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How often to you have a puncture?

joewein

Maximum Pace
Oct 25, 2011
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I am curious what others' experience is about that.

I had two punctures doing 8800 km over the 16 months since I got the bike, not counting a recent slow leak (-2 bar in 24 hours) before I swapped the tube.

I can say that I've been more likely to take off a wheel to swap a worn tyre than to fix a flat and I'm pretty happy with that record. I also spent far more time messing around with derailleurs or seat height than punctured tubes. However, when I go on group rides, almost always someone will have a puncture somewhere, especially on metal grates.

I use Primo comet tyres on my Bike Friday, first the regular version, then the Kevlar lined version, now back to the regular ones again because they're half the price and I'm not having any worse luck with them.
 
I dont usually talk about it for fear of invoking the puncture fairy but I normally get 5 or 6 a year. This varies enormously. I had one year where I had at least one every ride for the first six weeks of the year. Since October 2011 I have had one & that was caused by a stone ripping the tyre wall out. One reason for this is I suppose that I have been using proper winter tyres. BTW the roads in the UK have deteriorated drastically in the last two years as councils try to save money by not filling potholes. They are now a major threat especially in the current very wet weather.
 
Rarely, or all the time. Nothing in between.

Put on a new Open Corsa CX the other day. Second ride out, I punctured on the front, tyre cut right through, ruined. Absolutely gutted and annoyed. Jusr looking at it makes me rage. Haha (sob).

BMX; every single time I used to ride.
 
Seems to go in waves. If I ride clinchers - more often. Tubulars , rarely from any road junk, but would get them from road hazard - mainly 'grate snags'. I killed 2 of my favorite tires in Taiwan by hitting first a ragged bridge grate, then a waste water grate at 50kph which snagged my wheel up to the spokes and also smunched the rim. Same tires / wheels had gone through all of France with zero issue at all, and then several events, rides after and before. My FG bike I rarely get flats - but I ride pretty much the same route each time - and it's using tubular alloys with inexpensive training tubular and about 50ml sealant each one. I've pulled various junk out of the tire (nails, staples, glass, etc) and they still hold fine.
 
If I'm riding on my Schwalbe Marathon Pluses hardly ever,they are slow but what piece of mind!

On my other Schwalbe's nearly hardly ever!

Right now I'm on a pair of Continental Tour tires and they've been excellent too.

I guess you have to go with German tires to be able to spend more time in the saddle!
 
Sometimes zero, to once or twice a year. I tend to replace tires early rather than wearing them to the end, which might make a little difference.

I've had some marathon plusses (32mm) on my old cannondale for maybe 4 years now--never flatted. Local sports depo has some in 28 at the same price as wiggle, and I've been wondering whether to try the smaller size.
 
Pretty rarely. Once or twice a year...?

None since I switched to tubeless tyres with sealant.
 
Touch wood it has been about two years since I've had a flat.
I'm heavy and I don't ride skinny tyres. On my delivery bike and trailer I have the sealant in the tubes, I don't want a flat on that rig with 100Kg on the trailer going downhill :eek:
 
Rarely, or all the time. Nothing in between.

Put on a new Open Corsa CX the other day. Second ride out, I punctured on the front, tyre cut right through, ruined. Absolutely gutted and annoyed. Jusr looking at it makes me rage. Haha (sob).

BMX; every single time I used to ride.

Exact same thing happened to me mate - so I turned it in to a belt, best money every spent!
 
Sometimes zero, to once or twice a year. I tend to replace tires early rather than wearing them to the end, which might make a little difference.

I've had some marathon plusses (32mm) on my old cannondale for maybe 4 years now--never flatted. Local sports depo has some in 28 at the same price as wiggle, and I've been wondering whether to try the smaller size.

I would go for it.
It would be interesting to see how much faster they roll.
 
Yes, puncture come in waves and I hesitate to talk about a really good streak for fear of ending one.

Here in Tokyo we benefit from relatively smooth and clean road surfaces, which makes all the difference.

I think I had a streak of over 5000km last year without a puncture. But then got at least 3 or 4 and completely shredded a pair of tires during the Rocky Mountain 1200 in British Columbia -- lots of debris on rougher roads traveled by trucks, during and after rain.
 
I like to ride 'in comfort' and I under-inflate my tyres a little bit. Most of my punctures were snake-bite but it is pretty rare. At some point, I would like to try tubeless but tyres are still expensive and limited selection of 25mm.

There was a time also I had a flat because the previous old patch 'moved' (quick patch). Now, I don't use the quick patches as permanent but replace them with the old traditional liquid glue black patches as soon as I can.
 
Also, this brings the question, when you patch your tyres after a flat, do you patch with 'no air' in the tube or patch a 'ballooned tube' ? That is, do you patch with the tube stretched a little bit or not?

I like to ride 'in comfort' and I under-inflate my tyres a little bit. Most of my punctures were snake-bite but it is pretty rare. At some point, I would like to try tubeless but tyres are still expensive and limited selection of 25mm.

There was a time also I had a flat because the previous old patch 'moved' (quick patch). Now, I don't use the quick patches as permanent but replace them with the old traditional liquid glue black patches as soon as I can.
 
Never patched a road tube; they get binned when they puncture. I am a disgusting consumerist like that.

BMX and MTB; always patched when flat.
 
Get binned!!! Why not patch? Worried about wheel balance due to additional gram? :D

I found glued patch very reliable...

Never patched a road tube; they get binned when they puncture. I am a disgusting consumerist like that.
 
Now, I don't use the quick patches as permanent but replace them with the old traditional liquid glue black patches as soon as I can.

On punctures I swap the tube and patch the punctured one with traditional liquid glue patches (without air in the tube), then buy a new tube as the new spare ASAP. The repaired tube becomes a 2nd spare, which I carry only on rides over 100 km (on shorter rides I only carry a single spare tube).

Basically I never ride with a repaired tube unless I double flatted on a ride, which hasn't happened yet. Basically I don't trust my glueing skills as much as I trust a new tube :)
 
Never patched a road tube; they get binned when they puncture. I am a disgusting consumerist like that.
I'm heading in that direction helped by the relatively low number of punctures I've had recently. In my younger, poorer days three patches was the limit. I used to save punctured tubes up & then have an evening patching them all. I know how to have fun :)
 
When I get punctures I use the traditional glue and patch, I will patch a tube three times, on the fourth time it gets cut up into rubber bands. :D

I have a bit of air, not too much, in my tubes when I patch them, not so much that the air is gushing out, but enough to make the tube take some shape.
I carry a spare tube and swap out the punctured one for the spare, then at home I repair the punctured tube, unless I get more than one puncture, then I repair it on the road, but that has not happened (touch wood) in a long time.
 
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