Puncture tips

Well after my first couple of weeks commuting 30 miles a day I got hit by a couple of Punctures on the Rear wheel. So I thought I'd post a couple of obvious but nevertheless crucial tips on repairing them.

1. Don't bother with patches - inner tubes are cheap, carry two everywhere. I've had mixed results with patching with both glue and glueless, never been that successful. Far easier to wrap one up in an elastic band and carry in your underseat bag.

2. Carry Gloves - those lightweight latex ones, dead cheap from B&Q and save all the brake grime and wheel grime during the process.

3. Always check the tyre for Thorns - After taking the Tyre / Tube off, 8 times of 10 something will have stuck through the tyre wall and will re-punture again if you don't remove it. I've done this twice and it's very annoying.

4. Always partially inflate tube before fitting - Give it a pump or two before putting it into the Tyre. This way you'll avoid pinching it or it getting wrapped up on itself on the way in.

5. Upgrade your tyres - If you can afford it upgrade to a similar width of tyre with Kevlar or what Specialized calls Armiddillo casings. They are loads better, I cycled thie whole of the UK with these without a single puncture.

Hope thats helpful.