tired of getting flats

catzz66 said:

I have just invested in Gatorskin and Armadillo tires for my bikes and
am going to see which brand gives me the best results. I have one
Gatorskin on the ground already and will put the others on as I do more
stuff.

I had no luck with Armadillos in urban conditions, myself. I now use
Schwalb Marathon Plus tires - I've had tire-wire flats and one sheet
metal screw flat, but not a single normal urban (glass, tacks, etc)
flat for 18 months. (Knock wood.)

Brian Huntley said:

catzz66 said:

I have just invested in Gatorskin and Armadillo tires for my bikes and
am going to see which brand gives me the best results. I have one
Gatorskin on the ground already and will put the others on as I do more
stuff.

I had no luck with Armadillos in urban conditions, myself. I now use
Schwalb Marathon Plus tires - I've had tire-wire flats and one sheet
metal screw flat, but not a single normal urban (glass, tacks, etc)
flat for 18 months. (Knock wood.)

I've ridden what I consider to be the cheap alternative to Marathons
the past six months, the IRC Tandem. ~2K miles on that bike. No flats,
and it gets used for everything from urban exploring to fire roads.
Nada. The all rounder bike before that had some WTB tires which
flatted at least weekly. Shame the Tandems won't fit in most stupidly
tight road bike clearances. They're pretty light at ~350g, supple, and
the slightly annoying tread will be forgiven the first time you take
them off road.

I'm pretty certain that rain flats are caused by two things, this
after getting a rash of them last year on my skinny tire bike, rain
making glass shards stand up on the roadway, and the water acting as
lubricant. The only totally reliable solution seems to be tread
thickness, thus my love affair with the very utilitarian IRC tires.
The gatorskins and armadillos don't appeal to me at all, as they're
quite heavy for their size, with limited volume and stiff sidewalls,
the worst of all worlds.

catzz66 said:

We have had an abnormal amount of rain this spring and early summer. I
have gotten just about every kind of flat but pinch flat from all the
road junk that floats out of the gutter during rains.

I have just invested in Gatorskin and Armadillo tires for my bikes and
am going to see which brand gives me the best results. I have one
Gatorskin on the ground already and will put the others on as I do more
stuff.

I'd been running Specialized Mondo and Mondo Pro till they got so chewed
up from the road debris. Had great experiences with them till his
spring. It has been like their "flack jacket" lining is made of toilet
paper for me.

My solution, being the victim of many, many flats have never found
tires that really prevent them. I've gone another route. I simply got
proficient at changing tubes. I can change a front out in ~ 3 minutes
and a rear in ~5. I also buy tubes in bulk at a big discount and just
live with the flats.

In article <[email hidden]>, catzz66
@threeletterservice.com says...

Quoted message said:

We have had an abnormal amount of rain this spring and early summer. I
have gotten just about every kind of flat but pinch flat from all the
road junk that floats out of the gutter during rains.

I was having a similar problem a couple years ago. Tried slime, but
found that pretty much sucked.

Now I have the following combo:

1. Michelin Carbon tires
2. Tuffy strips
3. Performance 'thorn-proof' tubes

Not at all light, but I guess I'll just give that up for the lack of
flats.

My $00.02

-Bob

gds said:

My solution, being the victim of many, many flats have never found
tires that really prevent them. I've gone another route. I simply got
proficient at changing tubes. I can change a front out in ~ 3 minutes
and a rear in ~5. I also buy tubes in bulk at a big discount and just
live with the flats.

That's going to have to be my Plan B. It is not too much fun fixing
flats in this slop, but I am going to have to bite the bullet and start
doing it. I am used to being able to have my floor pump and tools handy
and have room to spread out.

Part of the problem has probably been the compound used in the Mondos.
When it was pretty dry around here (last several years) it was fine, but
with more rainy weather they get cut and gouged up. I am looking for a
little bit tougher exterior compound. Maybe that will cut down on some
of the punctures. It was time to change anyway. I got 2100 and 2400
miles out of the OEM tires, so I can't complain that much.

catzz66 said:

I'd been running Specialized Mondo and Mondo Pro till they got so chewed
up from the road debris. Had great experiences with them till his
spring. It has been like their "flack jacket" lining is made of toilet
paper for me.

I haven't tried them, but you can get thick plastic strips which sit
between your tyre and tube. They look as though they'd stop almost
anything getting through, although they'd slow you down a bit.

--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw

catzz66 said:

We have had an abnormal amount of rain this spring and early summer. I
have gotten just about every kind of flat but pinch flat from all the
road junk that floats out of the gutter during rains.

Send us some of that rain! Please??

Quoted message said:

I have just invested in Gatorskin and Armadillo tires for my bikes and
am going to see which brand gives me the best results. I have one
Gatorskin on the ground already and will put the others on as I do more
stuff.

I'd been running Specialized Mondo and Mondo Pro till they got so chewed
up from the road debris. Had great experiences with them till his
spring. It has been like their "flack jacket" lining is made of toilet
paper for me.

You got me to thinking. I don't like flats, either. Beauty in the
eye of this beholder is not having to stop for flats; I care about
rolling resistance more than flat resistance probably less that 2% of
my rides.

That said, I got a new bike last year that came with Vittoria
Randonneurs (32 labeled width). They felt faster than the Panaracers
and Avocet Cross tires I'd been riding[1], and lasted 4000 miles on
the back. I got some more.

Pat

[1] Strangely enough, though, I couldn't tell a difference in average
speed or ride time on identical commuting trips.
Email address works as is.

SCHWALBE MARATHON PLUS

PERIOD

"catzz66" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

We have had an abnormal amount of rain this spring and early summer. I
have gotten just about every kind of flat but pinch flat from all the road
junk that floats out of the gutter during rains.

I have just invested in Gatorskin and Armadillo tires for my bikes and am
going to see which brand gives me the best results. I have one Gatorskin
on the ground already and will put the others on as I do more stuff.

I'd been running Specialized Mondo and Mondo Pro till they got so chewed
up from the road debris. Had great experiences with them till his spring.
It has been like their "flack jacket" lining is made of toilet paper for
me.

Grand Poobah said:

SCHWALBE MARATHON PLUS

I'm no weight weenie--but nearly a kg each at 32mm! No thanks. I'll
stick with my 350g flat free IRC Tandems.

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

Quoted message said:

Grand Poobah said:

SCHWALBE MARATHON PLUS

I'm no weight weenie--but nearly a kg each at 32mm! No thanks. I'll
stick with my 350g flat free IRC Tandems.

I am a bike commuter not a racer. I am more like the turtle than the hare.

I'm running Gatorskins 23mm on the road bike and I get the occasional puncture but thats not a bad thing either because you get good at fixing flats. I used to run 25mm Gatorskins with Thorn tubes and once travelled 6000k without a puncture but the 25mm are to costly compared to the 23mm from my supplier. On the 27inch beater i'm running 1-1/8 Panracers with the kevlar bead and no problems after 2-3000k.

Dancier said:

I'm running Gatorskins 23mm on the road bike and I get the occasional
puncture but thats not a bad thing either because you get good at
fixing flats. I used to run 25mm Gatorskins with Thorn tubes and once
travelled 6000k without a puncture but the 25mm are to costly compared
to the 23mm from my supplier. On the 27inch beater i'm running 1-1/8
Panracers with the kevlar bead and no problems after 2-3000k.

Now I have both Gatorskins on the ground. The ride seems a little more
harsh and they are harder for me to get on the rim, but it is a small
price to pay if they are more reliable. I probably only have 50 miles
on the front tire and 20 on the rear, but so far, so good. I actually
like the stiff sidewalls. The tire doesn't flex too much when it rolls.

catzz66 said:

they are harder for me to get on the rim, but it is a small
price to pay if they are more reliable.

My thoughts exactly. I just put on a pair of 23mm Gatorskins
myself less than two hundred miles ago... I hope they hold up
as well as advertised, because if I do get a flat out on the
road it's going to be a pain in the butt to fix it.

But so far, so good.

--
Mark Shroyer
http://markshroyer.com/

catzz66 said:

We have had an abnormal amount of rain this spring and early summer. I
have gotten just about every kind of flat but pinch flat from all the
road junk that floats out of the gutter during rains.

I have just invested in Gatorskin and Armadillo tires for my bikes and
am going to see which brand gives me the best results. I have one
Gatorskin on the ground already and will put the others on as I do more
stuff.

I'd been running Specialized Mondo and Mondo Pro till they got so chewed
up from the road debris. Had great experiences with them till his
spring. It has been like their "flack jacket" lining is made of toilet
paper for me.

I am using the slime tubes now and no flats so far. However, I wish to
propose a theory: flats are sometimes (often?) deferred. You run over
glass, the bit starts working into the tube, and sometime later,
perhaps many days later, you get a flat.

I mention this because I carefully looked at a tire a few weeks back,
having removed it from the bike. I pulled out at least 7 pieces of
glass. Some don't look like they would be large enough to penetrate
the tire and the tube, but a few did look that large. So, my guess is
that carefully checking your tire weekly or monthly, off the bike,
from inside and out, may prevent some flats.

I'll admit that I don't really have the time to dismount and inspect
the tire each week, but I will try to do it monthly.

Mark Shroyer said:

catzz66 said:

they are harder for me to get on the rim, but it is a small
price to pay if they are more reliable.

My thoughts exactly. I just put on a pair of 23mm Gatorskins
myself less than two hundred miles ago... I hope they hold up
as well as advertised, because if I do get a flat out on the
road it's going to be a pain in the butt to fix it.

But so far, so good.

Time will tell, but I am so far not picking up the rock fragments and
glass slivers that I used to have to dig out of the OEM tires. There's
something to be said for harder tire compounds, I guess. Before the
gatorskins, I was getting paranoid, stopping every five miles to inspect
my tires.

Mark Shroyer said:

My thoughts exactly. I just put on a pair of 23mm Gatorskins
myself less than two hundred miles ago... I hope they hold up
as well as advertised, because if I do get a flat out on the
road it's going to be a pain in the butt to fix it.

The Gators are not puncture proof by any means so always take a repair kit but they are just as good as any other tire out their for us 90kg guys. I was running GP4000 for a while and ended up getting punctures all the time because they are to soft, probably great for racing but not a general purpose tire. The ride on the Ultra Gator is quiet harsh at first compared to the old Gator but once worn in they are fine.

Someone said:

We have had an abnormal amount of rain this spring and early summer.
I have gotten just about every kind of flat but pinch flat from all
the road junk that floats out of the gutter during rains.

Quoted message said:

I have just invested in Gatorskin and Armadillo tires for my bikes
and am going to see which brand gives me the best results. I have
one Gatorskin on the ground already and will put the others on as I
do more stuff.

Quoted message said:

I'd been running Specialized Mondo and Mondo Pro till they got so
chewed up from the road debris. Had great experiences with them
till his spring. It has been like their "flack jacket" lining is
made of toilet paper for me.

Your story is familiar and comes up now and then on this forum. I am
curious where this is occurring and whether there are other bicyclists
in the area who suffer similarly. I know of riders in my area who are
plagued by flats, even though they use inlays, slime and other means
to avoid punctures.

In contrast, there are thousands of athletic bicyclists in this area
who aren't constantly tending to flats. I believe you should discover
what you are doing, or not doing that is different. With all the
interest in high performance voiced on this forum, you can be sure
that most riders do not ride any extra tough or durable tires, they
look where they ride and rarely get a flat.

I think there is where your effort belongs.

Jobst Brandt

Grand Poobah said:

"landotter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:... On Jun 30 said:

Quoted message said:

SCHWALBE MARATHON PLUS

Quoted message said:

I'm no weight weenie--but nearly a kg each at 32mm! No thanks. I'll
stick with my 350g flat free IRC Tandems.

I am a bike commuter not a racer. I am more like the turtle than the hare.

Yeah and the way I see it the extra eight just makes you that much
stronger when you hop on your road bike!

ufatbastehd said:

Grand Poobah said:

"landotter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

news:... On Jun 30 said:

> SCHWALBE MARATHON PLUS

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I'm no weight weenie--but nearly a kg each at 32mm! No thanks. I'll
stick with my 350g flat free IRC Tandems.

Quoted message said:

I am a bike commuter not a racer. I am more like the turtle than the hare.

Yeah and the way I see it the extra eight just makes you that much
stronger when you hop on your road bike!

I meant weight not eight.