Is that a little flint in there?
Frank’s maddening post about doing things because, well, because that’s the way to do things made me question some of my own questionable cycling behavior.
My sensi taught me to clean off my tires immediately after riding over something that might cause a puncture. This was done while riding, finger tips floating over the tread to dislodge any potential trouble. The front wheel is easy, the rear requires some technique, indexing one’s hand against the seat-stay. Did sensi mention the indexing part? I don’t think so, sensi did not have to state the obvious all the time. The obvious being: if your hand gets too close to the seat tube your hand becomes firmly wedged between tire and seat-tube, hilarity ensues.
Drunk people are not interested in recycling or redeeming the $0.05 deposit on their beer bottles. It is much more fun to throw them out the window, resulting in me wiping off my tires, usually a few times a ride. I do this and have not had a flat tire in a long time so you must all start doing this, except my wife’s bike roll with the same Veloflex Arenberg tubulars and she never does this and she has not had a flat in a long time either. We train together and she blithely rolls over the same glass that I’m madly wiping off my tires.
The conclusion is, on dry roads glass rarely punctures tires. I have found tiny wire segments are what sometimes punctures my tires, possibly from destroyed car tire radial belts but one never rides through a glittering, highly visible, pile of those. All bets are off when the tires, road and debris are wet. My current theory is the water provides enough lubricity to let glass and other fun things go right through the tire tread. I have no data to prove this; it might be standing on the side of the road in the rain makes a more vivid memory of getting a flat.
Paul Sherwen is always saying the rain causes more “flints” to wash into roads, hence more punctures on rainy days. I’m thinking, if anything, the rain washes “flints” off the road but in any case the wet causes the troubles. Again, Paul was a Pro but I’m one year older (we share the same birthday, I did not know that) so that’s a wash.
Have we learned anything today? Not bloody likely as I will continue to wipe off my tires as I ride over bad things despite no evidence that it helps. Have I cursed myself and my wife by mentioning our lack of flat tires, quite possibly. Does this mean I should shift my bike into the small/small cogs when putting her away for the night, no.
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I do it too. But mostly for the thrill I get from conquering my fear that maybe this will be the time I finally get a sharp piece of shit in my fingertip, and touching that tread despite the better inclinations of my amygdala.
In 45 (?) years of riding, I can't count but a few times seeing, then flatting from, an object, be it wire, glass, roofing nail, "flint" (is that an arrowhead?), pointy dildo, or whatever.
Usually it's the sensation of either something's wrong, followed by a bounce or two to check, verified by a "merde" or a "fuck"; or the more certain "bang & psssssshhhh".
I used to wipe, but all I did was occasionally cut my finger (that didn't come out right).
Surface Tension from the water coating everything is what increases your chances of flats in rain. The water increases the surface tension between other wet objects and your wet tire. This makes debris stick and slowly work into the soft rubber rather than just flinging off as you ride.
I love my veloflex!
Veloflex FTW!
And, as @DCR put it, it's surface tension allowing "pointy things" to work their way into the tire. A shard of glass does not (usually) instantly pierce the carcass (I just want to write "pierce the carcass"... and try to say it without giggling) but instead insidiously works its way into the weave.
Great article. Surely now it's time for a bit on valve washers and value caps?
Front wheel I use my glove, back wheel i leave alone after witnessing the finger wedge between tyre and seat tube. Also the scary bit of whatever trying to wipe off, slashing finger tips.
Anyone remember 2013 TdF Stage 17? It was a newspaper being removed on Chris Anker Sorensen. Wasn't a wipe, but ouch!
I learned this habit on my old Merckx Corsa SLX that had plenty of room behind the seat stay. The first time I tried it on my S-Works i had my thumb snatched though the miniscule space it had. I then learned to unclip my left foot and use the top of my shoe underneath the chain stays.
Another way to get a flat is to ride the gutter in Roubaix and bang your 5.5 bar tire fully into a cobble while trying to pass a quickly-slowing Dutchman.
William attempted this, and Johan Museeuw came to his aid with a spare tire.
@sthilzy
I think this business of the material cutting the finger is grossly exaggerated. I've been doing this for...going on thirty years and have never been cut even a single time. But you do want to do it right away, before anything embeds, and you do want to have a light touch with the fingers to keep the material just flicking off into oblivion, presumably waiting to flat another rider's tire.
Maybe we haven't learned anything today, but it's a reminder of things we already know. Like Frank's post (last May?) about a love of our tires inspired by Krabbe's, "ik veeg mijn banjes schoon" -- kinda like gently wiping a baby's lips after breastfeeding. The opposite of "Ouch," but part of the mystery of Rule V nonetheless.