Recently, I’ve been having some bad experiences with getting punctures. I don’t often puncture, but, when I do something else goes wrong.
Last week I was out on a ride, when I punctured. I got out a brand new spare inner tube – and that was punctured already. I got out my second spare inner tube and that had exactly the same hole in it!. So there I was by the side of the road with 3 useless inner tubes wondering how on earth a brand new inner tube could get punctured before I had put it into my wheel.
I tried ringing two taxi firms to get a lift, but, they said they wouldn’t take a bike as well. (Tip: if you’re really desperate don’t tell them you have a bike, just take off both wheels – it definitely will go into a car.
Anyway, a man came out from a nearby house, asked what the problem was and offered to mend an inner tube for me. I took him up on his kind offer and in about 10 minutes he came back with a mended inner tube. I was very grateful and was able to cycle home.
So it seems that even 2 inner tubes may not be enough. A simple and easy solution is to carry these instant patches – in the case of unforeseen punctures you can put them on, with less hassle than a normal puncture repair kit.
BTW: I suspect a reason for the inner tubes being already punctured was because I had a small bag and I had squeezed in some tyre leavers and forcing them in and caused a puncture on the inner tube.
My other bad experience was getting a puncture only to find my pump attached to my bike had stopped working. I waited at the side of the road for another cyclist to pass by. So I have been benefitting from other people’s good nature recently.
I remember using similiar patches, they’re a great invention and save on tubes, as before I used to change the tube every time I got a puncture (which sadly is fairly often living in the countryside with rampant hedge cutters).
Store your spare inner tube inside a plastic container. Then you won’t damage it with anything else in your backpack.
I use Continental Sport tyres which are ridiculously tight to remove. To keep removal to minimum (ie in the event of puncture) I fitted a pair of Slime Liners. they are excellent, in approx. 700 miles I was flat free. (In the past I was odds on for a flat pretty much every other outing) I can’t remember how much they were, but they were a good investment. They made cycling a lot more enjoyable, not dreading that tell-tale ‘sinking’ feeling!
I bouch a pack of the Park’s self-adhesive patches, and they have all failed within 200 metres. I had to patch my tube 3 times in a single ride, and them abandon the bike and come back the next day with a proper patch kit. I’m going back to the glue and patches approach.
The traditional puncture repair kit has glue and a patch. It is more time consuming and messy to fit. These patches you just put straight on without any glue or messing – but in the long term they may be more liable to not last.
A typical ride for me would be 17-23 miles, and I would count it very unlucky to get more than one puncture in that distance: my saddle bag has one spare tube plus some of those little patches.
But I am intrigued: those little patches are what I *always* use to fix a puncture, what would call a ‘normal’ puncture repair kit?
For a long ride – longer than I want to walk back home – I always carry a spare tube and patches (and tools and pump.) It’s a belt and suspenders approach, or maybe it’s a talisman. Anyway it works. I’ve never flatted, but I have given away tubes to less fortunate riders that I’ve found on the side of the road.
my experiences with several punctures in short time is.
That a absolute small object was on the inside of the tire.
Came in by tire change or from drive over glass.
I had the same experience tejvan going back about 8 months or so. I would get punctures almost every other day till I found out that my tyres were too soft. I used schwalbe ultremos where I found out from other riders that is was good to pump them up to 125psi and I had them pumped to 85 thinking that this was sufficient till I noticed that the max pressure they could withstand was 145.
Since then I have used mainly stelvio plus and had no problems up to now. I sympathise with the inner tubes having holes already. I keep mine in one of my jersey pockets which are quite large fortunately.