V
Vibrant
Guest
Hi,
I wonder if some kind person here could give me some advice on how to avoid punctures this
time of year?
I am relatively new to cycling and spent last winter riding an ancient Dawes Super Galaxy with
Panaracer Pasela tyres and did not have any punctures.
This Winter however I have replaced the Super Galaxy with a Raleigh R200, this came fitted with 23mm
Continental Sport 1000s. These seemed OK and between the start of October and the end of the
Christmas period I put 1500 miles on them. Then on New Years day cycling in the Cycle lane in a
local town I ran over some glass and got punctures in both tyres. I just put this down to misfortune
and repaired the punctures, however the following Sunday I got another puncture when a very small
piece of flint went through the tyre. This made me think perhaps the Sport 1000s were not that good
and so I replaced them with some Continental Ultra Gatorskins, which are described as being
practically bullet proof and received a good write up in CW. These were OK for the first week I rode
about 50 miles on them. Then yesterday I got a puncture in the sidewall of the back tyre, I could
not find what had caused the puncture it almost looked like a pinch flat. This morning I got another
puncture in the back when a shard of grit from the road penetrated the tyre.
What can I do to avoid all these punctures? I have had 5 in the last 3 weeks and less than 200
miles. Are the Ultra Gatorskins actually any good? I am now trying running them at a reduced
pressure dropping from 100PSI to 80 (the tyres have 120 marked on them) will this make them any less
likely to puncture or will I be likely to get pinch flats?
I would be grateful for any advice or anyone has to offer.
TIA
I wonder if some kind person here could give me some advice on how to avoid punctures this
time of year?
I am relatively new to cycling and spent last winter riding an ancient Dawes Super Galaxy with
Panaracer Pasela tyres and did not have any punctures.
This Winter however I have replaced the Super Galaxy with a Raleigh R200, this came fitted with 23mm
Continental Sport 1000s. These seemed OK and between the start of October and the end of the
Christmas period I put 1500 miles on them. Then on New Years day cycling in the Cycle lane in a
local town I ran over some glass and got punctures in both tyres. I just put this down to misfortune
and repaired the punctures, however the following Sunday I got another puncture when a very small
piece of flint went through the tyre. This made me think perhaps the Sport 1000s were not that good
and so I replaced them with some Continental Ultra Gatorskins, which are described as being
practically bullet proof and received a good write up in CW. These were OK for the first week I rode
about 50 miles on them. Then yesterday I got a puncture in the sidewall of the back tyre, I could
not find what had caused the puncture it almost looked like a pinch flat. This morning I got another
puncture in the back when a shard of grit from the road penetrated the tyre.
What can I do to avoid all these punctures? I have had 5 in the last 3 weeks and less than 200
miles. Are the Ultra Gatorskins actually any good? I am now trying running them at a reduced
pressure dropping from 100PSI to 80 (the tyres have 120 marked on them) will this make them any less
likely to puncture or will I be likely to get pinch flats?
I would be grateful for any advice or anyone has to offer.
TIA