10 miles into a 48 mile door to door Macc Forest epic I get:

Puncture number 1
I'd forgotten it was hawthorn season 🙁

Still, there's worse places to have a flat.

and I've got the trail all to myself 🙂

100yards later – Puncture number 2

And as I'm repairing that I spot Puncture number 3 in the front

The canal path between Poynton and Adlington is littered with fresh hawthorn cuttings. Each tube had atleast two holes. After repairing them I see that I'm completely out of spare tubes and patches.
I had to walk the bike to the nearest road and come home 🙁

Time to go tubeless

Rule number one, never ride where they've been cutting Hawthorn hedges, simples!

sorry what's gay about this?

Trails look GNARLY dude…

thomthumb – Member
sorry what's gay about this?

Hes got Marigold glove's on ! 😳

Totally underbiked for tow path riding there. Dangerous fool. 🙄

nooo!

the hawthorn hedges on the macc canal. I'm sure they are some as yet unknown superbreed that hunts bike tyres.

A few years ago I just had to throw away some tyres in the end as i couldn't find all the little needles.

Go tubeless. U know it makes sense…

Probably best, you'd only have blinded people with the paintjob anyway.

thomthumb – Member
sorry what's gay about this?

I spotted it. Mudguard.

So you dont get punctures with tubless? Genuine question, I thought tubless was only done for weight saving, less rolling resistance etc and would have thought a puncture in a tubless tyre would be a massive hassle without having a high pressure pump/fairly liquid on you?

Same happened to me. Luckily only one flat. I soon got off the canal at the cheeky cut through ( just after Disley) and got myself onto the middlewood way.

Got covered in deer poo changing to a new innertube in Lyme park.

A similar ride to this 2 years ago (4 of us had between 6 to 12 punctures each) made me decide to try a stans tubeless kit with my standard tyres. Since then I haven't regretted it and only had a couple of flats – due to me ripping a sidewall and letting the fluid dry out – doh

So you dont get punctures with tubless? Genuine question, I thought tubless was only done for weight saving, less rolling resistance etc and would have thought a puncture in a tubless tyre would be a massive hassle without having a high pressure pump/fairly liquid on you?

Fewer punctures, HUGE thorns or rips and you'll puncture, but you can just jam a tube in (provided your tyre dosn't look like a sticklebrick inside).

In the XC setting, exchanging an innertube for a rimstrip and/or loads of insulation tape and 80g or so of latex isn't any weight saving. Def rill on rolling resistance though.

Last winter I got home from a ride with a couple of punctures and then pulled 13 hawthorns out of my front tyre – I'm surprised I made it home.

There's a cycle-path going towards Newport, on the Isle of Wight, that has hawthorn alongside. When the council sheers the hedge each Autumn they sweep the road side but not the cycle path side. 👿

It's infuriating, but not as infuriating as the misuse of the word 'gay'.

Kingkongsfinger
Hes got Marigold glove's on !

A good friend of mine, does wear light blue Surgical gloves whilst fixing punctures. He's says if he doesn't, the mud Interferes with his cuticles 😯

Canal, there's the mistake should have gone for the Middlewood Way.

Ahh – just discovered the evil of Hawthorns. Swapped the Speed Kings on my new Carrera Fury (don't start…) for some lumpy old Bontragers I had as seemed to be getting loads of punctures. Next ride – puncture! Have now put slime type tubes (different brand, can't remember what) on and after 10 miles in local woods last night got home with lowish pressure in back tyre but still running. Looks like I got my winter set-up sorted. Anyone know how to get frame decals off a new bike…? 🙄

still miffed I didn't even make it to the lumpy stuff 🙁

The 'gayness' for folks who were wondering is the fact that despite having a go anywhere bike I was completely halted in my tracks by a dead plant on a canal path.

I find this incredibly gay.

It's infuriating, but not as infuriating as the misuse of the word 'gay'.

I was beaten to it. Shame about your puncture and use of gayness as a negative.