"Blow-In" Punctures

Has anyone had the type of puncture where the tube punctures on the *inside* due to the tube
expanding into the spoke cavities?

I had this happen a few weeks ago, and I'm sure it's just happened again as I was just about to
leave for work and the back tyre was flat as a pancake even though I'd inflated it to 120psi late
last night!

(luckily I managed to borrow the GF's bike!)

Perhaps the "rubber band" that goes round the rim prior to fitting the tube & tyre is not rigid
enough to stop the tube bulging into the spoke cavity?

Annoying!

 

In message <[email protected]>, Adrian Boliston <[email protected]> writes
>Has anyone had the type of puncture where the tube punctures on the *inside* due to the tube
>expanding into the spoke cavities?
>
>I had this happen a few weeks ago, and I'm sure it's just happened again as I was just about to
>leave for work and the back tyre was flat as a pancake even though I'd inflated it to 120psi late
>last night!
>
>(luckily I managed to borrow the GF's bike!)
>
>Perhaps the "rubber band" that goes round the rim prior to fitting the tube & tyre is not rigid
>enough to stop the tube bulging into the spoke cavity?
>
>Annoying!
>

This happened to me when touring on Elba a couple of years ago. I hadn't had this problem in several
years of riding the same bike (my wife has exactly the same model and had no problems either). I
kept flatting and it took me a while to work out that it was the inside of the tube that was going.
I was getting slits on the inner circumference of the tube. Went to LBS and was told that rim tape
was what I needed. The guy in the shop was extremely surprised that neither bike was fitted with
any. The tape protects against mechanical damage from the spoke and burrs around the spoke holes. I
think in my case the problem was actually being caused by the sharp edge of a very narrow tape
located right inside the rim. The new tape is very wide.
--
Michael MacClancy

 

Adrian Boliston wrote:
> Has anyone had the type of puncture where the tube punctures on the *inside* due to the tube
> expanding into the spoke cavities?

Yes, twice, with some variety of manky cloth rim tape (not Velox). I put a piece of gaffer tape over
the hole and it has behaved itself ever since.

Dave Larrington - http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
http://www.bhpc.org.uk/
===========================================================

 

My solution to this, was to get narrow cork tape to fill the spoke cavity then to put Velox rim tape
over that. I use to get loads of spoke punctures from dropping bike and rider off of very steep
cliffy drops only to discover the wheels weren't taking the punishment.

Gadget

 

Michelin have a plastic rim tape that from my experiences is the best option. Once its on its on, use a pen to position the valve hole, as once you get it on the rim, you wont be able to slide it around!

www.nemesis.cc sells them.

 

Thus spake "Adrian Boliston" <[email protected]>

> Has anyone had the type of puncture where the tube punctures on the *inside* due to the tube
> expanding into the spoke cavities?

Yes, explosively. (Bike was in my bedsit at the time.)

> I had this happen a few weeks ago, and I'm sure it's just happened again as I was just about to
> leave for work and the back tyre was flat as a pancake even though I'd inflated it to 120psi late
> last night!

> (luckily I managed to borrow the GF's bike!)
Grandfather?? ;-)

> Perhaps the "rubber band" that goes round the rim prior to fitting the tube & tyre is not rigid
> enough to stop the tube bulging into the spoke cavity?

Rubber rim tape is a waste of space. Velox cloth tape is the only thing you should consider.

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email protected] Edgware.

 

"Helen Deborah Vecht" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> Yes, explosively. (Bike was in my bedsit at the time.)

I must have slept *very* heavily last night then! Too much Guinness I guess.

> Rubber rim tape is a waste of space. Velox cloth tape is the only thing you should consider.

Thanks. The name "velox" is now securely imprinted in my mind!

 

In message <[email protected]>, Helen Deborah Vecht <[email protected]> writes
>Thus spake "Adrian Boliston" <[email protected]>
>
>
>> Has anyone had the type of puncture where the tube punctures on the *inside* due to the tube
>> expanding into the spoke cavities?
>
>Yes, explosively. (Bike was in my bedsit at the time.)
>
>> I had this happen a few weeks ago, and I'm sure it's just happened again as I was just about to
>> leave for work and the back tyre was flat as a pancake even though I'd inflated it to 120psi late
>> last night!
>
>> (luckily I managed to borrow the GF's bike!)
>Grandfather?? ;-)
>
>> Perhaps the "rubber band" that goes round the rim prior to fitting the tube & tyre is not rigid
>> enough to stop the tube bulging into the spoke cavity?
>
>Rubber rim tape is a waste of space. Velox cloth tape is the only thing you should consider.
>
Don't know about rubber or cloth. My Schwalbe Super HP rim tapes are made of polyurethane.
--
Michael MacClancy

 

Adrian Boliston wrote:
> "Helen Deborah Vecht" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>> Yes, explosively. (Bike was in my bedsit at the time.)
>
> I must have slept *very* heavily last night then! Too much Guinness I guess.
>
>> Rubber rim tape is a waste of space. Velox cloth tape is the only thing you should consider.

Is rubber rim tape *ever* more appropriate? What about thick rubber tape for non-recessed spoke
holes and over-long spokes?

> Thanks. The name "velox" is now securely imprinted in my mind!

Yes, definitetly get some for your rims. Wind it tightly (no need to bung up the holes first).

It's available from good bike shops or cheaply from: www.mwdyason.ltd.uk/shop.asp

~PB

 

Michael MacClancy <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]ancy.demon.co.uk...
> In message <[email protected]>, Helen Deborah Vecht
> <[email protected]> writes
> >Thus spake "Adrian Boliston" <[email protected]>
> >
> >
> >> Has anyone had the type of puncture where the tube punctures on the *inside* due to the tube
> >> expanding into the spoke cavities?
> >
> >Yes, explosively. (Bike was in my bedsit at the time.)
> >
> >> I had this happen a few weeks ago, and I'm sure it's just happened again as I was just about to
> >> leave for work and the back tyre was flat as a pancake even though I'd inflated it to 120psi
> >> late last night!
> >
> >> (luckily I managed to borrow the GF's bike!)
> >Grandfather?? ;-)
> >
> >> Perhaps the "rubber band" that goes round the rim prior to fitting the tube & tyre is not rigid
> >> enough to stop the tube bulging into the spoke cavity?
> >
> >Rubber rim tape is a waste of space. Velox cloth tape is the only thing you should consider.
> >
> Don't know about rubber or cloth. My Schwalbe Super HP rim tapes are made of polyurethane.
> --
> Michael MacClancy

Err, dare I recommend VELOX! It is the best, full-stop.

--
Mark
____________________________
Practice does not make perfect... Perfect practice makes perfect

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Adrian Boliston wrote:
> Has anyone had the type of puncture where the tube punctures on the *inside* due to the tube
> expanding into the spoke cavities?

I had a puncture on the inside (facing the rim) last week. When I parked my bike in the hallway one
night it was fine, but by the next morning a huge slit had appeared which leaked air almost as fast
as I could pump it in - no need for a bucket of water to find that one ;-)

I had a good look and a feel but everything seemed nice and smooth with nothing nasty protruding so
I just put a new tube in and hoped it wouldn't happen again. Its a fairly new bike and one thing I
noticed is that all the bikes in the shop had their tyres well below any reasonable pressure (i.e.
virtually riding on the rims) which might have contributed to damaging the inner tube. Another
possibility is my riding style. Since acquiring suspension I've stopped bothering to lift my front
wheel up to mount a kerb and instead sit there like a sack of potatoes and just ride straight at it.

 

"MSA" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...

> Err, dare I recommend VELOX! It is the best, full-stop.

I'll definately be visiting the bike shop on Saturday to investigate the velox tape, but meanwhile
I've got some new inners during my lunch break as they had a 3 for the price of 2, but I'll stick
with 100psi till I get the tape.

I thought I'd use the opportunity of replacing the tube to switch the back and front tyres round as
the back seems to have worn a fair bit more than the front, so I'll hopefully get more tyre life by
this rotation.

Another thing I noticed was that the new tubes had much shorter valve stems. The old panaracer tubes
had a good inch of stem showing, but the new panaracer tubes have only about 1cm showing, and I was
worried this would not be enough to get the pump head on, but to my relief they seemed to pump fine
on such a small stem. I guess the shorter stems benefit from lower weight!

 

On Thu, 15 May 2003 23:42:59 +0100, Adrian Boliston <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> I thought I'd use the opportunity of replacing the tube to switch the back and front tyres round
> as the back seems to have worn a fair bit more than the front, so I'll hopefully get more tyre
> life by this rotation.
>
You don't want to do this. Always keep the best tyre on the front. If/when the back one runs out
swap the current front to the back and put the new one on the front.

Pretty sure this is explained on the oracle's site. In fact I think there is a USAnian version with
tire and a UKnian with tyre.

Regards,

Tim.

--
God said, "div D = rho, div B = 0, curl E = - @B/@t, curl H = J + @D/@t," and there was light.

http://tjw.hn.org/ http://www.locofungus.btinternet.co.uk/

 

"Adrian Boliston" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...

> Another thing I noticed was that the new tubes had much shorter valve stems. The old panaracer
> tubes had a good inch of stem showing, but the new panaracer tubes have only about 1cm showing,
> and I was worried this would not be enough to get the pump head on, but to my relief they seemed
> to pump fine on such a small stem. I guess the shorter stems benefit from lower weight!

The longer stems are for use with deep section (aero) rims. The only problem with using them on
standard rims is the ugliness factor. Whipping out your spare tube on the road, however, to find it
has a short stem and your rims are aero is another duh moment.

--
Dave...

 

"MSA" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...

> Err, dare I recommend VELOX! It is the best, full-stop.

(as did others)

Reminds me of one of my annoyed moments at the evil empire. Getting the bits for a new wheel. 'Can I
have some velox rim tape for that'? 'No, you don't want that, you want one of these plastic things.'
grrr. yes I do. I was amused to see on my next visit one of their mechanic people carrying an
absolutely enormous roll of the stuff.

cheers, clive

 

On Thu, 15 May 2003, Helen Deborah Vecht wrote:
> Rubber rim tape is a waste of space. Velox cloth tape is the only thing you should consider.

Thanks, Helen, for this timely advice. Although I suspect that an obscure mechanism connects your
posting this message with my front tube puncturing on the spoke-holes *twice* this afternoon,
despite my best efforts at reseating the old rubber tape in between, so my thanks are tempered with
irritation.

(Let me add that I am not willing to repeat the experiment with a control posting, before anyone
asks. And I quite accept that Helen has offered only anecdotal evidence, if that, in favour of
cloth tape.)

 

On Thu, 15 May 2003 12:49:09 +0100, Helen Deborah Vecht <[email protected]> wrote:

>Rubber rim tape is a waste of space. Velox cloth tape is the only thing you should consider.

Mine has "Jante" on it - surely this must be Good Stuff, having been fitted by Reading's premier
blind bike mechanic?

Guy
===
** WARNING ** This posting may contain traces of irony. http://www.chapmancentral.com (BT ADSL and
dynamic DNS permitting)
NOTE: BT Openworld have now blocked port 25 (without notice), so old mail addresses may no longer
work. Apologies.

 

>> Rubber rim tape is a waste of space. Velox cloth tape is the only thing you should consider.

Velox (19 or 16mm) can be awkward on some rims with a narrow concave well (eg. Vuelta Tempest 19).
Even though it's self-adhesive, the tape when on these rims can squirm out to the sides and foul
tyre beads unevenly.

~PB

 

"Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...

> Mine has "Jante" on it - surely this must be Good Stuff, having been fitted by Reading's premier
> blind bike mechanic?

"Jante" is simply French for "rim".

--
Dave...

 

"Dave Kahn" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> "Jante" is simply French for "rim".

Finally got my tape with the french green writing on it! It certainly *looks* a lot neater than that
"naff" rubber band that the bike was sold with, and is probably a few grammes lighter to boot!