5 Hacks For Fewer Flat Tyres On Your Road Bike | GCN Tech's Guide To Road Bike Maintenance

No-one likes punctures, so here’s our guide to reducing your risk of a flat tyre. From new school – road tubeless – to old school – the flint catcher – these five tips will keep you on the road and make puncture repair kits a thing of the past.

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Minimising punctures is something that every cyclist wants to do. So we’ve put together five ways that you can make it happen.

1. Use latex sealant in your inner tubes
If you’re a fan of tubeless tyres, you can skip this one, but, if you haven’t made the jump to tubeless tyres on your road bike just yet, latex sealant could be a good halfway house.

2. The flint catcher
If you find that you’re getting lots of flats from sharp objects, the flint catcher is a super-old school hack, and one that is designed for rim brake frames – we did say that it was old school. You can make your own flint catcher from something like an old spoke, or, if you feel inclined, scour eBay and see if you can pick up a genuine retro item.

3. Quality rim tape
Rim tape is one of those fit-and-forget components. But, old, thin or just plain low quality rim tape can greatly increase your chances of puncturing; either from pinch flats or sharp edges like spoke holes. Investing in some high quality thick rim tape that’s also the right width for your wheels, is one of the cheapest ways to upgrade your ride.

4. Heavy duty tyres
Some people say that it’s not a hack if you have to spend money on it. While they may have a point, quality tyres will reduce the number of times you puncture, add grip, reduce rolling resistance, and more.

5. Lining your new tyres with old ones
Another old school hack and one that will greatly increase the rotating weight of your wheels. It’s a trade-off then; fewer punctures and more rolling resistance or more time spent fixing flats with less rolling resistance. Consider using this one on your training wheels and take the puncture benefit alongside a bit more resistance, which could potentially increase your training effect. Win/win?

Despite all of these hacks, you still need to make sure that you know how to repair a flat tyre. Subscribe for more how to videos, hacks, tips, and the best in road bike tech: http://gcntech.co/subscribetogcntech

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