wiping tires

[MartyE]

I was talking to the manager of LBS recently, commenting on the
fact that I don't get alot of flats (knock wood), he replied neither does
he and reminded me the we both wipe tires.
It's a relatively easy thing to do, and when done correctly doesn't
pose a risk of jamming hand into brake bridge, spokes etc.

So I was just curious as to how many of y'all wipe tires?

Marty

[ols]

I don't -- a friend doing so once got his glove get caught between the spinning tire and the fork by accident and flipped over the bars really hard (onto his chin.. lots of surgery. I decided it was better to have a flat.) Also, I recall reading the following thoughts from Jobst Brandt on the subject, which were an interesting take:

Subject: Wiping Tires
From: Jobst Brandt
Date: October 13, 1997
Although the tire wiping has mostly gone the way of the tubular tire, some riders have remained believers in this practice, that never had any validity in the first place. It is purportedly done to prevent punctures by wiping off glass that may have "stuck" to the tire.

If one considers the rotation rate of a wheel in typical bicycling, about 15-20mph, it comes to about 3.5 revolutions per second. When observing a tire wiper, the time between noticing hazardous debris on the road and the first wipe is more than a second. Hence, any glass or other small object would be firmly pressed into the tire by four revolutions and all exposed glass edges chipped off. By the time the other tire is wiped several more seconds will have passed. If the glass is not thoroughly embedded by then it will not enter the tire.

This is not to say that particles embedded in a tire always cause a leak immediately, but that they are irrecoverably in the tire at that time. Those who have patched flats from glass will recall that the piece of glass is not easily found, especially if the location of the puncture is not known. The embedded chip is usually imperceptible when wiping the hand over the place even when known.

On the other hand, the rear wheel is more subject to flats than the front, because flat objects must first be tipped up to engage a tire to have any effect. Wiping the rear tire on common short frame bicycles is hazardous, because the fingers can be sucked into the narrow gap between tire and seat tube to cause serious injury.

Carefully considered, tire wiping is an idle gesture, reassuring to some riders, and impressive to others if deftly executed. I recall as a beginner that learning all the tics of bicycle racing was important. Wiping tires was one of these. Forget it.

[FierteTi52]

I used to wipe my tires after riding through debris until I my hand was wedged between the rear tire and seatube. The rear wheel locked up and my hand was nearly crushed. I concluded it's less painful to fix a flat tire.
Jeff

[lnomalley]

all the time.

[IXXI]

holding your palm over a wheel spinning at how many 100's/1000's rpms with a little glass or metal poking out just enough to make for a nice little buzzsaw...
very chuck norris.

[Fixed]

bro I don't wear gloves .cheers :beer:

[Tom]

I make sure I get out the talc and liberally dust my hand first.

[William]

I've been doing it since the early 90's with no problems.

While JB may or may not be correct, one thing is for sure and for certain. When I ride through road garbage and I can see it sticking to my tires, if I do nothing it certainly may work it's way in. If I wipe it off as soon as I can, my % of possibly getting a flat goes down. You ever notice flats often happen more when it's moist out on the road? Not down pour time, but wet here and there. Why? Because the road grit isn't getting washed off the road, yet is moist enough to stick to your tires. Sure bigger sharper pieces might puncture right away, other smaller stuff might take a bit to work in. Of if you already have a small slit or pin hole, things can work in.

I've wiped em,
I wipe em,
I will wipe em.

Wiping William ;)

[BumbleBeeDave]

I've never had any trouble doing this and have done it for over twenty years. If I run through some visible gunk on the road, I go ahead and wipe. Can't hurt, probably helps, is my view. I think there's lots of stuff on the roads that will stick to your tire and if you wipe it off, then no harm done. But if you leave it there and it keeps getting mashed into the rubber, eventually it can penetrate.

BBD

[Erik.Lazdins]

I have always wiped my tires and still do - especially considering most of my rides are at 4-6AM before work.
Nearly 2 years ago I rode through some glass and reached down to wipe the rear and somehow got my hand sucked down between the rear tire and seat tube. I couldn't pull my hand out and my rear was locked up soo....

It was a matter of time before I slowed enough to tip over!

I got up, looked around and was pleased nobody was looking, but then it was really early.

A slight bruise on the hand some light road rash but I finished the ride.

[musgravecycles]

I'm with BBD/ Big-Willy-Style. I've done it for years and never had any problems. I run white tape, and the left side is noticeably dirtier than the right.

When I was younger I rode my Dad's old Jeunet frame for a couple of years. He had these rubber jobbies hanging from the brake bolts that were always wiping the tires. I never once got a flat on that bike...

[BumbleBeeDave]

Great to see someone from Tulsa here! I lived there from 81-89. Where do you ride around there? Ever done Redbud Valley? I used to live at 6720 S. Peoria and would go out the Old North Road west of Sand springs to Keystone, stop at the park store, then come back on the south side of the river. Ever done any riding over toward Tallequah?

BBD

[Erik.Lazdins]

Great to see someone from Tulsa here! I lived there from 81-89. Where do you ride around there? Ever done Redbud Valley? I used to live at 6720 S. Peoria and would go out the Old North Road west of Sand springs to Keystone, stop at the park store, then come back on the south side of the river. Ever done any riding over toward Tallequah?

BBD

BBD,
I live about 85th and Mingo and do the Old North road as well as Keystone Dam regularly on my longer rides. My favorite ride in the area has to be the Talimena Scenic Drive. Have you ever had a chance to do that? Its a 3 hour drive down there but a must ride at least twice a year.

Good riding to you,
Erik

[Kevan]

when you get around to reaching and rubbing the tire it's too late, the wheel has spun around a couple times embedding a sharp object even deeper into the tire and possibly into the inner tube. That said... I do it occasionally, but I really don't think I'm saving myself from a flat.

You're better off examining your tires after the ride and picking out embedded objects from the tread. This also gives you the opportunity to examine the tire thoroughly to keep yourself safe for the next romp.


Does it work? I give it a fat maybe with a leaning towards not likely. Watch your fingers!

[bironi]

I too do the tire wipe. I did catch my hand between the rear wheel and the frame once, but a friend showed me how to lock a thumb on the seat stay to prevent a future occurence. All has been good since. I also do this on my fendered rain bike and fixie. I release my weaker foot (left) from pedal and let it hang back to make contact with my rear mudflap. For the front wheel, I press down on the leading edge of the fender on my Zefals. A few years back I noticed one of the local long distance Randonneur riders, Jan Heine used one of those rubber jobbies referred by a previous poster. He swore by it. He is a PBP rider, and editor of the Vintage Bike Quarterly. I tend to believe guys that put in that mileage year in and out.

Byron

[gasman]

Been wiping for 30 years, I don't know if it does any good but I am really careful these days after hearing about people getting thier hands stuck. Guess I have been lucky. Maybe I should stop like JB says, .........nah.

[terry b]

If you live in Goathead World as I do, you'd better be able to deftly execute a tire wipe. Hearing that telltale tick-tick-tick and ignoring it is a recipe for one thing only - a flat tire.

I've always loved JB's definitive treatise on tire wiping. It must be grand to be right about everything. But, for almost all rules there are invariably exceptions and in this case Goatheads follow no rules.

Not only do I get more flats in the front (with thorns on 4 sides and sticking in 15 directions, they don't need to be tipped up) but 9/10 times I can avoid a flat by knocking them out.

I do it, regularly.

[toaster]

So far no anecdotes about getting cut open and bleeding all over the tire. Getting a hand stuck must really hurt, I honestly can't say I've had that happen in the hundreds of times I wiped.

[CalfeeFly]

Front for sure.

Back I don't have the coordination plus my left hand is worthless and could not replace my right! :p

[shaq-d]

i experimented with wiping a couple times. seemed dumb to me... don't do it, don't get flats... :)

sd

[Climb01742]

i wipe the front tire while rolling. if i think i have something in the back tire, i stop as quickly as i can, and wipe/inspect the back tire while stationary.

[William]

If you live in Goathead World as I do, you'd better be able to deftly execute a tire wipe. Hearing that telltale tick-tick-tick and ignoring it is a recipe for one thing only - a flat tire.

I've always loved JB's definitive treatise on tire wiping. It must be grand to be right about everything. But, for almost all rules there are invariably exceptions and in this case Goatheads follow no rules.

Not only do I get more flats in the front (with thorns on 4 sides and sticking in 15 directions, they don't need to be tipped up) but 9/10 times I can avoid a flat by knocking them out.

I do it, regularly.

Exactly. Not everything works in right away.

I hit front and back. Thumb and pointer open and parallel to each other, the rest of the fingers closed. Gloves take the hit.

I guess, according to JB, I shouldn't wipe my bum either because you know, by the time I get there, it's already.....you know.....there. :rolleyes: ;) :D


William

[Too Tall]

During my first PAC tour we had a bunch of Norwegians all on tubular tires. All of them carried a piece of wool ,with the hide on it, in their back pockets and would wipe their tires. I wore out two sets of gloves trying to keep up :cool:

[stevep]

long habit...whether it works or not i cannot say... get a flat every once in awhile... but not usually after wiping off the tire.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . many years ago, and once is enough to teach you to do it the right way. It's very important for the rear wheel to never do it without looking back there first to reaquaint your brain with the spatial relationships of where you're sticking your hand.

BBD

[victoryfactory]

I wear out 2 pairs of gloves every year because I compulsively
wipe both tires every few miles.
The result is I got only ONE FLAT all last year riding in NYC.

I remember years ago (there he goes again, the old fahrt)
there used to be these wire thingies that you could attach to your
brake bolts that rode just above the tire to catch the nasty
bits before the worked their way into the tread.

VF -
I believe in tire wiping, 2 pairs of gloves is a small price to pay
for no flats!

[Kevan]

I think fewer flats are the result of better tires, not wiping. The use of kevlar and other materials and compounds has improved puncture resistance. Here's some references manufactures have provided CC in the sell of various tires:

"..Its higher sidewalls and 100% anti-puncture aramid layer makes it a comfort and puncture resistant tire ! "

"..It utilizes our special polyamide casing plies, plus a high density interwoven nylon belt under the tread. The result is a supple ride and high rolling efficiency, plus enhanced puncture resistance in the tread area."

Also, at least here, we talk oodles about tire pressure and I think we're all wiser for it. We rarily read about anyone experiencing snakebite punctures.

[Too Tall]

Rah rah Kev, also NOT overinflating tires helps alot.

[Dr. Doofus]

doof just doesn't roll over stuff that gives flats

he doesn't wipe his tires

he does pee on his right shoe before races (superstition and all...no pee on shoe, really bad race or crash...pee on shoe, in the mix and involved in at least one break or chase)

he has not yet tried peeing on his tires

[Kevan]

a league of your own Doof.

[chrisroph]

I thought everybody wiped except for some aborigines and people in the old folk's home.

Wiping is cool, it usually doesn't hurt, and if JB knew 1/10 of what he thinks he does, his individual knowledge would only be 10 times the collective knowledge of this forum.

My best wiping story, I was racing track at alpenrose a while ago. It was a pretty big race and a lot of people were in the stands. As I was slowly riding on the infield in the front straight, directly in front of the stands, I reached down to wipe the back tire. I jammed my hand between the tire and the back of the seat tube and stopped the rotation of the rear tire. I came to a stop, and flopped over. Ha Ha Ha, joke was on me. Very embarassing. I don't remember of I won any races that day.

[vaxn8r]

Rule of thumb: If you can see it you prolly wont flat it.

I can think of only one flat in the last 25 years where I actually saw what I flatted on. My flats are always a super small shred of glass or a staple or something like that. The one thing I saw and flatted was instantaneous. A shard of a ceramic mug i hit coming out of a corner going too fast to swerve.

But if you're a Larry Bird fan and have a wiping compulsion, well, you have to scratch the itch....it'll only get worse.

Remember those little metal tire wipers we used to see in the 70's-80's? What ever happened to those. Those make more sense than hand wiping several seconds later...especially on a group ride. Yikes!

[jerk]

this is a stupid thread. if you ride through something that's prone to puncturing your tire of course you have to wipe off the tire. this is like starting a thread entitled "when you need to stop do you use your brakes?" or "when you need to put a foot down do you clip out of your pedal?"

sometimes this forum makes jobst brandt look enlightened.

jerk

[Louis]

Even more important than cliinchers vs tubulars:

Fold or crumple?

I can't believe nobody's asked that yet...

[Lincoln]

Fold or crumple?

I can't believe nobody's asked that yet...

Crumple.

[EPOJoe]

doof just doesn't roll over stuff that gives flats

he doesn't wipe his tires

he does pee on his right shoe before races (superstition and all...no pee on shoe, really bad race or crash...pee on shoe, in the mix and involved in at least one break or chase)

he has not yet tried peeing on his tires
Have you tried peeing on your hand, and then wiping your tires?

[victoryfactory]

this is a stupid thread. if you ride through something that's prone to puncturing your tire of course you have to wipe off the tire. this is like starting a thread entitled "when you need to stop do you use your brakes?" or "when you need to put a foot down do you clip out of your pedal?"

sometimes this forum makes jobst brandt look enlightened.

jerk


Thanks, we probably needed that

VF

Nothing like a good laugh in the morning.......