So...sick...of...flats....UGH!

[jinxed]

There are 5 bicycles hanging in the garage. There is one tire with air in it.

My last 3 trips on the Hilsen have seen no fewer than 2 punctures per trip. All caused by goat heads.

I think I am going to finally bite the bullet and pick up a set of Marathons. I have seen evidence of a 700 x 47 (41 actual) Marathon (Supreme??) on a Hilsen that would be stellar. I like the big meat on the hoops off road. Unfortunately the widest I see searching the web is 40 now....bummer.

There seems to be some pretty lofty praise on the Marathons being as anti flat as is available. From what I gather, the "Supreme" is the, well, supreme?

Anyone gone the Foss route yet?

The previous players:

Sealants:

True Goo - worked for a month, then stopped.

Slime - slowed the leak a little then created a huge mess in the tire.

Caffe Latex - worked for @ 2 months, then clogged the valve.

Tires:

700x37 Pasela TG.

700x42 IRC Slick XC. 

700x32 Conti Twister Pro. 

700x35 Schwalbe Delta Cruisers with puncture protection.

These tires excelled in different areas, but on the roads/path I take most often they all suffered the dreaded goat head rapture (rupture?) about equally.

[Mattt]

I have Marathon Supremes and no flats in about 1000 miles.  This is commuting miles on the road to and from work.  They are great tires and barely have any wear in this time.  They are a little expensive up front, but worth the cost.

Matt

[Rex Kerr]

I hate goatheads.  Had them where I grew up and I got a flat EVERY time I rode to one of my friend's house on the old train right of way (which are now a paved bike trail).

My last flat was almost two years ago after putting 5000 miles on a set of Bontranger Racelite Hardcase (oxymoron?) tires... I'd not gotten a single flat on them and was very happy with them, then, while looking for a camp site, I pulled off the road into a patch of goatheads.  The next morning I had two flat tires, each with about 20 goatheads, each with four that made it through the tube.  I didn't even bother patching them.

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[Jeremy Till]

Had a ride last weekend where I had one flat on the rear from two goatheads.  Pulled over and replaced the tube, went to put the wheel back on the bike only to notice that my front tire was also going flat from 2 goatheads!   I was kind of up a creek since i only had used my one extra tube and didn't have a patch kit on me.  I limped back to the nearest town, pausing every 2 miles or so to refill the front tire.  Luckily that town had a bike shop in it where I bought another tube and patch kit....the shop owner noted that it was "goathead season."   All of this in 90+ degree heat.

[jimD]

I recently returned from a 3 week stint in eastern Wa. (Kennewick) helping to care for my elderly mom.

I had 3 flats in 3 weeks, all from goatheads. The good news is that the volume of the JB greens allowed me to limp back to the house to address the flats there. I've found 'slime' tubes are useful in a goathead laden places. 

I'm curious about those Foss tubes too.

Here in northern Cal. I don't get 3 flats in 3 months. 

-JimD

On Aug 31, 2011, at 6:41 PM, Jeremy Till wrote:

Had a ride last weekend where I had one flat on the rear from two goatheads.  Pulled over and replaced the tube, went to put the wheel back on the bike only to notice that my front tire was also going flat from 2 goatheads!   I was kind of up a creek since i only had used my one extra tube and didn't have a patch kit on me.  I limped back to the nearest town, pausing every 2 miles or so to refill the front tire.  Luckily that town had a bike shop in it where I bought another tube and patch kit....the shop owner noted that it was "goathead season."   All of this in 90+ degree heat.

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[Mike]

On my tour earlier this month I got my first flat ever courtesy of a
goathead. This was right as I was entering Yakima. About 20 minutes
later I got another flat, a piece of glass. I was running Schwalbe
700x40 Marathons and these were the only flats I had. In fact these
were the only flats I've ever had on these tires.

Today, I put a set of 700x38 Marathons with "Greenguard" on my
commuter. They're on odd feeling tire. Fine for commuting but
definitely sluggish. I kinda wish Schwalbe had just stuck with their
standard Marathon design. Then again, they're pretty inexpensive given
their longevity.

I've run 700x47 Marathons on my Hilsen:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41335973@N00/3831147247/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41335973@N00/3770136217/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41335973@N00/3770135967/in/photostream/

Marathon Supremes are also an excellent tire. So far I've only tried
the 35s. At some point pony up the ducats for Duremes, most likely the
700x40s.

I should add, I have a problem with tires. It's amazing how a tire can
change a bike.

My bikes and the tires they're sporting:
Hilsen--Marathon Supremes 700x35
Quickbeam--Marathon 700x35
LHT--Marathon--700x40
CrossCheck--Marathon 700x38
Bryant--Jack Brown Greens

I also have a pretty worn set of Panaracer T-Serves and a set of
Marathon 700x47s. I may actually put the 47s on the Hilsen for
tomorrow scheduled mixed terrain ride through Forest Park.

--mike

[PATRICK MOORE]

Three flats in three weeks? I wish I got three flats in three weeks.
Had four on yesterday's brief ride (tho' 3 were due to an ancient,
slipping rim strip. The moral: use only Velox.

--
Patrick Moore
Albuquerque, NM
For professional resumes, contact
Patrick Moore, ACRW
patric...@resumespecialties.com

A billion stars go spinning through the night
Blazing high above your head;
But in you is the Presence that will be
When all the stars are dead.
(Rilke, Buddha in Glory)

[jinxed]

Mike - 

HA! Your bike is the one I saw!! So the 47's do exist and fit the Hilsen! Nice.

Goatheads are a prolific problem here in Denver. There are two major trail systems that will get you darn near anywhere in and around the metro area you want to go. Since my daughter was born I have taken to using them more often "as my ride" where before I used them to get "to my ride". Problem is both trail systems are bordered with the low level ground cover plant that creates the thorns. There is some speculation that they were used purposely along the Highline Canal Trail (built in the early 20s) as it was originally an access road for the irrigation canal. It would require no maintenance without getting overgrown. The recreation/bike trail was not to be until the 70s. 

Some years are better than others depending on heat and moisture. I can only guess that our summer of record heat has the little devils out in score.

Again...brilliant Hilsen there sir!

[Jim Mather]

My tubeless set-up on my mountain bikes has been immune to flats,
including goatheads, for 3 years now. I'm tempted by the road tubeless
but it looks like the widest you can get is a 25mm tire. Maybe I'll
experiment a bit, but I don't want to die from it.

jim m
tubeless in walnut creek

[cyclotourist]

Aarrrrrugh, I HATE goatheads.  This year is the worst here in SoCal due to the record breaking rain we had this winter and spring.  Every dormant goathead from the last 20 years started growing.  Seriously, I ride past orchards and empty lots that are covered with ACRES of the things.

Over the years I've gotten pretty good and seeing the plants and steering clear.  When I see a new one along a path, I'll often stop and pull the plant out by the root before it can really propagate. 

Only advice is learn to look for the plants (individual thorns can't be seen).  They grow in open ground that doesn't have any native ground cover or manicured lawns.  They need water, so thrive on urban run-off. 

Then join the group to post pictures and commiserate on the devil's seed!

On Wed, Aug 31, 2011 at 5:26 PM, jinxed <hbc...@yahoo.com> wrote:

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Cheers,
David
Redlands, CA

...in terms of recreational cycling there are many riders who would probably benefit more from
improving their taste than from improving their performance. - RTMS

[Michael_S]

My worst experience with goatheads was on a dirt road that I rarely take near a water purification plant. I had at least 20 on each tire. I was running 38mm marathon racers. I replaced the rear tube after 30 min. of extractions. The front I left alone and managed to ride the final 3 miles home with  a slowly leaking tire.

 

I haven't taken the dirt road home since then.

 

Overall I've been lucky. I probably only get 1 flat tire every few months.  I'm sure that will change now that I've put it in writing. 

 

~mike

 

[John Bennett]

Flats? What's that? Last flat: 3+ years ago. Marathons are great.
(This is not a sales pitch.)

JAB

On Aug 31, 5:26 pm, jinxed <hbcl...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> There are 5 bicycles hanging in the garage. There is *one tire* with air in

[Mike]

The 47s do exist. I got them through RBW. Perhaps the greenguard will
give you better protection against goatheads. I say try them out.

--mike

[Thomas Lynn Skean]

I'm growing ever more appreciative of the (apparently swept, manicured, delicately textured, hallowed) paths I ride.

 

Since I started riding 3 years ago, I've had 4 flats, I think. One was a spoke poking through the rim tape on the most shoddily assembled wheel I've ever seen with an obviously cut-rate rim. Two were due to mounting errors (mea culpa) as I learned how to (not) use tire levers. The final one was a Pasela's tumorous-subsequently-exploding gumwall, about 9 months ago. That was my last Pasela; I'd already had three that developed bulgy-bubble gumwalls in a few hundred miles that I caught before they exploded. Shame, because those Paselas were the only tire I've ever used that rode noticeably better than any other tire I've used. I think it was the relative roundness?

 

Now I use $15 Kendas which ride just like the other non-Paselas I've ever used and which I can mount/unmount without tools. Good-to-very-good. Not great. They last maybe only 2,000 miles before the gumwalls start fraying. But hey they cost only $15 delivered!

 

My next bike will be shod with Vittoria Randonneur Hypers, about which I've heard good and bad. We'll see.

 

But I haven't had a traditional, standard, run-of-the-mill, apparently everyday, I-ran-over-something-which-poked-a-hole-in-my-tube flat. That's over 10,000 miles.

 

And, yes... I now expect to have two on the way home tonight. Probably goatheads flown in from California.

 

Yours,

Thomas Lynn Skean

who recently read his son's latest favorite novel, The Lost Hero, which has scenes in/around Walnut Creek, CA

[Michael Hechmer]

Condolences. Personally I mostly get flats on dark rainy nights, but my only experience with goatheads has been while camping in NM & AZ.  I did not like them.  Vt roads are bad enough without them.

As a commuter I found that Tire Tuffy and a beefy rear wheel (Avocet Cross II at 38 MM were the best) worked better than any fluid sealant.  

Have you considered a trainer and Netflix?

michael,

take care of Self; it's one of a kind and irreplaceable.

[Way Rebb]

Those goat heads are a mean plant. I think Marathon Pluses with about
4 or 5 Mr Tuffies inside and the rest filled with cement would give a
person a fighting chance. Even then it might be iffy.

-Ray

On Aug 31, 5:26 pm, jinxed <hbcl...@yahoo.com> wrote:

> There are 5 bicycles hanging in the garage. There is *one tire* with air in

[cyclotourist]

My kid rode across a real bad patch last week and now i pretty much have to buy new tubes there are so many holes.  Possibly new tires but I hope to get all the nubs out.  It'll take a good couple hours though...

D'oh!

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[charlie]

I had a set of the Schwalbe 700x47's (41mm actual) on my A719
rims.....I rode them a short while then purchased some Supremes but I
live in the rainy Northwest (Washington State). I'd sell them but I'm
not sure how to ship them. They are gnarly and heavy but they ride
fine. I had total confidence riding over rocky gravel roads with them.
I want to get something a little narrower for my Simple One rims as
they are pretty narrow so......make an offer they have very little
wear. I think I paid Grant $35 a piece for them a while back. In fact,
I'm heading out to the garage to check the actual wear on them but
these tires are good for thousands of miles.

On Aug 31, 5:26 pm, jinxed <hbcl...@yahoo.com> wrote:

> There are 5 bicycles hanging in the garage. There is *one tire* with air in

[charlie]

The tires say HS 308 on them 700x45c 47-622 28x1.75 The little
nubblies are still on the sidewalls by the generator groove but not on
the tread that hits the road but there is a slight remnant of the tire
mold line on the center of the tread more on what was the front tire
less on the back. Reflective strip & Big 'Schwalbe Marathon' in white
on the sidewall. Actually I have a third tire with the same markings
except it has a little red 'Kevlar MB Belted' area on one sidewall and
'Schwalbe Marathon' in smaller letters. This tire has only been
mounted, never ridden and is virtually new. I'd throw it in but it
inflates to around 38mm instead of 41mm so not sure what the deal
is....I'd like to find a match for it. These are a good set of tires I
just need to be able to afford some 700x35 Green Guards for my SO so I
can ride it to work over glass littered streets.

[PATRICK MOORE]

I've ridden Big Apples through a patch and flicked off scores without
any penetration -- tho' this was on soft dirt, not hard pavement.
They'll get through BAs on hard surfaces.

I did have one set of tires and tubes that could handle goatheads --
again, I rode through a patch on pavement and came back with literally
scores in both tires, which I flicked off -- but the combination of
belt and thornproof tubes rode so woodenly that I'd rather fix flats.

--

Patrick Moore
Albuquerque, NM
For professional resumes, contact
Patrick Moore, ACRW

http://resumespecialties.com/index.html

[jinxed]

If Big Apples would squeeze in the Hilsen....I'd be running them!

You really did hit the "thorn with tire" regarding ride vs. hassle. I tried out several of the Specialized Armadillo, and Bontrager Hardcase tires and came to the same conclusion. Yea they hold air, but wow do they ride poorly. The Bontys were better, but still bad. I came to the same conclusion and just stocked up on tubes and patch kits.

From what I have been reading though, it appears that the Marathon Supreme does a good job with flat protection AND ride half way decent.

[Philip Williamson]

I was just this morning realizing how happy I am not to have
goatheads. Santa Rosa (CA) was loaded with them in the city, but I
never had a problem in Annadel Park. I set my wife's 3 speed up with
those super-fat thornproof tubes, which really helped. Before that, I
pulled 60 goathead spikes out of a tire before I stopped counting and
threw it away. I had many tires with 'stealth' goathead spikes buried
in the tread. They would puncture a tube, but only showed themselves
if you really bent the casing hard.

So that's another upside to living in Oregon.

Philip

Philip Williamson
www.biketinker.com

On Aug 31, 7:14 pm, jimD <rasterd...@comcast.net> wrote:
> I recently returned from a 3 week stint in eastern Wa. (Kennewick) helping to care for my elderly mom.
> I had 3 flats in 3 weeks, all from goatheads. The good news is that the volume of the JB greens allowed me to limp back to the house to address the flats there. I've found 'slime' tubes are useful in a goathead laden places.
>
> I'm curious about those Foss tubes too.
>
> Here in northern Cal. I don't get 3 flats in 3 months.
> -JimD
>
> On Aug 31, 2011, at 6:41 PM, Jeremy Till wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > Had a ride last weekend where I had one flat on the rear from two goatheads.  Pulled over and replaced the tube, went to put the wheel back on the bike only to notice that my front tire was also going flat from 2 goatheads!   I was kind of up a creek since i only had used my one extra tube and didn't have a patch kit on me.  I limped back to the nearest town, pausing every 2 miles or so to refill the front tire.  Luckily that town had a bike shop in it where I bought another tube and patch kit....the shop owner noted that it was "goathead season."   All of this in 90+ degree heat.
>
> > --
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.

> > To view this discussion on the web visithttps://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/rUcSCEvMobcJ.

[Peter Pesce]

Back east we don't have goatheads, we have s**theads, who throw their empty beer bottles out of their cars. I'm sure it's endlessly frustrating to deal with the things nature throws at you, but dealing with the things people throw might be worse. Nature isn't ignorant or malicious.
Still, I've seen pictures of those nasty little thorns and it's almost hard to believe they did not actullay evolve to puncture bicycle tires!

[EricP]

After a couple of years of no flats, had a fair share this year. No
goatheads, but a number of random "how did that happen" flats. All my
bike bags are now carrying two spare tubes as a precaution.

Eric Platt
St. Paul, MN

[Michael Hechmer]

Here in Vermont people are much kinder.   For example, after every auto accident some kind soul will sweep the glass out of the middle of the road into the shoulder.

michael