Constantly Puncturing, and ideas?
Discussion
So as the title says, each ride I have headed out on recently I seem to be snake-biting constantly, four punctures a couple of weeks ago and three last weekend and I just can't work out what's going on.
The set up is Mavic 819 (disc) UST rims(no rim tape), Continental mountain King (folding) tyres and normal Bontrager tubes, both run at nearly 40PSI, on a Kona hard-tail.
Punctures are always snakebites and always on downhill sections, I'm not particularly heavy but do go pretty quick downhill (thanks to years of racing DH), I've just never had so many punctures, and I'm running out of money buying inner tubes!
Are the tyres just too lightweight, flimsy sidewalls?? Or am I just a clumsy oaf on a bike and need to lighten up (though its never been a problem before)?
Any ideas welcomed, I'm stuck!
The set up is Mavic 819 (disc) UST rims(no rim tape), Continental mountain King (folding) tyres and normal Bontrager tubes, both run at nearly 40PSI, on a Kona hard-tail.
Punctures are always snakebites and always on downhill sections, I'm not particularly heavy but do go pretty quick downhill (thanks to years of racing DH), I've just never had so many punctures, and I'm running out of money buying inner tubes!
Are the tyres just too lightweight, flimsy sidewalls?? Or am I just a clumsy oaf on a bike and need to lighten up (though its never been a problem before)?
Any ideas welcomed, I'm stuck!
I'm hoping that is it, tomorrows ride will be done on 50PSI, fingers crossed it is that simple a fix.
I don't ever remember running my tyres that hard, but if it puts a stop to punctures I'm all for it, this is a good re-education, it's been ten years since I rode seriously, I'm still getting over the fact that my Reba XC forks feel and work better than my Boxxers from ten years ago
I don't ever remember running my tyres that hard, but if it puts a stop to punctures I'm all for it, this is a good re-education, it's been ten years since I rode seriously, I'm still getting over the fact that my Reba XC forks feel and work better than my Boxxers from ten years ago
Thanks for the replys folks.
Put the pressure up to 50 PSI and went for a ride, no punctures, though it's allot more skittish in the corners.
This Stans stuff is very interesting, I've googled it, am I right in thinking I can run any tyres tubeless with this sealant in?
From a few other forums and Stan's own website this seems to be the case, sounds like the answer to what I am looking for, sensible (grippy) tyre pressure and no punctures?
I got the wheels recently from a friend, and I'd always assumed I'd need to spend another £80 on tubeless tyres for the UST system to work? I was waiting for the Conti's to wear out before making the switch to tubeless.
Put the pressure up to 50 PSI and went for a ride, no punctures, though it's allot more skittish in the corners.
This Stans stuff is very interesting, I've googled it, am I right in thinking I can run any tyres tubeless with this sealant in?
From a few other forums and Stan's own website this seems to be the case, sounds like the answer to what I am looking for, sensible (grippy) tyre pressure and no punctures?
I got the wheels recently from a friend, and I'd always assumed I'd need to spend another £80 on tubeless tyres for the UST system to work? I was waiting for the Conti's to wear out before making the switch to tubeless.
Got the tubeless valves, just need the sealant, will order some of the Stans stuff soon, seems to get the best reviews. Folk saying on other forums the best way to inflate is with a compressor, just to get that initial burst of air in, is this really true, or can I use my track pump?
And don't worry, I've never used Halfrauds for bike stuff, I'm only a bit out of date, I think I'm safe to presume they haven't become the worlds best bike shop in the last few years!
And don't worry, I've never used Halfrauds for bike stuff, I'm only a bit out of date, I think I'm safe to presume they haven't become the worlds best bike shop in the last few years!
Thanks for all the replys folks, todays four hour ride with the tyres at 50PSI yielded no punctures (hooray!!), sadly I did manage to run through one dog poo, but thats more down to the riders eyesight and reactions.
Still going to have a go with the Stans no-tubes stuff, sounds like its worth the effort, I much prefer the handling of the bike on 'lower' pressures, thanks to the pistonheads collective wisdom for pointing me in that direction............ please await the "how the hell do I get these tyres on" thread when I get the stuff.
Still going to have a go with the Stans no-tubes stuff, sounds like its worth the effort, I much prefer the handling of the bike on 'lower' pressures, thanks to the pistonheads collective wisdom for pointing me in that direction............ please await the "how the hell do I get these tyres on" thread when I get the stuff.
Marcellus said:
40/45 sounds high to me... I usually ride at sub 30 with tubes..... I guess it depends on the type of trails your doing.
For XC and especially (certain types of) singletrack, and low-speed stuff I'd agree, but DH will create far higher loads and will need more pressure.Son of a vette, how heavy are you? What size are the tyres, 26 x ? What tubes are you using? What type of riding do you do? Are the inner tubes sized correctly for the tyre?
The psi you need to run in your tyres depend on your weight, the size of tyre, the type of tube and the sort of riding you do.
When I ran 1.8 XC Pro's I needed 45psi to avert pinch flats. The 2.35 High Rollers have 30-35psi whether tubless or tubed. I'm 15.5 stone with all my kit on.
If you're heavy then you'll need more psi in the tyre to support the weight.
Next, if you're running light weight XC tyres and tubes to ride 'freeride' or hard 'Trail' then you are going to get snake bites.
Pipe runs 2.35 tyres at 45-50 psi on his hardtail with downhill tubes to avoid pinch flats. And he's 17-stone in all the riding kit.
The psi you need to run in your tyres depend on your weight, the size of tyre, the type of tube and the sort of riding you do.
When I ran 1.8 XC Pro's I needed 45psi to avert pinch flats. The 2.35 High Rollers have 30-35psi whether tubless or tubed. I'm 15.5 stone with all my kit on.
If you're heavy then you'll need more psi in the tyre to support the weight.
Next, if you're running light weight XC tyres and tubes to ride 'freeride' or hard 'Trail' then you are going to get snake bites.
Pipe runs 2.35 tyres at 45-50 psi on his hardtail with downhill tubes to avoid pinch flats. And he's 17-stone in all the riding kit.
Edited by mk1fan on Tuesday 20th October 12:27
40psi should be more than fine for the OP. I'm 81kg before adding riding kit and the most I ever run is 38-39psi for normal offroad use on a hardtail. That's mavic xm321s, Conti Vert Pro 2.3s and lightweight Spesh tubes and I don't always ride with finesse. I did have a snake bite puncture last week but that was me being silly/careless and starting the ride with a slightly soft tyre.
mk1fan said:
Son of a vette, how heavy are you? What size are the tyres, 26 x ? What tubes are you using? What type of riding do you do? Are the inner tubes sized correctly for the tyre?
The psi you need to run in your tyres depend on your weight, the size of tyre, the type of tube and the sort of riding you do.
When I ran 1.8 XC Pro's I needed 45psi to avert pinch flats. The 2.35 High Rollers have 30-35psi whether tubless or tubed. I'm 15.5 stone with all my kit on.
If you're heavy then you'll need more psi in the tyre to support the weight.
Next, if you're running light weight XC tyres and tubes to ride 'freeride' or hard 'Trail' then you are going to get snake bites.
Pipe runs 2.35 tyres at 45-50 psi on his hardtail with downhill tubes to avoid pinch flats. And he's 17-stone in all the riding kit.
Hey, The psi you need to run in your tyres depend on your weight, the size of tyre, the type of tube and the sort of riding you do.
When I ran 1.8 XC Pro's I needed 45psi to avert pinch flats. The 2.35 High Rollers have 30-35psi whether tubless or tubed. I'm 15.5 stone with all my kit on.
If you're heavy then you'll need more psi in the tyre to support the weight.
Next, if you're running light weight XC tyres and tubes to ride 'freeride' or hard 'Trail' then you are going to get snake bites.
Pipe runs 2.35 tyres at 45-50 psi on his hardtail with downhill tubes to avoid pinch flats. And he's 17-stone in all the riding kit.
Edited by mk1fan on Tuesday 20th October 12:27
The tyres are 2.2 wide, tubes are good size and fitted with lots of chalk dust, and I'm about 13stone.
Riding is done mainly on rooty fast trails, sometimes pretty rocky so prime snakebite territory. But even then after four in one ride I was pulling my hair out.
And I do ride the downs at a fair pace, to be honest probably too fast for a hardtail XC bike, so I think I need to throttle back a bit and try to remember to look after the kit a bit more.
50PSI on the last ride resulted in no punctures but a very skittish bike, lots of sideways moments.
I think the best bet by the sounds of it, is to make the move to tubeless and see how that works.
This tech is all new to me, I used to run 1 DH tube in the rear with three other tubes wrapped round it, never snakebited, but the wheel did weigh a ton!!
IMO given what you've said above, 40psi should be more than enough. Try 45psi next time as that should provide some give.
After that it's you riding style that needs some work. Weighting the bike evenly and riding smoothly - not as easy as it sounds - will all help.
As an alternative can I suggest going up a size to 2.35 tyres. Weirdly enough a wider tyre at the same pressure runs faster than a slimmer tyre. The larger tyre will carry more air and be more resistant to snake biting.
After that it's you riding style that needs some work. Weighting the bike evenly and riding smoothly - not as easy as it sounds - will all help.
As an alternative can I suggest going up a size to 2.35 tyres. Weirdly enough a wider tyre at the same pressure runs faster than a slimmer tyre. The larger tyre will carry more air and be more resistant to snake biting.
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