Not my day today....

[Garlick]

In the mood for a ride, so I get layered up and head off.

3 miles from home I have a blow out, stopped and fixed it. 6 miles in and the other one pops.

Now sitting at the side of the road waiting for the mrs with the car

[okgo]

What tyres?

[Stu R]

Stuff the tyre with grass, or chuck it over your shoulder and run home with it, call it triathlon practice

[Stuart]

Garlick said:

In the mood for a ride, so I get layered up and head off.

3 miles from home I have a blow out, stopped and fixed it. 6 miles in and the other one pops.

Now sitting at the side of the road waiting for the mrs with the car

Stupid question I'm sure, but did you have enough air in your tyres? Pretty much every puncture I've had has been a pinch from hitting a pothole with insufficient air.

That, or start riding out into the country rather than tarting it up around central london

[Garlick]

Running at about 120ish, so pretty tight. After popping a new tube into the rear I stopped at a bike shop in Richmond and they properly inflated it for me.

Never had a flat before, now two in one day? Oh well, that should mean my luck is in for a while.

[Mars]

When on my usual weekend club ride this morning, one of the guys had a puncture. We patched it then about 10 mins later he had another. We originally thought it was the valve, or the original patch having failed but then we discovered the schoolboy error - the thorn that had caused the original puncture was still in the bloody tyre.

[Rouleur]

I always carry two tubes, and I've had to use them both on a few occasions.

[Garlick]

I'll carry two from now on. Call me lazy, but I can't be bothered to patch at the roadside

Oh and I lied, I had a front go in Wandsworth last winter...that was a walk home as I wasn't carrying anything.

[okgo]

Have you changed the tyres from when you bought the bike?

Most new bikes ship with cheap conti ultras, from what I have seen. They are summer tyres and thus no use on wet gritty roads where everything sticks to the tyre!

[Garlick]

I haven't actually

[okgo]

On my first ride, which was this time last year, 40 miles out to Windsor

I had 6 punctures. And had to get the train home eventually. That was on ultras.

Got gp4000 now, and so far so good. 300 miles including a 50 mile country lane run and no punctures yet.

[722Adam]

Garlick said:

I'll carry two from now on. Call me lazy, but I can't be bothered to patch at the roadside

I never patch stuff when I'm out on a ride either, in fact, I just end up throwing the tube away when I get home

[Chicane-UK]

Garlick said:

I haven't actually

My Trek 1.5 came with what can only be described rock hard riding, but paper thin tyres from my LBS. I got punctures repeatedly..

I upgraded to some Bontrager RXL All Weather tyres and not only did the puncture problem vanish I found the quality of the ride substantially better. Well worth looking into!

[princeperch]

I always patch if I can. Top peak fly patch x6 for £1.99. 5 minutes and the job is done.

Problem is they are so good I've probably given away about a tenners worth to friends..

[cramman]

Aye, I always carry a spare tube and those instant patches.

Fecking nightmare tho, had 3 on my way to work a while ago. Then to rub it in, one on the way back.

Also, worth carrying a bit of old true incase you spilt one and need to protect the tube.

[DrMekon]

I always have two spare tubes, 2 tyre boots, a puncture kit and a spare tyre. Train heavy, race light. Except I don't race. Means I can eat more pies.

[BliarOut]

13 punctures in under two months, I don't just carry a puncture kit, it has extra patches in it! Patching at the roadside is essential if you ride out in the country

[Engineer1]

The fker is getting the tyre back up to pressure so 50psi ish for MTB and 100+ for the roadie, with some tiny little pump. Are the CO2 canister inflaters any good?

[WeirdNeville]

Engineer1 said:

The fker is getting the tyre back up to pressure so 50psi ish for MTB and 100+ for the roadie, with some tiny little pump. Are the CO2 canister inflaters any good?

They are, but only for one or two uses. I stick with my mini blackburn pump, it gets to a good pressure to get to where I need to be eventually.


My favorite ever "puncture" moment was cycling home at about 3am on new years day, after 14 hours of work, and crossing Waterloo Bridge. The city was looking lovely, the lights were glistening off of the thames, and the road, all was at peace. Then I realised that it hadn't been raining, and the raod really shouldn't be glistening. Then I heard Hissing. Then I realised that about 20,000 revellers watching fireworks had each dropped a glass bottle about 3 hours earlier, literally coating the road with glass shards. I slowed down and stopped just in time to realise that one hissing tyre had become two, and I had only one inner tube on me.

A couple of miles from my destination, cold, stone cold sober and with no public transport running, I had to carry my bike, to numerous shouts from the great unwashed "You've got that the wrong way round mate!".

I now carry two inner tubes.

[Raven Flyer]

Done 47 miles this morning on some shockingly bad country lanes through Essex. I was very glad of my GP4000Ss. I doubt my old Ultra Sports would have survived.