The post about training on race wheels got me thinking of all the crap I have run over and the risk to expensive carbon fiber wheels.
This was what I hit on a pre race ride right after I put on new tires on my Rev X’s. Pretty sure it’s the bottom of a beer mug. I figure it was punishment for training with my race wheels. I ended up with a destroyed tire and a nice ding in the wheel.
Dave
I ran over a nail about two kilometers from my house one day. It went straight into my rim and through it. Took forever to pull out with a pair of pliers. Never took a pic, sold the wheels a year ago or so.
I ran over a piece of lava rock the other day, instant blow out. (Thank god it was the back tire) I guess some gardener must have dumped it off their truck.
Dave
A simple staple… not the construction type but the kind that you can barely get through 2 pieces of paper these days. The damn thing went straight through my tire and I couldn’t even get it out because it was so rusty. Pretty much fell apart in my hand making me wonder how it had the strength to go through the tire in the first place. Oh, well, it provided me with a nice walk home wearing spandex in a college town… yep fun.
I ran over a razor blade going down a fast downhill section. Running over a razor isn’t that strange, but after it blew out my tube, it must have remained stuck in the tire and then wedged itself between my brake caliper and tire.
Half of the sidewall of the tire was completely shredded like something the gremlin did on the Twilight Zone movie.
I sliced a tire in half from bead-to-bead at the Davis IM last year, running over a hubcap. I booted the tire with my race bib and made it ~20 miles to the bike turnaround where I picked up a new tire.
I hit a deer antler (unattached to the deer at the time). It caused a slow leak over the next couple miles.
Another biker.
Wrecked in front me, ran him over, pinch flatted my tire. He lived, I didn’t wreck. Everybody wins.
I hit a small box of utility knife razor blades, slit an almost brand new tire, maybe 25 miles on it.
I did the cardboard inner patch thing almost worked, I got within a couple of miles from before it blew through again.
had to call home for the tow truck!
Got a huge glass cut on the rear of our tandem from a bottle bottom once, much like the mug base. Didn’t have any real booting material, so I used a $10 bill, which got us home again and didn’t hurt the bill too much (money is amazingly strong).
“Didn’t have any real booting material, so I used a $10 bill, which got us home again and didn’t hurt the bill too much (money is amazingly strong).”
This took 3 patches on the tube because I had switched to race wheels and forgot about the extra long valves. The tire took 4 patches and a $ 5 to hold it together until we got into town. That was a $68 dollar flat.
Dave
One time this summer on a bored and lonely training ride, I just stared at the road below me for a long time. It is amazing the amount of garbage along the side of a road that we don’t even notice. Glass, nails, screws, sharp metal, cans, bones etc. Seems like you should get more flats.
Nothing strange really, but I was attacked by a snake while fixing a flat. I had to abandon my bike for a half hour.
“You can stick a staple through any tire.”
Funny, that’s what caused my last flat. Luckily they make such small holes that I didn’t notice until the next day when it was completely flat.
~Matt
No flat,
but the other day there was a dead coyote in the road with it’s head smashed flat. I bunny hopped over it on my road bike.
I hit a carburator laying in the road once, that caused a pretty big impact and caused a pinch flat.
Like the ohter poster mentioned: I also recently had a nail drive all the way to the rim. It was pretty tough to extract.
“Oh, well, it provided me with a nice walk home wearing spandex in a college town… yep fun”
Ever heard of a spare tire?
Got a huge glass cut on the rear of our tandem from a bottle bottom once, much like the mug base. Didn’t have any real booting material, so I used a $10 bill, which got us home again and didn’t hurt the bill too much (money is amazingly strong).
I never carry those store bought boots with me. I just make sure I have at least one dollar bill. I am lazy too, I leave it in until the tire is done. Sometimes I forget and find lots of money 
I have helped a few people ont he side of the road that tore the side of a tire and just rack there brains trying to figure out what to do. They always look at me funny if I ask them if they have any cash on them 
Dear god what the hell is that?
I wasn’t there to see or understand why, but I did have to fix it. Supposedly it didn’t pop until the cassette got it.
