What Caused This Flat And How To Fix It?
 

Hey guys, a few questions for the experts. I had a blow out yesterday 10 miles into my commute. I say blow out because it was loud. I thought I was shot at for a brief period. I managed to not make my self look like a fool and dive off the bike screaming but just calmly pull over. I am not sure what caused this but I suspect glass or something sharp.

http://usera.imagecave.com/gonediese...torskin001.jpg

The tube has a semi round piece completely blown out and what appears to be two "snake bites" all running together. The tire looks either ripped, cut or both. I kinda suspect the tire was cut by something, the tube pushed its self out of the slice in the tire, causing it to rip a bit, then the exposed tube blowing and causing a pinch bite to the tube.

What would you guys do as a road side fix in this situation? I tried a couple layers of duct tape but the tube pushed right through that. I could not find anything on the side of the road to stuff between the tire and tube to limp to work. So I called the wifey to pick me up. :mad:

After work I tried to come up with a road side fix in case this happens again. I cut up a plastic sprite bottle and made a plastic patch that I could duct tape to the inside of the tire. I have it under 80lbs of pressure right now and it is holding but the tire is bulging a little bit. I may test it out this afternoon by riding a few miles around the block. What do you guys think. Would it last 5 miles? Here are some pics:

Here is the patch:

http://usera.imagecave.com/gonediese...torskin002.jpg

Here it is in the tire:

http://usera.imagecave.com/gonediese...torskin003.jpg

Some 200mph duct tape to hold it in place:

http://usera.imagecave.com/gonediese...torskin004.jpg

Here is my fix with 80lbs of pressure:

http://usera.imagecave.com/gonediese...torskin005.jpg

So I am contemplating trying a different tire. These are the Conti Gatorskins. I am considering the Conti Touring Plus. Anyone try the Touring Plus? I have read plenty of reviews of the Gatorskins. But can't find anyone commenting on the Touring Plus. I am a bit aggravated since the tire only has a little over 800 miles. Which tire is better?

If anyone in Tucson is looking to do a mini group buy from Tiresdirect.com let me know as Monday I will be placing an order. They usually give a small discount for 2+ tire purchases. I live NW Tucson and work Central UA area. Shoot me an email at myusername@yahoo.com

Thanks for any input or responses. GD

that's nasty tire damage. i don't think a slightly different/stronger tire would have survived either. maybe a VERY different tire (something wide and knobby), but generally speaking you want to avoid whatever bowie knife you ran over rather than find a tire that can handle it. ;)

Cut out a section of the damaged tire and carry it as a boot to replace the sprite bottle.
The sprite boot might have sharp edges on it which would work passed the tape and cut the tube.
Just guessing in that.

I had similar tire damage, but it was not from running over anything. The gauge on my pump was way off and I had aired up the tire to about 25 lbs over the maximum psi.

I know it was not from hitting anything since I inflated the tire and went to bed. A few hours later, my wife woke me up because she thought she heard a gunshot down the hall:eek:.

A few days later, I was changing the tube on another bike and for some reason switched pumps in the process. That's when I realized the gauge was incorrect. A little more testing with three different pumps and an air gauge and I found that it was off by 25 lbs.

cut that tire in half (it's wasted) :-( !

From that, cut a 2 inch strip of tire and keep it in your tool/patch-kit to use for emergency repair if this happens again. Try getting a kevlar lined tire.

I have to agree I reckon that tire is dead, I personally would not risk it, It will just continue to split and snag on stuff. You will also be wasting inner tubes. Pity becuse the gatorskin is not cheap :( Its a shame you never found out what it was Bowie knife maybe or a lightsabre!

I plan to trash the tire, the patch is only to get me to my destination. I will cut a piece of the tire and save it in case something similar happens. I thought of wrapping duct tape around the out side also in the future if it occurs again. Has anyone done that or have any input with the use of duct tape like this? I am trying to find some alternatives to calling the wife to pick me up for the next time.

I don't know what I hit. At the time it blew I was on a concrete sidewalk and I didn't see any glass. However about a couple hundred feet prior I have a stretch of 100 yards or so of a sandy dirt path, then I hit the sidewalk for about a hundred feet until I can get over to the road. So not many tires could have survived what ever it was that I hit but I am considering the Conti Touring Plus:

http://tinyurl.com/5hvvu8

In the picture it appears to be a beefy tire with more rubber. I am not sure which would be better. If anyone has any input I would appreciate it. GD

Banknotes(plastic not paper) make good emergency tire boots.
I would run a much lower pressure to get home.

check out:

nashbar prima 2 tires (kevlar lined, 700 x 23/25 or 27x1.125) $9.99

nashbar duro w/kevlar (?) $17.99

i have used prima tires, good results!

don't know what would hold-up to tire splicing/cutting force you hit though.....

i carry a spare tire on tour too, another option.

I was kind of wondering why you said banknote, but yeah.

The US dollar is cotton fiber based so actually you can uses that as boot.

The fibers are messed together to hold strong (the life span is actually about 2 years) even with that, they will be able to hold pressure back.

Just fold the dollar in half and put in in between the tube & tire.

A couple things I've had good luck with booting a tire,

Tyvek (FedEx envelopes are a good source), three or four layers. Best thing you can add to your patch kit.

Dollar bill, folded in thirds, inside a cliff bar wrapper. Best jury rigged solution.

looks like a nice sized chunk of glass cut that tire, but i could be wrong.

you could probably ride on it for a bit, but i would get a new tire.

It was a great repair job though. Good work there fella :thumb:

Worse puncture for me that springs to mind was a drill bit that had been passed through a hole in a small square steel plate about 3 inches across welded into place, it blew out my tire at an intersection, no idea what it was or how it got there or what purpose it was designed for. But it destroyed my tire.

I almost thought at the time it had been designed as a tire spike like a sort of mini tank trap but why go to so much trouble?

Bank note...
 

...Znomit I looked up your poly-currency in New Zeland. It looked pretty cool.

I did some more reading on the Conti Touring Plus tire and I guess it is new to the USA and nobody seems to have it in stock except Tiresdirect. I just noticed that they must have had fire and not taking orders. :mad:

Lol yeah NZ notes are funky, (compared to England anyways).

I ride Touring Plus. They're an okay tire. I had a flat right away, but it was from a thorn on crushed limestone so I'm not counting it against the tire.

I've got about 400 miles on them, so my review isn't a great one to go on.

Don't use duct tape, the tape will roll a little even if taped tire side and the glue will eat through your tube after a time. Even for a short repair job, the glue will cause some tube damage that you will pay for later.

With 700x23 tires, I just carry a spare folding tire and tube. Works great for roadside repairs.

Wow. It looks like whatever you hit had a serious hate on for you. I don't think any other road tire would have really prevented it. Sometimes you're gonna just get a flat, no matter what you do to prevent it.

My worst flat: a nail that punctured the tire, completely through the tube (2 holes), and punctured the rim (Mavic Open Pro). Ain't nuthin' stoppin' that.

bloody hell rim as well!? :twitchy: Nasty.