I have recently bought a new zesty with stock tyres and the last three outings have resulted in 5 pinch flats front and rear.
Is this to do with the tyres or the presures? I have no confidence to ride other than steady, going downhill in case I don’t get to the bottom without requiring another new tube.
New tyres? tubeless? any one got any ideas?

It’s more to do with the paper thin tyres and tubes they come with as standard.

Take them off and throw the lot in the bin & start again. They are useless.

Pinch punctures are generally caused by having pressures too low, do you know what pressure you’re running at?

thats what I was thinking Hobnob but maybe I could use them on my hard tail.
any tyre suggestions?

pinch punctures is usually tyre pressure too low, although fully built bikes have a reputation for coming with featherweight tubes to keep weight down on the cheap.

I’d try thicker tubes at the right pressure before spending any more.

Did yours come with the hutchinson cobra/ cougar combo? Mine did, they were extremely light and thin for normal tyres, let alone UST ones. I swapped them straight away.

continental race king rear and mountain king front specialized tubes on at the mo

I have the Zesty and the rear tyre is awful, it gives me no confidence, its getting replaced very shortly.

Basically they come with rubbish but light tyres, fit some decent ones with proper tubes or even tubeless.

You could try the new Mountain King up front and a Race X out back for a similar combo, or my fave a Nobby Nic up front and a Racing Ralph out back.

As Steve said, at the very least you should go for a pair of substantial tubes or otherwise go tubeless. You could do either for less than £15 which makes for a cheap as chips upgrade.

Race king’s are ok for dry and hard trails, not ideal for a uk all rounder, why are you running tubes, I thought they came tubeless on the zesty. I replaced mine with bonty mud x as soon as autumn kicked in, very impressed, they’re not coming off in a hurry. What pressure are you running? Sounds too low or you’re very unlucky to get 5 pinch flats.

Not running too low pressure wise 30 -40?I must admit I don’t check on the trail as I don’t carry a gauge

I have the cobra & cougar sitting here. I dont think they feel thin.Compared to tubeless racing ralphs they seem similar.

I guess its relative martin, I think schwalbes feel thin too but I’m comparing them to stuff like 2.4 big earls and rubber queens as opposed to more xc/trail tyres. Run the lightest tyres you feel confident on, no point using something tough and heavy if you don’t need it!