How often do you get punctures?

[phillybill]

As of late it has been once a week for the past month. Apparently my front wheel had an offending spoke that would wear a whole into the tube creating a slow leak. So I stopped at the LBS last night and after examing the rim, they could find nothing either. So to be on the safe side we put another strip of velox tape on and hope it holds. Other than that it has been a great winter riding season.

[RonH]

Once or twice a month. God bless bottled beer.
Holy crap, that's a lot. What tires are you using???

[RonH]

I think a world where cyclists rode like they really believed they had the rights that they do have would be a better place. Not only would fewer cyclists die and be involved in crashes, but they would have more fun riding in traffic and would get fewer flats. What's wrong with having that vision, that agenda?
Nothing is wrong with it. I wish things were that way. :(

[vrkelley]

Can't argue with success....to those who are getting over 5,000mi between flats...how are you doing it? What tires are you using???

[PaulH]

Can't argue with success....to those who are getting over 5,000mi between flats...how are you doing it? What tires are you using???

Nokian Hakkapilata W-106 in the winter, Schwalbe Marathon Plus for the rest of the year.

Paul

[nick burns]

I got over 5000 flat free miles on a set of Vittoria Techno Twin Treads. I got rid of them after sidewall cracks started making me a little nervous about their future.

I'm not sure Vittoria makes them anymore. They were good tires and less than $25 US if I remember correctly.

[Helmet-Head]

I don't think particular tires matter. That said, lately I've been running Vittoria Rubino 700x23 on the rear, and Conti SuperSports 700x20 on the front. Off hand, I don't even know what I have on my other bike.

If you ride where the roads are swept by motorists (stay out of bike lanes, off of shoulders, keep 3 feet to the right of moving traffic when there is room, take the lane when there is not), you'll probably get thousands of miles without a flat too, because you'll rarely encounter anything that will cause a puncture.

[nick burns]

Yup, until you round that turn & find the freshly broken Bud bottle from the night before right in the middle of the lane.

Almost, and I say that because I'm not 100% sure that it's not all, every flat I've experienced was from an object picked up in the normal road lane.

[PWRDbyTRD]

what is it with people and throwing glass bottles?

[cerewa]

re: post 59

maybe they're powered by turds.

[OldShacker]

It takes lots of luck and a set of tuffys to keep beer bottles at bay. We have special glass magnets built within our bike paths. I usually go about 500 miles between flats. That is not to say that I do have to pull out glass each time after my commute to work.

[Treespeed]

The most common puncture I get is from the little steel threads from radial tires. They just slowly inch their way into a tire and then sloooooow leak. I still think the VC/ puncture link is incredibly tenuous. Hell the other day at Figeuroa and King some quarry truck lost a load of granite and there was big hunkint shrapnel in the middle of the intersection all week even with thousands of cars sweeping the roadway.

[vrkelley]

Well I swear by the Armadillos. Been riding the same or siimilar route for 4yrs and went from a flat every 60-200 miles (basically every week - Michellin Pro-axial) to a flat every 3000 or so.

[ivan_yulaev]

Got my first flat on a set of Kenda Kontenders, 425 miles in. I wasn't watching the road last night, hit something, didn't know what, wake up this morning...front tyre is flat. Oh well, got lotsa tubes :-)

[PaulH]

I don't think particular tires matter.

In my experience, both lane position and type of tire have a significant effect. When I was riding on Vredstein Triggers (a Dutch commuting tire, by no means fragile) I was getting a puncture every two weeks, on a commute route that was 2/3 bike path and 1/3 urban streets. Switching to a path that was mostly streets, my puncture rate was cut essentially in half. These streets all have wide curb lanes, so I am out of the trash zone near the curb.

However, switching to the Schwalbes cut my flat rate to well under a tenth of what it had been. I'd have to assume that tire type is the most significant factor in puncture prevention. I'd have to justify VC based upon safety, not flat prevention, although it does clearly help.

Paul

[vrkelley]

:( agreed...night time...it's hard to see and avoid everything!

[cerewa]

justify VC based on safety, not flat prevention, although [vc does help with flat protection]

flat protection helps with safety a little bit too.

[Helmet-Head]

The most common puncture I get is from the little steel threads from radial tires. They just slowly inch their way into a tire and then sloooooow leak. I still think the VC/ puncture link is incredibly tenuous. Hell the other day at Figeuroa and King some quarry truck lost a load of granite and there was big hunkint shrapnel in the middle of the intersection all week even with thousands of cars sweeping the roadway.
Yes, there is often a spot in the middle of intersections where motorists tend not to drive, and thus where debris collects (just like it tends to collect in a bike lane).

Again, if you ride where motorists drive, you will avoid those spots too. If you ride through intersections "out of the way", you are more likely to ride right through the piles of rubble (or near invisible collections of little steel threads from radial tires...).

If we define the "debris half life" (DHL) of a given square inch spot of pavement in terms of how long a pile of N grains of sand becomes N/2 grains, I think you would find the DHL of such spots on some freeways (to take an extreme example) to be measured in seconds, while spots on most bike lanes to be measured in days if not weeks. On most busy roads the DHL of most spots in the traveled area could probably be measured in minutes, or a few hours.

But then there are those spots in intersections where anyone rarely drives that also have high DHLs.

If most of your ride is on pavement areas with very short DHLs (measured in minutes), you'll rarely get flats, regardless of tire type.
If much of your ride is on pavement areas with very high DHLs (measured in days or weeks), you'll often get flats, regardless of tire type.

[ch9862]

I used to catch a flat every other week - there's a lot of debris where I ride. Then I put Contis Top Tourer 2000 (700x28) on, and haven't had a flat since - for some 1600 miles and counting :).

Pawel

[mattmatthew]

i almost never get punctures. in fact, i can't even remember the last time i had one. what i get the most are pinch flats. mostly preventable, if you run the right pressure in your tires; but occasionally, you dodge a pothole only to hit another because roads in your town are so freakin' bad riding the city is akin to singletrack............

then again, i ride Conti 700x28's with beefy sidewalls and tread... with my Vittorias the tread would get cut up constantly....

[vrkelley]

If most of your ride is on pavement areas with very short DHLs (measured in minutes), you'll rarely get flats, regardless of tire type.
If much of your ride is on pavement areas with very high DHLs (measured in days or weeks), you'll often get flats, regardless of tire type.

Alot depends on the thickness of the tire. Racing tires with 1mm thickness don't tolerate as much.

[atbman]

I've never had a puncture, just one or two abrasions and the odd bruise

[Helmet-Head]

OK, OK. Saying "regardless of tire type" was not true.

If most of your ride is on pavement areas with very short Debris Half Lives (DHLs) (measured in minutes), you'll rarely get flats, or at least much less often than...
...if much of your ride is on pavement areas with very high DHLs (measured in days or weeks), you'll often get flats, or at least more often...

[Habu2112]

I had my first flat in 7 years last year. I ride Conti Grand Prix 700x23. I put about 3000 miles on a year.

[Ladyjai]

I use the extra thick tires... i've only had 2 punctures in 6 years, one was a metal wire, and the other was the part of a toenail clipper that you use to induce the clipping action.... yeah, that was an interesting one...

[vrkelley]

Arg I jinked it...picked up a large staple on the back tire @ 3150 miles....:(