Does everyone check their tyres for glass after a ride?

I am fairly meticulous about it - deflate tyre, check for glass, nicks and cuts, stones etc. I then reinflate the tyre the next morning before I head out.

The poll (if it works - I've never added a poll before) is to determine which tyre seems to attract the most "nasties".

In my case, I tend to see more in my front tyre that rear.

Front Tyre:
Rear Tyre:
About the same:

seriously?! you deflate your tires after every ride?!?

that's crazy. but I would presume there would be more in the rear due to the extra weight.

Only check my tire if it's flat. The rear is flat more often than the front. Presumably a combination of: more load on the the rear so the contact patch is wider and there's the possibility for the front tire to disturb a piece of glass/thorn/nail/etc. and put it into a better position to puncture the rear tire.

I visually check them often, but deflate after every ride? Sorry, you're crazy.

Initially, I only deflated weekly, but over the last few weeks, I've had to do it after every ride, as I have found numerous small pieces of glass deep into the rubber and they couldn't be seen unless the tyres were deflated.

This morning, I found 7 pieces of glass in the front and 2 in the rear - without deflating, I would have found only 1 in the front but both from the rear - so I feel justified at deflating after each ride. I ride past at least 4 pubs, and on a Monday morning (and weekend mornings), there is always plenty of broken glass in the kerbside lane.

It only takes another 5 minutes to pump up the tyres, so I don't see it as being a problem.

If you have to deal with that much debris you may want to consider getting Armadillo type tires.

In Texas our bikes don't have "tyres," they have "tars." Tars are more puncture resistant.

It's not necessarily the time it takes...I'm just too lazy to do something like that. I check my tires only when I get a flat, and I rarely get flats. If you're having as many problems as you do, I echo umd's advice...get some tougher tires. There's a good amount of glass around where I ride, and it's generally not a problem.

Also every time I run over glass (if I wasn't able to ride around it), I will brush it off with my glove immediately. That also helps a great deal. And if I knew I ran through a lot of debris I will make sure to check it. But I've never felt the need to deflate it first. I've been able to pick out rocks and glass with a small knife without deflating.

I give my tires a quick squeeze to determine if I might need to top up the air just before most of my rides, but that's about all the attention I pay to them when I'm not on the bicycle.

While I'm riding, I try to avoid cycling through debris, but if it happens, I try to brush it off there and then.


If I deflated my tire and re-inflated it after every ride, I'd be more worried about pinch flats.

This is a friendly reminder to tell me to do a visual check.. I check tires before every ride.. It gives me a clue as to whether there might be a puncture or not.. Usually post ride, the psi is reduced by 5 lbs or so.. Much more than That And I become suspicious.

I reckon you normally pick up the puncture on the ride before the puncture actually happens. I always check the tires and find loads of glass. I reckon ive saved myself a lot of roadside repair time by checking before i leave...

I check after every ride, part off a ritual that usually includes lubing the chain, replacing any consumables (tubes/Co2, etc), and gving things a once over before putting the bike away. I use a utility knife to probe cuts for bits of glass and pick them out if needed.

Deflating tires would make it harder to see the cuts, so that makes no sense to me whatsoever.

I'll also top the air in tires the night before an early ride- less to deal with in the morning. Since I start alot of my ride early, I know the bike is in good shape and ready to go.

Guys that show up to rides unprepared are a PITA. "It's time to go!" "Uh, does anyone have a pump?"

I can't bring myself to do this, mostly because I have an odd fear of slashing my hand open while doing it. I figure it's not worth the $6 and 5 minutes it takes to just replace the tube.

Well I think he deflates it, and then squeezes it. That does work, but it is completely unecessary IMO.

If you are wearing gloves I don't think it is something to worry about. Your fear is irrational, but if you aren't comfortable doing it, then you aren't comfortable doing it.

I pinch the tire before each ride to see if it needs air, which it usually does. Then I pump it up to the max psi before my ride.

First, pinching the tire is not an effective way to judge if it needs air.

Second, you shouldn't be pumping it to the max psi of the tire unless you are huge.

I rode 5000 miles last year and had only two flats.

No, I don't check my tires.

Michael

Do you have throw pillows on your bed?

The thing to be fearful of is not the glass in the tire, its getting your hand pulled along and stuck between the wheel and the seatpost. (makes for a rather dramatic skidding stop.)

Just remember to loop a thumb around a seat stay when you do it and that solves the problem.

I'll deflate the tire then squeeze it if I see a new big cut. I found a piece of embedded glass once. TThat's pretty rare though.

I rarely examine the tires.

I find wiping the tire with a gloved hand useful only for the psychological affect. I feel like I've done something useful.

Jobst Brandt points out the the glass in the tire will have hit the pavement at least 4 times by the time the wiper gets his hand on the first tire. To be affective you would have to start wiping before you hit the broken glass patch. Or you could use tire savers that wipe the tire all the time, if you don't mind the noise and the added resistance.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/wiping.html

Sheldon Brown theorizes that it's possible that glass can get pushed further in on subsequent revolutions. Notice that both of these are just theories. I don't know of any scientific tests done on the nature of glass punctures.

I wipe. Just an old habit, I guess. Not all punctures happen instantaneously.

Only once have I ever been cut by anything stuck in the tire.