%&$@%^ Punctures

By Andrew on July 21, 2025 • ( 1 Comment )

Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving the new bike. The Ribble CGR Ti Enthusiast is a dream machine to cycle and it has reinvigorated my desire to head out for day rides. So far I’ve ventured out in the Lake District, the western Yorkshire Dales, down the Calder Valley a couple of times and on long loops from home on several occasions. Later this week I have plans to head south to Nostell Priory, park up and go explore the surrounding countryside with a friend. However, the puctures have been frustrating…

You may remember that when I was cycling from Sedbergh in June I suffered a pucture to the front tyre. It was made doubly frustrating as I had not gone prepared to have a pucture. I was carrying a couple of spare inners but no tools or indeed pump. Stupid thing to do. Even more stupid to have purchased inner tubes with the wrong kind of valves. The full details of how I managed to rescue that ride can be found here.

When I returned to the Lake District on a school trip a few days later, I went to the bike shop in Ambleside to make sure I was prepared for future puctures should they occur. Alas, when I was readying myself to head off with a friend at the weekend, I picked up the bike only to discover that the front tyre had deflated once again. Frustrating but I set about changing the inner tube in the knowledge that I now had a spare inner with the correct valve. Removing the old tube was no issue (was it the repaired hole that had sprung a leak once again?) but refitting the tyre was. After much strenuous activity (more sweat was generated in forcing the tyre over the rim than in the subsequent ride), the tyre popped into place. I started to reinflate the inner and… it wouldn’t inflate! Faulty inner? Or puncture mumber 3? Perhaps… I may have pinched the inner with the plastic levers, all of which snapped in the process. Once removed, I discovered that the inner did have a hole. Was it a fault or was it me and the tyre levers? Who knows?

The second spare inner was now removed from its box. Careful not to repeat the error of (potentially) damaging the inner, I paid particular attention to where I placed the levers but try as I might, I could not get the tyre back on the wheel. I had managed it twice before – once in Sedbergh, once a few moments earlier – so why not a third time? Goodness knows. I was due to meet a friend for the planned cycle at 1pm and that deadline was fast approaching so I messaged him and asked that he come to my house (as the top of a long hill – sorry Craig…) to assist.

Four hands, another snapped lever, much swearing and more sweat. Eventually and somewhat miraculously, the tyre popped into place. I later expressed my frustrations on The Cycling Europe Facebook page:

FFS… It took two people (and several broken levers) to get this tyre back on. 2nd (and 3rd) puncture on the Ribble Titanium. Somebody’s going to have to provide a compelling argument for not changing the tyres to Schwalbe Marathon Plus. (Currently Schwalbe G-One.)

The Cycling Europe Facebook Page

A bicycle is shown in a living room, partially disassembled with its front wheel removed. Tools and bike parts are scattered on the floor, with a red curtain and a sofa visible in the background.

Well, that post recieved quite a response from Facebook followers. Here are a selction of comments:

Ah you’ve joined the large and distinguished band of Ribble owners who have been driven potty by this – I swapped the Schwalbe G One for WTB Raddlers and now have gone tubeless in a “can’t beat them join them” exercise. My wheels are the Ribble supplied Mavics and they, combined with the ridiculously tight tyres, affected my riding because I knew I’d never in a month of Sundays be able to do a roadside puncture repair. Crazy. (Tony)

Wondering how long it will take for someone to come along and say you need to ‘go tubeless’ (not me – old school inner tubes + Schwalbe Marathons for me) (Mark S)

Best thing to do is spray the tyre with wd40 it makes the rim more flexible and easier to get on and off. (John)

Marathon Plus are even worse to get on, takes hours! Though as they’re bombproof once on they are unlikely ever to need to come off again! I swear by Vitoria Pro-Rubino tyres as an excellent compromise between outright speed and puncture protection. (Mark M)

Try a bit of washing up liquid and push the tyre into the middle of the wheel. (Dave)

Schwalbe All Motion in 38s are the sweet spot excellent puncture resistance but they roll really well I’ve used them for years on my tours. (Connor)

I didn’t like the G-One on my Ribble CGR and have changed them to Schwalbe Road cruiser after a few rides and 2 gravel events I’m very happy with them. (Anthony C)

A technique I find useful is to stand above the (vertical) wheel, with the stubborn section at the bottom, then squeeze/massage/push the tyre in both opposite directions, with both hands, from top to bottom around the rim. This usually moves any ‘slack’ to the place you want it. I’ve sometimes managed to get tyres off without tyre levers using this technique, but appreciate that not all tyres/rims are equal. (Mark S, again)

Start at one end with your hands together. Progressively move your hands further apart around the circumference of the rim, dragging the tyre with you to move the inherent slack to the tight point. I always finish at the valve. Bend and twist the tyre from side to side as you do this, helping to overcome the friction between the bead and the rim. Good technique and practice will get you further than brute force. Using the central channel of the wheel will win you additional slack. (Clive)

No no no NOT Marathon Plus, the worst horrible tyres to ride on! Quickest way to ruin a nice bike! Just go tubeless instead. 90% of punctures you won’t even notice as the sealant does its job, and on the rare occasions you need a tubeless plug, it’s done in a jiffy and you don’t need to remove the tyre. (Tom)

I suggest you try Tyreglider. I have no association, just think it’s good. (Anthony B)

I’ve run Marathon Pluses for years. Once you’ve got the knack, they’re not too bad to get on. Except… having recently changed from a 700c bike to a 26” one, I found the smaller size was about 5x worse. (Steve)

Tyre glider and talc- challenge criteriums defeated within combo. (Alan)

Most rims are built for tubeless now. This means they will be tight for any tyre. The last straw is old school rim tape. If you change to tubeless rim tape, which is much thinner, that makes a big difference. (Pete)

Get the tyre glider off Amazon it’s about £12. It really helped me and I’m rubbish at getting tyres on and off. (Steven)

Aside from tyre choices, a web search for changing my Ribble’s rubber instructed me to mount and dismount from the non-drive side (brake disc rotor side) made life significantly easier when the inevitable happens. (Peter)

Marathon plus on all my bikes; easy after a while, but 25s are a bit tight. Plenty of washing-up liquid and mental preparation. (Alun)

Marathon Plus and tubes gave me many puncture-free years. (Richard)

Tyre Glider (Martin / Ian)

1200 miles so far on my G-ones without a puncture. Touch wood that continues on the next ride! (Gary)

Should not be that hard. I have Ribble CGR Ti with G-Ones. (Philip)

I’m Ribble, same wheel/tyre set up, first time i punctured I was stressed and subsequently needed a van to pull up and fortunately helped with a crowbar. Since then however, I’ve learned a way to do it and I’ve even been able to put them back on without levers. The middle part of the wheel frame is a smaller diameter thst the outter part, so you have to move the whole of one side(with the tube) to the middle, and equally when you are moving the other side of the tyre iver the wheel frame you also have to push that into the middle to. (Suzi)

I just use my hands no tools but if the tyre is too tight leave it in the hot sun for a while. (Thelonely Cyclist)

If you’d had tubulars on this NEVER would have happened. Go Tubs!!! (Jim)

I found the g ones to be absolute puncture magnets. (Rob)

As with most cycling discussions, little consensus, especially when it comes to changing the tyres to something that is not so suseptible to puctures. I’m still undecided. This morning I took Wanda, my Koga WorldTraveller touring bike, to Cyclesense in Tadcester to get serviced. I was chatting with the owner of the shop and he was extolling the virtues of going tubeless. I did try tubeless on a Canondale that I owned a few years ago but wasn’t a great fan. Do I want to got back down that route again? One problem with using Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres is that they are so good (I’ve had once pucture since 2010) that I simply don’t have tyre changing skills.

However the Tyre Glider did get mentioned several times. I’ve ordered one!

Comparison of 'Tyre Glider' and traditional tyre levers highlighting advantages and disadvantages of each.

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