Punctures on tandem wheels.

[Neg]

So on Monday we went Around the kyalami track, on the second lap we had a puncture up mine shaft. i opened the tire and i found the old tire liner inside with the new tires and tubes... i had the tandem service and had them do the wheels while at it. so i took everything out, new tubes with slime and did the same on the front.

Today... 2nd lap... puncture at the top on mine shaft but coming up the hill behind mine shaft.... so the reverse direction as Monday....

lucky the slime sealed it and we made it back...

 

anyway.... what do you think could cause this? just bad luck or do you think the tire could be incorrect for the rim? i have Alex Rims DH22 40 spoke with Conti Gator skins 25C.

now here is why i am concerned... my father in law has his tandem here with us, and we have used his in the mean time before we bought ours, he has Shimano tandem wheels 46spoke also with 25C not a single issue/puncture in almost 2500km! including 2 Argus's, 94.7's and many road rides...

 

while our tires are the same size, our rims are thinner than his and his 25c look like 28-30c compared to ours!

Could the 25C be too thin for the Rims i have and be a possible cause for the punctures? im running 7.5bar.

 

any info would help!

[Big H*]

We use 28C tyres. Purely out of choice than anything else.

 

I order all my spares from www.chainreactioncycles.com. They do not stock punctures. Punctures come whenever they want to. Your father in law is just lucky.

[W3RN3R]

We also ride on gators 28C. Size purely for comfort. Got almost 3000km on the set. Same tubes. No liners or slime. You must be the unlucky one. Try increasing your pressure. Could be a snake bite due to low pressure?

[Neg]

Will check the tube this morning and move to 28C....

[Big H*]

Will check the tube this morning and move to 28C....

 

We pump our tyres 8,5 bar or 120 Psi

[Superfly1]

Once we changed to 25C Gators with tyre liners we had much less hassles on the tandem. We never went out below 8bar. Having said this our combined body weight is less than 125kg.

So it sounds like you have the right equipment just maybe bad luck.

 

PS: I had 4 punctures on my road bike this week - after the rain all the crap runs back onto the riding surface... maybe this contributed to your problem this week.

[Neg]

im guessing it must be bad luck... but as you can well imagine me thinking that there is a problem as we have ridden for months on the other tandem, them BANG! both outings with our tandem and we get a puncture both times!!!

 

can one go tubeless on a tandem??

[Tiny K]

take the tyre liners out - they cause a LOT of punctures as they get older. Neighbours of mine did that two weeks ago for their tandem when they got two punctures on the same ride, same wheel, without any tell tale signs of external afflictions i.e. thorns or glass.

[Dustbin Dog]

When you get a puncture do a postmortum on the tube to determine what caused the flat. If it is a pinch flat (snake bite, two small cuts) then you are running too low a pressure for the weight you are carring or your 25C tire could be to small. If there is a single cut or a piercing then you have ridden over something that has caused the puncture. Make sure the culprit is removed before fitting the new tube. I run 28C tires with no liners or sludge and have had very few punctures. Our combined body weight is appx. 130kg. Tire pressure 7,5 bar front, 8 bar rear. Good luck.

Edited February 24, 2012 by Dustbin Dog

[NE1L]

I agree with the majority use 28c tires and pumping up to 8 bar.

I also had a lot of problems with punctures/flats on my tandem in the end I found that the rims were the problem.

Mind you I bought the bike 2nd hand and didn’t know the history of the rims they were defiantly well used.

Basically what would happen as we rode the rims would get hot and become soft letting the tube sneak out and pinch. This was quite a problem as you can imagine, it happened once flying down a hill luckily no injuries just a long walk.

A new set of wheels and haven’t had a problem since. This is however a little expensive so have a good look at the rims maybe get a professional opinion on them

[Neg]

ive taken my tandem to Tour de Frans, so i will wait to see what he says...

im worried it the rims....

[jmaccelari]

Tyre liners on a road bike are more trouble than they are worth. I find they actually end up cutting or rubbing through the tube after a while.

 

We weigh about 160kgs (mens tandem) and ride Conti Gator 28 back and 25 front at 120psi. We have very few punctures (touch wood), but at the beginning of last year we punctured at practically every outing!

[Big H*]

Tyre liners on a road bike are more trouble than they are worth. I find they actually end up cutting or rubbing through the tube after a while.

 

We weigh about 160kgs (mens tandem) and ride Conti Gator 28 back and 25 front at 120psi. We have very few punctures (touch wood), but at the beginning of last year we punctured at practically every outing!

 

+1

[Neg]

we usually use 7.5 bar, we are a 175kg team. would 8 bar be better?

[Big H*]

we usually use 7.5 bar, we are a 175kg team. would 8 bar be better?

 

Yes, please do try that. The evidence above seems to be leaning more to the favour of 8,5 bar.

 

You also have to care for your tyres. Inspect them for cut, sidewall and bead damage after each ride.

[Neg]

i do this often on my MTB, but these are BRAND NEW tires! first ride, puncture... 2nd ride... puncture.... but i will try the higher pressure!