Roger Merriman writes:

Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 5/3/2020 12:03 PM, Roger Merriman wrote:
sms wrote:
On 4/30/2020 3:03 PM, Joerg wrote:
Just had a Kenda thorn-resistant tube fail. It lost pressure suddenly
and overnight without being ridden the day before. It started to split
along a factory seam. This seems to happen ever since they started
making them less than the usual 3mm thick towards the rim.

Does anyone know who still makes the real stuff, 3mm thick all around?
Or maybe another good version thorn-resistant tube? I am running 700c
25mm tires with an additional tire liner in there. Might go to 28mm in
back some day.

The only time I ever lost 3mm all-around tubes was upon violent tire
blow-outs (sidewall failure).

Your problem is not with the tubes, it's with the tires. What you want
is Schwalbe Marathon Plus HS 440 11100766.01 700C x 25. But beware that
the protection layer adds some height to the tire and it may not fit on
all road bicycles with caliper brakes.



I’d tend to agree though as ever others choices is theirs alone and some
folks like to furrow their own path!

This said in terms of vs thorns I’ve not found the plus useful, as though
it is fairly thick 5mm or so it’s also quite soft so if something does
penetrate the tyre it can work it’s way down, though this was with Hawthorn
which is a different shape ie long shard rather than well the Goats head,
which I’d assume would stop it from keeping going?

At which point for the Plain Marathon plus the depth of tread/tyre and
length of the Goats Head thorn is very close!

I’d thought that Marathon Plus Touring which I used for a year or so would
be a better fit, much more tread and very robust tyres, huge service life
as well.

I did switch them out to BigApples as well the ride was appalling! And bar
2x that I’d had Hawthorn after it had been shredded just manage to push
though. Everything else just ie thorns/glass/shards etc just embedded its
self in the tread harmlessly.

And thus far just over a year 4K miles or so barely any wear, I’ve picked
out the odd shard but nothing has made it though.

After reading here about the horrors of goat head thorns, I was very
worried before doing some rides or a tour out west. But we never had one
goat head flat.

I know my bicycling life is charmed (um, knock wood; or give thanks to
La Madonna del Ghisallo and St. Christopher).

But I wonder if I was just lucky, or if I was not riding in goat head
areas, or if my lack of flats was due to my tendency to ride away from
the road's edge.

Car tires do sweep roads clean.

They seem to like disturbed land or rather reported, apparently it’s well
distributed across the world but likes dry land.

Which means I probably have seen them in either Spain/France or Australia
on scrub land. Though would have different names as is the way of the
world!

Tribulus terrestis, my old friend, is apparently native to southern
Europe, so I imagine you have seen them. You would never forget having
stepped on them without shoes (with rubber soles you would later find
them embedded). Low lying plants with small yellow flowers, often, as
you say, in disturbed ground, such as roadsides.