Flat Tyre Question

"Ozzii Pete" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi all, I have a mountain bike with MB tyres on it. My question is, if I replace the knobby MB
tyres with slick tyres, will

they

Quoted message said:

me more prone to getting a puncture?

Yes and no. Putting slicks on usually means you are riding on the road. This means you will use
higher pressure in your tyres which in turn means you will have less pinch-flats, the bane of
mtb'ers everywhere! The rubber on slicks is generally less than that of knobbed tyres but unless you
make a habit of riding through glass, shouldn't be a problem. Roadies ride skinny, light-weight
tyres for heaps more k's than mtb's and they don't seem too badly afflicted. I ran Vredestein S-
Licks daily for a year and a day before getting my first puncture. They are quite thin-rubber tyre

hippy

"Ozzii Pete" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi all, I have a mountain bike with MB tyres on it. My question is, if I replace the knobby MB
tyres with slick tyres, will

they

Quoted message said:

me more prone to getting a puncture?

Short answer: no.

Longer version: it depends on a few factors, most notably tyre pressure.

Most punctures, especially on rough gravel or off road tracks, are caused by pinch flats. The clue
to this is the classic 'snakebite' pair of holes in your tube. Most slicks (but not all) are rated
at a higher pressure. If you keep your tyres up to this pressure rating you won't puncture. But then
I check my knobbies pressure and they haven't punctured yet in 12 months of use either. It's a good
idea to use a stand pump with a gauge to get your tyres to the right pressure; most people over
estimate tyre pressures with the simple pinch test.

On sealed roads and around town glass and debris is a major cause of punctures. Kevlar reinforced
tyres are a great help in preventing this type of puncture. Use something like the IRC Metro Duro
slicks. They are kevlar belted and rated to 100psi in 26X1.5 sizing. The high pressure rolls much
faster than most knobbies. Generally good slicks like these will have a good thickness of rubber to
help prevent penetrations also.

Cheers Peter

On Thu, 11 Dec 2003 21:52:57 +1000, "Ozzii Pete" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Hi all, I have a mountain bike with MB tyres on it. My question is, if I replace the knobby MB
tyres with slick tyres, will they me more prone to getting a puncture?

From my own experience, yes, slicks do get a lot more punctures. If you get ones with a kevlar belt
in them, punctures get reduced markedly, but they are of course expensive.

I currently have an MB tyre on the front, and a Conti Town and Country on the back, and it has had
about 5 punctures in the last 8 months, compared to none on the front one. Since then I have lined
the inside of the tyre with an old inner tube as an extra barrier, which has worked wonders for me
in the past when riding in places with 3 corner jacks.

Admittedly though, part of the reason I get less punctures on the front tire is that I tend to lift
the front wheel up over anything suspect on the road, but the back one usually makes contact. There
seems to be an inordinate amount of broken glass in Melbourne's bike lanes...
---
DFM

Deep Freud Moors said:

Ozzii Pete said:

Hi all, I have a mountain bike with MB tyres on it. My question is, if I replace the knobby MB
tyres with slick tyres, will they me more prone to getting a puncture?

From my own experience, yes, slicks do get a lot more punctures. If you get ones with a kevlar
belt in them, punctures get reduced markedly, but they are of course expensive.

I currently have an MB tyre on the front, and a Conti Town and Country on the back, and it has had
about 5 punctures in the last 8 months, compared to none on the front one. Since then I have lined
the inside of the tyre with an old inner tube as an extra barrier, which has worked wonders for me
in the past when riding in places with 3 corner jacks.

It's very common with all vehicles, bikes, motorbikes and cars, that more punctures are in a rear
tyre. Front tyre rolls across flat lying objects like nails and glass shards, flicks them up, and
the rear then hits the object "standing up".

Quoted message said:

Admittedly though, part of the reason I get less punctures on the front tire is that I tend to
lift the front wheel up over anything suspect on the road, but the back one usually makes contact.
There seems to be an inordinate amount of broken glass in Melbourne's bike lanes...

I've been doing a lot of riding here in Zurich both on and off road, and seem to have had more
puntures in eight months than I had in 15 years in Perth. Two fronts, a pinch flat off road and a
drawing pin through my city bikes IRC Duro. About 8 rear flats, all off road, there seems to be a
lot of broken glass on the gravel bike paths around here.

If you are getting punctures on roads with slicks, I'd blame roadside debris before the tyre type.
The closer to the kerb you ride the more [censored] there is.

Cheers Greg

I'm really greg dot walton at swissonline dot ch

Deep Freud Moors:

Quoted message said:

Ozzii Pete said:

Hi all, I have a mountain bike with MB tyres on it. My question is, if I replace the knobby MB
tyres with slick tyres, will they me more prone to getting a puncture?

No.

Quoted message said:

From my own experience, yes, slicks do get a lot more punctures. If you get ones with a kevlar
belt in them, punctures get reduced markedly, but they are of course expensive.

You attribute the incorrect cause to the effect. Slicks or not, tyres will puncture in the same way
when going through the same conducive conditions. Kevlar does little to prevent glass and sharp
metals from punching through the tyre, although it works to a certain extent on short sharp thorns.

Quoted message said:

I currently have an MB tyre on the front, and a Conti Town and Country on the back, and it has had
about 5 punctures in the last 8 months, compared to none on the front one.

Rear tyres always get more punctures, simply because the front tyre throws up the offending piece
for the rear tyre to get slashed with. Glass and most sharp objects tend to lie flat on the ground,
and when the front tyre rolls over these at speed they are dislodged from rest position and offers
up their sharp edges for the rear tyre.

Quoted message said:

Admittedly though, part of the reason I get less punctures on the front tire is that I tend to
lift the front wheel up over anything suspect on the road, but the back one usually makes contact.

So why do you insist on believing that slicks get more punctures than knobbies?

Jose Rizal said:

Kevlar does little to prevent glass and sharp metals from punching through the tyre, although it
works to a certain extent on short sharp thorns.

I once read about a Kevlar effectiveness demonstration. With a section of Kevlar-belted tyre nailed
to a wooden plank, apparently you can't hammer the blade of a screwdriver through the tyre. But a
needle passes through without resistance. So the shape of the puncturing object matters a lot.

One of my sons was getting quite a few punctures from eucalyptus twig fragments until I put Kevlar-
belted tyres on his bike.

Personally, I like Conti Travel Contact tyres. Kevlar belts, slick but with knobs on the sides, and
85 psi in the 26 x 1.75 size.

It's surprising how many bike shops don't seem to know the difference between Kevlar-belted and Kevlar-
beaded (folding) tyres though. Kevlar beads won't help puncture resistance.

Quoted message said:

Rear tyres always get more punctures, simply because the front tyre throws up the offending piece
for the rear tyre to get slashed with. Glass and most sharp objects tend to lie flat on the
ground, and when the front tyre rolls over these at speed they are dislodged from rest position
and offers up their sharp edges for the rear tyre.

Absolutely correct. Punctured front tyres usually mean you're following someone too closely 🙂

John

Jose Rizal _@_._ said:

Deep Freud Moors:

Quoted message said:

Ozzii Pete said:

Hi all, I have a mountain bike with MB tyres on it. My question is, if I replace the knobby MB
tyres with slick tyres, will they me more prone to getting a puncture?

No.

Quoted message said:

From my own experience, yes, slicks do get a lot more punctures. If you get ones with a kevlar
belt in them, punctures get reduced markedly, but they are of course expensive.

You attribute the incorrect cause to the effect.

Note that NEVER did I say the cause was slicks. I never suggested or alluded to that. You misread
what I wrote.

Quoted message said:

Slicks or not, tyres will puncture in the same way when going through the same conducive
conditions. Kevlar does little to prevent glass and sharp metals from punching through the tyre,
although it works to a certain extent on short sharp thorns.

Quoted message said:

I currently have an MB tyre on the front, and a Conti Town and Country on the back, and it has
had about 5 punctures in the last 8 months, compared to none on the front one.

Rear tyres always get more punctures, simply because the front tyre throws up the offending piece
for the rear tyre to get slashed with. Glass and most sharp objects tend to lie flat on the ground,
and when the front tyre rolls over these at speed they are dislodged from rest position and offers
up their sharp edges for the rear tyre.

Quoted message said:

Admittedly though, part of the reason I get less punctures on the front tire is that I tend to
lift the front wheel up over anything suspect on the road, but the back one usually makes
contact.

So why do you insist on believing that slicks get more punctures than knobbies?

I never said that. I said "From my own experience" because I meant "From my own experience". Don't
bother replying if you're not going to properly read what I wrote.
---
DFM

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Jose Rizal Rear tyres always get more punctures, simply because the front tyre throws up the offending piece
for the rear tyre to get slashed with. Glass and most sharp objects tend to lie flat on the ground,
and when the front tyre rolls over these at speed they are dislodged from rest position and offers
up their sharp edges for the rear tyre.

[/B]

There's more weight on the rear tyre. Hence, things get pushed deeper into the rubber when you run over them. The front is also easier to steer away from glass at the last second, while the back wheel might not miss the glass.

If you're having lots of punctures, it's either due to worn out tyres or poor technique - riding straight through patches of glass or stones, or straight over gutters.

The other cause is the people you're riding with aren;t pointing out glass/stones/potholes, in which case it still comes back to poor bike skills.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Shabby
There's more weight on the rear tyre. Hence, things get pushed deeper into the rubber when you run over them. The front is also easier to steer away from glass at the last second, while the back wheel might not miss the glass.

If you're having lots of punctures, it's either due to worn out tyres or poor technique - riding straight through patches of glass or stones, or straight over gutters.

The other cause is the people you're riding with aren;t pointing out glass/stones/potholes, in which case it still comes back to poor bike skills.

I've heard this 'poor bike skills' excuse before but I would like to know of:

1) anyone that can spot small fragments of glass/metal at 40 km/hr while keeping their eye on the traffic, car doors etc (note that it is generally the very small bits of glass/metal that penetrate your tyre, and may not necessarily be surrounded by similar, larger pieces)

and 2) anyone that can do 1) at night time (with or without lights).

Stones/potholes, yes... avoidable and should be pointed out to following riders, but in my experience they aren't what give you punctures.

Your chances obviously decrease by avoiding broken bottles and other visible roadside carnage but other than that, it comes down to luck.

Knobbies or slicks - if you are on the road often (eg commuting) then get some tyre liners. They will save you time in the long run.

"Ozzii Pete" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi all, I have a mountain bike with MB tyres on it. My question is, if I replace the knobby MB
tyres with slick tyres, will

they

Quoted message said:

me more prone to getting a puncture?

Thanks again. Pete

Hi,

I run Geax Evolution tyres which are really good, although they are heavy.

They are belted with Kevlar and also can be used in a fassion off road.

They run at up to 65 PSI which is a pretty high for a MTB tyre.

See mtbreview.comproduct 85946.shtmlOpen ↗

No problems so far (and no flats!).

Only done about 500km on them so far though.

Tim

Shabby:

Quoted message said:

Jose Rizal said:

Rear tyres always get more punctures, simply because the front tyre throws up the offending
piece for the rear tyre to get slashed with. Glass and most sharp objects tend to lie flat on
the ground, and when the front tyre rolls over these at speed they are dislodged from rest
position and offers up their sharp edges for the rear tyre.

There's more weight on the rear tyre. Hence, things get pushed deeper into the rubber when you run
over them. The front is also easier to steer away from glass at the last second, while the back
wheel might not miss the glass.

Nonsense. The rear tyre can run over glass or other sharp object that the front tyre has missed, and
survive the experience. Dislodgement of the sharp object by the front tyre is what causes most rear
tyre punctures. This is the same phenomenon with automobiles; the front wheels bear more of the load
than the rear, yet rear tyres get more punctures than the front.

Glass only cuts or punctures when sharp edges are exposed; shards of glass tend to lie flat, and
only dislodgement of these cause the sharp edges to be exposed, cutting into the rear tyre. This
principle is what makes people who walk over broken glass do so unscathed; it's not magic.

Quoted message said:

If you're having lots of punctures, it's either due to worn out tyres or poor technique - riding
straight through patches of glass or stones, or straight over gutters.

Where do you get this from? Brand new tyres get punctured just as easily as worn tyres; the amount
worn out makes no significant difference.

How can you get a puncture from running over gutters? Please.

Quoted message said:

The other cause is the people you're riding with aren;t pointing out glass/stones/potholes, in
which case it still comes back to poor bike skills.

Now you think it's other people's fault. Anything but the reality, right?

I bought myself a 20" fold-up bicycle for a number of reasons and find I get far less punctures in
the 20" tyres.

I cannot believe how good the fold-up bike has been. My regret is I did not buy one earlier. Now I
can take my bike everywhere without any hassles.

--

"Ozzii Pete" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi all, I have a mountain bike with MB tyres on it. My question is, if I replace the knobby MB
tyres with slick tyres, will

they

Quoted message said:

me more prone to getting a puncture?

Thanks again. Pete

I bought myself a 20" fold-up bicycle for a number of reasons and find I get
: far less punctures in the 20" tyres.
:
: I cannot believe how good the fold-up bike has been. My regret is I did not buy one earlier. Now I
: can take my bike everywhere without any hassles.

What make/model foldup? How many gears? I'm very tempted to add a decent folding bike to my
collection.

Now, back on topic... I have the kevlar slicks on my mtn bike and I've never had a puncture
(lucky me).

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

------=_NextPart_000_028A_01C3C1C2.B93EC260 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-
Encoding: quoted-printable

Bought a Dahon SpeedPro dahon.comspeedpro.htmOpen ↗ 20" wheels. = Great out of the box and no
need to buy any extras. Cannot believe how good it is to be able to cart your quality bike with =
you everywhere without anybody knowing it is a bike in the bag. This is = my second Dahon bike as my
chief bought my first one. Took it jokingly = for a test and came back and asked how much. I did not
really want to = sell it, but he paid what I wanted and new the Dahon SpeedPro was coming = which
suits me better. Of course the absolute purists will rubbish these types of bike but = probably
never ridden one. One bicycle purest at work laughed when I = turned up with the Dahon, now he rides
a Dahon SpeedPro as well as he = got so tired of the hassle on public transport. Whats more he loves
the = SpeedPro and has sold some of this full size bikes. Just ordered a Helios P8
dahon.comheliosp8.htmOpen ↗ with 20" = wheels for her. Should arrive some time next week. Will
save her $60 a = week in parking fees. To far to walk but only 3.5k to ride mostly = undercover.

--=20

"dude" <[email hidden]> wrote in message = "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

: I bought myself a 20" fold-up bicycle for a number of reasons and =

find I get

Quoted message said:

: far less punctures in the 20" tyres.
:
: I cannot believe how good the fold-up bike has been. My regret is I =

did not

Quoted message said:

: buy one earlier. Now I can take my bike everywhere without any hassles.
=20 20 20
What make/model foldup? How many gears? I'm very tempted to add a =

decent folding

Quoted message said:

bike to my collection.
=20 20 20
Now, back on topic... I have the kevlar slicks on my mtn bike and I've =

never had

Quoted message said:

a puncture (lucky me).
=20

------=_NextPart_000_028A_01C3C1C2.B93EC260 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-
Encoding: quoted-printable

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=3DContent-
Type content=3D"text/html; = charset=3Dwindows-1252"> <META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2800.1276"
name=3DGENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY>
<DIV>Bought a Dahon SpeedPro <A=20
href=3D"dahon.comspeedpro.htmOpen ↗">dahon.comspeedpro.=Open ↗ htm</A> 20"=20
wheels. Great out of the box and no need to buy any extras.</DIV>
<>Cannot believe how good it is to be able to cart your = quality bike=20 with you
everywhere without anybody knowing it is a bike in the = bag. This=20 is my second Dahon
bike as my chief bought my first one. Took = it=20 jokingly for a test and came
back and asked how much. I did = not really=20 want to sell it, but he paid what I wanted
and new the = Dahon SpeedPro was=20 coming which suits me better.</DIV>
<>Of course the absolute purists will rubbish these types of bike but =

probably never ridden one. One bicycle purest at work = laughed=20 when I turned up
with the Dahon, now he rides a Dahon SpeedPro as well = as he got=20 so tired of the hassle on
public transport. Whats more he loves = the=20 SpeedPro and has sold some of this full size
bikes.</DIV>
<>Just ordered a Helios P8 <A=20
href=3D"dahon.comheliosp8.htmOpen ↗">dahon.comheliosp8.=Open ↗ htm</A> with=20
20" wheels for her. Should arrive some time next = week. Will save=20 her $60 a
week in parking fees. To far to walk but only 3.5k to ride = mostly=20 undercover.</DIV>
<><BR>-- <BR></DIV>
<><BR> </DIV>
<>"dude" <<A href=3D""][email hidden]">[email hidden]</A>> wrote in = message <A=20
href=3D""]news:[email hidden]">="]news:[email hidden]=
link.com.au</A>...</DIV>>=20
: I bought myself a 20" fold-up bicycle for a number of reasons and find =
I=20 get<BR>> : far less punctures in the 20" tyres.<BR>> :<BR>> : I = cannot=20 believe
how good the fold-up bike has been. My regret is I did = not<BR>>=20
: buy one earlier.<BR>> : Now I can take my bike everywhere without =
any=20 hassles.<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> What make/model foldup? How = many=20 gears? I'm
very tempted to add a decent folding<BR>> bike to my=20 collection.<BR>> <BR>> <BR>>
<BR>> Now, back on topic... I = have the=20 kevlar slicks on my mtn bike and I've never
had<BR>> a puncture = (lucky=20 me).<BR>> <BR>> </BODY></HTML>

------=_NextPart_000_028A_01C3C1C2.B93EC260--

On Sat, 13 Dec 2003 03:47:34 GMT, Jose Rizal said (and I quote):

Quoted message said:

How can you get a puncture from running over gutters? Please.

The impact of hitting the gutter causes a snakebite flat.
--
A: Top-posters.
B: What's the most annoying thing on usenet?

Jose Rizal _@_._ said:

Shabby:

Quoted message said:

Jose Rizal said:

Rear tyres always get more punctures, simply because the front tyre throws up the offending
piece for the rear tyre to get slashed with. Glass and most sharp objects tend to lie flat on
the ground, and when the front tyre rolls over these at speed they are dislodged from rest
position and offers up their sharp edges for the rear tyre.

There's more weight on the rear tyre. Hence, things get pushed deeper into the rubber when you
run over them. The front is also easier to steer away from glass at the last second, while the
back wheel might not miss the glass.

Nonsense.

Just what is your problem Jose?
---
DFM

On Thu, 11 Dec 2003 21:52:57 +1000, "Ozzii Pete" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Hi all, I have a mountain bike with MB tyres on it. My question is, if I replace the knobby MB
tyres with slick tyres, will they me more prone to getting a puncture?

I don't know whether they are more or less prone to punctures but tyre liners are wonderful for
reducing the incidence of puntures

I have had one puncture in over eight years using tyre liners and that was caused by a small piece
of glass about a quarter inch square which had obviously spent a long time in the tyre slowly cuting
its way through the rubber and the liner. If I had been more vigilant inspecting the tyres it
wouldn't have happened

Baka Dasai:

Quoted message said:

On Sat, 13 Dec 2003 03:47:34 GMT, Jose Rizal said (and I quote):

Quoted message said:

How can you get a puncture from running over gutters? Please.

The impact of hitting the gutter causes a snakebite flat.

That's not a puncture, which is caused by piercing by a sharp object. It's a different issue,
related to tyre pressure.

Deep Freud Moors:

Quoted message said:

Jose Rizal _@_._ said:

Shabby:

Quoted message said:

Jose Rizal wrote:
> Rear tyres always get more punctures, simply because the front tyre throws up the offending
> piece for the rear tyre to get slashed with. Glass and most sharp objects tend to lie flat
> on the ground, and when the front tyre rolls over these at speed they are dislodged from
> rest position and offers up their sharp edges for the rear tyre.

There's more weight on the rear tyre. Hence, things get pushed deeper into the rubber when you
run over them. The front is also easier to steer away from glass at the last second, while the
back wheel might not miss the glass.

Nonsense.

Just what is your problem Jose?

Nonsense.