3 Punctures in 3 Consecutive Days?

[Artemisia[_2_]]

How can this be happening? Widdershins, my beautiful recumbent trike,
has suffered three punctures on three consecutive riding days.

They are all on the same, right-front wheel, on the outer side of the
tube: tiny holes that look like pinpricks. I have thoroughly checked
the inside of the tyre for any protrusions or anomalies, and all is
smooth. There is a small hole in the tyre, barely sufficient to let a
grain of sand or something like that through.

There was another puncture like these about a month ago. I think it
was on the same wheel but it could have been the other front wheel. On
that occasion, I changed the inner tube for a new one. The second
occasion, I was using a patched tube (but the hole did not recur where
the patch was), and today I was using a brand new tube again, on its
first outing.

The trip to work takes over a very nasty dirt path, and in this season
there is a lot of slippery vegetation on the road, including
quantities of thorny horse-chestnuts. But the timing of the deflation
does not invariably coincide with my going over the path. One time it
happened just as I was arriving at work; then just after I left my
home in the morning, then today I arrived fine but when I went out to
lunch found the tyre flat again.

The bike is left on the company parking lot in the daytime. I really,
really would like to rule out deliberate sabotage (there is one person
in particular who has acted in similar ways in the past). How long
would a tube take to deflate through a very small hole? It would be so
easy, so anonymous, so untraceable, discretely to puncture a tyre on a
bike on a parking lot with a brooch pin. But since I have actually
ridden the bike for a full 10 km trip from the parking lot before the
wheel has gone flat, I'm curious if it could be ridden on for that
long without the puncture declaring itself.

This series of flats is distinct from the nine successive flats that I
had on my folding Dahon, that were all on the inside of the tube,
towards the rim rather than the road. Those were being caused by a
badly designed wheel and indirectly, by the spokes. So alas, I cannot
use any of my old science on this new case.

Over the weekend I will try to change the tyre. Even if I can't find
the problem, changing a tyre has inexplicably helped in the past.
Perhaps it is no longer entire enough to prevent grit from getting
between it and the tube.

Expert thoughts of the group welcome. Thanks,

EFR
Ile de France

[Brendan Halpin]

Artemisia > writes:

> How can this be happening? Widdershins, my beautiful recumbent trike,
> has suffered three punctures on three consecutive riding days.
>
> They are all on the same, right-front wheel, on the outer side of the
> tube: tiny holes that look like pinpricks. I have thoroughly checked
> the inside of the tyre for any protrusions or anomalies, and all is
> smooth. There is a small hole in the tyre, barely sufficient to let a
> grain of sand or something like that through.

A tiny hole when the tyre is off may become large enough under pressure
to allow a bubble of tube to stick out. A big bubble will probably pop
(and soon) and show a small tear in the tube, but a small bubble may
last a while until something abrades it.

Brendan
--
Brendan Halpin, Department of Sociology, University of Limerick, Ireland
Tel: w +353-61-213147 f +353-61-202569 h +353-61-338562; Room F2-025 x 3147
http://www.ul.ie/sociology/brendan.halpin.html

[Matthew Haigh]

Artemisia wrote:
> How can this be happening? Widdershins, my beautiful recumbent trike,
> has suffered three punctures on three consecutive riding days.


One suggestion - when you refit your tyre, make sure you do it in a
known position (e.g. the start of manufacturer's name printed on the
tyre lining up with the valve). That way, when you get a puncture you
will know exactly where on the tyre the puncture came from as you can
line up the tube's valve with the printing on the tyre.

That is very useful for finding bits of thorn, etc., that may be stuck
in the tyre as you know exactly where to look once you've found the hole
in the tube. If you find nothing but puncture again in the same place
(you'll know it is the same place as you'll have put the tyre back on
exactly as it came off) then you know there is a problem with the tyre.

Alternatively, it may also be useful to know that the punctures are
happening at random places - which would suggest either tyres that are
worn/not sufficiently puncture resistant for your route, or sabotage.

Matt

[Peter Clinch]

Artemisia wrote:

> The bike is left on the company parking lot in the daytime. I really,
> really would like to rule out deliberate sabotage (there is one person
> in particular who has acted in similar ways in the past). How long
> would a tube take to deflate through a very small hole?

Several hours is quite possible.

Tyres do become prone to punctures when they get old (happened to my
Streetmachine front earlier this year), but we're talking many, many
thousands of km and usually a few years.

Check the outside of the tyre thoroughly as well as the inside: you can
have something lodged in which needs high pressure and weight to bother
the tube but which isn't picked up on a straight inspection of the inside.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

[Roberto Divia]

Artemisia wrote:
> How can this be happening? Widdershins, my beautiful recumbent trike,
> has suffered three punctures on three consecutive riding days.
>
> They are all on the same, right-front wheel, on the outer side of the
> tube: tiny holes that look like pinpricks. I have thoroughly checked
> the inside of the tyre for any protrusions or anomalies, and all is
> smooth. There is a small hole in the tyre, barely sufficient to let a
> grain of sand or something like that through.

Once I did a particularly bad road, with many small stones and lots of dirt.
Next day a flat: I found nothing in the tire and nothing between tire and inner
tube (but it was raining quite hard and I was a bit in a hurry). Shortly after a
new flat: again nothing evident, but... I did put the tire in a know position
(label above the valve and on the right), so I started looking carefully around
the region of the puncture. After a few tries I could find a minuscule piece of
stone embedded in the tire and barely sticking inside (I had to fold the tire to
feel it). This stone chip obviously worked its way all the way through the wall
until it reached the inner tube and then...

Mount the tire in a know position, wait for the next flat (if any) and then
match puncture and tire.

Ciao,
--
Roberto Divia` Love at first sight is one of the greatest
Dep:PH Bat:53 Mailbox:C02110 labour-saving devices the world has ever seen
Route de Meyrin 385 ---------------------------------------------
Case Postale Phone: +41-22-767-4994
CH-1211 Geneve 23 CERN Fax: +41-22-767-9585
Switzerland E-Mail:

[Rob Morley]

On Fri, 10 Oct 2008 05:51:00 -0700 (PDT)
Artemisia > wrote:

> How can this be happening? Widdershins, my beautiful recumbent trike,
> has suffered three punctures on three consecutive riding days.
>
> They are all on the same, right-front wheel, on the outer side of the
> tube: tiny holes that look like pinpricks. I have thoroughly checked
> the inside of the tyre for any protrusions or anomalies, and all is
> smooth. There is a small hole in the tyre, barely sufficient to let a
> grain of sand or something like that through.
>
While there's nothing obviously sticking through, there could be a
bit of thorn or quartz embedded - I usually poke an old spoke through
the hole to make sure there's nothing lurking, although for
small holes something like a broken sewing machine needle might be
better (just thought of that - make note to save a broken sewing
machine needle).

[rms[_2_]]

> The trip to work takes over a very nasty dirt path, and in this season
> there is a lot of slippery vegetation on the road, including
> quantities of thorny horse-chestnuts.

So what's a horse-chestnut? Is that a goathead like we get in NM/TX ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goathead

rms

[Peter Clinch]

rms wrote:

> So what's a horse-chestnut? Is that a goathead like we get in NM/TX ?
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goathead

Horse-chestnuts are better known as conkers in the UK. The pic of the
nut at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conkers shows the problem points.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

[Phil Cook]

rms wrote:

>> The trip to work takes over a very nasty dirt path, and in this season
>> there is a lot of slippery vegetation on the road, including
>> quantities of thorny horse-chestnuts.
>
> So what's a horse-chestnut? Is that a goathead like we get in NM/TX ?
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goathead

Conkers.

A horse chestnut is a great big tree with spiky fruit capsules.

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/conkers.html
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks"

[Rob Morley]

On Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:00:28 -0600
"rms" > wrote:

> > The trip to work takes over a very nasty dirt path, and in this
> > season there is a lot of slippery vegetation on the road, including
> > quantities of thorny horse-chestnuts.
>
> So what's a horse-chestnut? Is that a goathead like we get in
> NM/TX ? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goathead
>
Nothing like. Why didn't you ask Wikipedia?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Aesculus_hippocastanum_fruit.jpg

[TerryJ]

On 10 Oct, 16:09, Rob Morley > wrote:
> Nothing like. *Why didn't you ask Wikipedia?
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Aesculus_hippocastanum_fruit.jpg

He's just showing off because, as usual, the texans have something
more toxic, bigger, sharper , hotter and more of a nuisance than we
do.

I must say I have never thought of a horse chestnut puncture before.

TerryJ

[Ian Smith]

["Followup-To:" header set to uk.rec.cycling.]
On Fri 10 Oct, Matthew Haigh > wrote:
>
> One suggestion - when you refit your tyre, make sure you do it in a
> known position (e.g. the start of manufacturer's name printed on the
> tyre lining up with the valve). That way, when you get a puncture you
> will know exactly where on the tyre the puncture came from as you can
> line up the tube's valve with the printing on the tyre.

I always fit a tyre with the maximum pressure figures directly
alongside the valve when viewed from the left (ie non-drive side) of
the bike. I sort of imagined everyone would do this - it makes life
easier when topping up th tyre and means you always know where the
puncture is located in the tyre (as long as you don't turn the tube
over while hunting for the hole).

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|

[Daniel Barlow]

TerryJ > writes:

> He's just showing off because, as usual, the texans have something
> more toxic, bigger, sharper , hotter and more of a nuisance than we
> do.

Their elected government, you mean?


-dan

[Rob Morley]

On Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:37:27 -0700 (PDT)
TerryJ > wrote:

> On 10 Oct, 16:09, Rob Morley > wrote:
> > Nothing like. Â*Why didn't you ask Wikipedia?
> >
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Aesculus_hippocastanum_fruit.jpg
>
> He's just showing off because, as usual, the texans have something
> more toxic, bigger, sharper , hotter and more of a nuisance than we
> do.

I wonder what happens when Aussies and Texans get together ...
>
> I must say I have never thought of a horse chestnut puncture before.
>
Me neither - but I nearly got my head punctured by a few the other day.

[Artemisia]

rms wrote:
>>The trip to work takes over a very nasty dirt path, and in this season
>>there is a lot of slippery vegetation on the road, including
>>quantities of thorny horse-chestnuts.
>
>
> So what's a horse-chestnut? Is that a goathead like we get in NM/TX ?
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goathead
>
> rms
>
>
No, this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Aesculus_hippocastanum_fruit.jpg

Those thorny spherical fruit are murder underwheel. They not only spike
but roll and slip. The path to work is paved with them.

EFR
Ile de France

[Jim]

"Artemisia" > wrote in message
...
> How can this be happening? Widdershins, my beautiful recumbent trike,
> has suffered three punctures on three consecutive riding days.
>
I had the same thing and I suspected that I might have left some loose
glassy grit inside the tyre which I wouldn't feel whne the tyre is off as it
would fall to the bottom. Now I always flip the tyre over a few times so
that loose stuff will fall out before I refit it.

Jim J

[Wayne Brown]

In rec.bicycles.misc Peter Clinch > wrote:
> rms wrote:
>
>> So what's a horse-chestnut? Is that a goathead like we get in NM/TX ?
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goathead
>
> Horse-chestnuts are better known as conkers in the UK. The pic of the
> nut at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conkers shows the problem points.

In some parts of the U.S. they're known as buckeyes.

--
F. Wayne Brown >

Þæs ofereode, ðisses swa mæg. ("That passed away, this also can.")
from "Deor," in the Exeter Book (folios 100r-100v)

[Brian Huntley]

On Oct 10, 3:23*pm, Wayne Brown > wrote:

> In some parts of the U.S. they're known as buckeyes.

To me, a buckeye is a ball of peanut butter fudge dipped
hemispherically in chocolate. Great cycling food.

[PatTX]

::: Horse-chestnuts are better known as conkers in the UK. The pic of
::: the nut at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conkers shows the problem
::: points.
::
:: In some parts of the U.S. they're known as buckeyes.
::
:: --
:: F. Wayne Brown

Nope. Same genus, different species. :)

[PatTX]

::: He's just showing off because, as usual, the texans have something
::: more toxic, bigger, sharper , hotter and more of a nuisance than we
::: do.
::
:: Their elected government, you mean?
::
::
:: -dan

In a word, Yes.

[PatTX]

:
: He's just showing off because, as usual, the texans have something
: more toxic, bigger, sharper , hotter and more of a nuisance than we
: do.
:
:
: TerryJ

Let's find out. Do you have rattlesnakes?

Pat in TX

[DennisTheBald]

On Oct 10, 4:13 pm, "PatTX" > wrote:
> ::: He's just showing off because, as usual, the texans have something
> ::: more toxic, bigger, sharper , hotter and more of a nuisance than we
> ::: do.
> ::
> :: Their elected government, you mean?
> ::
> ::
> :: -dan
>
> In a word, Yes.

Governor Goodhair? He's almost vile enough to make one wish we had
Bush back... well maybe not that bad, but pretty doggone close. Yes,
our Governor sucks worse than yours does, any day. At least there's
bragging rights to be had outta the deal.

Then again, Texas may only be the penultimate in that contest too, I
keep forgetting about those two new states.

[Señor Chris]

PatTX wrote:
> :
> : He's just showing off because, as usual, the texans have something
> : more toxic, bigger, sharper , hotter and more of a nuisance than we
> : do.
> :
> :
> : TerryJ
>
> Let's find out. Do you have rattlesnakes?
>
> Pat in TX
>
>

No but we have rattles and we have snakes so that's twice as bad.

[Rob Morley]

On Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:14:23 -0500
"PatTX" > wrote:
>
> Let's find out. Do you have rattlesnakes?
>
Rattlers aren't hard enough to survive in our climate, unlike the adder
which is quite happy in Scotland. Apparently only a sixth of Texan
snake species are venomous, whereas in Britain it's a third.

[[email protected]]

On 10 Oct, 19:20, Artemisia > wrote:
> rms wrote:
> >>The trip to work takes over a very nasty dirt path, and in this season
> >>there is a lot of slippery vegetation on the road, including
> >>quantities of thorny horse-chestnuts.

this:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Image:Aesculus_hippocastanum_fruit.jpg
>
> Those thorny spherical fruit are murder underwheel. They not only spike
> but roll and slip. The path to work is paved with them.

"The path to work is paved with them."

Well - surely that is sufficient explanation for the
frequent punctures?

As to a solution - I have no idea.

Solid tyres for the offending month?

There are "tyre mousse" solutions that are used for
off road cars. Perhaps there is something available for
bikes?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_mousse

It turns out that the mousse replaces air. I recall hearing
of various self-sealing solutions ,however I have had
no practical experience of them.

Off-road car and motorcycle resources are a reasonable
first port of call.

Good luck.

[Tom Keats]

In article >,
Artemisia > writes:

> How can this be happening?

By dint of something very tiny and sharp lurking on the
inside of the tire. The classic example is a wee strand of
inner-cable fray accidentally picked up off a shop floor,
perhaps by dragging the inner tube across it, just prior to
its installation into a tire. Good ol' static electricity.


> Widdershins, my beautiful recumbent trike,
> has suffered three punctures on three consecutive riding days.
>
> They are all on the same, right-front wheel, on the outer side of the
> tube: tiny holes that look like pinpricks. I have thoroughly checked
> the inside of the tyre for any protrusions or anomalies, and all is
> smooth.

Visual inspection isn't really enough. Tactile inspection
often finds stuff that the eyes miss. Some people who are
leery of nicking a fingertip will drag a cotton ball around
inside the tire, feeling for the cotton ball to catch upon
any foreign objects. But I've found the direct, fingertip
approach is quite painless and most effective.

> There is a small hole in the tyre, barely sufficient to let a
> grain of sand or something like that through.

Any visible silicate particle with a sharp point on it is
enough to cause a puncture. Gas molecules don't need
much of an escape hole.

> The bike is left on the company parking lot in the daytime. I really,
> really would like to rule out deliberate sabotage

Those little holes are something that normally occurs,
especially when tires have accumulated some megameters
of use. I don't think anyone's out to get'cha, except
Nature. Same for all of us.


cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

[Tom Sherman[_2_]]

Terry Jones wrote:
> On 10 Oct, 16:09, Rob Morley > wrote:
>> Nothing like. Why didn't you ask Wikipedia?
>>
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Aesculus_hippocastanum_fruit.jpg
>
> He's just showing off because, as usual, the texans have something
> more toxic, bigger, sharper , hotter and more of a nuisance than we
> do.
> [...]

Why, yes.
From Texas: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_w_bush>
From England: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Blair>

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007
If you are not a part of the solution, you are a part of the precipitate.

[Tom Sherman[_2_]]

wrote:
> On 10 Oct, 19:20, Artemisia > wrote:
>> rms wrote:
>>>> The trip to work takes over a very nasty dirt path, and in this season
>>>> there is a lot of slippery vegetation on the road, including
>>>> quantities of thorny horse-chestnuts.
>
> this:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
> Image:Aesculus_hippocastanum_fruit.jpg
>> Those thorny spherical fruit are murder underwheel. They not only spike
>> but roll and slip. The path to work is paved with them.
>
> "The path to work is paved with them."
>
> Well - surely that is sufficient explanation for the
> frequent punctures?
>
> As to a solution - I have no idea.
>
> Solid tyres for the offending month?
>
> There are "tyre mousse" solutions that are used for
> off road cars. Perhaps there is something available for
> bikes?
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_mousse
>
> It turns out that the mousse replaces air. I recall hearing
> of various self-sealing solutions ,however I have had
> no practical experience of them.
>
> Off-road car and motorcycle resources are a reasonable
> first port of call.
>
> Good luck.

Slime® tire/tube sealant
<http://www.slime.com/index.php?p=view_category&category_id=7>?

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007
If you are not a part of the solution, you are a part of the precipitate.

[[email protected]]

On Oct 11, 3:20*am, Artemisia > wrote:

>
> No, this:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Aesculus_hippocastanum_fruit.jpg
>
> Those thorny spherical fruit are murder underwheel. They not only spike
> but roll and slip. The path to work is paved with them.

I don't believe they will cause punctures. It is much more likely that
you've got something stuck in your tyre, or else it may be possible
that the hole in the tyre is large enough for the inner tube to poke
through (but this seems unlikely).

James

[John Pitts[_2_]]

On 2008-10-10, Artemisia > wrote:
> How can this be happening? Widdershins, my beautiful recumbent trike,
> has suffered three punctures on three consecutive riding days.

As others have said here, a small hole can cause the tube to fail. I
had the very same problem last week - three flats in a couple of days,
in the same location on the tube. I traced it to a small split in the
tyre, near the bead.

--
John
Every program has at least one bug and can be shortened by at least one
instruction. By induction, every program can be reduced to one instruction
which doesn't work.

[Artemisia]

Tom Keats wrote:

> Visual inspection isn't really enough. Tactile inspection
> often finds stuff that the eyes miss.

But I always do tactile inspection. I've gone over the whole tyre with
my fingers, feeling the inside section by section, and turning it inside
out so that any embedded particle will be forced to stand proud. I also
put in some talc and spread it with my fingers to make sure the whole
inside is silky smooth. I can't find anything. But I will change the
tyre anyway.


> Those little holes are something that normally occurs,
> especially when tires have accumulated some megameters
> of use. I don't think anyone's out to get'cha, except
> Nature. Same for all of us.

But Widders isn't even a year old and the most strenuous activity I've
asked from him is a 20km round trip commute about 3 times a week since
last May. The tyres are still practically new.

Still, this is skanky road season and I'd far sooner try changing the
tyre than give up on the trike. If that doesn't work, I'll see whether I
can't find a way to lock him up in an unused room on the ground floor of
the office compound.

On another track, I could change the tyre _type_. They are Schwalbe
Marathon Racers, optimized for speed but rather light and thin. I could
substitute Marathon Plus, but they would be heavier and slower. I'm
hesitant to lose the speed that I've so arduously accumulated over the
summer and Widders is already one heavy beasty, but if I keep getting
flats ...

EFR
Ile de France

[Artemisia]

wrote:

> It turns out that the mousse replaces air. I recall hearing
> of various self-sealing solutions ,however I have had
> no practical experience of them.

Schwalbe also seems to make an anti-puncture fluid called Doc Blue that
seals the inner tube from the inside. Could be a short-term solution.

EFR
Ile de France

[Just zis Guy, you know?[_2_]]

On Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:01:04 +0100, Daniel Barlow >
said in >:

>> He's just showing off because, as usual, the texans have something
>> more toxic, bigger, sharper , hotter and more of a nuisance than we
>> do.
>
>Their elected government, you mean?

FSVO "elected"

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

85% of helmet statistics are made up, 69% of them at CHS, Puget Sound

[Artemisia]

John Pitts wrote:

> As others have said here, a small hole can cause the tube to fail. I
> had the very same problem last week - three flats in a couple of days,
> in the same location on the tube. I traced it to a small split in the
> tyre, near the bead.

Right, decision made. Short term: change tyre for another Marathon
Racer. Longer term: buy myself a set of Marathon Plus (I guess I'd have
to change all three at once ...) to use at least for the duration of the
skanky season.

Thanks all,

EFR
Ile de France

[Bob]

On Oct 10, 7:51*am, Artemisia > wrote:
> How can this be happening? Widdershins, my beautiful recumbent trike,
> has suffered three punctures on three consecutive riding days.
>
> They are all on the same, right-front wheel, on the outer side of the
> tube: tiny holes that look like pinpricks. I have thoroughly checked
> the inside of the tyre for any protrusions or anomalies, and all is
> smooth. There is a small hole in the tyre, barely sufficient to let a
> grain of sand or something like that through.
>
> There was another puncture like these about a month ago. I think it
> was on the same wheel but it could have been the other front wheel. On
> that occasion, I changed the inner tube for a new one. The second
> occasion, I was using a patched tube (but the hole did not recur where
> the patch was), and today I was using a brand new tube again, on its
> first outing.
>
> The trip to work takes over a very nasty dirt path, and in this season
> there is a lot of slippery vegetation on the road, including
> quantities of thorny horse-chestnuts. But the timing of the deflation
> does not invariably coincide with my going over the path. One time it
> happened just as I was arriving at work; then just after I left my
> home in the morning, then today I arrived fine but when I went out to
> lunch found the tyre flat again.
>
> The bike is left on the company parking lot in the daytime. I really,
> really would like to rule out deliberate sabotage (there is one person
> in particular who has acted in similar ways in the past). How long
> would a tube take to deflate through a very small hole? It would be so
> easy, so anonymous, so untraceable, discretely to puncture a tyre on a
> bike on a parking lot with a brooch pin. But since I have actually
> ridden the bike for a full 10 km trip from the parking lot before the
> wheel has gone flat, I'm curious if it could be ridden on for that
> long without the puncture declaring itself.
>
> This series of flats is distinct from the nine successive flats that I
> had on my folding Dahon, that were all on the inside of the tube,
> towards the rim rather than the road. Those were being caused by a
> badly designed wheel and indirectly, by the spokes. So alas, I cannot
> use any of my old science on this new case.
>
> Over the weekend I will try to change the tyre. Even if I can't find
> the problem, changing a tyre has inexplicably helped in the past.
> Perhaps it is no longer entire enough to prevent grit from getting
> between it and the tube.
>
> Expert thoughts of the group welcome. Thanks,
>
> EFR
> Ile de France

Same wheel and same type of tube puncture? I'd suspect something in
the tire long before I'd consider sabotage particularly since you say
there is a small but obvious defect in that tire.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

[[email protected]]

In rec.bicycles.misc Bob > wrote:
<snip>

> Same wheel and same type of tube puncture? I'd suspect something in
> the tire long before I'd consider sabotage particularly since you say
> there is a small but obvious defect in that tire.

A while back I got five punctures at one time from just riding near
an area where there was puncture vine/goatshead. That plant is becoming
a real plague around here, and it seems to only grow near bike paths.
Solution One: I recommend that you get Mr. Tuffy tire liners and/or
Slime tubes (available preloaded).
Solution Two, if your culprit is goatheads or any other seed, make a
point of not spreading it.


Bill

-----------------------------------------
| In America, anybody can be president. |
| That's one of the risks you take. |
| -- Adlai Stevenson |
-----------------------------------------

[Király]

In rec.bicycles.misc Artemisia > wrote:
> How can this be happening? Widdershins, my beautiful recumbent trike,
> has suffered three punctures on three consecutive riding days.

This happens to me *all the time*. I won't get any flats for a year,
and then will get three all in the space of two weeks, all caused by
different foreign objects. Then none again for another year.

I call it the flat-fu!

--
K.

Lang may your lum reek.