Trakhak

A wise bike shop customer once remarked to me, "It's not the ones that you see that get you." He was right. In all my decades of riding, I can remember only one time when I flatted from glass that I saw coming.

waters60

Beat me to it! My Super Six has much less clearance than the Merckx as I found out😳my thumb got squished when it got grabbed. Lesson learned.

bblair

Yes. Old habit from ridng tubies in the 70's.

MoAlpha

Used to do it, but modern tires and tight rear triangles.

Iride01 

Your answers almost had me not answering your poll. However I thought about it and yes, if I run over broken glass or anything that might have stuck in my tire reach down and scrub it off while riding. But that doesn't happen very often so through out a season of riding I can probably count those times on one hand.

I tend to do the front tire first, but thinking about it the rear tire has more weight on it. So maybe I should do the rear tire first.

urbanknight

Not anymore. It didn't seem to help (would regularly get flats shortly after riding through stuff that I swept). Someone once wondered aloud if doing so could even push the item further in the rubber than way rather than letting it just fall off.

RJC1811

I have never heard of that. I figured making a cringy face and pedaling softly was enough to prevent a puncture when I come across some roadside debris. It’s worked so far!

I am not the most careful person out there. I can hurt myself lubing my chain. So no, I won’t be reaching down and sweeping my tires while in motion. And unclipping and using a foot? I imagine that would end badly as well. But bravo to all of you who can do it without hurting yourselves and make it look easy!

big chainring 

Count me in the club. While riding my '76 Somec. Erased my thumb print permanently.

JohnDThompson 

Indeed.


The downside to them is that they tend to dump road debris onto your chain.

rsbob 

Sorry, no occasional sweeps allowed. It’s similar to being kinda pregnant. Either you are or aren’t. No wishy washy sweepers in this pole. Sounds very Jerry Seinfeld when I think about it.

79pmooney

The place to put the rear is the chainstay bridge. Aimed down. Bike says clean. And yes, most framebuilders do not provide a hole on the bridge for that bolt. That takes what,+ 5 minutes to drill while you have it in hand to miter for fit? My TiCycles have that bolt hole. I doubt Dave Levy was thinking glass catchers and I haven't done it yet but they are there.

Troul 

jeepers schweepers

digger

Those are neat. I’m not sure I’d bother to mount one on the front. I can’t remember the last time I had a front flat on ANY of my 8 bikes.

Atlas Shrugged

Back in the day with tubulars yes always. Clinchers sometimes. Tubeless never.

79pmooney

(From the Renee Herse website https://www.renehersecycles.com/shop...s/tire-wipers/

The before and after shots. Don't let anyone fool you. They aren't pretty very long.

jaxgtr

Not while rolling unless I could hear it, typically I would do it before and after a ride. I use a old piece of hosiery that my wife was getting rid of. I cut some of it up, and put it in my seat bag. I might not catch everything with my hand, but that material will grab onto the tiniest sharp object. Have not had a need for it in a while since moving to tubeless personally, but I did use it not too long ago when helping a lady on a MUP that had puncture 2 tubes and I found a small wire that cause the issue on the inside sidewall of her front tire. Been using this method for about 15 years now after I nicked my fingers on a piece of glass after I got a flat.

himespau 

Didn't someone here make those for Rene Herse?

chaadster

Interesting you should ask, because while I don’t think I know anything about that specifically, I do have a vague recollection of learning about them in the context of boutique, special production, but I was thinking it was to do with Bob White or maybe some Japanese retro-touring group.

So short answer: I dunno! 😉

himespau 

I know I bought some from someone here on BF and I thought that, at least at one time, they had also been supplying them to Rene Herse. Maybe that changed if they couldn't keep up with demand, or maybe they still are, or maybe I'm just misremembering the whole thing. Will have to see if I still have the envelop at home (I think I bought a spare pair or two in addition to the pairs I mounted). I do remember taking one of the bikes with them on it to the shop and the mechanic asked if they were just there as noisemakers or what.

ThermionicScott 

Yes, it was rootboy. As all models are out of stock at RH, I don't believe anyone else has stepped up to make them.

ARider2

Thanks for the picture. I haven’t seen one of those in years!

sjlversurfer

Absolutely. I've seen objects stuck in the tread of the tire, that had not yet caused a puncture. Removing it avoided the flat. I like to keep my tread free from dirt/sand/debris so can find myself doing this often. Light pressure from fingertips is usually sufficient.

merlinextraligh

had those on my Zeus

merlinextraligh

I learned that lesson the hard way. Skidded to a stop but stayed upright

merlinextraligh

But Sheldon Brown said he was wrong. Given no downside, and just preserving old school culture, I still do it, even if it’s doubtful it does much good.