Towpath bike punctures

[roland elsdon]

We had a marathon plus explode a couple of weeks ago in the tandem. It was a bit hot and we had been descending quite fast, but the failure was on the sidewall, the tyre only being 2000 kms in use.

subsequent analysis suggested it had come away from the bead. Given 40 secs before we had been descending at 75 kph coming into adelaide i was not impressed. The tyres were not over pressure.

they are also very not round, very slow and heavy.

on my gravel bikes both in the uk and australia i use specialized 30mm wide most basic tyre. Very few punctures.

gatorskin sidewalls tend to fail in my experience but that may be because 60% of my riding in oz is on gravel

[reg]

56 minutes ago, roland elsdon said:

We had a marathon plus explode a couple of weeks ago in the tandem. It was a bit hot and we had been descending quite fast, but the failure was on the sidewall, the tyre only being 2000 kms in use.

subsequent analysis suggested it had come away from the bead. Given 40 secs before we had been descending at 75 kph coming into adelaide i was not impressed. The tyres were not over pressure.

they are also very not round, very slow and heavy.

on my gravel bikes both in the uk and australia i use specialized 30mm wide most basic tyre. Very few punctures.

gatorskin sidewalls tend to fail in my experience but that may be because 60% of my riding in oz is on gravel

Had similar with a tyre recently found cause was brake block had rotated slightly and rubbed against tyre just above the beading, this weakened the sidewall and bead came out causing tyre to deflate. 

Apparently not an unusual ocurance particularly if tyres are of the wider variety. 

No way of knowing if this was the cause in your case but others may be of use to others. 

I like a wider tyre on the mountain bike so have to keep an eye open for this. If most of the riding is done on the road then a narrower tyre is less prone to this problem. 

 

[NickF]

6 hours ago, reg said:

Had similar with a tyre recently found cause was brake block had rotated slightly and rubbed against tyre just above the beading, this weakened the sidewall and bead came out causing tyre to deflate. 

Apparently not an unusual ocurance particularly if tyres are of the wider variety. 

No way of knowing if this was the cause in your case but others may be of use to others. 

I like a wider tyre on the mountain bike so have to keep an eye open for this. If most of the riding is done on the road then a narrower tyre is less prone to this problem. 

 

My guess is if Roland has a tandem and rides it at up to 75kph he is probably using disc brakes. Although my tandem has a disc at the back it also has rim brakes which are operated by the stoker ( back rider ) if needed so I suppose the brake block theory could apply. We have been over 50mph on our schwable plus tyres ...as Roland suggests a burst tyre at that speed sounds scary! May be it's  time for new tyres.

[Phil Ambrose]

8 hours ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:

Whilst agreeing about the quality of Evans stuff, aren't they the company that went into administration and were bought up by Mike Ashley of Sports Direct?

Not sure what that has to do with the quality of stuff on offer nor the commitment that Evens have to cycling

Phil

[reg]

2 hours ago, Phil Ambrose said:

Not sure what that has to do with the quality of stuff on offer nor the commitment that Evens have to cycling

Phil

Karrimor climbing and walking equipment were quality items back in the day but quality has declined since the takeover by Sports Direct they are no longer the quality item that you would seek out and could have faith in. 

That doesn't mean they are not decent enough product at the price point but they are no longer a product you would trust for serious mountain work. 

The Sports Direct approach appears to be to snap up ailing companies, aquire the brand name and then drop costings to make the company financially viable. Seems to be a process that works for them so not my place to knock it however I would not be surprised it standards drop down with any company purchased them. 

But I think we may of hit a whole new topic here. 

[Phil Ambrose]

I was under the impression that the takeover only happened in the last couple of weeks.

Phil

[reg]

39 minutes ago, Phil Ambrose said:

I was under the impression that the takeover only happened in the last couple of weeks.

Phil

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/business-46037259

Half the stores will close. 

I would not be surprised it standards start to fall to make it a financially viable business, seems to be his modus operandi. 

Can't really  knock it as its probably better than them ceasing to exist at all. 

[roland elsdon]

 

 

Specialized espoir ( leisure lakes) are what i use in australia, i have ridden 250 k gravel road audax on them  one day and raced criteriums on them the next. no punctures.

i have ridden white road races in the uk on them where everyone else was puncturing, and the paris roubaix cobbles. They are about 25 a pair. However they are slick so entertaining on muddy towpaths.

 

i have slime in the tubes on my uk bike, having once had to walk from the bottom of hatton to lowsenford when i double punctured on the road on my mountain bike.

 

 

 

[X Alan W]

22 hours ago, LadyG said:

 There are puncture proof ,  and solid tyres [special rims]

Best t carry a brand new spare , check inside tyre for thorns,

They are a disaster waiting to happen on greasy road surfaces more so if you ride over diesel spills /leaks the roads near Entrances/exits to bus stations is a prime example You used to be able to buy a Kevlar band (like a wider rim tape that fitted between the tyre inner casing & the outside of the tube)

[BWM]

Even slightly worn tyres puncture more often, so often a false economy to wait too long before replacement. Keeping them inflated at the top end of the recommended pressure will help.

 The tyres supplied on all but the most expensive bikes are generally not as resistant to punctures, with some using lower quality variants of better makes. 

[Phil Ambrose]

9 hours ago, roland elsdon said:

 

 

Specialized espoir ( leisure lakes) are what i use in australia, i have ridden 250 k gravel road audax on them  one day and raced criteriums on them the next. no punctures.

i have ridden white road races in the uk on them where everyone else was puncturing, and the paris roubaix cobbles. They are about 25 a pair. However they are slick so entertaining on muddy towpaths.

 

i have slime in the tubes on my uk bike, having once had to walk from the bottom of hatton to lowsenford when i double punctured on the road on my mountain bike.

 

 

 

Interesting to see the term Audax, I rode the first Audax in the UK back in the early 70s it was 600k, Windsor to Chester and back, won a chuffing great trophy which had come from France, I think it was the Sir Hubert Opperman trophy, but might be wrong, it was a long time ago 

I followed that ride the next weekend with a 12 hour race then the weekend after a 24 hour race. Busy boy in those days, the knees are a bit knackered now.

Phil

[Señor Chris]

2 hours ago, BWM said:

Keeping them inflated at the top end of the recommended pressure will help.

I would have said the opposite, at least where thorns are concerned.

 

[zenataomm]

All these recommendations for tins of foam are all very good but it's a bit like recommending sucking Polo Mints when driving on a skin full.

The simple truth is if we'd been meant to ride bikes on canal towpaths god wouldn't have grown thorny bushes alongside them.

You'll be saying next to put your gloves on the dashboard so you can't see you're speeding.

 

It's the universe's way of telling you that you shouldn't be doing this.

[roland elsdon]

Audax and mixed terrain audax(sealed and gravelroads) are popular here.

having just at 61 retired from  road racing in australia ( master start at 34 and its all in ffs) we have moved over.

dig out the karrimor black saddlebags..

100 kms to 600 is the norm

[Movin' on]

8 hours ago, zenataomm said:

All these recommendations for tins of foam are all very good but it's a bit like recommending sucking Polo Mints when driving on a skin full.

The simple truth is if we'd been meant to ride bikes on canal towpaths god wouldn't have grown thorny bushes alongside them.

You'll be saying next to put your gloves on the dashboard so you can't see you're speeding.

 

It's the universe's way of telling you that you shouldn't be doing this.

At last - I was thinking I was the only one...………………………………….next we will be getting posts about how to get rid of ropes, pins, dogs and fishing poles oh and people - but wait isn't that called a road?

[Boater Sam]

Never knew Marathon bars explode, are Mars bars safer? Snickers all round.

 

My old folding bike gets a few punctures, I just shrug and fix them, its all part of living in the countryside.

Mostly I can do them without removing the wheel from the bike but you have to be certain that the thorn is not left in the tyre else it goes again in short order.

Edited February 19, 2019 by Boater Sam
added more

[Humblespud]

Tubeless tyres are the way to go. Just like a car set up, no inner tube, tyre bead seals to rim. With the addition of a liquid sealant punctures will generally self seal. A sticky rim tape is needed to cover the spoke heads. I've been using this set up for the last two years, it allows for lower tyre pressures and greater comfort too. A bit of a learning curve but worth it.

[Wanderer Vagabond]

18 hours ago, zenataomm said:

All these recommendations for tins of foam are all very good but it's a bit like recommending sucking Polo Mints when driving on a skin full.

The simple truth is if we'd been meant to ride bikes on canal towpaths god wouldn't have grown thorny bushes alongside them.

You'll be saying next to put your gloves on the dashboard so you can't see you're speeding.

 

It's the universe's way of telling you that you shouldn't be doing this.

So we need to abandon the old tradition of lock-wheeling do we?

[BWM]

20 hours ago, Señor Chris said:

I would have said the opposite, at least where thorns are concerned.

 

Not in my experience and that of many others. A hard surface has more chance of deflecting a sharp object than a soft one.

[Señor Chris]

1 minute ago, BWM said:

A hard surface has more chance of deflecting a sharp object than a soft one.

But a soft surface has more chance of being deflected by a sharp object.

[BWM]

10 minutes ago, Señor Chris said:

But a soft surface has more chance of being deflected by a sharp object.

I'm not sure of your logic here, if handling a rose bush there would be less chance of injury when wearing leather gloves as they deflect thorns more efficiently than soft skin.

[zenataomm]

2 hours ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:

So we need to abandon the old tradition of lock-wheeling do we?

My experience of the old tradition of lock-wheeling certainly didn't involve tyres. 

You were lucky if Uncle could be bothered to tie a bit of old rope around the rim.

[tom_c]

I had a tubeless tyre deflate rapidly on the front of my Orange, I now run an inner tube in the front and tubeless for the rear, with a puncture in an inner tube you at least have a bit of time to stop before it deflates completely, with a tubeless setup you are usually going OTB, 

[Wanderer Vagabond]

1 hour ago, zenataomm said:

My experience of the old tradition of lock-wheeling certainly didn't involve tyres. 

You were lucky if Uncle could be bothered to tie a bit of old rope around the rim.

It did however used to involve bikes, which you are saying we need to keep off the towpath.

[zenataomm]

3 hours ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:

It did however used to involve bikes, which you are saying we need to keep off the towpath.

For heaven's sake I was being light hearted !!!!!

As I said I used to lock wheel for my Uncle as a child. 

We did it to keep the boats on.  Lock wheeling is hardly a requirement nowadays.

In the 54 years I have been canal boating at first everyone was allowed to bike on the towpath.

Then you had to have a licence from Waterways to do it, and then for a while nobody was allowed to.

Now we have Sustrans ideals to accept. No thanks.

 

It's hardly a critical element of contributing to the network and its traditions.  What I do know is that back then nobody did speed trialling, OAPs, pets and children weren't terrified or even knocked over.

So if I had to decide between banning cycles on towpaths or allowing everyone merely because some born again boaters wearing trilbies and red neckerchiefs want to persist in inverted snobbery while taking some coal for a chug along the cut. then I'd go with the historical tradition introduced during the 80s and ban them completely.

However, as I suspect that I'll never have that choice and that this forum as it often does is merely experiencing a bout of "let's pick holes in everything for no purpose at all" I'll leave it to you to play without me.

Goodnight ….. To sleep, perchance to dream -ay, there's the rub. For in this sleep of death what dreams may come of some cyclist having to repair a puncture on a muddy towpath in the middle of nowhere.  

Edited February 20, 2019 by zenataomm
Jehova's Witless at the door.