Just as wet sand clings to your tires so too will those wet little shards of glass; and then as you ride it can work its way through the tire casing and into the tube. Try to avoid the glass in the first place, of course; but because those little bits of the “Devil’s dandruff” can be anywhere, wear gloves and get into the habit of lightly brushing your tire from time to time with the palm of your hand.
As I wrote yesterday: They are not flatproof, but very close.
They do not fit to my needs for daily ride now, but I still use Schwalbe (Big Apple for dry weather, Noby Nick and Ice Spiker Pro) for rain and snow/ice. One flat a year now, seems okay…
Answer to ‘Persia’ above: Kevlar has terrific strength and will resist pulling/stretching better than most.
A tight weave will therefore hold back nails and such quiet well but…
Glass has needle-like tips that work their way in between the weave.
It also has very sharp edges that slice the cloth easily.
The hard foam rubber in the ‘armor’ of Marathon plus resists these attacks very well. For the treaded section!
The sidewall is not so well protected which is why the goat’s feet work their evil magic.
I wore a Marathon plus tread clean away through the canvas due to faulty ‘toe-in’ adjustment of my first set of tires on the Mango – 500 miles? – when the tube started to balloon through the hole, it was soon worn thin and I got a flat.
I put a piece of canvas over the hole, used a PRK to repair the puncture (Thank you passing ‘roadie’ for the glue – mine had dried from lack of use!) and that got me home for new tyres.
I am near the end of updating my Mango.
I have slightly increased the ‘lead’ to improve the self-steer effect of the steering so I will be watching tire wear carefully for a while adjusting the toe-in to minimize the wear as I go.
I have updated the low gearing ratio of the Rohloff by fitting a Shimano Alfine 11 instead.
I am about to connect the control cable and will be ready to roll with new chain, tyres, back wheel (and sprocket) and a paint touch-up of a few scratches.
It will be interesting to see the effect of the changes…
My life was revolutionized six years ago when I bought a Pashley Roadster Sovereign. It comes with Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres as factory standard equipment. Suddenly I stopped getting punctures. Ever. No punctures.
The Chicago Schwinn bicycle that I had been riding for the previous 35 years would get a puncture about once every month or two, and I had become skilled at repairing them. This is a skill that I absolutely do not regret falling into disuse.
Try an old steel razor blade for shaving, then add water. Those tiny wires that come off steel belts in cars cause a lot of the problems. Drag a cotton ball through the inside of the tire to find it.
And hides it from view
Just as wet sand clings to your tires so too will those wet little shards of glass; and then as you ride it can work its way through the tire casing and into the tube. Try to avoid the glass in the first place, of course; but because those little bits of the “Devil’s dandruff” can be anywhere, wear gloves and get into the habit of lightly brushing your tire from time to time with the palm of your hand.
-“BB”-
Or get kevlar tyres, then you need fear only metal.
I hate glAssholes. Those Jacqueasses who deliberately break bottles in the roadway, or those who fail in their job of cleaning up crash sites.
Been using SMPs for about 10 years now and no flats. They’re tyres with super powers.
http://www.schwalbe.com/gb/tour-reader/marathon-plus.html
As I wrote yesterday: They are not flatproof, but very close.
They do not fit to my needs for daily ride now, but I still use Schwalbe (Big Apple for dry weather, Noby Nick and Ice Spiker Pro) for rain and snow/ice. One flat a year now, seems okay…
Two Words: MARATHON PLUS
See above.
Answer to ‘Persia’ above: Kevlar has terrific strength and will resist pulling/stretching better than most.
A tight weave will therefore hold back nails and such quiet well but…
Glass has needle-like tips that work their way in between the weave.
It also has very sharp edges that slice the cloth easily.
The hard foam rubber in the ‘armor’ of Marathon plus resists these attacks very well. For the treaded section!
The sidewall is not so well protected which is why the goat’s feet work their evil magic.
I wore a Marathon plus tread clean away through the canvas due to faulty ‘toe-in’ adjustment of my first set of tires on the Mango – 500 miles? – when the tube started to balloon through the hole, it was soon worn thin and I got a flat.
I put a piece of canvas over the hole, used a PRK to repair the puncture (Thank you passing ‘roadie’ for the glue – mine had dried from lack of use!) and that got me home for new tyres.
I am near the end of updating my Mango.
I have slightly increased the ‘lead’ to improve the self-steer effect of the steering so I will be watching tire wear carefully for a while adjusting the toe-in to minimize the wear as I go.
I have updated the low gearing ratio of the Rohloff by fitting a Shimano Alfine 11 instead.
I am about to connect the control cable and will be ready to roll with new chain, tyres, back wheel (and sprocket) and a paint touch-up of a few scratches.
It will be interesting to see the effect of the changes…
Now I have to look up Kingsbury Run Roast coffee. I’ll drink it while wearing my Walz cap. 😉
My life was revolutionized six years ago when I bought a Pashley Roadster Sovereign. It comes with Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres as factory standard equipment. Suddenly I stopped getting punctures. Ever. No punctures.
The Chicago Schwinn bicycle that I had been riding for the previous 35 years would get a puncture about once every month or two, and I had become skilled at repairing them. This is a skill that I absolutely do not regret falling into disuse.
Kevlar tires and tire savers (little wire gizmos that scrape the tire surface) are you friends…
And rain, since hard tires like the gatorskin tend to be slippery.
Try an old steel razor blade for shaving, then add water. Those tiny wires that come off steel belts in cars cause a lot of the problems. Drag a cotton ball through the inside of the tire to find it.