Shards of glass in the tyre !
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Small nicks that don't expose the cords are no problem, you don't need to cover them at all. If a couple do go deep to the cord and are very small just dab some Shoe Goo with a toothpick into the cut and let dry. If the cut is fairly wide, about 1/8th inch or longer and you can see the cord, do the Goo then also get a Park Tire Boot Patch kit and cut the patch to fit about 1/4 of inch larger then the cut and reinforce it from inside the tire.
Some may think that's overkill, but I been doing that for years because I don't like surprised ruining my ride. I do a lot of things that may be considered overkill, but stranded 50 miles from home is not fun, and I don't use my wife as my mommy, so I have stuff with me to fix most problems. That includes going so far as to carrying an extra tire even. I had a tire get destroyed on a ride once and no boot would have fixed it, it was long 7 mile walk, never again, and since then I've had two other tires get destroyed but I had a spare. I once even gave my spare tire to another cyclist who was about 12 miles from the nearest phone and with night coming in about 2 hours and being on a lonely mountain road I gave him my spare. The spare tire, tube, patches and tire tools including a mini tool all fit inside my seat bag. On long rides of over 40 miles from home I even go as far as to carry a second pump, I've had pumps fail but so far never on a ride...but if they can fail at home they can fail on the road. And I away's carry a presta to schrader converter; sometimes the rubber gasket will fail on the presta side from use so you can turn it around and use the schrader side which means you'll need the converter; or you can use a air compressor from a gas station or farmer or?
I've gone on too long.
Some may think that's overkill, but I been doing that for years because I don't like surprised ruining my ride. I do a lot of things that may be considered overkill, but stranded 50 miles from home is not fun, and I don't use my wife as my mommy, so I have stuff with me to fix most problems. That includes going so far as to carrying an extra tire even. I had a tire get destroyed on a ride once and no boot would have fixed it, it was long 7 mile walk, never again, and since then I've had two other tires get destroyed but I had a spare. I once even gave my spare tire to another cyclist who was about 12 miles from the nearest phone and with night coming in about 2 hours and being on a lonely mountain road I gave him my spare. The spare tire, tube, patches and tire tools including a mini tool all fit inside my seat bag. On long rides of over 40 miles from home I even go as far as to carry a second pump, I've had pumps fail but so far never on a ride...but if they can fail at home they can fail on the road. And I away's carry a presta to schrader converter; sometimes the rubber gasket will fail on the presta side from use so you can turn it around and use the schrader side which means you'll need the converter; or you can use a air compressor from a gas station or farmer or?
I've gone on too long.
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Yes, 23c tyres.
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I got a flat the other day and never found the culprit! It put a hole a little larger then a steel belt shard though. Most decent tires today can ward off bits of steel belts. What tire are you using? I use Kenda Konstrictors, and that was the first flat I had since I bought the tires 3,000 miles ago so I'm considering those tires to be very good at preventing flats.
Right now the online stores have closeout prices on tires, Performance Bike has the Hutchinson Fusion 3 tire on sale for $30 from $66; Nashbar has the really well made Vittoria Revo KXS tire for $50 from $88, this tire has two flat protection belts and 290 TPI, it's a bit heavier then the Fusion 3 but should be more durable.
Continenatal GP4000s, they are light and grippy but only moderately durable.
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Here we go with Gods gift to the tire world the grand GP4000's...YUK!! I had those before I got the Kendas, I had a dozen flats before even 2,000 miles had gone by, and one wore out prematurely when the side wall was damaged. The front made it to 3800 miles, my Kenda's have 3000 miles and still look good for at least another 1500, so another season. Light? My Kenda's are actually lighter. Grippy? I can't tell the difference in handling between the two.
No thanks, I would never spend that kind of money again for a tire with just average results. If I want average results I'll spend half the amount a Conti will go for. In my opinion the Conti GP4000 is a rip off.
Duly noted Froze. I'm glad the Kendas work for you. Sorry I have the tires you hate.
I'm not a brand snob, and I'm not stuck on the gp4ks. I've also tried Michelin ProRace and Krylion carbon and both are decent. My wife has Vittoria Zaffiros.I can't find much on the Kenda Konstrictors in Google. The lowest price I see is $39.99 on Amazon, and shipping is $10. I paid $87 for a two pack of GP4000 from ProBikeKit, with free shipping. So the pair of Conti's come out cheaper. Maybe you have a cheaper source?
Honestly, I think a big factor in individual tire durability is luck. I've had tires of the same model last for thousands of miles and the next set get cut open in a few hundred miles.
The sample size is too small for any personal experience to be more than anecdotal.
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I'm not a brand snob either, but if a brand or model fails to meet expectations I don't go back, and like a fool I tried several different Conti road models with the same bad result. I have had good luck with Conti MTB tires.Duly noted Froze. I'm glad the Kendas work for you. Sorry I have the tires you hate.
I can't find much on the Kenda Konstrictors in Google. The lowest price I see is $39.99 on Amazon, and shipping is $10. I paid $87 for a two pack of GP4000 from ProBikeKit, with free shipping. So the pair of Conti's come out cheaper. Maybe you have a cheaper source?
Honestly, I think a big factor in individual tire durability is luck. I've had tires of the same model last for thousands of miles and the next set get cut open in a few hundred miles.
The sample size is too small for any personal experience to be more than anecdotal.
I buy whatever brand I find on a closeout because I won't pay more then $25 for a tire. The Kenda Konstrictors retailed for $40 I got them for $18. There are closeouts going on right now at various online stores you can get high quality Hutchinson and Vittoria's at around 40% off. Those type of sales is what I look for regardless of brand. By the way, Conti never has their road tires go for less then 10% off retail...at least I've never seen any go for less then 10%, same is true with Specialized.
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