Endless punctures, somethings wrong....

[TheLemming]

Bit of a saga here, but in the last 120 miles I've gone through 7 tubes, one through my own cockup fitting it, one through a snapped valve pumping it on the side of the road - 5 through punctures.

I seem to get a slow puncture, tyre feels a little low then I finish it off on a bump or pothole and bottom out the tyre against the rim.

I've used 3 different pumps - so I'm not under inflating, 2 different brands of tube.

I've checked the tyres thoroughly, cleaned them inside and out and checked again.
I've checked the rim tape.

Any ideas? I feel my next step is replace tyres, in case there's a thorn lodged in the tyre that a can't find, perhaps buried until it flexes just right....
Currently running 25c ultra Gators (circa 3k miles on them) on month old kinesis cx disc wheels....

[WinstonWolf]

Have you turned the tyre inside out to check it?

When you put it back on line the writing up with the valve stem, at least you'll be able to match the puncture to the affected area.

[MadDad]

Check around the valve hole for a burr, I had that issue on an old pair of wheels a couple of years ago.

Sounds more likely to be something buried deep in the tyre though......

[New POD]

I had to replace my tyres after I ran over the remains of a hawthorn (or perhaps black thorn) hedge ( bd farmers !!!)

I got 7 punctures in the front and 5 in the rear, and having replaced the tubes, and believing I'd removed the thorns I had 6 more slow punctures over the next 2 weeks, so finally I replaced the tyres.

[Justin S]

Are you pumping up to the correct pressures ? Is the track pump gauge reading right? Just a thought. A mate suffers ridiculous amount of punctures and is on Conti tyres too. 4 Seasons, I believe.

[944fan]

Had the same issue last year:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

I eventually found a piece of glass lodged in the tyre but removing that didn't work. Changed the tyres to Rubino Pro Folding jobbies and have ridden probably 800-900 miles with not a single puncture since.

[TheLemming]

Thanks ladies and gents, something buried invisiblyin the tyre and occasionally causing a slight slow leak was my current best guess.
I may have a misreading pump, but I've used a total of three different track pumps and examined the tyres inside and out as thoroughly as I can....

New tyres it is.... Shame everyone seems out of stock of 25c 4seasons everywhere nearby. Not sure I want to go all the way to 28s....

[yellowjack]

I had a similar issue with my MTB tyre. Several days of all OK, puncture, similar area of tyre. Check, all looks/feels OK, repair tube, refit, repeat. Until one day, deep in the woods, it happened again. But this time, I found a tiny (pin-head sized) 'dog-tooth' of glass hidden in the rubber of the tyre. It must have got in there out on the roads, and then worked it's way deeper into the rubber through the tyre flexing over time. It was invisible from the outside, and had resisted all previous attempts to look for it and feel with my thumbs. I used a little reamer from my puncture repair kit (dead old skool, that!) to poke it out of it's 'nest' and was shocked to see just how small this offending object actually was. So far, no repeats of the problem in that area, so all seems to be well.

[TonyHetherington]

Something my bike-shop-owning-mate told me was that tyres are long past their best, and far more susceptable to punctures than before they look worn out.

3k miles sounds a lot (especially if commuting, so typically on worse roads/cycle paths etc), the tyres may be letting a lot of debris in.

Having said that, in this case, it does sound like the same cause of the original is still in there.

[richardxjr]

Yep worn out. I'm liking the standard folding Gators this year. Much better ride than the Hardshells.

If I don't get a single puncture, I'll get another pair for the summer. If I do, then it's Panaracer Flataway inside summer tyres.

[timnoyce]

I'd agree, almost all punctures seem to happen in the last few percent of a tyres life. Last year I commuted about 3500km. I had no punctures between January and mid November, and then I had 5 in a month. New tyres were bought and now I haven't had any since.

My original tyres were just the cheap Bontrager wire bead 23mm ones that came on my Trek, but the rear tyre was noticeably thinner in tread than the front when I removed it. I replaced them with 25mm Michelin Pro 4 Endurance at £20 an end and I have been very happy with them. Roll well, compliant and so far puncture free.

[donfisher]

I think it's this:

TonyHetherington said:

Something my bike-shop-owning-mate told me was that tyres are long past their best, and far more susceptable to punctures than before they look worn out.

When I last got a puncture in my gators It took me a while to find the cause. It was a bit of glass buried deep in a cut. You couldn't feel it from inside the tyre but it took quite a bit of digging out.

[TwistingMyMelon]

Another vote for replacing tyres

Loads of shops have conti 4 seasons 25s discounted : http://www.probikekit.co.uk/bicycle-tyres/continen...

Wiggle are out tho

I got a pair 2 weeks ago, I wish I went for the 28s, the 25s come up small at around 24 , the 28s more like 26, On my Winter bike this is a bit of a PITA

[Barchettaman]

If you have frame clearance for 28s go for it. 28/622 is lovely.

[TheLemming]

Barchettaman said:

If you have frame clearance for 28s go for it. 28/622 is lovely.

Picked up a set of 25c 4seasons and no hassle on the return trip - fingers crossed.

Wish I'd seen the encouragement on the 28s tbh before I put the 25s on.
I've got loooads of clearance on my cx lol :-)

[Justin S]

Well, as to old tyres being more susceptible, I managed 1 mile on my new build Dolan before I had my first puncture !!

[12TS]

Whenever I mend a puncture I mark the position of the tube relative to the tyre, so when I find the puncture I can check to see what the cause was. Usually it's easy, but there have been a few times when it's difficult to spot the culprit.

[scherzkeks]

TheLemming said:

Bit of a saga here, but in the last 120 miles I've gone through 7 tubes, one through my own cockup fitting it, one through a snapped valve pumping it on the side of the road - 5 through punctures.

I seem to get a slow puncture, tyre feels a little low then I finish it off on a bump or pothole and bottom out the tyre against the rim.

I've used 3 different pumps - so I'm not under inflating, 2 different brands of tube.

I've checked the tyres thoroughly, cleaned them inside and out and checked again.
I've checked the rim tape.

Any ideas? I feel my next step is replace tyres, in case there's a thorn lodged in the tyre that a can't find, perhaps buried until it flexes just right....
Currently running 25c ultra Gators (circa 3k miles on them) on month old kinesis cx disc wheels....

I know you think its not, but it is likely air pressure. Perhaps your gauges were off. I had a similar problem on Gatorskin tubulars. I went through about 8 of them before caving and trying the crazy high recommended pressures (which are 145-150 psi!). That solved it.