Had a puncture today

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
User avatar
CyberKnight
Posts: 916
Joined: 18 Dec 2009, 4:44pm
Location: Derbyshire

Re: Had a puncture today

Post by CyberKnight »

I average maybe 6-7 a year over around 5000 miles.
John Wayne: "I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on... I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them."
flatout
Posts: 19
Joined: 15 Nov 2013, 6:45pm

Re: Had a puncture today

Post by flatout »

There are just too many variables at work to draw firm conclusions. As others have said terrain, weather, seasonal factors, user checking of tyres post ride, front or rear mounted etc. etc.

I used to be a puncture magnet, but checking tyres post ride has improved things markedly. Small flints washed into the roadside after wet weather seem to be the main culprits here in Hants/Berks. I currently have a Conti GP4000S with 9,000 miles on the clock and no puncture. I have come to the belief that it must have been hand made by a German virgin on a Friday, although that being said, it is on the front of my Summer bike which is moisture averse.
Vorpal
Moderator
Posts: 20700
Joined: 19 Jan 2009, 3:34pm
Location: Not there ;)

Re: Had a puncture today

Post by Vorpal »

I had gone almost 5000 miles without puncture when I had one this summer. Of course, it was on the rear wheel of the tandem with panniers and trailer full of camping gear. :roll: It also meant two bored kids whilst I unloaded the bike, removed the wheel, changed the inner tube, pumped it back up, and reloaded the bike.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
pwa
Posts: 17371
Joined: 2 Oct 2011, 8:55pm

Re: Had a puncture today

Post by pwa »

Plunging down a hedge-lined lane today, I found the road covered in hedge clippings. Mostly finely mashed, but with the odd intact thorny bit. Then I heard the clickety click of a bit of thorn going round with my rear wheel. I stopped as soon as possible and found a sprig of hawthorn clinging to the tyre, with one thorn well in. I pulled it out and expected to hear a hiss, but no. I had got it in time. I congratulated myself, remounted and, half a mile up the road, found that my other tyre was hissing. Blast! Why didn't I check that tyre when I pulled the thorn out of the other? Oh well, the first puncture in ages. Hedge cutting season is here again.
roberts8
Posts: 547
Joined: 20 May 2011, 9:14pm
Location: Surrey

Re: Had a puncture today

Post by roberts8 »

Hedge cutting has started on the lane to my house today. A guy said stay in the centre and you will not get a puncture. I did and got a puncture think I will pick the bike up next time. Still it was warm and sunny.
User avatar
NATURAL ANKLING
Posts: 13780
Joined: 24 Oct 2012, 10:43pm
Location: English Riviera

Re: Had a puncture today

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
roberts8 wrote:Hedge cutting has started on the lane to my house today. A guy said stay in the centre and you will not get a puncture. I did and got a puncture think I will pick the bike up next time. Still it was warm and sunny.


Might as well said ride over those tacks :(
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope
You'll Still Find Me At The Top Of A Hill
Please forgive the poor Grammar I blame it on my mobile and phat thinkers.
User avatar
kylecycler
Posts: 1378
Joined: 12 Aug 2013, 4:09pm
Location: Kyle, Ayrshire

Re: Had a puncture today

Post by kylecycler »

roberts8 wrote:Hedge cutting has started on the lane to my house today. A guy said stay in the centre and you will not get a puncture. I did and got a puncture think I will pick the bike up next time. Still it was warm and sunny.

When the hedges have just been cut you probably can't win if it's a narrow road - the thorns will be everywhere - although staying in the centre might help on a wide road. But after a few vehicles have driven through, follow where their wheel tracks will have been - after a while you might even see 'clear lines' develop - the cars' tyres will have picked up the thorns and 'swept' a path for you. You're still relying on luck though - I hate this time of year, at least in that respect, although as you say the weather's been nice.

I asked about this stuff on the current Aldi thread - there are stocks of it in Aldi just now - but got no response:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Slime-Sealant-B ... B000W45GGW

One bottle is enough to treat two tyres. Anyone tried it and think it's worthwhile, at least if your tyres aren't especially puncture-proof?
rjb
Posts: 7200
Joined: 11 Jan 2007, 10:25am
Location: Somerset (originally 60/70's Plymouth)

Re: Had a puncture today

Post by rjb »

Image
Oh ****** :twisted:
At the last count:- Peugeot 531 pro, Dawes Discovery Tandem, Dawes Kingpin X3, Raleigh 20 stowaway, 1965 Moulton deluxe, Falcon K2 MTB dropped bar tourer, Rudge Bi frame folder, Longstaff trike conversion on a Giant XTC 840 :D
Flinders
Posts: 3023
Joined: 10 Mar 2009, 6:47pm

Re: Had a puncture today

Post by Flinders »

roberts8 wrote:Hedge cutting has started on the lane to my house today. A guy said stay in the centre and you will not get a puncture. I did and got a puncture think I will pick the bike up next time. Still it was warm and sunny.


I came across this on a narrow lane yesterday- the stuff was all over the lane. It was so bad that in the end I resorted to getting off and walking.
It's clear to me that some farmers seem to be able to cut hedges without any bits getting on the road, as sometimes I've been actually following one and there has been no problem, but others either can't or won't. I can only assume it's either technique or equipment. I gather they are supposed to clear any mess up (which some of them never ever do) within a certain timespan, but this doesn't help if you ride right into the stuff just after it has been cut. If I left tacks on the road, I could be prosecuted, but thorns are just as bad and there seems to be zero redress.
:evil:
MikeF
Posts: 4339
Joined: 11 Nov 2012, 9:24am
Location: On the borders of the four South East Counties

Re: Had a puncture today

Post by MikeF »

Flinders wrote:
roberts8 wrote:Hedge cutting has started on the lane to my house today. A guy said stay in the centre and you will not get a puncture. I did and got a puncture think I will pick the bike up next time. Still it was warm and sunny.


I came across this on a narrow lane yesterday- the stuff was all over the lane. It was so bad that in the end I resorted to getting off and walking.
It's clear to me that some farmers seem to be able to cut hedges without any bits getting on the road, as sometimes I've been actually following one and there has been no problem, but others either can't or won't. I can only assume it's either technique or equipment. I gather they are supposed to clear any mess up (which some of them never ever do) within a certain timespan, but this doesn't help if you ride right into the stuff just after it has been cut. If I left tacks on the road, I could be prosecuted, but thorns are just as bad and there seems to be zero redress.
:evil:
Some tractors have blowers which blow the cuttings to the side of the road, but these are usually used by contractors rather than farmers. Hedge flailing can certainly be a problem!
"It takes a genius to spot the obvious" - my old physics master.
I don't peddle bikes.
User avatar
Neilo
Posts: 421
Joined: 11 Dec 2013, 4:15pm
Location: Swansea Valley

Re: Had a puncture today

Post by Neilo »

20 years ago I used to go to work on country lanes rather than get killed on the A48. 7 punctures in one day, because of hedge cutting. 3 on the way, one at work when I pulled out a thorn, and 3 on the way home. Long before I knew anything about Marathons or the like.
Since I have used Marathons and Gatorskins, I haven't had a puncture. 2 or 3 years, solong ago I can't remember when it was.

Neil
If it aint broke, fix it til it is.
Bigdummysteve
Posts: 353
Joined: 24 May 2015, 9:29am
Location: Oxfordshire

Re: Had a puncture today

Post by Bigdummysteve »

I've had one in 2600 miles, on the towpath. Hawthorns again. The Oxford canal towpath can be almost unrideable some times, a few years ago I had 11 (yes eleven!) in one ride the rear tube had eight and had to be binned.
I now use schwalbe tyres and I don't really worry about flats too much.
Flinders
Posts: 3023
Joined: 10 Mar 2009, 6:47pm

Re: Had a puncture today

Post by Flinders »

MikeF wrote:
Some tractors have blowers which blow the cuttings to the side of the road, but these are usually used by contractors rather than farmers. Hedge flailing can certainly be a problem![/quote]


It's high time that blowers were made compulsory on roads then.
Post Reply