fixing punctures on road bike

aidanki

got my first puncture today on road bike while out for a spin.

long story short got a puncture, upon examination there is 2 holes, both 1.5mm long approx and 10mm apart

no other marks on the tube

in general is the done thing with road bikes to fix the punctures or are the tubes generally a throwaway job

jamesd

Usually swap the tube out with a new one, some fix the old one at home.

aidanki

which patches are better, the old fashioned ones using glue and a patch or are the glueless ones successful ?

LpPepper

Tubes are so cheap you may as well just replace them - only around €4.50 for a continental race tube on chain reaction

Eamonnator

aidanki wrote: »

got my first puncture today on road bike while out for a spin.

long story short got a puncture, upon examination there is 2 holes, both 1.5mm long approx and 10mm apart

no other marks on the tube

in general is the done thing with road bikes to fix the punctures or are the tubes generally a throwaway job

This is what's known as a snake bite puncture, sometimes caused by having too low pressure in your tyre and hitting a pothole. the tyre is compressed and pushes the tube against the rim, causing two puncture holes.
When you get sorted, keep an eye on your tyre pressures.

ted1

I repair them, generally I'll carry 1 new tube and two repaired tubes, using the repaired tube as a first replacement

Make sure you go over the outside of the tyre picking out all the Debris, then run your fingers around the inside looking for sharp objects, finally if the thread is damaged it'll puncture the tube so so in that case you can stick s patch to the inside of the tyre

Wishbone Ash

aidanki wrote: »

...upon examination there is 2 holes, both 1.5mm long approx and 10mm apart...

Classic sign of a pinch flat caused by an under-inflated tube.

EDIT: beaten to it by Eammonator!

crosstownk

As stated by Eamonnator and WA, it's a puncture caused by low tyre pressure.

I usually repair punctured tubes. I see no point in discarding a tube that can be easily repaired. I always bring a repair kit in the saddle bag as a 'just in case' back up.

Effects

I always repair mine. Tubes might be cheap but I see no reason to throw one away when I don't need to.

Seaswimmer

aidanki wrote: »

got my first puncture today on road bike while out for a spin.

long story short got a puncture, upon examination there is 2 holes, both 1.5mm long approx and 10mm apart

no other marks on the tube

in general is the done thing with road bikes to fix the punctures or are the tubes generally a throwaway job

Do you have a track pump (pump with gauge and foot stand). If not then you should get one as chances are your tyres are under inflated (as advised above)

Check tyre pressure regularly. If its road bike with 23 or 25 width tyres then you are looking at approx. 100psi..

Chuchote

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Classic sign of a pinch flat caused by an under-inflated tube.

EDIT: beaten to it by Eammonator!

Either that or St Patrick isn't doing his job.

Why aren't we all using solid tyres now?

tomasrojo

Solid tyres have had a terrible reputation: awful, bone-jarring ride and very difficult to install. Maybe they've improved in the last decade or so. I haven't looked into them in a long time.

I bring one spare tube and a repair kit. Usually patch the punctured tube when I arrive at my destination. It's a very quick job once you're used to it. I bought a roll of patch material from Bee Cycles, and I cut small patches which I put in my repair kit. It's cheaper than the standard patches, and I find the standard patches are always a bit big for the job they're meant to do (on 700x28 tubes anyway).

Oymyakon

I have a puncture related question, I have one of those small Blackburn hand pumps and I noticed (after a puncture) this morning that the thing barely works!

There's an incredible amount of friction when I try to pump it, so much so that it completely jams sometimes. I was only able to inflate the tyre enough to roll downhill to work. Is there any fix for this?

Chuchote

Solid tyres do have a bad reputation, but reading the bike mags, apparently the new technology in them is really good and they're no longer jarry…?

Wishbone Ash

I have solid tyres on my fixie/single speed which I generally use for commuting. I'm very impressed with them to date and they are not as hard as I expected (a bit like a normal tyre at 140psi I'd say).

They do have disadvantages (less grip in the wet, have to be installed by a shop, broken spoke means returning to the installer to remove the tyre) but for shorter runs they are ideal. People say that they are heavy but this is off set by not having to take spare tubes, levers, pump etc.

Another great advantage is being able to go off road or semi-off road with confidence.

CramCycle

aidanki wrote: »

which patches are better, the old fashioned ones using glue and a patch or are the glueless ones successful ?

I prefer the classic ones, I have used the glueless and they have never stayed. Maybe I didn't sand it well enough but they have never held for me.

seamus

Effects wrote: »

I always repair mine. Tubes might be cheap but I see no reason to throw one away when I don't need to.

Snakebitten tubes I tend to throw in the bin.

My experience is that they're patchable, but I'm never confident that they're going to hold and they evantually fail again at the same point.

Planet X

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I have solid tyres on my fixie/single speed which I generally use for commuting. I'm very impressed with them to date and they are not as hard as I expected (a bit like a normal tyre at 140psi I'd say).

They do have disadvantages (less grip in the wet, have to be installed by a shop, broken spoke means returning to the installer to remove the tyre) but for shorter runs they are ideal. People say that they are heavy but this is off set by not having to take spare tubes, levers, pump etc.

Another great advantage is being able to go off road or semi-off road with confidence.

Are they Tannus tyres per chance?

Wishbone Ash

Planet X wrote: »

Are they Tannus tyres per chance?

Yup.

Bloggsie

always carry 2 spare tubes, levers and a pump. so far I have only had 1 to deal with, changed it out & patched the tube at home, it now resides in my bike locker aka, the downstairs toilet!

Chuchote

Bloggsie wrote: »

always carry 2 spare tubes, levers and a pump. so far I have only had 1 to deal with, changed it out & patched the tube at home, it now resides in my bike locker aka, the downstairs toilet!

Old tubes are perfect for holding young trees on to supports or walls - put it in a figure-8 and it is nice and soft for the tree but supports it well.

Seaswimmer

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I have solid tyres on my fixie/single speed which I generally use for commuting. I'm very impressed with them to date and they are not as hard as I expected (a bit like a normal tyre at 140psi I'd say).

They do have disadvantages (less grip in the wet, have to be installed by a shop, broken spoke means returning to the installer to remove the tyre) but for shorter runs they are ideal. People say that they are heavy but this is off set by not having to take spare tubes, levers, pump etc.

Another great advantage is being able to go off road or semi-off road with confidence.

I was looking at these for one of the kids who has moved out so I wont be seeing his bike too often to pump and check for glass. I see you said they are "Tannus tyres" in a previous post.

The new bike shop in Dun Laoghaire seems to sell them at €70 each.

It seems you could install them yourself with a special tool that comes with the tyre?
How are you finding the wear. The website says 9000kms which would be 2 or 3 years for my son but probably only a year and a bit for me..
And how do you know when they are worn given that you wont get punctures!!
Are there any marks to indicate wear.
what size are you using?? I would be looking at 23c

Chuchote

And are they slippy? I'm terrified of slippy.

Wishbone Ash

Seaswimmer wrote: »

It seems you could install them yourself with a special tool that comes with the tyre?
How are you finding the wear. The website says 9000kms which would be 2 or 3 years for my son but probably only a year and a bit for me..
And how do you know when they are worn given that you wont get punctures!!
Are there any marks to indicate wear.
what size are you using?? I would be looking at 23c

1. I was told by a club mate not to even attempt to fit them myself so I left it to the shop. Would love to have seen them doing it as the tyre is excessively tight on the rim. It won't even budge 1mm if I try to pull it off the rim. Shop claims it takes an hour to fit each one but I doubt they;d spend that amount of time on it.

2. Wear - I've about 2,500k on them and there is sign of a little wear. Don't know if there is a wear indicator.

3. Using 23mm in black. (Intended to get 25mm in white but it would have taken too long for the order).

They cost €70 each plus €10 fitting each so €160 in total but I feel it is worth it already for the peace of mind alone they offer especially in the winter.

Chuchote wrote: »

And are they slippy? I'm terrified of slippy.

I'd say them are a bit like Gators on a wet roundabout but no more slippery than I expected. I tend to be cautious on wet roundabouts/bends anyway so I'd make a poor judge.

Wishbone Ash

I should have added that the longest I've done on them is 120k and it was fine but I don't know what they'd be like on a long ride.

eeeee

Seaswimmer wrote: »

The new bike shop in Dun Laoghaire seems to sell them at €70 each.

c

OT but where is the new bike shop in Dun Laoghaire?