Glass pieces in tires

I really hate flats. A few weeks ago I got another one in my Pasela
Tourguard and while inspecting the tire found quite a few pieces of
embedded glass. It's been wet here and that seems to cause the glass
to stick to the tires until it can work its way in.

Still, in spite of the tire supposedly being puncture resistant, I
ordered a Continental Contact tire and Nashbar Slime Tube, and just
installed them yesterday. I took another look at the Tourguard after I
remove it and there were another five or six pieces of glass.

I guess most of these would never become flats because they are really
too small to work their way into the tube, but two were of sufficient
size to make it I think.

It's drying out here and I guess there will be less glass sticking to
the tires (although there is a lot on the streets), but I was
wondering whether people pull the tires off every once in a while, say
monthly?, just to dig into the little rips and see if there is any
glass in there? I think I'll start doing that.

The other thing I notice with the Pasela is that the tube really
sticks to the tire. It makes getting the tire off difficult.

dgk wrote:
::
:: It's drying out here and I guess there will be less glass sticking to
:: the tires (although there is a lot on the streets), but I was
:: wondering whether people pull the tires off every once in a while,
:: say monthly?, just to dig into the little rips and see if there is
:: any glass in there? I think I'll start doing that.

Do you just visually inspect the tire before/after each ride? Getting glass
out quickly helps it not work in so far as to flat you out.

dgk wrote:
I really hate flats. A few weeks ago I got another one in my Pasela
Tourguard and while inspecting the tire found quite a few pieces of
embedded glass. It's been wet here and that seems to cause the glass
to stick to the tires until it can work its way in.


There is a little wire thing called that rubs the tires, and is said to
help knock off debris before it can go around several times and work its
way in. I've heard them called Tiresavers, and the principle is easy to
see (it isn't hard to make your own). If they'd help or not I dunno; I
never had the problem enough to be concerned about it myself.
-One image of the "real things" is below-
http://www.blackbirdsf.org/ta/ref19.html



The other thing I notice with the Pasela is that the tube really
sticks to the tire. It makes getting the tire off difficult.

You can sprinkle some talcum powder on the tube+tire, it will prevent
them from sticking. Especially after you patch a flat, if there's any
exposed rubber cement on the tube it can bond to the tire when you put
air back in. The talc will prevent this, and it helps the tire go onto
the rim easier too.
~

On May 4, 7:43 am, dgk wrote:
I really hate flats. A few weeks ago I got another one in my Pasela
Tourguard and while inspecting the tire found quite a few pieces of
embedded glass. It's been wet here and that seems to cause the glass
to stick to the tires until it can work its way in.

Still, in spite of the tire supposedly being puncture resistant, I
ordered a Continental Contact tire and Nashbar Slime Tube, and just
installed them yesterday. I took another look at the Tourguard after I
remove it and there were another five or six pieces of glass.

I guess most of these would never become flats because they are really
too small to work their way into the tube, but two were of sufficient
size to make it I think.

It's drying out here and I guess there will be less glass sticking to
the tires (although there is a lot on the streets), but I was
wondering whether people pull the tires off every once in a while, say
monthly?, just to dig into the little rips and see if there is any
glass in there? I think I'll start doing that.

The other thing I notice with the Pasela is that the tube really
sticks to the tire. It makes getting the tire off difficult.

dgk,

I would think in terms of tread design and rubber compound. I had your
problem with the junk OEM tires (that came on my bike when it was
new). No end to glass stuck in the tread. Since I have been running
Schwalbe Marathon and SM Plus tires, not much glass gets stuck in the
tread, because of the better tread design, and the (harder)
composition of the rubber. Any sharp stuff that does cut the rubber is
usually stopped by the Kevlar belt underneath. If that is penetrated,
my Mr. Tuffy tire liners will almost certainly prevent a flat. The
Tuffy liners have saved me a couple times. I have not had any flats on
the road since using the SM tires and the liners. I commute on city
streets where there is all manner of sharp debris, including plenty of
bottle glass.

As others have mentioned, you need to inspect the tire tread
regularly. It only takes 30 seconds per tire. I use a pen knife to
remove any foreign stuff.

I believe the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires are the best tires
available for preventing flats.

http://schwalbe.com/gbl/en/bicycle/o...oduktgruppe=21

J.

On May 4, 9:34 am, " wrote:
On May 4, 7:43 am, dgk wrote:





I really hate flats. A few weeks ago I got another one in my Pasela
Tourguard and while inspecting the tire found quite a few pieces of
embedded glass. It's been wet here and that seems to cause the glass
to stick to the tires until it can work its way in.

Still, in spite of the tire supposedly being puncture resistant, I
ordered a Continental Contact tire and Nashbar Slime Tube, and just
installed them yesterday. I took another look at the Tourguard after I
remove it and there were another five or six pieces of glass.

I guess most of these would never become flats because they are really
too small to work their way into the tube, but two were of sufficient
size to make it I think.

It's drying out here and I guess there will be less glass sticking to
the tires (although there is a lot on the streets), but I was
wondering whether people pull the tires off every once in a while, say
monthly?, just to dig into the little rips and see if there is any
glass in there? I think I'll start doing that.

The other thing I notice with the Pasela is that the tube really
sticks to the tire. It makes getting the tire off difficult.

dgk,

I would think in terms of tread design and rubber compound. I had your
problem with the junk OEM tires (that came on my bike when it was
new). No end to glass stuck in the tread. Since I have been running
Schwalbe Marathon and SM Plus tires, not much glass gets stuck in the
tread, because of the better tread design, and the (harder)
composition of the rubber. Any sharp stuff that does cut the rubber is
usually stopped by the Kevlar belt underneath. If that is penetrated,
my Mr. Tuffy tire liners will almost certainly prevent a flat. The
Tuffy liners have saved me a couple times. I have not had any flats on
the road since using the SM tires and the liners. I commute on city
streets where there is all manner of sharp debris, including plenty of
bottle glass.

As others have mentioned, you need to inspect the tire tread
regularly. It only takes 30 seconds per tire. I use a pen knife to
remove any foreign stuff.

I believe the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires are the best tires
available for preventing flats.

http://schwalbe.com/gbl/en/bicycle/o...e/?gesamt=49&I...

J.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I should have included the following quote from the Schwalbe website:

Marathon Plus

Punctures are a memory. The SmartGuard layer made from a flexible,
special rubber offers particular resistance to shards of glass and
flints. Even a thumbtack cannot penetrate this protective layer. The
SmartGuard belt does not increase rolling resistance. The MARATHON
PLUS rolls as easily as a tire without protection - end quote - J.

dgk wrote:
I really hate flats. A few weeks ago I got another one in my Pasela
Tourguard and while inspecting the tire found quite a few pieces of
embedded glass. It's been wet here and that seems to cause the glass
to stick to the tires until it can work its way in.

Still, in spite of the tire supposedly being puncture resistant, I
ordered a Continental Contact tire and Nashbar Slime Tube, and just
installed them yesterday. I took another look at the Tourguard after I
remove it and there were another five or six pieces of glass.

I guess most of these would never become flats because they are really
too small to work their way into the tube, but two were of sufficient
size to make it I think.

It's drying out here and I guess there will be less glass sticking to
the tires (although there is a lot on the streets), but I was
wondering whether people pull the tires off every once in a while, say
monthly?, just to dig into the little rips and see if there is any
glass in there? I think I'll start doing that.

The other thing I notice with the Pasela is that the tube really
sticks to the tire. It makes getting the tire off difficult.

My newest bike came with kevlar belted tires. I thought I was immune to
flats, but eventually I got a glass sliver flat. Inspcting the tires, I
found numerous other pieces of flint or glass that would have eventually
worked their way into the tube. Now I am a lot more careful about
inspecting my tires and picking out the slivers. A stitch in time...

On Fri, 4 May 2007 09:04:41 -0400, "Roger Zoul"
wrote:

dgk wrote:
::
:: It's drying out here and I guess there will be less glass sticking to
:: the tires (although there is a lot on the streets), but I was
:: wondering whether people pull the tires off every once in a while,
:: say monthly?, just to dig into the little rips and see if there is
:: any glass in there? I think I'll start doing that.

Do you just visually inspect the tire before/after each ride? Getting glass
out quickly helps it not work in so far as to flat you out.

I can't say I visually inspect them before each ride. I don't think a
visual inspection would find this stuff though. The glass hides in
these really tiny rips in the tires, I don't know how they can find
those tiny rips

I do look after going through a patch where the glass is impossible to
avoid, and I do spin the rear tire when I get home in the afternoon,
but it is tough to find those pieces of glass.

On May 4, 7:43 am, dgk wrote:
I really hate flats. A few weeks ago I got another one in my Pasela
Tourguard and while inspecting the tire found quite a few pieces of
embedded glass. It's been wet here and that seems to cause the glass
to stick to the tires until it can work its way in.

Rain also seems to stand shards on end and lubricate them so they
slide into your tires more easily. I don't ride my "fast" single speed
road bike in the rain for that reason. No matter the brand, if it has
skinwall lightweight tires on it--it'll flat in the rain. Haven't had
a puncture in the dry on that bike in years.

The only real solution is running thicker tires in the wet. I've
become partial to the 30mm IRC Tandems I ran all winter on my "heavy"
bike. Not too expensive, lightish at 350g, and not too dead feeling as
the casing's pretty flexible. I've ridden them through urban detritus,
slop, and even some fire roads without a whimper. Downside is that the
tread's a bit loud and the oval casing feels slightly strange to
corner on at first.There are other strong tires like the Marathon and
Gatorskin as well--but they all have their own problems. If it's not
price, it's weight, if it's not too expensive, it's dead
feeling...waddaya gonna do?

As far as tire savers go, I'm just old enough to remember those spring
loaded wires that were supposed to scrape off glass bits. I also
remember when it was normal to brush off your tires on the move with
the palm of your gloves. Yikes.

Shame about those Paselas, I was thinking about getting a pair of the
TGs, but I hear more and more sour things about them.

dgk wrote:
On Fri, 4 May 2007 09:04:41 -0400,


I can't say I visually inspect them before each ride. I don't think a
visual inspection would find this stuff though. The glass hides in
these really tiny rips in the tires, I don't know how they can find
those tiny rips



I am running slicks that only have 2100 miles on them. They are pretty
gouged up though from my mostly city street riding. I don't get many
flats now that I started paying a lot better attention to them. I will
probably replace them with more slicks, since it is a little easier for
me to spot foreign objects in them than on my other bike with a little
tread design on those tires.

As far as tire savers go, I'm just old enough to remember those spring
loaded wires that were supposed to scrape off glass bits. I also
remember when it was normal to brush off your tires on the move with
the palm of your gloves. Yikes.



I still use my foot without stopping.
Rear tire I would stop for if I thought it was serious.
I have kevlar belted panselas and tuffy liners.