Puncture Proofing

[jazper53]

I understand Kevlar has been used for bicycle tyres which should protect as it also used for anti stab vests

 

[flecc]

I understand Kevlar has been used for bicycle tyres which should protect as it also used for anti stab vests

The fairly parallel sided long thin type of thorns like blackthorn still penetrate kevlar without any difficulty unfortunately. Not surprising really, kevlar lined tyres are commonplace but also suffer various common punctures such as from glass shards. Why I can't be sure, but I'd guess it's due to lack of kevlar thickness, the stab-proof vests for example using more than one layer to give enough penetration resistance.

 

[GaRRy]

How did you get on with the tyres, GaRRy ?

Sorry not replied sooner but not gone totally to plan yet. however this is is how its gone so far.

Last Saturday did this route on the xtrem 15.91km mountain bike on 23/02/2013 in Tamworth, EN | MapMyRide

Route is a mixture of tarmac and canal tow path. So nothing to demanding but certainly with a bit of mud in places.

Then on the Sunday I did the same route again on the Cross but unfortunately for some reason it only recorded half the route. 8.61km mountain bike on 24/02/2013 in Tamworth, EN | MapMyRide

Note for both rides I did ride at a good steady pace neither trying to put in the fastest time possible or just cruising along at a leisurely pace.

So yesterday to get a full reading for route I went to use Cross again only to find it has a puncture in rear tyre which I guess proves that the marathon plus MTB/Giant thorn proof tyres win on that count

So unfortunately dont have a full set of stats to compare. However did discover a few things. Firstly from the route distance recorded twice it is obvious that the cross with continental contacts is definitely a bit quicker (basically because it is easier to get it up to cycle above the assist speed cut out (mix of tyres and gearing probably reason for this).

But the most important bit is on the mud/loose gravel I defiantly felt more secure under braking / turning on the MP MTB. However on the road/hard stuff the opposite was the case with the MTB tyres being more skittish and more include to skip about on groves and joins in the Tarmac. Im also sure this would be worse in the wet.

As for noise from tyres there was not really that much difference.

So as to whether its better to fit a mix use bike out with MTB or dual use tyres it would appear to be down to how much time you are expecting to be spending off road and even then how much of it is likely to be loose surface/mud.

One final thing to note was the battery level on the extreme was defiantly less at the end than for the cross but this could be down to slight difference in battery performance. (I did intend yesterday to use the battery from extreme to check this out).

Any other questions please feel free to ask and I will try and answer.

 

[jackhandy]

Hedge cuttings are a menace regardless of pressures and tyre types. Blackthorn in particular with it's long thorns is capable of penetrating even through the thick under-layer in Marathon Plus tyres to cause a puncture.

As I thunk.

 

[103Alex1]

Hedge cuttings are a menace regardless of pressures and tyre types. Blackthorn in particular with it's long thorns is capable of penetrating even through the thick under-layer in Marathon Plus tyres to cause a puncture.

It's a real shame someone can't come up with something to counter this more effectively to be honest. There are high native hedges lining single track lanes for miles around and when the Council cut them with those mechanical hedge-cutters it's impossible to ride anywhere without going over masses of cuttings which spread all over the lanes and stick around for weeks.

 

[RobF]

Does pressure have an effect on thorn punctures? I run mine at 50psi (26x1.9 schwalbe land-cruisers).

I've had a flat every time I've ridden a local trail lately

Fifty psi sounds a bit low for best puncture protection.

The tyres are rated up to 65psi, so I would try them at 60.

LAND CRUISER