Puncture Prevention?

[essexman]

lol the puncture repair kit post made me laugh.

Again 21st century , pop into any bike shop (apparently not halfords ) and you can buy puncture repair patches (i do believe there is a green slime branded make). These are like stickers. Peel em off and stick em on. Job done.

The great thing about these are, when you have a puncture, simply roll the tyre to locate the puncture (this time of year its always bloomin thorns!) , pop the tyre off, pull out the punctured bit of tube, stick the patch on, remove the offending thorn, stick inner tube and tire back in, inflate with your cyclair or CO2 pump (no sweat no effort). Its quicker than changing a tube on a bike that doesnt have quick release.

I find these patches will hold for ~75% of the time. Carry a spare inner tube (and spanners) for the 25% and other catastrophic failures.

PS I use woods valves adaptors on my Agattu. I dont notice any resistance using my cyclair.

[flecc]

As you say essexman, the self sticking patches only stick 75% of the time, so I prefer to do the job properly which is always successful. It's a pity people are so scared of punctures since they are really so easy to deal with.

Many is the the time when I've stopped and quickly repaired one for someone looking helpless at the side of the road, done in minutes.

Of course that is an alternative way of dealing with punctures, assume a helpless look and wait for a mug like me to come along.
.

[Rod Tibbs]

It also helps if you are curvy and blonde!

Rod

[flecc]

Originally Posted by Rod Tibbs

It also helps if you are curvy and blonde!

Rod

The last couple I helped were both curvy and blonde.

Both the mother and her son.
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[essexman]

Originally Posted by flecc

As you say essexman, the self sticking patches only stick 75% of the time, so I prefer to do the job properly which is always successful. It's a pity people are so scared of punctures since they are really so easy to deal with.

Many is the the time when I've stopped and quickly repaired one for someone looking helpless at the side of the road, done in minutes.

Of course that is an alternative way of dealing with punctures, assume a helpless look and wait for a mug like me to come along.
.

I agree Flecc, but hub gear bikes just put me off roadside tube changes. The amount of times i've spent in the pitch black, a bike light between my teeth, by the side of a road, scraping through long grass trying to find the bolt i've fumbled in the dark.....

Helpful passer-by's are amazing. I remember being 18 and stuck out in the middle of nowhere. A cyclist came past and gives me his spare tube. The kindness of strangers is very life affirming. I've had the opportunity to do it for others as well since. Its one of those real feel good things to do. It can be overdone though....

I remember a time i stopped to adjust my rear derailleur and ~100 cyclists stopped to offer advice, tools, a complete wheel rebuild... It was the local CTCs annual AGM ride

[maryinoxford]

Originally Posted by essexman

I remember a time i stopped to adjust my rear derailleur and ~100 cyclists stopped to offer advice, tools, a complete wheel rebuild... It was the local CTCs annual AGM ride

Like having a heart attack at a medical convention...

Getting back to puncture repair kits, I remember once settling down to fix a puncture (at home). I thought I knew the routine, but found that the glue in my kit had completely dried up. No idea how long it was since I bought the kit. (I completed the job with Evostik - it worked okay.)

Now I try to remember to buy a new kit once a year, so the glue will be liquid when I need it. I don't know what the lifespan is of peel-and-stick patches, but I expect it's not infinite.

Mary

[flecc]

Originally Posted by essexman

I agree Flecc, but hub gear bikes just put me off roadside tube changes.

I usually find just the puncture repair is sufficient and don't normal change tubes.

Being ex trade, I know some dodges for putting tubes and tyres in without taking wheels out though :

[essexman]

Flecc: Ouch! I feel for those spokes, although i'm sure your doing something cunning.

My Wife fixed a puncture yesterday by going into the local bike shop with baby and looking helpless. Took 10 minutes! Thats as fast as my roadside changes!

[flecc]

Originally Posted by essexman

Flecc: Ouch! I feel for those spokes, although i'm sure your doing something cunning.

Yes, the foot pressure is inwards, predominantly on the spoke flange.

That's an alloy frame by the way, they will often spring enough if the spindle length isn't too long. The right hand pops the tube in (though here it's holding the camera), and I've even put in the thick Marathon Plus tyres that way, a great time saver.

Years ago we had rear frame stretchers in the trade, like a threaded clamp used in reverse, and with the steel frames at the time it solved tyre and tube change problems on full chaincase and oilbath chaincase bikes, saving hours.
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[Mussels]

A note about slime tube protectors, the plastic strips that sit between the inner tube and the tyre. Where the ends overlap (as per instructions) the slime bands have cut through the inner tubes causing me 2 punctures this week, one cut was about 2.5" long so hard to patch.
I've emailed Slime for their response but I wish I had never bothered.