[Enel]

Puncture Vine

Tribulus terrestris

Goathead

How I hate thee spawn of Satan!!

I have been fighting these suckers since childhood in So Cal, and they have gotten no easier to deal with (in fact worse) in Arizona.

I puncture almost every off road ride this time of the year, and several times a month on road.

Scott(Krein): How in Hades did you ride the length of this state and only get one flat!

The good thing about the puncture holes is that they are small, so you usually finish the ride without needing to do anything.

The bad thing about the punctures is that they are small, and you don't realize you have a flat until you go to grab the bike in a rush for the next ride, and you have a flat.

They puncture anything. Kevlar lined Big Apples...."Ah Speet in the General direction of your bulletproof faabreecs"

I want for a nice off-road ride on the Monkey this weekend, went to change the tires back to the commuter slicks, and found 5, count em 5 holes in the front and rear. Patched them last night, came out this morning late for work.....double flats Had to ride the road bike. There are still more holes to fix obviously(it can be hard to find all the holes since they are so small). This is a double pain on the Monkey due to the horizontal dropouts, monkey nuts, and derailleur.

I hate wasting patches on these little tiny holes....any ideas for alternative remedies?

The only thing I ever found that worked was a tubeless system with Stan's. Yes, Stans is a pain, may not be good for tires, etc...but it kept me puncture free (or sealed them anyway) for months at a time. I went away from it with the 29er thing due to fear of a tire blowing off, etc, but these thorns are driving me crazy.

My only other option is the super thick heavy/slime tubes (aren't 29er wheels heavy enough already!).

I'm open to ideas.

Hate these things....grumble....grumble...

Maybe I should get those solid foam tires they sell for kids?

 

[kustomz]

I struggled with Stan's on my 29er and found this to be a much better solution if you are not a constant tire changer;

http://www.geocities.com/etrexkb/no_flat.htm

My substitutions were a 26" tube in place of the 24" for use on a 29er and just put the sealer in as you assemble instead of messing with a shrader and use a presta tube. I have been running this setup for over a year with zero flats and no fuss.

 

[Cloxxki]

Tribulus Terristris is actualy a nice performance enhancing drug, not on the UCI doping list as far as I know

 

[Enel]

Tribulus Terristris is actualy a nice performance enhancing drug, not on the UCI doping list as far as I know

Maybe I should eat all the thorns I find in my tires.

 

[lanpope]

What about putting some Stans goop inside of your tubes? That would only cost you one patch...

LP

 

[Wes]

I'm waiting for delivery of my first 29er and want to run Stan's in the tubes. Can this be accomplished only by cutting a hole in the tube to add sealant? I think Continental use to make a tube with a removable core but not any more. Are there any other tubes availabe with a removable core?

 

[Spokey-Doke]

Bontrager

This spring I bought some Bontrager Standard 29er tubes at the LBS and was happy to find removable presta cores in them when I got home. I squirted a little Slime in them just for the hell of it and didn't have a flat all summer.

 

[2melow]

I am running one ounce of stans IN my tubes on my road and mtb's.

Oddly enough I got more flats from goatheads on my road bike this year. So bad I just stan'd my road bike tubes a few weeks ago. No flats yet!

This is the worst time of the year since the bush is dying and the goatheads are detaching from the vine (and blowing across the road I guess.)

 

[2melow]

It is also called (besides goathead) yellow caltrop and scourge of the earth. It is actually medicinal, containing steroid precursors among other things, and is good for cardiovascular health, angina, male problems, and building muscle mass.

 

[Jayem]

My prefered method is to let Eric and his 29" monkey ride the trails before me. The bigger contact area of the tire ensures that he will pick up all the thorns before I ride the trails.


But, when it gets really bad around here during certain times of the year, I put a tire liner in there, and it seems to make a huge difference. I've never really had a goathead go through a tire liner.

 

[xrmattaz]

I've "almost" never encountered those little buggers up here....only up near "the lookout" and then again on the trail off of Williamson Valley Rd.

****, I can count the number of flats I've had in sixteen years of Preskit riding on one hand. I've never flatted in Granite Basin proper, nor around Thumb Butte or areas south.

Eric....please DO go get rid of 'em all!

 

[Enel]

Bad time or year to be "exploring" (lost on) new trails on ranch land between williamson valley and 89.

The ride was from my door on roads through Southview to the trailhead off Dineh. Up 341, then down on 347, out on 309 to Wm Valley, then got lost trying to cut across to Pioneer park. Ended up on some nice ranch double track that spit me out just west of the airport, roads home. About 25 mi. Good ride for a rigid bike.

My legs and back are more sore than usual, but not the suffering I expected. I think the Monkey has more offroad rides in its future.

I must learn more of these tire liners.

 

[Super E]

I also live in a goathead hell, which got me to try Stans about over 2 years ago - not a single flat since. I run only IRC tires on Bontrager rims. Have a friend running IRC tires on Stans rims with similar results. In my tubed wheelsets I run SpinSkins kevlar liners (the long lasting black ones) with good results - I've had a few thorn punctures in the side walls beyond the protection of the kevlar liner. Correct installation of both Stans and the SpinSkins is critical for optimal results.

 

[Enel]

You've GOT to be kidding me.

Maybe if I stayed on the trail???

I get them on the road all the time.

Maybe little gremlins throw them in front of me.

 

[xrmattaz]

Perhaps as I'm older and wiser, and the leetle stickery things don't like me??

I haven't had a flat tire in four years.....I'm just too smooth.

Maybe Jeebus doesn't like ya??

You've GOT to be kidding me.

Maybe if I stayed on the trail???

I get them on the road all the time.

Maybe little gremlins throw them in front of me.

 

[OrBikbldr]

used to live in California when I was growing up. Moved to utah and they were still there. Moved to Oregon....ahhhh, no more flats. At least none from thorns anyway.

 

[shiggy]

I'm waiting for delivery of my first 29er and want to run Stan's in the tubes. Can this be accomplished only by cutting a hole in the tube to add sealant? I think Continental use to make a tube with a removable core but not any more. Are there any other tubes availabe with a removable core?

Schwalbe tubes have removable cores.

 

[Jayem]

Bad time or year to be "exploring" (lost on) new trails on ranch land between williamson valley and 89.

The ride was from my door on roads through Southview to the trailhead off Dineh. Up 341, then down on 347, out on 309 to Wm Valley, then got lost trying to cut across to Pioneer park. Ended up on some nice ranch double track that spit me out just west of the airport, roads home. About 25 mi. Good ride for a rigid bike.

I think I know exactly what you are talking about. I look down there every day when we take off.

I wouldn't advise that particular "cut through" again , but of course we all know how the "exporation" rides go. Took a lot of hard work and some really crappy rides to figure out the link to the OHV area.

You get goatheads on the road here almost more often than the trails because the wind simply blows them onto the road at times.

I sucessfully used my insta-patch kit in Granite Basin yesterday.

Got some Aspen Creek action in today after my short bout of work.

Oh yeah, those switchbacks on the way up 341; Yes, they are doable. I cleaned a good portion of them (50% or so). The real trick is timing the pedal stroke to get over the obstacles, but they are all doable, just the chances of actually doing them all on one ride are probably pretty small. They aren't easy, but they are great to practice on.

And one more thing; During the "thorn" season, I sometimes put fix-a-flat in my tubes. It is a very light foam, and it does a decent job of sealing up minor holes, like from goatheads. You can find it on sale at times at the autostores for WAY cheaper than slime.

 

[Nat]

...is good for...male problems..

It'll make me not lazy and want to talk about my feelings all the time?

 

[volpepazza]

Yeah, those things can make you nervous to leave the driveway. They're out there and they know where you ride. I think the tubeless set up is the only answer. As long as you use the proper tires it works just fine.