lots o' MTB flats

So I have been doing a lot more mountain biking recently I
have been averaging about 1 flat every other ride. The
last 5 to 7 have been from thorns suck through the tire
and into the tube.

I'm running a Bontrager AC jones on the front wheel and a
Specialized Team Control on the rear of my Trek 8000.

The obvious answer would be to stop running over thorns. But
then I couldn't ride the trails around here.

So I was wondering if any of the folks out in internet land
had any experience with some tires being much more resistant
to punctures than others. Or used products like tire liners,
or this slime stuff that I keep seeing references to (the
way I see it, slime doesn't actually save me inner-tubes,
but would just prolong the inevitable).

I have tried running the tires at a range of pressures.

Just wondering what the list's thoughts were on this.

Roger

--
to email me remove the "dot" from roger.cortesi in
roger.cortesi.com

> I was wondering if any of the folks out in internet land
> had any experience with some tires being much more
> resistant to punctures than others. Or used products like
> tire liners, or this slime stuff that I keep seeing
> references to (the way I see it, slime doesn't actually
> save me inner-tubes, but would just prolong the
> inevitable).

The heavier a tyre, the more rubber between thorns and tube,
the fewer flats. I run the heaviest tyres I can buy, plus
the heaviest thorn-resistant tubes, plus the thickest
liners, plus Slime. I haven't had to patch a flat in the
field in months. My tyres weigh a lot, but I don't care, as
long as I don't have sit out in the bush patching a flat in
the blazing sun.

--
Robots don't kill people -- people kill people.
http://www.irobotmovie.com/

On Sat, 10 Jul 2004 01:36:10 -0700, LioNiNoiL_a t_N e t s c a p E_D
0 T_N e T <nobody@devnull.spamcop.net> wrote:
>My tyres weigh a lot, but I don't care, as long as I
>don't have sit out in the bush patching a flat in the
>blazing sun.

The blazing sun helps the glue dry faster. However, it's
quicker to replace the tube and keep the patch kit only for
the _second_ flat on the ride, using the spare tube for the
first one. Then, patch a batch of tubes at home less often.

I patched four tubes yesterday. It's quicker to mass-produce
four sitting in a chair at a table on a perfect sunday
morning with kittens running around than it is to patch one
in the field.
--
Rick Onanian