UKC

We get a lot of punctures from tiny bits of flint off wet roads here, so inner tube punctures are frequently just pin pricks.

Has anyone experimented with simply putting tubeless sealant in standard inner tubes to protect against this sort of thing as an inexpensive winter hack?

Get puncture proof tyres.  It's worth the investment for never having to mend a puncture, and they aren't that expensive.

Not sure what the best for road are though - my usual recommendation of the Schwalbe Marathon Plus is a hybrid tyre so probably not available narrow enough for road bike use.  I have used Continental Gator Skin before and found those decent and I believe they are available in skinny sizes for road bikes, so probably that.

Edit: Marathon Plus are available down to 700 x 25c so I guess it depends on how skinny your preferred road bike tyres are!

Yes, on my commute/ winter bike. 

Just had to replace the valve core, as it had gummed up, but otherwise had well over a year with no knowing punctures. Only done the rear , as front much easier to sort out. 

Tyres to be replaced when I feel up to it... 

Quite pleased with the experiment. 

Thanks.  Personally I've not found that those tyres are actually puncture proof (against sharp flint) - even Marathons (I've never actually managed to even get a pair on my rims but others I ride with use them) - and Gator Skins certainy aren't puncture proof.  I use 4 Seasons as a reasonable compromise betwen grip and puncture resistance.  Looking for a second line of defence !

Good to know.  Just need to see whether any of my spare inners actually have removable cores now !

Yes, I had to make sure they did.

I can't remember if it's schwalbe or continental that all do. Maybe worth a Google... Which suggests they both do... 

I tend to have conti ones

I’ve found the Slime tubes to be pretty good….a bit more pricey and weigh a bit more but definitely effective. I’ve gone tubeless on my new gravel bike but running the self sealing tubes on my winter road bike and the hard tail!

There's a significant difference between Marathon and Marathon *Plus*.  I've had punctures (mostly glass given the state of the MK Redways) with normal Marathon, but the only time I've had them with the Plus is where I've let them visibly wear far too much before replacement.

I think its Marathon Plus Ive spectacularly been unable to fit before.

Yes, they're absolutely difficult to fit because the puncture proof band* isn't stretchy, there are a few hints as to how to ease it a bit online e.g. tape one side tight to the rim before fitting the other side.  I was just saying that the Marathon is still relatively susceptible to punctures but the Plus is much less so, so if your experience is with the former don't apply that to the latter in terms of how puncture resistant they are.

The advantage, though, is that you'll fit them when you purchase (pay a bike shop to do it if you don't like stripping your knuckles) and won't need to remove them until they have worn out, at least in my experience, and that's on the MK Redways which are absolutely littered with thorns and broken glass (though admittedly not flint).

* Used to be Kevlar I believe, apparently it isn't any more but the replacement has very similar properties in terms of being hard to penetrate but also not stretching - the two properties are probably related.

I've got conti GPs on, and they're quite hard to fit on my rims. Previously, in a previous bike got on some conti gatorskins and had to cut the bead to get them off. Dreadful in that respect. And didn't enjoy riding them either. 

Marathon plus, I've never tried. I'd rather get there a bit faster and have the odd puncture than ride a really sluggish tyre. 

But that's a choice we all make on our graph of puncture time + fix time Vs ride time + comfort + grip

It doesn’t work nearly effectively as tubeless for obvious reasons. Little nicks is exactly what tubeless will deal with effectively, without the tyres being as slow as molasses.

If you want to go the marathon plus route then look at something like the Schwalbe One 365 which has decent protection in a much faster rolling tyres.

Schwalbe do other tyres with the Plus layer. On my road bike I have Durano Plus Folding (25 mm). I don't ride that bike a huge amount these days but do still use from time to time and I don't think I've had a puncture since fitting those tyres a decade ago. 

Although from the experience of my gravel bike on which I do 3.5k kms a year on, I'd say if you can just go the whole hog and go tubeless.

Do people still use those little devices we called flint catchers? Attached to rim brake spindle and had a little bit if flat wire which was supposed to just rub on the tread and knock flints out before they hit the ground on the next rev. Maybe only work (if at all) with smooth tyres, though.

I'm with Neil Williams: get puncture proof tyres.

I moved from GatorSkins to Gator HardShells in February 2015 and though I've replaced them twice (2018 and 2020) I haven't had a puncture.  Yet.

I'm in Aberdeenshire; not known for its sharp flints.

Well I'm hoping to improve the compromise somewhat ! I'm happy enough with Conti 4 Seasons on winter roads but just want to reduce the number of times I'm stuck changeing inner tubes with tiny pin holes in the freezing cold. Just adding sealer to the inner tube looks to be an obvious try.

I put sealant in the tubular tyres I use on my tt bike. I use a slime inner on one of my mtb wheels when I ran out of patience fitting it tubeless😀 and both work ok. I’d consider going tubeless? Can help you set up if you want? I’ve gone tubeless on my gravel bike for a few years now and it’s brilliant. Little spray of sealant on these pinprick punctures and then fixed.. I mean sealant sprays out the punctures 

Just quick note: if using sealant then inflating with co2 can cause issues with some sealants.

Do find you get more punctures if your ride goes over the chalk because of actual flints?  Or were you using the word flints loosely? Much of my teenage riding was from Bletchley in North Bucks. We did seem to get more punctures when our rides took us into the Chilterns.

Hi Jim, tubeless on gravel nike already but still not a convert on Road Bikes.  Need to get a road ride together organised!

South Cambridgeshire.   I'm pretty sure the majority are flint punctures. 

I tried putting some sealant into a punctured tubular and it worked for a while but the high pressure gets the best of it in the end.
Tubeless seem ok on my MTB and my gravel bike at low pressures. I've had the odd puncture and you hear a hiss for a few seconds then it re-seals.
I've never used tubeless on my road bike. I just can't be arsed with the faff for the minimum amount of benefit.

When I'm out with my groups, if someone punctures, so long as it's not a massive gash, we'll normally be moving again in 2-3 minutes. I think the record is 90 seconds, two of us working together.

Puncture proof tyres sound good. Anyone want to buy some magic beans?

So after 20 years, averaging 15k a year my solution to this is learn how to swap a tube out in under 3 minutes.

E

I can think of three occasions where I have been riding with someone with sealant in inner tubes where they have punctured and not sealed. Running actual tubeless tyres (both road and MTB) I have found pretty reliable.

Before I started WFH full time I used to do a year-round cycle-commute, and I used the Specialized All-Condition Armadillo tyres. Noticably a bit heavier, but still roll quick, never once had a puncture in many years of commuting, even when one got down to the carcas!

Changeing a tube quickly in itself isn't the problem - Its doing it in rain at 5C and, significantly for round here, its finding where the flint is buried in the outer tyre.  Without that, the tyre will be flat again in two minutes.