I would like to point out this is not an ad for the brand of tyres I use more to stress the importance of tyres that are puncture resistance.
As I have stated earlier I have been riding for close to 10 years as a form of transport and if there is one thing that will kill it for you it is a flat tyre. We all know the story of the motorist with a flat but there is a slight difference, they carry a spare, cyclists well not truly practical. There are the ones that say you can carry a spare tube but come on be practical! I do not want to be on the side of a narrow path (hopefully not blocking flow) desperately trying to get the tyre off then a tube out then pumping it back up with a Mini-pump that in all accounts will only get the PSI of the tyre back up to 20. That is not me and it is not what most people that intend on riding to work wish to be doing. What is needed is a tyre that can run over broken glass and keep going and going.
Mid-last year my old bike failed and broke while I was riding it. It would of been a terrifying moment if I could remember it, I blacked out. Then again it might of had the same thought I had on the last accident "not again". To that I went out and bought a new bike, "get straight back on" as the saying goes and I have done that.
Tyres! the machine I bought is marketed as an urban machine with puncture resistant tyres. While I would of still bought it if it did not come with puncture resistance tyres, I would od bought replacements. I had been running with "Specilized Armadillos" for the last four years and had not had a single puncture. It would not be uncommon for me to sit down at the end of a work day every six months and so and pick bits of glass out of the tyres. The rubber on these tyres is very tough and even if it gets into that there is another layer of material to prevent material from reaching the tubes and causing a flat.
Well! After having the new bike for just two weeks the first wet day happened. Everyone that rides a bike hates wet days for one reason or another, generally I don't. That said I had a bad feeling I had noticed as soon as I got the bike the tyres just looked that bit to soft, not puncture resistant at all. As wet roads softer tyres rubber and move glass on the road about I had the worst feeling that a puncture was going to happen. Sure enough it did less then two kilometres into the ride. I heard the glass before I heard the wizzzzz of escaping air. With that I knew I had the fun of the walk home and then of being an hour late for work, NOT IMPRESSED.
What to do! The first thing to do was to order some Armadillos. Well to be correct a single Armadillo. Most punctures occur in the rear tyre not the front so as not to waste the existing tyre it would become the spare for the front which would also remain to run out it's life. Armadillos have a long running life of over 10000kms due to the hard rubber used.
There are some complaints regarding such long lasting tyres. The first is ofcourse grip, due to use of harder rubber grip has been reported as a problem, this is understandable but to the best of me I have not had a problem. The other thing is if it is a problem maybe you are taking a bend to fast. It is not uncommon for me to see riders take bends with there body 45 degrees to the road surface. I would say that is to fast because all you need is one rock and off you slide. Take the bend slower and focus on accelerating quicker. The second complaint regarding puncture resistant tyres is they are hard to get off and on the wheel rim. This argument I have to say is a contradiction in itself. I agree it was hard getting the new Armadillo on even with the tools to do the job but the fact is if tyre is puncture resistant you will not have to take it off the rim until it is needing replacement. Far better to pull a tyre off once a year or more then once every few weeks and waste time repairing and replacing damaged tubes. The final complaint is they don't roll as well. This I do agree with. I have found they I do not accelerate quite as fast as with the other tyre but have not had it increase my travel time to work. Once again this comes down to cost/benefit ratio! Even if it was taking me a little longer to get to work each day say a minute it is better to get to work a little slower with a regular travel time then every few weeks turning up 10 or 20 minutes late or in my case 1hr late.
So what to do if you have a bike with non-puncture resistant tyres.
1st - weigh up the benefits of non-puncture and puncture resistant tyres
2nd - Do your research, I have named one brand but there are others
3rd - replace the rear tyre. Rear tyres are more likely to get a puncture and use the remaining tyres on the front wheel until they are worn out. Then when needed replace the front as well.
Like I said at the start you may not mind carrying all the equipment with you but if you are like me and just want to get to places with minimal worry I would have say invest in some puncture resistant tyres, They make life so much less stressful
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