The Cycling Thread

"busy"

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by Owenski

"busy"

Sent from my phone.

I went & did 16 miles on my bish today got to my turn around point & the heavens opened up
looked like a drowned rat when I squelched back in lol

again!
ANOTHER busted inner tube

Thats 4 in 3 months! I wouldn't be so annoyed if it were just a puncture that a patch would fix but its always a nip on the tubs from the ****ty road surfaces on my commute.
The roads are broken up near the channels and in the heavy traffic its unreasonable to ride in the middle of the lane. 9 times out of 10 I dodge the worst ones but every now and then I get caught out and like today wake up to find a flat tyre waiting to great me.

Anyone any suggestions?

[maviczap]

Yes 2 suggestions.

What tyres are you using? Nothing is completely puncture proof, but Continental Gatorskinz are almost, plus from what I've been reading Vitorria tyres are also very good.

Also this nip in the tube, is by chance on the underside of the tube? There's a trend for wheelmakers to use plastic rim tape, now under certain circumstances the rim tape can move or shift causing the inner tube to go into the spoke hole and find a sharp piece of metal that wasn't cleaned off in the finishing process.

So if by chance the hole is on the under side (ie rim side) then fit some proper Veloflex cloth rim tape. Smooth any sharp spoke ends or spoke holes.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/velox-rim-tape/

[pookie]

I've also seen slime tubes but not sure how effective they will be.

[maviczap]

Originally Posted by pookie

I've also seen slime tubes but not sure how effective they will be.

There are better sealants out there than slime tubes. This one got great reviews, but you have to apply it yourself.

http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-sho...FTMgtAodTFAA3Q

But I don't like the extra weight the sealant adds to the rotating mass of the wheel, and I don't use slime tubes or anything similar. I don't suffer many punctures.

You're not the first one to recommend those gatorskins actually so I will give that a go.
Wiggle have them on a full set 2 tyres 2 tube offer so I'm going to have a piece of that thank you.

[maviczap]

They are expensive, but I've not hard any punctures on mine.

I've seen a GP4000 with a sidewall cut from a flint, but its not the same construction as a Gatorskin.

When you replace the tyres, have a good look at the rim tape, make sure its seated properly in the right place

Originally Posted by Owenski

You're not the first one to recommend those gatorskins actually so I will give that a go.
Wiggle have them on a full set 2 tyres 2 tube offer so I'm going to have a piece of that thank you.

linky?