Tyres, Punctures ... Stuff

Over the years I have been plagued with punctures here. The sides of the road are often strewn with broken glass and wire.

I recall getting punctures on three consecutive rides. Pretty dismal.

So naturally, I've put some thought into this and there are probably more effective solutions this has worked for me.

My current road bike came equipped with Michelins which are very good tyres. However, my attachment to Continentals meant that the bike shop fitted GP 4-Seasons.

First impressions are that these are very good tyres. But, as you might expect, they don't seem as free rolling as the GP4000s I used on the my old Trek road bike. However, as the seasons change, the heavier duty construction will come into its own.

I think, though, next spring will see a change to GP4000Ss - the nice shiny black ones with silver graphics. That should match the Giant nicely ;-)

Now, paranoia means that I am also using a tyre sealant. The big seller here is Slime, but I've been trying the equally enticingly named Sludge - a big seller in Africa, apparently.

The advantage Sludge claims is that, firstly, it is thin enough to be introduced into the inner tube via a presta valve. I have done this. It is quite an easy task. Secondly, it claims to vulcanise any leak that does occur.

Does it work? Well, I haven't had a puncture ... but who knows? Maybe the Contis reinforced layer actually does it?

The Giant frame means that my lovely Blackburn frame fit pump no longer fits ... I let it go with the Trek.

About the only thing that will fit would be some sort of compact pump, but I've never really got on with those, so I'm trying this; the Genuine Innovations CO2 Air Chuck. Hopefully I won't need to know how effective this is either.

Domestic pumping duty is performed by a Joe Blow track pump. This easily gets road tyres up to 120psi. What can I say ... it's a track pump.