinking but I assume that as the little knobs hold the main tyre carcass a few mm clear of the road surface then there's a reduced risk of small thorns or bits of glass causing punctures.
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Found out they have breached privacy laws and the whole of my medical records -- for the last 9 years! --
That's awful Dan, data protection of any sort is simpler than it's ever been, it's hard to imagine the level of incompetence that would lead to that.
But yes, distraction isn't a good thing! Tyres are so much better than they were, we were discussing this on a group ride today where I was also moaning about my luck! When I started riding with this group twenty years ago, mostly lanes with a few paths and bridleways, there's be a puncture most weeks, now they're occasional enough to be memorable.
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PH, the bike looks like your 'new' Nomad. Aside from the puncture, how are you getting on with it? Do you find yourself using it more than the Mercury? How does it compare?
Kevin
Through the winter it's been my most used bike, I don't think I've ridden the Mercury since October, nothing to do with the bikes I just haven't done any of the sorts of rides the Mercury excels at. Although I haven't toured on it yet, I've done a few 100+ km rides and a fair bit of load lugging. On paper it losses little to the Mercury, that shouldn't be surprising, it's the same tyre size and a couple of kg heavier, average speeds are in the same region.
The differences are in the feel, all that subjective stuff, the Nomad doesn't feel as sharp or as rewarding to ride, there feels little incentive to push a bit harder, neither does it have the same plush comfort, though it's far from uncomfortable... the payoff for that is that it's rock steady, maybe to the point of sometimes being a bit boring, though sometimes that's just what you want from a bike.
What it has done is free the Mercury from some of it's previous duties, which may allow me to tweak it to even better suit those rides I shall use it for, fast non camping touring and Audax.
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Punctures four and five - that's now more than in any year since 2019 and it's still January!
I'd noticed there's been a lot of hedge cutting on the ride two days ago, there seemed to have been a reasonable effort at clearing up and I slowed right down and took extra care, though it was dusk... I thought I'd got away with it. Didn't touch the bike yesterday and when I went to use it today both flat! Took the Mercury out instead, it's nice to have a choice. Fixed the tubes this evening, one thorn was so long I'm surprised it didn't go straight down, maybe it was part sealing it. Washed the tyres and picked out two other thorns and a shard of glass, so it could have been worse.
It's hard not to start doubting the tyres, though the same Almotions, in a different size, did 7,000+ miles on the Surly with two punctures, so I keep telling myself to keep the faith. I need to stock up on repair kits, had to open the fresh one I usually take out with me, maybe I should look out for someone selling in bulk!
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I do not know if they sell this in UK or not.
https://www.autozone.com/suspension-steering-tire-and-wheel/rubber-cement/p/slime-rubber-cement/487520_0_0
And I got a sheet of patches.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/314106329253
I get very few punctures, but I get tired of finding that the little tube in the patch kit dries out a few months after you use it once. So, I was often getting one repair out of a patch kit. Thus, bought the big can of glue. I probably did not need the sheet of patches, had several from the kits that no longer had glue.
I only patched a couple tubes with it, but so far I can say that it appears to work as well as the patch kits.
I carry the self adhesive patches with my on the bike, but I do not trust them past a few months. Later I peel them off and glue a patch on at home.
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Huge sympathy for the puncture cluster. It does sound like hedge season is the main issue. Round here it tends to be November but there are some farmers still getting out before nesting season. It is probably still within the expected but it is easy t start doubting the tyres. Good luck!
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My LBS is promoting TANNUS inserts.
They look like solid tyres but if one is paranoid, like me, then they could be the answer.
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I do not know if they sell this in UK or not.
https://www.autozone.com/suspension-steering-tire-and-wheel/rubber-cement/p/slime-rubber-cement/487520_0_0
Yay, 70 miles today and no punctures, yet...
I was half joking about bulk, though at the current rate that doesn't look a bad idea...
I tend to buy cheap kits and supplement them with a sheet of Rema patches in the size I use most, I hardly ever use the bigger patches in the kits. On the bike I carry a part used kit and an unopened one. If I'm not in a rush or holding others up, I don't mind patching roadside, if the cause is obvious, I'll do that without taking the wheel off. I can't remember when I last bought any, the kit I've just opened was Halfords branded, £1.29, they're now £3.
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My LBS is promoting TANNUS inserts.
They look like solid tyres but if one is paranoid, like me, then they could be the answer.
The sort that's a thick foam tube with a smaller inner tube? These:
https://tannusamerica.com/products/tannus-armour
I tried one on my delivery E-bike, with 60mm 650B tyres, I didn't like it. it made it feel like you had a puncture when you didn't! I did less than 100 miles before removing it. That bike is now on Schwalbe Pick-Ups, a tyre intended for, as the name suggests, cargo bikes. I notice some tourers are now recommending them, but not for me, even if they came in my touring bike size. The ones on the E-bike are doing the job fine, though it's difficult to evaluate them as the bike itself is very different to anything else I ride. The tyres are 1.4kg each, so not for the weight-watchers.
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Would inner tubes with sealant be worth considering https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/inner-tubes/slime-filled-normal-length-presta-valve-butyl-inner-tube-700-x-2832-2832622/ ?
Perhaps the problem will now go away as you've done your best to remove the thorns embedded in the tyres. Flail hedge trimmers and thorn hedges create a big hazard but this usually only lasts a few days after trimming as the vehicle traffic either picks up or squashes the thorns.
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Would inner tubes with sealant be worth considering https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/inner-tubes/slime-filled-normal-length-presta-valve-butyl-inner-tube-700-x-2832-2832622/ ?
I don't know if they've improved over the last couple of decades, my experience when I used Slime filled tubes on a rough commute was that they'd stop two out of three and then make a real mess when they were beaten. If it keeps up at this rate I'll consider options, though at this point I'm still trying to prioritise the data from the last ten years rather than the last month :)
On a similar subject - On my delivery bike I'm carrying a can of Vittoria Pit stop, which seals and inflates. That's it, that's all I'm carrying. I'm never more than 4 miles from home, so worst case scenario is a taxi ride as a business expense, or more likely a walk. I was sceptical about this stuff until I saw another delivery rider use it, it's supposed to be a get you home fix, he hadn't done anything else when I saw him months later. I haven't had need to test it.
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We have today just finished a five month tour of six thousand six hundred kilometers from Foz de Iguazu in Brazil through Paraguay, Argentina and Chile to Ushuaia puncture free running on Schwalbe Marathon Mondials 2" x 26". Heavy yes, but also puncture resistant.
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I got a puncture a fortnight ago in a Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyre!!! I usually carry spare tube and repair kit. I gave the spare to another cyclist struggling at the roadside in the autumn and forgot to replace it. And my tube of vulcanised rubber solution had solidified meaning I couldn’t even fix it on roadside. Murphy’s law.
I assumed it was tube fatigue or slow valve issue, pumped some air and started my 17km home commute getting about 3km till air needed again. Took bike by train to about 3km from home pumping in the carriage and managed to get home. On inspection I found a long thin piece of green glass embedded in the tyre that had barely got through the puncture resistant layer which I removed carefully with a small screwdriver. It took a while to even find the hole on the tube which only hissed with significant volume of air inflated, but otherwise went down slowly even outside the tyre.!
In fairness to the 35-622 tyre, it is over 20,000km old, had never punctured till now and was showing signs of extreme wear and onset of rubber fatigue. It was well overdue for a change which I was hoping I would do on my next oil change planned for Easter. I already had spare on hand as I wanted to get slightly wider 40-622 tyres anyhow, so put fresh tube and new tyre on rear, and the repaired tube ready back in my bike bag for the next emergency. Note to self: Get new rubber solution too, just in case :o
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I got a puncture a fortnight ago in a Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyre!!!
That's a decent mileage. both for the tyre and to be puncture free. I've only had one pair of Pluses and they wore out afte about that use, without a single puncture. I have had a few other tyres wear out without ever puncturing, a couple of Supremes, a standard Marathon and a Vittoria Randonneur, though nothing like in the same distance.
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#6
It's not funny anymore, fixing a puncture before a ride has become the routine.
Soft tyre noticed last night (Front wheel, new Marathon Racer) about 10psi down, might have been normal loss so pumped it up. Checked first thing, down 10psi again, another thorn, removed and tube patched without taking the wheel out. There was a lot of hedges recently cut on Thursday's club ride route, one rider punctured on the day, I thought I'd got away with it. I made a mental note to check my tyres when I got home... but didn't.
One a week average, heading for 50 a year!
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#6
It's not funny anymore, fixing a puncture before a ride has become the routine.
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One a week average, heading for 50 a year!
How many in front and how many in rear?
Mine are typically rear, but I have heard some people complain that most are in front. For me a front puncture is quite rare.
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How many in front and how many in rear?
2 front, 4 rear, which I think is about the ratio it's always been for me.
Also, this was the forth tyre, so any idea that it's a tyre fault is unlikely.
Anyway, 50 mile club run this morning, no hedge cuttings seen, though a fair bit debris on some urban pathway, no one punctured on the ride and mine are still fully inflated.
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In the days before all my bikes were equipped with Marathon Plus and SLIME I used to occasionally meet and converse with interesting passers-by.
These days I intend to phone my dear wife to put the rack on the back of the car and tell her where I am.
Yes. I know, I'm pathetic :) !
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Nearly got through March without another, beginning to think the run of bad luck had ended, then in the last three days...
#7
40km onto a 220km ride, front tyre on the Mercury, Marathon Racer. Took me ages to find the cause, reluctant to put a new tube in without, very clear hole in the tube. Eventually found a thorn that couldn't be felt on the inside and could only be seen from the outside after washing the tyre with a water bottle! I lost the group I'd been riding with and for the next 100km rode alone. Passed another rider later on who was on his third puncture, and making a proper repair in a bus shelter.
#8
This morning went to get the Nomad out to go shopping, front tyre soft, Marathon Almotion. Shard of glass that might have got through anything, I recall a lot of glass on a bike path a few days ago, been over both tyres and haven't found anything else embedded.
Is that it for the year, or will this be the first year I reach double figures?
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#9
Two months since the last, around 3,000 km, so not too disappointed by this one.
Was away for an Audax weekend on my Mercury last week, back on Monday, fine when I put the bike away. Swapped a tyre this afternoon, half an hour later flat! Big thorn, in the tyre I'd taken off, it must have sealed it well enough to stay up all week. I'd rather not have any, but if I must, then at home on a lazy Sunday afternoon is better than most times.
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On a similar theme, I spent part of yesterday changing the tyres on a bike from G-One Allround which had been on all winter to G-One Speed (both tubeless). The latter were part-used but still in good condition. When I pumped one tyre up to 60+ psi to make sure that the beads were seated there was suddenly a pop followed by hissing - the higher than normal pressure had blown out the sealant for a small (~2mm cut). The tyre wasn't in a hurry to seal so I decided it was time to try using one of the wrinkly rubber worms which I've been carrying for nearly 3 years. The first attempt wasn't successful (I pushed the worm too far into the tyre and it disappeared) but the second attempt seems to have worked OK. It was much better to develop the plugging skill at home rather than by a road but I wasn't prepared to make a hole in an otherwise good tyre for practice.
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#10
TEN!!
There ought to be a badge... Front on the Mercury, Marathon Supreme, a shard of something unrecognisable, possibly coloured glass. Went down overnight so at least an easy patch at home.
Any bets what the year total will be? They haven't even started hedge cutting round here yet.
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I hope it stays at ten. One more flat and you will need to take one shoe off to count them all.
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I hope it stays at ten. One more flat and you will need to take one shoe off to count them all.
Too late!
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#11
Back to the puncture a day scenario experienced at the beginning of the year.
Mercury rear wheel, slow puncture, lifting patch! Not a new one, something that's been on it for months at least. I did two very hot, like scorching, hundred mile rides at the weekend, maybe that contributed, I've never had a patch lift before. I'm not going to question my technique on the basis of one, but there goes my perfect record...
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Maybe it's time to try something new?
https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/14/23873153/nasa-bike-tire-shape-memory-price-smart-specs
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Well, we are talking about punctures....
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#12
Ending the year in predictable fashion. Been away for a few days, came back to find the rear tyre on the Nomad flat. Haven't even looked at the cause yet, though the local cycle paths were strewn with more glass than it was possible to avoid on Boxing Day, the last time I was out. Oil change due sometime this week, so I'll fix it then.
I don't think I've ever had that many punctures in a year, it's also my lowest mileage year for some time, maybe my bikes are punishing me for not riding them enough!
Hoping for more miles and less punctures in 2024.