Paris-Roubaix & Flat Tyres

Quoted message said:

Originally posted by Nickzx6r
It seems quite common in pro road races for riders to get
flat tyres, but I can't figure out why that should be.

Maybe it just seems strange but there are a lot of riders in one
big group, riding across pretty dodgy roads. With so may riders
across the road someone is bound to collect some rubbish and
puncture.

Quoted message said:

Am I just lucky to have not had many flats?

Yes..ish. It could be that you ride on nice roads or you have
good technique and spot 'puncture hotspots' early.

The racers are travelling at speed and concentrating on the
race - they wont have near as much time to react to glass, etc.
on the road.

Quoted message said:

Do the pro road racers use singles instead of clinchers?

Some of them do, yes. I'm not sure on the difference that would
make to puncture rates though.

Could be that the super fast tyres are a little more susceptible to
punctures too?

hth
hippy

I've watched the Paris-Roubaix highlights from last week twice now, I love it 🙂. 51.1 kilometres of pavé!! 'Hell of the north', they aren't joking about that, especially the velodrome finish after 260km of racing. Its cruel that after riding for that long you have to win the thing in a track sprint!

I found an article on cycling news on the different setups the teams use for the race,
here: http://www.cyclingnews.com/teamtech04.php?id=tech/2004/features/roubaix
and here: http://www.cyclingnews.com/teamtech04.php?id=tech/2004/features/roubaix_2

Looks like some of the teams used tubeless for the first time. The bianchi team used 28's for their rear tyre. Cantilever brakes were used as well.

Its good to read how the teams and individual riders differed in selecting equipment. The cannondale cyclocross bike with built in Headshok suspension would have been nice.

As for flats I've never had one on the road probably because I always carry a spare tube with me (appeases the tyre gods I guess). Using Conti top touring tyres helps a bit.

"NickZX6R" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Today I finally got around to watching the P-R from
last week.

It seems quite common in pro road races for riders to get
flat tyres, but I can't figure out why that should be.

At the risk of angering the tyre gods, I'll admit that in
about 40000kms of riding, I've had less than 10 flat tyres
- and three of those were caused by worn out rim tape.

Presumably the pros tyres are new and unlikely to be worn
out, and the pressures correct. I realise P-R is
particularly rough over the cobbles but even in 'normal'
road races they seem to puncture quite often.

Am I just lucky to have not had many flats? Do the pro
road racers use singles instead of clinchers?

It just doesn't make sense to my feeble mind 🙂

Thoughts?

Cheers.
--
Nick

Continetal claim to have had their tyres on the last three
winners of the Paris - Roubaix.

conti-conti-Open ↗
tyres.co.uk/conticycle/road_tyres/tubulars/tubular_comp_d-
efault.htm

I've recently put some Conti clinchers on my bike and I
think they're great!

Marty

Marty

"gescom" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've watched the Paris-Roubaix highlights from last week
twice now, I love

it 🙂. 51.1 kilometres of pavé!! 'Hell of the north', they
aren't joking about that, especially the velodrome
finish after 260km of racing. Its cruel that after
riding for that long you have to win the thing in a
track sprint!

Quoted message said:

I found an article on cycling news on the different setups
the teams use for the race, here: cyclingnews.-cyclingnews.-Open ↗
com/teamtech04.php?id=tech/2004/features/roubaix and here:
://www.cyclingnews.com/teamtech04.php?id=tech/2004/featur-
es/roubaix_2

Looks like some of the teams used tubeless for the first
time. The bianchi team used 28's for their rear tyre.
Cantilever brakes were used as well.

It should be noted that the Alessio-Bianchi team only
had *one* puncture the whole day. I'm sure those fatter
tyres helped.

If you've ever ridden on the cobbles they use in P-R you'll
know why they get so many flats. The cobbles are as rough as
buggery - far worse than anything you'll get in Belgium or
anywhere else. The unevenness means that your wheel is
hitting them front on rather than "rolling" over the top.
The Arenberg Forest is like riding up gutters for 2 km.

Also a lot of riders choose the smooth dirt on the side
of the road, but there's more [censored] collected there so
more likelihood of a puncture. And if it's wet, the water
acts like a lubricant for anything sharp coming in
contact with the tyre.

cheers, Jeff

NickZX6R said:

Today I finally got around to watching the P-R from
last week.

It seems quite common in pro road races for riders to get
flat tyres, but I can't figure out why that should be.

There are lots of trade-offs in tyres. Wide, thick touring
tyres with kevlar belting, plastic liners, thorn-proof
tubes, and self-seal slime might eliminate punctures, but
you'll still loose the race. Weight and rolling resistance.

"Mike" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

NickZX6R said:

Today I finally got around to watching the P-R from
last week.

It seems quite common in pro road races for riders to
get flat tyres, but I can't figure out why that
should be.

There are lots of trade-offs in tyres. Wide, thick touring
tyres with kevlar belting, plastic liners, thorn-proof
tubes, and self-seal slime might eliminate punctures, but
you'll still loose the race. Weight and rolling
resistance.

Tell that to Backstedt :-)

Jeff

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Jeff Jones
"Mike" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

NickZX6R said:

Today I finally got around to watching the P-R from
last week.

It seems quite common in pro road races for riders to
get flat tyres, but I can't figure out why that
should be.

There are lots of trade-offs in tyres. Wide, thick touring
tyres with kevlar belting, plastic liners, thorn-proof
tubes, and self-seal slime might eliminate punctures, but
you'll still loose the race. Weight and rolling
resistance.

Tell that to Backstedt :-)

Jeff

.... or to Museeuw!