Help - too many punctures

Andy-Mat

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 26, 2018
2,214
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That last point Andy might have some relevance. I keep getting new tubes from Halfords and ask for those suitable for the Crossfuse, and they seem to give me different sizes every time. The tyres are I believe 700C 35 so what inner tube size is the best to buy for those. And the Marathon Plus tyres seem to come in 700C by 35 and 700C by 40 so I'm guessing I order the former?
Mike
You have to read carefully on the inner tube box yourself, as to which tyre size they are for.....Sometimes I find it to be not very obvious.....
Best of luck
Andy
 

Jon Matthews

Pedelecer
Aug 22, 2018
122
40
Hi Mike, I had 3 punctures in a week on my way to work, which was making me dread using my bike. I changed the standard Scwalbe Smart Sam's to these: Schwalbe Marathon GT 365 DualGuard E-50 FourSeason Performance Wired Hybrid and filled the tubes with Slime. I haven't had a puncture since. I did up the tyre pressure to 80 PSI to prevent pinch punctures as well. AFAIK, going tubeless will also prevent pinch punctures so you could run lower pressure for comfort. My original tyres were 44 mm width and my new ones 38 mm. I kept the same tubes with no issues so far.
 

Jimod

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 9, 2010
1,065
634
Polmont
Never liked slime. The only time I used it I got a puncture pretty soon after ... slime everywhere that made it impossible to mend the puncture.
That is my experience of slime filled tubes as well.
 
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BazP

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 8, 2017
358
174
74
Sheffield
I run Schwalbe Marathon Plus MTB tyres back and front with slime tubes at 35 to 40 psi. They are advertised as "flatless" Ha Ha!! I get loads of punctures, probably one every 3 -4 rides.
One thing to be careful of with the slime tubes is to make sure that the valve is clean as letting any air out of the valve also lets in some slime resulting in a slow deflation. so, clean the valve then make sure it is in the 4 or 8 oclock position when pumping.
 
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Deno

Pedelecer
Jan 24, 2018
91
47
43
Dublin
I have 11k kms on a set of marathon plus MTB's with no punctures. Strictly road use only however, and I don't think they grip that well however running sensible tyre pressures helps (i.e. 40-50 psi). I was running more pressure until I dropped the front unexpectedly on a greasy turn - that one hurt.
 

Chainring

Esteemed Pedelecer
Apr 24, 2013
328
158
I have just fixed another puncture - in the back wheel, of course! The OKO sealant worked, so at least I could fix it at home, in the warm, and with all my tools. It's true about the sealant getting in the valve and causing problems. If I have to, I move the valve to the top, take the core out, few hard pumps into the tube, clean the core and put it back. A big bottle of OKO does loads of wheels, and I'm sure it's cheaper than slime. This puncture was caused by a shard of glass like one of Phil Harding's flint chippings.
 

BazP

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 8, 2017
358
174
74
Sheffield
I have just fixed another puncture - in the back wheel, of course! The OKO sealant worked, so at least I could fix it at home, in the warm, and with all my tools. It's true about the sealant getting in the valve and causing problems. If I have to, I move the valve to the top, take the core out, few hard pumps into the tube, clean the core and put it back. A big bottle of OKO does loads of wheels, and I'm sure it's cheaper than slime. This puncture was caused by a shard of glass like one of Phil Harding's flint chippings.
Hi Chainring, you really need the valve stem pointing upwards so that nothing runs into it.
 

anotherkiwi

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jan 26, 2015
7,845
5,785
The European Union
First puncture in about 9000 km today on the left front of the trike. A thorn went through the sidewall missing the puncture protection layer... :(

I also got pulled over by the police for the first time ever on a bike (trike), they were worried I didn't have a flag. My Spanish isn't good enough to say that the red flag law was abolished in 1896 :D
 

Ajax

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 2, 2008
311
29
That level of puncture protection is quite low on Schwalbe's protection level list.

https://www.schwalbetires.com/node/2430

Go for Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres, which have Smart Guard protection. I've used them for thousands of miles with no punctures.

I second the use of Marathon Plus tyres.

I would also add 'green slim' to your inner tubes, this self-seals small punctures.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SLIME-Tube-Sealant-Hang-Tab/dp/B000W45GGW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1553163560&sr=8-3&keywords=green+slime+tyre+sealant

You might also want to look into thicker inner tubes. They are heaver for that reason but work well with the greeen slim. The stem on some of these thicker tubes *Raleigh* might be too short for the deeper wheel rims.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kenda-Thorn-Resistant-Bicycle-Inner/dp/B00B6C26SA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1553163864&sr=8-2&keywords=thicker+inner+tube

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=puncture+resistant+inner+tube&rh=i:aps,k:puncture+resistant+inner+tube


I use to roll with solid tyres made by 'greentyres'. They were hard to put on, but do able.
The ride ofcourse was uncomfortable, but managable. They could be a little skitish on hard wet surfaces, then i discovered Marathon Plus tyres. ;)

https://www.greentyre.com/bicycle-tyres.php