Chandne

Goatheads you cannot escape from. They are like these multi-spiked mines and not just thorns. I have gotten many (well, a dozen that I could see) over the decades but usually on mountains bikes and some on gravel bikes, I have been tubeless so it has been a non-issue. I sometimes don't even know I got punctured. The holes just seal. Other times, I pull them out and the hole seals or already has. Tubes stand no chance at all though. Tube tires do fine if you stick to bike paths and roads here but start to venture on to dirt and gravel and you will soon have both tires flat. Slime tubes do nothing either.

VegasJen

After further reflection, I'm not at all certain it was a goat head. Maybe, but it also could be from a mesquite. If you're unfamiliar with mesquite, the thorns are every bit as nasty as goat heads. I have quite a few mesquite trees on my property, they're indigenous to the area, and I have literally had thorns go through the soles of boots just walking around. We do have the goat heads here as well, but I think the mesquite is more likely. Plus, this time of year, there are small twigs (still have nasty little thorns) that break off and are blown around or dropped while trimming that could easily end up on a roadway. At training speeds, it would be very easy to run over one and never see it.

I will say this. As I was typing, I just realized that two of the last three flats I've had were in roughly the same stretch of the same road. The third was only a few miles away. I think for the next couple months, I'm going to have to drive to a safe place where I can ride and avoid the flotsam and other debris littering the roadside.

VegasJen

It has been a genuinely horrible month for flats on my Specialized. As we've been discussing the entirety of this thread, I am still running tubes. The last four rides I've had on my Roubiax with the Vittoria Zaffarino Pro tires, I have had punctures. Four rides, four punctures. Every one from a thorn. Might be a goat head, but I'm thinking more likely mesquite. Today was the fourth time. Got the rear tire 28 miles into a 34 mile ride. Had a spare and a pump so I was only out 15 minutes, but God in Heaven, this crap is getting old. I have a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires and Michelin AirStop tubes on the way, but don't know if they will fare any better against the onslaught of crap I keep picking up.

There's been a lot of discussion/recommendation on going tubeless in this thread. And I am considering it. But I have to ask, is there a puncture sealant that can go in a tube? Seems if it works for tubeless, why does it not also work for tubes?

Chandne

They have never worked well in tubes. Maybe because of the high PSI or the material that is much more pliable. The Slime tubes were awful and ineffective. Some tried it with other sealants with the same results. I did too since I like trying diff things but had bad results like others. I don't touch tubes anymore since I am very comfortable with tubeless and running lower PSI as well. Most have not run tubeless as long as I have so while most of my riding buddies are all tubeless in every cycling discipline now (we all started as and even now are mountain bikers who went tubeless in the mid 2000s) I see many out there fixing flats on the side of the road. One guy had a Slime tube leaking and it was a messy disaster. My friend insisted we stop to help. He gave the guy his tube (I had none) and Slime was all over his hands too. You can try it but I have never seen it work. It may at times but I just am not sure how often it works well.

asgelle

Speak for yourself. I've had very good experiences with sealant in tubes to the point of running rear tires down to the threads without a flat despite living in the land of the goatheads.

Chandne

You're lucky. They generally suck. How many goatheads have you seen stuck in your tire over the years?

choddo

I reckon the thicker wall of the tyre lets the sealant form a plug much more robust than it can in a thin tube. Apart from the cost of the tyres (60% more here) or if the rims aren’t TL ready, I can’t think of a reason to use sealant in tubes over a proper tubeless setup. Plus if a puncture doesn’t self-seal you can use a dynaplug in 10 seconds. Can’t do that with a hole in a tube.

Chandne

That could be it and also the rigidity of a tire. A tube is extremely flexy/pliable and the sealant probably can't plug a quick and effective hole in such a pliable material since it is constantly changing shape under any kind of pressure so the hole is becoming smaller and larger too.

88ss

I am sure just about everything has been covered up to this point, but I am not going to read through five pages of internet forum opinion and just put up my two-cents.
Mainly you are training for health and to get ready for competitions, so keep in mind that speed is not important during training, only in competition. A lot of people want speed all the time because their egos are hooked on getting Strava PRs and KOMs or they want to win the King of the Road that day if they happen across another rider, but those things are counterproductive to real training.

So the solution is to do most all of your riding on a slower more durable type of equipment. I know I have gotten far, far less puncture flats on my MTB over the last 30 years than on road bikes, in fact almost zero. I have ridden the MTB with the plastic liners in the tires between the tire and tube, and the big MTB tires and wheels make it much easier to install such equipment than road bike tires do. Also MTB racing and riding is over the same type of hazards road bikes try to avoid at all costs, so the MTB tires and equipment are made to resist flatting.

So my fist suggestion is to just get an old used MTB and put some good brand name tires on it and you will probably have far fewer problems. Save your racing equipment for races and other special occasions when it makes sense to use it.

The heavy-duty road and touring tires and options are a good idea too, but you will want to pick up an extra set of wheels to put them on so you can just swap your fast racing wheels/tires onto your bike when they are needed.

You will probably end up being surprised at how fast MTB equipment is, it normal for good MTB and Gravel racers to average over 20mph in races, so being reliable and tough does not always mean being slow. I can hardly remember getting any puncture flats with my MTB over the last 30 years, but I am sure I got at least one or two, and I put a LOT of miles on it both on and off road with the big knobby tires. Things to think about........

PeteHski

I love mountain biking, but I find that riding an mtb on the road with mtb tyres just sucks! It’s like swimming in pyjamas 😂 Also not great for training your position on a tri bike.

Heavy duty road tyres sure. I use Pirelli Cinturato Velo tyres for training. Still pretty fast and very puncture resistant, especially when run tubeless.

choddo

Agreed. Flat bars are bloody awful for anything longer than 30 minutes and good luck keeping up with a group ride. But gravel bikes also have good puncture resistance and make for great road training.

Chandne

Yeah, MTB on the road is just weird after a few miles if you are used to a road bike on the road. Gravel bikes I do in the winter since I take the MUP to gravel...that is fun. I am mainly a mountain biker but I hate riding them on the road. I need a motor for that.

bruce19

My wife and I have 2 road bikes each. Converted to Mavic Ksyrium Elite UST (tubeless) about 5 years ago. To date zero flats. They pump up easily with a regular floor pump. I've never found them a hassle. Yes your wheels must be tubeless ready.

tFUnK

88ss 🤣🤣🤣
Chandne I've done sealant inside of tubes and it worked well for MTB, ok for gravel, and no comment for road (never rode them enough to be able to tell you either way).

VegasJen if you're getting thorns then my suggestion is to either go tubeless or run a liner.

I recently put Schwalbe Marathon tires on a townie bike that I gave to my Dad. That thing was so heavy and it rode like solid rubber. I hope he never gets a flat on those, but there's no way you can convince me to ride them.