How to become as punctureproof as possible.

[Onegirlandherbike]

Hi there. Having suffered two (yes, I know not many compared to some) punctures on my journeys I'd really like to try to make myself as punctureproof as possible as I'm scared to go out on my own just now.
The First time I got one was 20 minutes after I'd bought the bike, cycling home from the ,and I got help from the shop to repair it. Second time I was with my husband who repaired it.

I'm about to go on a course to teach me how to do this myself but that's not for a couple of weeks.

I know people would say go tubeless but I can't afford to buy new wheels and tyres so am thinking of new tyres (Schwalbe Marathon Plus), a Kevlar liner and slime tubes. I think if anything got through that lot I must be the unluckiest person out there.

What's your opinion (be nice please).

Cheers.

 

[Fishy]

I'd stick with Marathon plus, don't bother with slime tubes, more trouble than they're worth.

 

[sjpt]

Schwalbe Marathon Plus (MP): definitely (though not the nicest ride I must admit)

Kevlar liner: not with MP, kinked liner is more likely to cause a puncture than the liner is to help.
And without MP liner only helps a limited amount (***)

Slime: I have very bad experience with slime. When you do get a puncture you have goop over everything which makes it very difficult to mend.

~~~
(***) While commuting 13 years ago I went from Kevlar lined tyres (3 punctures a week) to Marathon Plus (no punctures in 3 years of same commute plus 10 years different riding). My son has managed two MP punctures in 10 years or so pretty hard riding; my wife and our tandem also none with MP. Sadly the electric front wheel on the tandem didn't seem to suit MP; and we have had a puncture with the alternative tyre.

 

[DBye]

Schwalbe Marathon Plus all the way:

 

[BazP]

Schwalbe Marathon Plus (MP): definitely (though not the nicest ride I must admit)

Kevlar liner: not with MP, kinked liner is more likely to cause a puncture than the liner is to help.
And without MP liner only helps a limited amount (***)

Slime: I have very bad experience with slime. When you do get a puncture you have goop over everything which makes it very difficult to mend.

~~~
(***) While commuting 13 years ago I went from Kevlar lined tyres (3 punctures a week) to Marathon Plus (no punctures in 3 years of same commute plus 10 years different riding). My son has managed two MP punctures in 10 years or so pretty hard riding; my wife and our tandem also none with MP. Sadly the electric front wheel on the tandem didn't seem to suit MP; and we have had a puncture with the alternative tyre.

I agree that the Marathon Plus is a good tyre but it is not fool proof.
It's not a case of how hard you ride your bike it's a case of where you ride your bike. I've had loads of punctures with the MP's including with slime tubes and most of them have been on canal paths and at the side of farmers fields, the cause being thorns from hawthorn hedges.
With a slime tube you can usually leave the thorn in the tyre until you get home then it either goes down or seals. I've ridden a few miles with a couple of thorns, still attached to a bit of branch, sticking out of the tyre. No slime and the tyre goes straight down.
Regarding mess with slime, any compound has been concentrated to within 6 inches of the puncture site and is easily wiped off with a tissue. I carry a small pack of those oil and grease removing wipes which also come in handy for contact with the chain.
Due to lack of grip I changed to the MTB version of this tyre but am told that the puncture resistance is not as good.

 

[RobF]

For extra protection on Marathon Plus you could add Tannus Armour inserts.

Unlike the cheap and nasty liners on ebay, the Tannus ones are properly designed and will not cause friction punctures.

Or go the whole hog and fit Tannus solid tyres.

I have a couple of mates who have them and both say they are fine for use on roads and cycle paths.

One of my chums was a bit disappointed with the wear rate, but he does do several thousand miles a year.

The ride of the solids might not suit you, so the Armour inserts might be the safer bet.

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[gw8izr]

Everyone has their own views based on their experience and sometimes hearsay, Ive been using slime in my bicycle tyres for years, no longer do I have to fix our bike tyres when we are out.

Here in rural Wales hedge cutters shred the Hawthorne etc and blow it back into the hedge, I'm sure this practice is similar elsewhere. Its fine until the wind gets up and all year we have short pieces of Hawthorne spread along the roads. Inevitably unless you prepare you end up walking.

Typically ther damage is small and the spread of slime is small, I have never had any of the big disasters that I read about. I am careful to think about where the liquid is when I pull out the thorn etc..

For sure great big gashes caused by mountain rocks will be different but in the context of general road use I reckon its wonderful stuff. Here are a couple of images taken a few weeks ago. They show the tube and inside of the tyre after a successful slime deployment.

 

[Nosweat]

I've tried plastic/Kevlar style inserts between tube and tyre but found they actually caused punctures due to chaffing! Since moving several years ago now to slime plus Marathon Plus 28mm 700C tyres I have had precisely one flat - due to the slime tube rubber perishing with age at the valve inset! Since then I've gone for filling tubes with Slime rather than using the prefilled tubes (the local bilke shop usggested the prefilled tubes used inferior rubber, which was borne out with my single failure).

Marathon Pluses can be a beast to get on and off but the correct technique appears to be pushing them into the central "dip" of the tyre at the "floor" end to raise them up enough at the "top" end, holding them in place if necessary with toe clips. Can't say I've ever tried as I asked the bike shop to put mine on a few years back and they are still fine. Ride is pretty firm but then they are the closest thing to having an inner tube squashed under a thick ring of solid rubber.

 

[gw8izr]

Since then I've gone for filling tubes with Slime rather than using the prefilled tubes (the local bilke shop usggested the prefilled tubes used inferior rubber, which was borne out with my single failure).

Yep, I should’ve mentioned that in my earlier post, I’ve always put slime in normal tubes.

I reckon the front tube in my current mtb is at least 8 years old.

 

[Andy-Mat]

Hi there. Having suffered two (yes, I know not many compared to some) punctures on my journeys I'd really like to try to make myself as punctureproof as possible as I'm scared to go out on my own just now.
The First time I got one was 20 minutes after I'd bought the bike, cycling home from the ,and I got help from the shop to repair it. Second time I was with my husband who repaired it.

I'm about to go on a course to teach me how to do this myself but that's not for a couple of weeks.

I know people would say go tubeless but I can't afford to buy new wheels and tyres so am thinking of new tyres (Schwalbe Marathon Plus), a Kevlar liner and slime tubes. I think if anything got through that lot I must be the unluckiest person out there.

What's your opinion (be nice please).

Cheers.

A very cheap alternative, is to remove the sidewalls from an old worn out tyre cover, and insert the tread part between the tread and the inner tube. I have only used it once on my previous e-bike on the rear tyre, as it was such a lot of work to repair. It was almost always thorns on the forest tracks. Never had another puncture.
Trim the length of the tread so that you have around 2 cms of overlap, when its just lying inside the new tyre, as this will be taken up when the tyre is inflated.
If the punctures might be "pinched" ones, remember to slightly inflate the tube before seating the tyre fully, and only use your hands to get it back on. Which may be difficult for some brands, but not the one I use, up to now at least. The slightly inflated tube then does not get caught between the rim and the tyre.

It does make the wheel a touch heavier that some might complain about.....But I never noticed any difference, nor did I weigh the extra weight either....But it saves MOST of an old tyre from landing in the rubbish!
But I still hope it helps!
Andy

 

[jokskot]

I'm probably tempting fate, but my experience with Tannus Armour inserts is all good. They are not inexpensive (ca. £25 - £30) but somewhat cheaper than buying new Scwalbe Marathon Plus(es) at ca. £30 - £35. Until fitting the inserts I was getting a puncture every few rides, since fitting I've done around 50 rides (about 1250km) without incident.
When I was getting punctures, I was getting about 5 on the front tyre for every one on the rear tyre (sames tyres, same state of tread, pressure etc.). This seems to be the experience of everyone I talk to....but why?

 

[Andy-Mat]

I'm probably tempting fate, but my experience with Tannus Armour inserts is all good. They are not inexpensive (ca. £25 - £30) but somewhat cheaper than buying new Scwalbe Marathon Plus(es) at ca. £30 - £35. Until fitting the inserts I was getting a puncture every few rides, since fitting I've done around 50 rides (about 1250km) without incident.
When I was getting punctures, I was getting about 5 on the front tyre for every one on the rear tyre (sames tyres, same state of tread, pressure etc.). This seems to be the experience of everyone I talk to....but why?

I believe the tread part of an old tyre is very flexible and soft, at least the one I used was.
Plus I keep a good high pressure in the tyre, which may not appeal to all, but I started doing that years ago, after noticing how the battery capacity was far more quickly used up if the tyre was the slightest bit soft.
But as I never ever took it apart again, so I can say if there was extra chafing because of that. But any tyre that is even slightly soft, will chafe anyway....and its also taking "miles" out of the battery too!
This must be the cheapest "way" to prevent punctures from external objects like thorns around, and therefore worth a try!
The thorns here, just about penetrate through the tyres I was using, only a millimeter or so, and when repairing, are easily overlooked I found, causing a new puncture some time later.
So got used to marking the tyre on the sidewall with chalk, with the position of the valve before removing anything, so that I could identify and carefully search exactly in the right spot on the inside/outside of the cover....
Andy

 

[sjpt]

but somewhat cheaper than buying new Scwalbe Marathon Plus(es) at ca. £30 - £35.

Marathon Plus usually go for around £25 at Halfords (a bit less with CTC discount).

 

[John F]

Just bought 2 marathon pluses from Halfords. Not too difficult to put on after watching a guy on YouTube. He explains how to use straps to secure the tyre.

 

[BazP]

Just bought 2 marathon pluses from Halfords. Not too difficult to put on after watching a guy on YouTube. He explains how to use straps to secure the tyre.

Putting them on becomes more of a pain in the middle of nowhere when it’s raining.

 

[John F]

Putting them on becomes more of a pain in the middle of nowhere when it’s raining.

Yes but i hope now not too! I've also got one of those funny inner tubes which you don't need to remove the wheel in order to fix a puncture.

 

[BazP]

Yes but i hope now not too! I've also got one of those funny inner tubes which you don't need to remove the wheel in order to fix a puncture.

Hope springs eternal.

 

[trevor brooker]

Yes but i hope now not too! I've also got one of those funny inner tubes which you don't need to remove the wheel in order to fix a puncture.

Could you post a link or picture to what you are describing?

 

[Nealh]

Could you post a link or picture to what you are describing?

Possibly a Gaadi ?

 

[John F]

Possibly a Gaadi ?

Yes the Gaudi