Punctures

[Mark *]

Hi All,

What should i be doing about punctures' and preventing them ? what do i need to carry ? just read somewhere about slime ? tubeless or tires with inner tubes ? floor pump and electric pumps ?
My concern is being caught out in the middle of nowhere .

Thanks

Mark.

 

[BazP]

Hi All,

What should i be doing about punctures' and preventing them ? what do i need to carry ? just read somewhere about slime ? tubeless or tires with inner tubes ? floor pump and electric pumps ?
My concern is being caught out in the middle of nowhere .

Thanks

Mark.

Two choices, keep away from the middle of nowhere or go tubeless.

 

[guerney]

I kept puncturing pre-slimed tubes while trying to fit them lol, and they didn't seal at all. Plus slime can damage rims:

"Will Slime damage my rims?
If pre-existing damage is present, we do not recommend using Slime. Do not leave Slime inside your tires for more than 2 years. After that time, we cannot guarantee the integrity of your rims. Slime’s Emergency Tire Sealant formula is intended to be used as a temporary emergency repair in passenger vehicles."

Frequently Asked Questions | Slime

www.slime.com

I use marathon plus tyres and carry a spare inner tube, plus a mini hand pump. Not a single puncture - over 1,000 miles so far, on those particular tyres.

 

[Benjahmin]

+1 for Marathon Plus tyres. I'll tempt fate by saying I've done around 12000 miles without a puncture. Having a front hub, I have worn two fronts down to the blue armour !

 

[sjpt]

+1 for Marathon Plus tyres to avoid punctures; we have them on both our bikes and our tandem. Downsides; slightly heavy, not the best rolling tyres, poor sideways grip on mud (especially if worn down to the blue armour!).

I guess between my wife and I we have put on more then 25000 miles (over a long time, we don't do many long rides) without puncture. Our son has managed to puncture one once, he rides in much more extreme conditions than we do. Before I first started using them: I got 1 to 3 punctures per week on my thorny partly off-road commute; after: no more in the next ten years before I retired.

Small hand pump should be enough ... you'll probably never (well, hardly ever) need to use it anyway.

-99 for slime. In my experience doesn't do much to prevent punctures, and creates a big mess when you get one, with unrepairably mucky inner tube.

No experience with tubeless.

 

[Nealh]

Tubeless is a faff, seating tyres then re priming also. I find my presta valves keep getting blocked so have given up. Back to tube tyres for me, I carry a spare or use a Gaadi and carry a small micro foot pump and patches.

 

[PC2017]

Halfords white "slime" tubes, so far not one in 6 months (out 6 days weeks maybe 7,10+ mile a day), Schwalbe Land Cruiser K-Guard not great on mud tbf - I went non slime because I had a few left over and had several punctures then one on my slime rear then non - I take a spare tube and £20 for a min-bus taxi but never used it tbf I must check it might be a old £20 note.

 

[richtea99]

Two choices, keep away from the middle of nowhere or go tubeless.

Four choices. The other two are:
3. Learn how to change a tube (and carry a spare tube & tools, of course)
4. Take a phone & call a friend/taxi

I'd say 3 is the best approach. It's not hard to do, but it's best to get someone to show you how*, and then you can have a go whilst they guide you. It can get a bit grubby, so wear barrier gloves.

4 is your fallback position. In 30+ years I've only needed to ring someone twice.

* Something like:

Free bicycle maintenance classes in London

If you want to learn the basics to bicycle maintenance then a number of free courses and workshops exist in London. They can help you reduce the cost of your bicycle maintenance by completing basic tasks such as replacing brake pads. Below is a list of the free maintenance workshops and classes...

www.londoncyclist.co.uk

 

[Jodel]

Another fan of the Marathon Plus here. You have to balance the extra weight and 'dead' feeling of the Marathon Plus against their unrivalled puncture resistance. For me, the lack of punctures more than compensates for any disadvantages. I've never punctured a Marathon Plus over 1,000's of miles of cycling

There are obviously smoother riding, faster and more comfortable tyres out there, but not having punctures is a priority for me.

 

[joelectric]

Marathon Plus mtb for me as well, and also carry a gaaddi tube just incase.
Swapped to marathon pus about 18 months ago and never had a puncture since. Was getting a puncture about once a month before i switched, have heavy rear hub motor and 2 torque arms, so fixing a puncture was a pain. Took advice from people on here swearing by marathon plus and glad i did.
Tyre dosent grip as much as my old smart sam tyre , but its still worth it for the less hassle.

 

[StuartsProjects]

Marathon Plus here too.

I originally had a Plus Tour on the rear and a standard on the front. Mix of roads and cycle paths.

But given the state of the roads these days I swapped the front for the fatter Tour Plus as well and it feels a lot more secure ..............

 

[Ocsid]

I use the ebike almost exclusively on roads and decent state towpaths and the like, with zero harsh terrain off road. My attitude could be very different if I used the bike in high puncture risk places.

It came with E bike Marathon tyres and has been totally puncture free over its 4 years and several K miles.
It has a belt drive, so quite some difficulties to be faced if I get a rear puncture, but I carry a spare tube though realise it's going to be a challenge plus at the roadside, if it comes to that.
I also carry a mobile intending to phone my wife to come pick me up with the Discovery or come with her car if I have cycled from my car.
I ought to get a Gaadi tube, but being untroubled I simply have not sorted that out.
We also use regular light weight road bikes and get punctures occasionally, with these I just quickly, with little hassle replace a tube at the roadside, well practiced now with 70 years of practice!

 

[GLJoe]

Hi All,

What should i be doing about punctures' and preventing them ?

You need to tell us what type of bike you're talking about. It does make a difference

 

[GSV3MiaC]

Tannus inserts will reduce the risk with most tubed tyre types, but do alter the feel. In theory you can ride them flat, but didn't work for me on 20" folder tyres.

 

[Mark *]

You need to tell us what type of bike you're talking about. It does make a difference

Hybrid Giant e+ explorer 1 ? road

 

[Raboa]

Another option is an insert that goes between the tyre and inner tube (different sizes available).

Tannus Armour 26 X 1.6 - 1.9 inch Anti-Puncture Tyre Insert

The first real contender to the benefits of tubeless, 26” Tannus Armour sits between tyre and inner tube, allowing low pressures without increased punctures.

www.inspiralcycles.co.uk

I have had punctures in marathon and other puncture proof tyres through the sidewalls, I would still recommend them.

 

[GLJoe]

Hybrid Giant e+ explorer 1 ? road

Nice bike!
My type of commuter

For something like that which is a crank drive, dealing with tyre changes and punctures is the same as a 'normal' bike (and is therefore fairly easy one you know how), so bags of info out there on youtube etc.
You also don't have to faff around with gaadi tubes etc which are good things to have with some hub drive bikes where taking the rear wheel off is a real PITA.

If it was me, I'd mostly just fit a bottle cage, and have one of those toolkit holders shaped like a bottle, and in it I'd keep a puncture repair kit, tyre levers, small pump etc and you might be able to just also squeeze a 'light' spare tube.

In the winter, I myself tend to sacrifice ride quality for puncture protection, and like others here have suggested, use Marathon plus (but I take them off in the spring as I hate the way they feel!)
For your bike, I know there are 700c x 47mm versions that will fit for certain, however you might want to check how much clearance you have and go for an even wider model like a 29in in a 2.0/2.1 - on my hardtail ebike that I use as a commuter, I have 29 x 2.25in Marathon Plus MTBs for the winter as those have a bit more grip on certain cycle paths.

Being a new Giant, your bike is almost certain to have tubeless ready rims and tyres, so it would be a fairly cheap process to get your local shop to convert your bike to tubeless, and then small punctures from thorns etc shouldn't be much of a problem. Worth thinking about. But as others have said, the whole tubeless thing is a lot more of a faff than standard inner tubes!

 

[AndyBike]

I've not had a puncture is years. I use marathon plus tyres which seem pretty armoured and happy to stick with innertubes.
.

 

[cyclebuddy]

Reading through this thread, it seems we're all massive fans of Marathon Plus tyres and super confident we'll never get a puncture (I've got them too).

My question then is how lucky do you feel NOT to carry a puncture repair kit, pump, and/or a spare tube?

As Clint Eastwood would say "Do you feel lucky, Punk? Well, do ya?"!

I still carry a puncture kit and pump but never used it either!

 

[soundwave]

i dont carry anything as tubeless with super gravity tyres