What causes tire cuts?

[crazymonk]

I am in a debate with my buddy. He thinks that it is the rocks that cause most of the cuts. I think it is the Glass.

What do yawl think?

[ahumblecycler]

Most of my gauges/cuts come from bridge expansion joints along my commute. A close second is the is the post's invisible wall.

[capybaras]

gremlins

[regularguy412]

I generally have gotten cuts from metal objects (wire, etc.) rather than glass or rocks. However my most recent cut that resulted in a flat, came from a sliver of sharp rock. It even went through the edge of the 'anti-flat' strip that is encased within the tire carcass. I rarely get pinch flats.

Mike in AR:beer:

[auto_rock]

gremlins

Yup. Just like most pinch flats are actually caused when your tire is bitten... by a snake.

[capybaras]

I hate those snakes.

[David Kirk]

Sharp stuff of undetermined origin.

Dave

[happycampyer]

Broken forum links.

[avalonracing]

It all depends where you live. Due to the high percentage of rednecks, teens and dirtbags around here glass is far and away the main tire cutter in my area.

[false_Aest]

terrorists.

[victoryfactory]

Quint: Glass goes in the Roadway, you go in the Roadway. Rocks in the roadway.
[sings]
Quint: Farewell and adieu to you, fair Spanish tubeies. Farewell and adieu, you Michelin pro 3's. For we've received orders for to sail back to Boston. And so nevermore shall we see you again.

[woolly]

I'll take "Things That Are Sharp" for $500 please, Alex. ;)

(And from personal experience, on the Texas roads I typically ride, it's more often random building-supply debris like staples or small nails than it is rocks or glass).

[capybaras]

(And from personal experience, on the Texas roads I typically ride, it's more often random building-supply debris like staples or small nails than it is rocks or glass).[/QUOTE]

My tires found a lot of brown beer bottle in TX

[godfrey1112000]

best to cut through my rear tire was a 3/4 inch wood screw,

almost busted the rim straight through

rocks once in a while

snake bites after the RR track crossings

road grundge

any thing that falls off of a red neck's pick up

sofa

T.V. parts

left overs from the 30 pack

old girl friends


it is 55 degrees and sunny time to ride the temperature

[gemship]

all the above especially broken glass. I'm now on my third set of Kenda Qwest 26x1.5" clinchers mounted to my mountain bike rims for better commuting streets. They're nothing special but a good price at 15.00 a tire at my lbs. I never wear them out but they do get a bit of crowning in the middle. I feel the need to change them when the sharp stuff like glass tends to pierce rather than deflect. I think the rubber seem to age and it sort of happens like the flick of a switch.

[David Kirk]

The best one I ever had was while riding on the road on my mountain bike to get home for the trail head. All is well and then a sudden BANG followed by scraping and grinding and the sound of fine paint being trashed.

I stopped to find a framing nail piercing the tire, tube, and rim sticking up nicely like it was a short spoke. It went midway between two spokes and right clean through the double wall rim. The nail was bent over nicely from passing by the seat stay and chainstay bridges and making a real mess of the paint in the process.

I stood dumbfounded (normal condition really) and then pulled my spare tube out to install it but then had a bitch of a time getting the nail out.

Good times.

dave

[cua90]

For those that live by the shore, the broken sea shells will get ya.

[pdmtong]

if you have open corsa CX's cuts come from anything.

I'm running conti 4000S. trade off some uppper end perfomance (perhaps) but zero cuts.

[dekindy]

Cracks in the road that are parallel with the lane. At the minimum a cut and at the extreme on a hill could kill you. I think this happened on RAGBRAI last year.

[Tom]

Sharp things on the road.

[taz-t]

if you have open corsa CX's cuts come from anything.


Paper, cotton swabs, pillows, bunnies...

But i still ride them. Only Veloflexs seem to ride as well for me.

- taz

[nahtnoj]

Squirrels.

Does it matter? I mean, if the answer is glass, does that make running over rocks OK?

Most of my flats come from slivers of glass or metal which slowly work their way into my tires, causing a pinhole in the tube.

[max_powers]

Ever had your front wheel kick up the debris that your back tire catches?

once had a wide sharp metal piece perfectly wedged into my rear tire to cleanly cut the tire and tube down to the wire bead, like a guilottine

also had the nail cleanly thru the rim. rim still usable.

cycling for many years will generate many unusual experiences