Getting home after a puncture

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
Tonyf33
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Joined: 17 Nov 2007, 3:31pm
Location: Letchworth N.Herts

Re: Getting home after a puncture

Post by Tonyf33 »

One desperate solution I heard of if all else fails or you're completely stranded was cutting tube through and tieing it in a knot really tight (cutting off as much surpless as poss), re-insert then inflate. Not pretty, not going to get aload of air in and likely very uncomfortable BUT if you can get 50PSI into a 25mm tyre say that might just get you home a darn sight faster than walking!!

After having the near nightmare of a 17 mile walk home when I got a puncture & had no pump or tube :oops: about 4 years ago (got a lift virtually all the way home from a WVM 8) :D ) I then ensured I always carry 2 spare tubes no matter what the ride (one tubular on circular routes on the racebike tho). Also a pump that I absolutely know will not break or let me down. Sorry Natural Ankling but those Beto's with the cheap plastic handle are nasty, head can be easily broken and are uncomfortable not to mention way too many strokes to get a decent pressure in your tyres.

I can't say I've ever had too many problems with pumps over the years, full length jobs back in the day were pretty good and tbh they are still the best for getting 90+psi in your tyres sharpish but after using some old skool mini pumps which were great for short rides out and very lightweight I settled for what I think is the perfect all round pump. Specialized Airtool, not the new variant which is much shorter but this model..It is fantastic and solid as a rock and the aluminium head won't snap.
80PSI in a 32mm folder no problem.
There are others too and I might invest in another alloy road variant sometime down the line tosee how that fares.
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eileithyia
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Location: Horwich Which is Lancs :-)

Re: Getting home after a puncture

Post by eileithyia »

Having walked 4 miles into Launceston when on tour because touring partner had not packed spare puncture repair patches (newbie cyclist and riding bf's spare bike) i soon learnt not to be reliant on someone else for spares.

Have also walked 3-4 miles into Stafford before now when tyre lever broke.... first people i saw asked if they knew of a bike shop in town, instead they knocked on a door of a neighbour they thought was a cyclist and i was soon in the hands of Staff RC's racing sec and his wife; tea cake and puncture sorted.... i still found a bike shop to replace tyre levers.

You have to do what you can and what you feel is best according to the circumstances.

A friend first bought a mobile phone, for that emergency call only and kept it switched off as an annoying necessity. Then realised how selfish that was, ie was expecting a person to be at the end of the phone when he called with a problem but keeping it switched off meant he could not reciprocate for a fellow cycling colleague...
I stand and rejoice everytime I see a woman ride by on a wheel the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood. HG Wells
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Paulatic
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Re: Getting home after a puncture

Post by Paulatic »

+1 for knock on bdoors. Lots of people have an old bike in the garage or shed with a pump attached.
A pump failed me on the very top of the Garburn pass. That was a long walk down and a wasted descent!
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Mark1978
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Joined: 17 Jul 2012, 8:47am
Location: Chester-le-Street, County Durham

Re: Getting home after a puncture

Post by Mark1978 »

I carry a spare tube + a puncture repair kit. The repair kit never normally used it's just there in a just in case situation.
You can get mini pumps which are also CO2 inflators, which I guess could mean I could take some CO2 but also have a pump.

Although the last time I punctured, stopped by the roadside, replaced the tube and all was good only to discover the cable stop on my chainstay had come off so all my cables were hanging loose :(. Of course I was then stuck in the highest gear on the cassette but putting it in the little ring meant it was just about ridable as a single speed and thankfully it was only 2 miles to get home.

I still don't know if the puncture and the cable stop failure were unfortunate coincidence or were both caused by the same thing.
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661-Pete
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Re: Getting home after a puncture

Post by 661-Pete »

eileithyia wrote:... when tyre lever broke....
Plastic tyre levers are an abomination. Straight in the bin is the only place.

On the other hand, if you succeeded in breaking a metal lever, you have my respect... :shock:
Suppose that this room is a lift. The support breaks and down we go with ever-increasing velocity.
Let us pass the time by performing physical experiments...
--- Arthur Eddington (creator of the Eddington Number).
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: Getting home after a puncture

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
Only ever used plastic levers, before then it was spoons (rod brakes) and not needed on non clincher.
Nowerdays being such a skinflint my tyres are so old I dont even need any levers the tyres just fall off and on with one hand.
Well if you must use overated tyres then you will curse.........................
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hondated
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Joined: 27 Mar 2008, 7:59am
Location: Eastbourne

Re: Getting home after a puncture

Post by hondated »

gaz wrote:
hondated wrote:This might be the opportunity to put forward an idea I have had for some time. And it is couldn't we somehow compile a voluntary directory in our local areas of members who would be willing and able to be contacted for assistance if we encounter an unfortunate breakdown which cannot be fixed at the side of the road.

A national directory used to exist, the CTC Handbook included a list of members willing to assist a fellow member stranded by mechanical failure whilst touring in a different part of the country. It was never intended as a puncture repair service but I trust most would have accepted the catastrophic failure of a pump as a justified reason to be called out.

Thanks gaz I never realised that.
Postboxer
Posts: 1929
Joined: 24 Jul 2013, 5:19pm

Re: Getting home after a puncture

Post by Postboxer »

To hijack this thread from the other one, in future you could just dial up an autonomous vehicle to come and pick you up, or deliver a pump. Or one of those Amazon droids.
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hondated
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Location: Eastbourne

Re: Getting home after a puncture

Post by hondated »

661-Pete wrote:Some roadside mechanicals - such as broken cranks: something which my son seems to specialise in :shock: - are usually utterly beyond repair at the roadside. How many people are going to carry a spare crankset?

My worst - many years ago in the days of screw-on freewheels, pre-cassettes - was when I stripped the thread on the hub which took the freewheel, piling up a 1-in-5* with maximum effort. Absolutely nothing I could do about that. It was on a sunday, and in those days everything closed on a sunday. I got home - several miles - by a combination of freewheeling down any hills and 'scooting' the bike along the level. Eventually.

*Yes! That was in the distant past when I could still do 1-in-5's!

Pete I have also had to do that and was disappointed on how many vehicles passed me driven by people that must have clearly seen the problem I had.I can guarantee that there is no way I wouldn't spot a cyclist with such a problem even if I was on my motorbike.
eileithyia
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Re: Getting home after a puncture

Post by eileithyia »

661-Pete wrote:
eileithyia wrote:... when tyre lever broke....
Plastic tyre levers are an abomination. Straight in the bin is the only place.

On the other hand, if you succeeded in breaking a metal lever, you have my respect... :shock:


Plastic, but i did also bend a key that i tried to use as a substitute..... :lol:
I stand and rejoice everytime I see a woman ride by on a wheel the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood. HG Wells
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661-Pete
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Re: Getting home after a puncture

Post by 661-Pete »

hondated wrote:Pete I have also had to do that and was disappointed on how many vehicles passed me driven by people that must have clearly seen the problem I had.I can guarantee that there is no way I wouldn't spot a cyclist with such a problem even if I was on my motorbike.

As I recall (remember this was years and years ago) I was passed by a couple of roadies who stopped and offered every sympathy, but there was nothing they could do. I wasn't about to ask "You don't happen to have a spare hub about you, by any chance? And can you do me a quick wheel re-build?" :lol:

This was long before the days of mobile phones, and anyway my finances in those days (i.e. impoverished student) wouldn't have run to a taxi. As I scooted along the pavement, I wouldn't have given any passing motorists a hint of my predicament. So no blame to them. I got home, at any rate.
Suppose that this room is a lift. The support breaks and down we go with ever-increasing velocity.
Let us pass the time by performing physical experiments...
--- Arthur Eddington (creator of the Eddington Number).
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661-Pete
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Location: Sussex

Re: Getting home after a puncture

Post by 661-Pete »

eileithyia wrote:Plastic, but i did also bend a key that i tried to use as a substitute..... :lol:

Ha! Never, ever, use a key as a tyre lever! Especially not your front door key. Locksmith call-outs are expensive! :D
Suppose that this room is a lift. The support breaks and down we go with ever-increasing velocity.
Let us pass the time by performing physical experiments...
--- Arthur Eddington (creator of the Eddington Number).
SteveHunter
Posts: 186
Joined: 24 Aug 2014, 10:02pm

Re: Getting home after a puncture

Post by SteveHunter »

Personally I don't carry a pump on any of my bikes, I just carry the CO2 cylinders.

I don't intend to ever use them, but if I have to they are there if needed.
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bigjim
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Location: Manchester

Re: Getting home after a puncture

Post by bigjim »

I had to scoot miles home last year as I had broken a crank. The last time I did this in earnest I was a teenager. I used to scoot my bike home at night because I had no lights and you would get your collar felt for riding on the pavement. There were a lot more beat coppers around in those days.
I actually enjoyed it. It's amazing how much ground you can cover scooting. A lost skill reawakened. :)
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mjr
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Re: Getting home after a puncture

Post by mjr »

661-Pete wrote:Some roadside mechanicals - such as broken cranks: something which my son seems to specialise in :shock: - are usually utterly beyond repair at the roadside. How many people are going to carry a spare crankset?

Bikes usually have two cranks... yes, I have pedalled home on one remaining crank at least once :lol:

Back to punctures... plastic levers are pretty good these days, reinforced with various things, but metal levers are rim-maiming abominations in most hands and so should be recycled before they fall into them. ;-)
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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