Hi everyone. I bought my son a bike from Whoosh for his birthday last year. He loves it. BUT....he's had countless punctures riding to school. We bought the dr sludge self sealing inner tubes, but still he's been getting punctures. My son has aspergers, and unless he spots the puncture straight away, (because the tyre is completely flat) he will ride the bike.....causing an even bigger mess and of course could break the wheel. As I said, he loves the bike and I don't want to ruin the independence he's gained from being able to get about by himself, but my husband is fed up with the twice weekly puncture repair work! I'm tempted to go on the solid tyre route. And I would appreciate some advice on this...what tyres to buy and where from if that's not too cheeky. The size is 26 x 1:95. Most sizes I've looked at go to 1:75. Is this ok?!
What tyre?!
- Thread starter Vicky morley
- Start date
Yes, seconded, the Marathon Plus tyres are the best available defence against punctures.
Worth starting with new slime-free tubes as well at the same time, since the very rare puncture that could still occur is often made more difficult to repair by the oozing slime.
.
Worth starting with new slime-free tubes as well at the same time, since the very rare puncture that could still occur is often made more difficult to repair by the oozing slime.
.
Thank you both...I've had an email back from Greentyre, as I saw the company mentioned on a previous thread...they said that they don't do that particular size but asked. " let me know what the internal rim measurement is on your current wheelrim"..... how do I find that out?!
But I think I'll go for the marathon ones... thank you sooooo much!!
But I think I'll go for the marathon ones... thank you sooooo much!!
Oh and another query (sorry I'm a total noob as my boys would say!) on amazon there were several options...but the only ones closest in size were Marathon plus MBT in sizes 1.75 and 2.10. There were some other ones called marathon, but they were in grams.
What type of punctures ? are these sharp objects penetrating the tyre? if so check that no sharp bits are being left inside the tyre when repairing. Inspect the tyre carefully when off the rim as it's easy to miss a tiny sharp object and refit the tyre and tube with the problem still in place. If the punctures are near the rim these may be caused by the tube being nipped when running over potholes. Also check the tyre pressures carefully as under inflation will make impact 'nip' punctures worse. Also check if the lad is bumping up and down kerbs , boys will be boys.
My husband is the one who changes the tyres and he's pretty good at checking for thorns etc. And it does seem to be these pesky blighters which are causing the damage. They're as thick as drawing pins! Think the main problem is that my son doesn't check for punctures except before he ventures out in the morning. He definitely goes up and down kerbs though...and I'm sure every pot hole between home and school is hit! I've ordered the ones flecc suggested...the ones for off road...to cover every eventuality. Thanks again for your help....I was getting pretty desperate! Will keep you updated
He really shouldn't be getting lots of punctures. I regularly do 50 plus mile rides with a group of 30, so that's equivalent to 1500 miles each time on very badly surfaced country lanes and its a rare day when anyone punctures.
In my experience people who have lots of punctures have one of three problems causing them.
The first is that as Kourinder says there is something sharp trapped in the lining of the tyre and once the bike is loaded and underway this is forced into the tube and you have a flat. Clue to this is that the puncture is always in the same place on the tube.
The second is a hole in the tyre, rather than the tube. Putting a new tube in seems fine, but once under load the tube squeezes into the tyre hole and goes bang! This just needs a visual inspection of the tyre.
The third, and probably most common is under inflation of the tyre. Many of the pumps sold in bike shops are not even capable of inflating the tyre to the correct pressure. What you need is a track pump which will inflate the tyre quickly and easily, they often come with a pressure gauge which will tell you what pressure you have. You should find the recommended pressure for the tyre on the tyre side wall. If not then go for about 80psi.
This is the sort of thing http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/sks-air-x-press-control-track-pump-gauge-/rp-prod25814
If you just want to buy just the gauge here is the sort of thing you need
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/bbb-digital-pressure-gauge-bmp90/rp-prod51403
Hope this helps
In my experience people who have lots of punctures have one of three problems causing them.
The first is that as Kourinder says there is something sharp trapped in the lining of the tyre and once the bike is loaded and underway this is forced into the tube and you have a flat. Clue to this is that the puncture is always in the same place on the tube.
The second is a hole in the tyre, rather than the tube. Putting a new tube in seems fine, but once under load the tube squeezes into the tyre hole and goes bang! This just needs a visual inspection of the tyre.
The third, and probably most common is under inflation of the tyre. Many of the pumps sold in bike shops are not even capable of inflating the tyre to the correct pressure. What you need is a track pump which will inflate the tyre quickly and easily, they often come with a pressure gauge which will tell you what pressure you have. You should find the recommended pressure for the tyre on the tyre side wall. If not then go for about 80psi.
This is the sort of thing http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/sks-air-x-press-control-track-pump-gauge-/rp-prod25814
If you just want to buy just the gauge here is the sort of thing you need
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/bbb-digital-pressure-gauge-bmp90/rp-prod51403
Hope this helps
This page shows the thick underlayer that protects against punctures Vicky. Click on the film lower right and see how they can be ridden over drawing pins and broken glass without puncturing.
That said, very long thorns will puncture anything, so if he rides over hedgeside paths with cuttings on them he will suffer punctures.
.
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