Puncture Resistant Tires

Puncture Resistant Tires

You may want to take extra steps to prevent flats on High Adventure when we may be in really remote areas with rough terrains.  This is particularly true on the Palouse Trail east of Ellensburg. 

It is important to note that no one tire has all the best features you want.  Increased Puncture Resistance is generally at the cost of ride performance.  But in rough country, not getting flats may be all the ride performance you care about. 

Recommendation

• Come talk to our High Adventures Team

  • You may not need anything more than 2 tubes and a patch kit

  • If you don't have appropriate tires, we can talk about options

List of Tires Rated as High Puncture Resistant

Some brands offer tire options for Race and for Durability

• Puncture resistance tire options often for larger tires

• WTB’s SG2 range

  • 2+ inch size

• Vittoria’s TNT casing 

• Teravail’s Durable tires

Resources

• granfondo-cycling.com/best-gravel-tire-review 

• bicyclerollingresistance.com/cx-gravel-reviews 

• bikeradar.com/advice/buyers-guides/best-gravel-tyres 

Going Tubeless

If you travel through areas where there is a high likelihood of flats, going tubeless will reduce the number of flats you get and make it easier to perform a repair on the trail.

Tubeless tires use special rims that are sealed, generally with tape.  This airtight setup allows you to run tires without innertubes, like modern car tires.  To help with flats, liquid sealant is used in the tires to plug air leaks from punctures or small leaks between the tire and wheel.  This prevents many of the small leaks you may acquire on the trail and makes trail repairs much easier since you can use plugs to seal up punctures, without needed to remove the tire from the wheel.

Going tubeless requires some setup and a bit of maintenance since sealant will dry up over time.   The time you put in to setting up you tires should reduce the time you need to mess with your tires on the trail.  Work can be done by REI or other local bike shops and can be done at home if you know the basics.

Sealant

For offroad adventures on gravel bikes and mountain bikes, tubeless tires with sealant are the way to go.  You will get so many fewer flats.  Repairs can also be quick using plugs instead of patches.  The downside is that you have to set up your tires and deal with sealant, which can get pretty messy, especially if you have to to with tubes on the trail. 

NOTE: Some sealants contain ammonia and some don't.  You should NOT mix sealants.  If you switch sealants, completely clean out old stuff first. 

Examples

• Orange Seal Endurance

  • Easier to use than Silca Ultimate 

  • Injectable

  • Lasts 6+ months before maintenance is needed

• Silca Ultimate Tubeless Sealant

  • Latex with Fiber

  • Sticky and Nasty and works SO Well

    • Best sealant for sealing leaks

    • Best sealant for High Adventure, where you just don't want flats

    • Best sealant for Races

  • Downsides:

    • High Maintenance Sealant

    • Can't inject through valve - must pour into tire then seat bead

      • “Replenisher” that can be injected for quick refills

    • Dries up quickly - lasts about 2 months before it needs a refresh 

    • Likes to clog valves

      • Must be ready to replace valves

      • When inflating tires:

        • Position valve at 6'oclock for a bit to let valve drain

        • Rotate valve to 9'oclock to fill air

    • Sealant boogers - clumps of sealant will rollup up into "boogers" in tire

• Stan’s NoTubes Sealant 

  • Similar to Silca, but easier to use

  • Injectable

  • Lasts 6+ months before maintenance is needed

Inserts

• Foam insert used in your rim

• Help protect against pinch flats

• Allows you to run lower tire pressures

• Adds some level of protection from leaks when sliding sideways by helping keep your tires pressed against the rims

• If you have a catastrophic flat that requires a tube, you are going to have a really messy insert to deal with

  • Pack a small trash bag, disposable gloves and a rag with your tube kit

• Example

  • Cush Core