2014 Black Cat Award

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V17L
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2014 Black Cat Award

Postby V17L » Sun Feb 16, 2014 3:34 pm

As Ozkaban said last year when introducing the 2013 Black Cat Award, I have shamelessly copied from the 2013 thread...

1. Only people who have registered a puncture or interest in the competition prior to June 01 2014 will be counted. This is in case this competition gets sponsored again - I don't want people suddenly popping up and saying on Nov 1. "I've had 37 punctures this year".
2. Every puncture must be listed individually or with some substantiation - "Five punctures on my 16km ride today, three from thorns and two from glass" is barely acceptable, but "I had five punctures last week" won't be counted.
3. You can only claim one puncture if you have not ridden the bike before discovering the next puncture. That is, breaking the valve stem off whilst pumping doesn't mean two flats. However, a double flat (both front and rear tyres at the same time) can be counted as two.
4. It has to be a flat to your bike, fixing someone else's flat doesn't count, and it must be on a bike. No car, pram, soccer ball, or blow-up doll flats please.
5. Flat must have occurred between January 1st 2014 and December 31st 2014 inclusive.
6. To have punctures listed in this competition, your must be a forum member or an immediate family member who has been the subject of amusing/scary/blonde moment stories on this forum. Or have slipped me a $50.
7. No post whoring, let's try and keep chatter to a minimum.
8. Dumb newbie questions re. punctures and prevention should be directed to The Shed. But I'll give you a freebie for how to avoid punctures - if you don't ride your bike, you don't get punctures.
9. When you post your puncture, include a little story, but I want your running total listed - otherwise I make mistakes. Maths isn't my strong point.
10. All other contentious points that aren't addressed by these rules will be decided by me. If you don't like my ruling, read the last sentence of Rule #4 and ask me again. :D

Glossary
Fairy Pube : Piece of tyre reinforcing wire.
Caltrop, Goat Head : Tribulus terrestris.

I'm not big on going through everyone's posts and updating the totals - please keep a running total of your flats in your posts

Best of luck in the comp for 2014. I'm not sure if that means more flats or less...
Last edited by V17L on Sun Feb 16, 2014 3:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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V17L
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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby V17L » Sun Feb 16, 2014 3:38 pm

G'Day,
Bit the bullet and created the 2014 Black Cat Thread. Every one was to scared, cos it would put the mockers on them, and have the puncture fairy strike thrice....

To late, I've had her around already. Came out in the morning for the commute, front tyre was flat on the bottom. Fixed the fairies handywork, tootled off to work. The return trip was no puncture, but a complete drenching on the way home.

Our dear little friend visited again the next day on the commute to work, ran over some glass, and oh no, the rear went down, faster than my pay packet does after payday. Fixed the dear little friends work again, this time the view was over Darwin harbour, so it wasn't all lost.

The third issue was the front tyre has now got a bulge in it, and has a definite kink and bump as I ride. Technically not a Black Cat but still annoying. So, summing up the damage from the wee one, two punctures in the space of two days, and plus one tyre and saturation, not her fault, but must have been from me kicking a black cat..............
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2014 Black Cat Award

Postby warthog1 » Sun Feb 16, 2014 11:05 pm

Well I've got a black cat. He is an absolute champion mouser and has taken out at least one rat I've spotted too. No fear of black cats from me and zero punctures so far this year :P


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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby Mulger bill » Mon Feb 17, 2014 8:32 pm

Thanks for setting this up V17L, I'll sticky it and let the 2013 fade into the distance.

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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby cancan64 » Mon Feb 17, 2014 10:06 pm

Mine to date copied from the end of the 2013 thread... no new punctures... It's spoke breaking time now

]I have 3 all ready this year
1/A staple through the sidewall on the road bike...the wife and kids were at the park and I ended up stopping next to our car...was a bit sus
2/ new tube blew out (cornering at 65km/h)
3/ Used the 29er to commute and had the tyres pumped up for the road...forgot to pack a spare so had a 5km walk home
hopefully thats it for the year

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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby BillR » Tue Feb 18, 2014 7:36 pm

I discovered I had a puncture this evening when I went broadside in the middle of a corner on the Old Belair Road descent.
Had I not gathered up the bike, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be posting this black cat!

A very grateful
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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby V17L » Tue Feb 18, 2014 9:33 pm

well done billr, white knuckles and ... knicks, as that road is a twisty and a decent decent.
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Biffidus
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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby Biffidus » Tue Feb 18, 2014 10:41 pm

10th of Feb. First puncture since 2011 :(

That will teach me to show off and ride through the prickles.

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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby mikesbytes » Thu Feb 20, 2014 2:20 am

I've got close to 30 tubes to confirm they have been correctly patched, then rolled up and put in storage because my total this year to date is zero, so if I annualise the quantity to date then I will get zero flats this year and that means I don't need those 30 tubes :wink:
If the R-1 rule is broken, what happens to N+1?

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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby Cruiserman » Sat Feb 22, 2014 11:09 am

mikesbytes wrote:I've got close to 30 tubes to confirm they have been correctly patched, then rolled up and put in storage because my total this year to date is zero, so if I annualise the quantity to date then I will get zero flats this year and that means I don't need those 30 tubes :wink:
Betcha do.

Zero for me so far this year, following on from Zero last year. No tube = no flats, enjoy your roadside rests fella's.
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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby Lukeyboy » Sat Feb 22, 2014 10:33 pm

I got one the other week back. Not too sure why but it was not long after I ran over a crack in the road (between old and new tarmac). 7 minute delay on my commute home :P

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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby HiChris » Sun Feb 23, 2014 8:36 pm

4 for me so far, 3 in January, fairy pube on the commute home, big cut in rear tyre 1k into my commute to work, used a $5 note to sleeve the tube which hung in there for about 60 of the 67k's into my round trip commute. The note ate through the tyre on the way home with about 5 k's to go so I called the sag waggon. 1so far in Feb, pinch flat on a club ride.
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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby Summernight » Mon Feb 24, 2014 11:18 am

1 for the year - last Monday morning or Sunday night. Clear puncture in the rear wheel tube from what I think was a small fragment of gravel. Tyre had been fine when I pumped it up on Sunday evening, but clearly those extra 10-20psi were the final straw. Couldn't see a hole in the tyre though.

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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby warthog1 » Tue Feb 25, 2014 12:35 pm

first 1 for the year. Piece of welding rod through the rear tyre. Ruined the 1k km old GP4000S and scratched the inside drive side chain stay. $5 note inside the tyre got me home.
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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby Lukeyboy » Tue Feb 25, 2014 9:47 pm

Went to grab my bike this morning and the rear wheel was flat so I jumped on the race bike to ride to work. Stopped at a set of traffic lights and while I was rocking out to Metallica a car went past with a puncture/low pressure in the rear tyre and suddenly the thought hit me that the last time I inflated the tyre was with a C02 canister. So all good. Tally still at 1 for the year :P

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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby __PG__ » Tue Mar 04, 2014 11:16 pm

First puncture on my rear Micheline Pro Optimum in about 2,600 km. Tiny shard of glass that created a slow puncture. Had actually finished my Sunday ride and just popped down to the video store with my son when it happened.

Son got his first puncture on the weekend as well. Do they count? 'Cause I still have to fix 'em LOL
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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby mikesbytes » Wed Mar 05, 2014 8:30 am

Blow me down, not a single flat this year so far.

For the record I'm running;
Fixie commuter: Front: Michelin Pro3race Rear: Michelin Pro4endurance
Road bike: Michelin Pro3race
TT bike: Veloflex singles
Track bike: Veloflex singles or Veloflex clinchers, depending on which wheels I'm using
If the R-1 rule is broken, what happens to N+1?

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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby Lukeyboy » Wed Mar 05, 2014 10:50 am

2 punctures for me last week. Slice in the sidewall going through an industrial type area while on trainer/race tires heading to the Wednesday twilight crits and some sharp glass punctured one of my proper race tyres that I had on because I was too lazy to change it after Saturday crits the day before. Brings the total to 3 for the year or a puncture every 715km.

1x Continental GP4000S, 1x Vittoria Corsa Evo CX Race, 1x Vredestein Fortezza Tri Comp

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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby grt046 » Thu Mar 06, 2014 11:38 pm

Three for me this year, two in January (23rd glass large cut deep in the tyre in heavy rain and 30th similar in same area of road) then this yesterday all in the rear tyre Conti 4000S. Repaired resultant cuts with shoe goo

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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby g-boaf » Sun Mar 16, 2014 12:26 pm

I had a terrible ride back home today, 3 tubes gone and a GP4000S is finished!

The first tube let go with a massive bang (ears ringing, etc) at 45km/h, thankfully it was the rear tyre. The second one went immediately and the third lasted me another 15km, sadly, only 2km short from home. Then it was make my way back off the bike before the rain started.

But considering the 535km week I've done, it's good going only getting punctures today. :)

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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby wombatK » Thu Mar 20, 2014 10:31 pm

First puncture of the year for me, riding around the cycleway across Powells Creek at SOP.
A front wheel tyre with a slow leak (so no drama falling off etc.,.). The tyre (GP4000s) had
just been swapped from the back and had clocked up 7400 km in total, with 2200 km
since its last flat (and an overall average of 1850 km per flat). Also my first puncture for
the year, in 1400 km of riding. Pretty happy with that life so far.

Found a cut in the tyre above puncture in tube, but no glass or other remnants left. The tyre is possibly
getting a bit thin, but won't go until I can't get 1000 km between punctures.
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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby __PG__ » Sun Mar 30, 2014 5:31 pm

__PG__ wrote:First puncture on my rear Micheline Pro Optimum in about 2,600 km. Tiny shard of glass that created a slow puncture. Had actually finished my Sunday ride and just popped down to the video store with my son when it happened.
Noticed a flat tire on my commute bike last week. First ever puncture with Gatorskins in almost two years. Tried to find the puncture but had no luck. I actually think the source of the problem was the tube had started to peel away from the base of the valve, which had created a very slow puncture. So I binned the tube.

Does that count?
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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby wombatK » Mon Mar 31, 2014 9:29 am

__PG__ wrote:[
Noticed a flat tire on my commute bike last week. First ever puncture with Gatorskins in almost two years. Tried to find the puncture but had no luck. I actually think the source of the problem was the tube had started to peel away from the base of the valve, which had created a very slow puncture. So I binned the tube.

Does that count?
Of course :)
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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby g-boaf » Thu Apr 03, 2014 9:53 am

I had another flat last night. I was just planning to do 50km - quite an easy distance for me. I got down on the T-way near Elizabeth Drive, crossed the intersection and was just starting to accelerate nicely - then BANG, thump thump thump thump thump. :roll:

God I must have upset the puncture fairy something terrible. :cry: I put a new tube in and went back home. Almost 30km. I didn't tempt fate by continuing with my original effort.

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Re: 2014 Black Cat Award

Postby __PG__ » Mon Apr 07, 2014 12:01 pm

#3rd puncture for me.

I slashed my tire sidewall on the Melba Hwy 66 km from Melbourne. Thank god for Park Tool Tire boots. Managed to limp back home to Hurstbridge. As the sidewall cut was causing noticeable vibrations above 40 km/h I decided to catch the train home.

Ironically a replacement Michelin Pro Optimum arrived in the post last week. Maybe this tire got jealous and decided to teach me a lesson? I got about 3,000 km out of it so I'm not too miffed. May decide to pack a spare tire though for longer solo rides in the boonies though.
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