Originally Posted by
big chainring
When I rode back in the 70's I got a lot more flats than I do know. Glass bottles were the norm for any sort of beverage and I would roll through large areas of scattered glass on the road. Just about all my flats were glass related. Although in late winter I would get punctures from road salt. Now days most everything is in plastic. It's somewhat rare to run into shattered glass in the road now, and when I do its usually easily avoidable. I've been riding sew-ups quite a bit over the last several years. I've had one flat, on a tire whose tread was worn paper thin.
But the main reason I ride sew-ups is so I can look cool with a folded spare on the back of my leather saddle. Gets me my props in the weekend peloton.
So true.
Back when, tires were not as good whereas today, materials have evolved. Bike lanes rarely existed then but even though we now have them, they sweep all the road crap into them and leave it. If on tubulars and the bike lane is trash, I usually ride closer to the road.
I do ride some gravel paths on tubulars but this depends on the area. The trails near train tracks and any gravel path in a college town will guarantee some small chars from beer bottles.