General Cycling Discussion - punctures. do raceing bikes puncture easily

i have just got a raceing bike and it punctured after only 7 miles. the funny thing is i couldn't spot any glass, or any obvious thorn when cleaning it up.

do raceing bikes, with the thinner tires - puncture easily

if so what causes that and what can i do to stop it

You posted this in another forum, and said it was a mountain bike. Which is it?

Yes, road bike tires, especially high performance, tacky ones, are thinner than others and thereby more liable to punctures. Tire choice is a series of compromises, weight versus durability, durability versus traction, etc. etc. etc.

You'll need to find the combination that works for your bike, your weight, your riding style, and your roads. If you are so inclined, consider a set of puncture resistant tubes.

Good luck!

yes this is a raceing bike.

if i was riding more slowly would that affect the tire?

does that cause more pressure. I am not worried about speed. i just got the bike to get to places twenty miles away. I want the least amount of punctures as possible - i don't want to walk back or have to change the tire in the middle of nowhere

Its not the bike,its the tires. What kind of tires are you running?

As Shokhead said it is the type of tires not the bike. I have a road bike with 23mm Michelin Axial Pros. 3000km on this bike last summer, not one flat.

I have a touring bike (actually more a 'bad wheather bike') that has a lower quality Continental 1000 series tires. 2000km - 2 flats. But still quite a good track record.

If you could not find any glass, nails, etc in your tires (sometimes you don't) and you are getting alot of flats and don't see any reason why, it could be any number of other things than the tires. No rim strip or frayed rim strip perhaps? Pinched tube between the tire and rim? Something inside the tire chafing the tube?

Digger

Sometimes you can look forever and just dont find whats in the tire to flat the tube if thats the case. If you have the extra lite tubes,it does'nt take much.I dont use them myself but lots do without a problem.

Well, when you I a flat with a road bike, I follow this drill. I take out the old tube and pump it up and find the puncture. From the position of the hole, I look at the corresponding place on the tire to find the offending glass. Sometimes, it can be nearly impossible to find. I have had glass that was in a cut that was not visible. But one you inflate the tire, the glass pops up and cuts the next tube.

Punctures are from road debri rather than thin tires.

I find that the amount of flats I experience depends largely on what routes I take.

i have just got a raceing bike and it punctured after only 7 miles. the funny thing is i couldn't spot any glass, or any obvious thorn when cleaning it up.

do raceing bikes, with the thinner tires - puncture easily

if so what causes that and what can i do to stop it

I have often gotten flats where I couldn't find the cause - whatever it was apparently fell out or something. I also found that sometimes a small piece of glass will get in the tread and hide within the rubber. You don't see it from either side except by taking off the tire and flexing it around. When you pump up the tire (causing pressure on the tire), and then sit on the bike (more pressure) and then hit bumps near the place with the glass (even more pressure), that piece of glass will protrude sometimes into the tube.

I ride on bad roads - lots of glass and seldom cleaned. I found the Specialized Armadillos to be the best. This is especially so if you will take the time periodically to examine the tread of your tires. I find glass particles embedded which can be seen by a small bulge or by probing into small cuts (when probing, if there is glass you will get a grinding feel). These glass pieces are in the outer tread, not yet getting through the protective layers beneath. If you remove them, they don't get through.

Bob