Cycling UK Forum

I wonder if people have any similar experiences or advice.

In the 9 months I've been commuting to St Thomas' I've found 7 drawing pins in my bike tyres. The last one was last night. I'm never sure when it actually happens, whether it's where I leave my bike at work or at home or on the commute itself. But my Husband leaves his bike next to mine at home and has never had a problem. And there are 100s of other bikes at work and no one else has reported a problem. I don't think there is anyone who has a grudge against me. I changed my tyres after 4 drawing pins to marathon plus tyres which were narrower, but that hasn't stopped it. My commute is mainly through back streets and parks. Any thoughts on where it might be happening. Or how to prevent it?

No way are you picking so many up riding. I suspect someone is adding them to your tyres.

Is this an April's Fool ?

If not, I would suggest that either:
a. Someone is picking on you and the pins are being inserted when your bike is parked at home or at work. To assess this alternative, get in the habit of checking your tyres when you park your bike and before you set off. A drawing pin is easy enough to see so it will not take more than a minute to check each time.
b. Somewhere on your commuting route there is a lot of drawing pins. Try listening for a plinking sound every revolution of the wheels which will tell you when a tyre has picked one up.

I can't recall ever having a puncture caused by a drawing pin so I would say that your experience is unlikely to be down to bad luck. Unless you cycle past a pin factory then someone is deliberately causing the punctures. You could check your tyres before and after each journey to try to find the source. Good luck.

I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my MotoG3 using hovercraft full of eels.

It’s a leap to conclude that Insomniac is being targeted specifically. If someone dumped pins somewhere along her commuting route (targeting cyclists in general), she could be slowly picking those up for months. Unless her husband does the exact same route, he wouldn’t necessarily be affected.

when they are the same brand you want to worry

gooed tubes are good for this because people just stick it in and the hole thats left is pretty small and clean, i've even pulled screws out and been ok.

picking them up off the roads a different story

Samuel D wrote:It’s a leap to conclude that Insomniac is being targeted specifically. If someone dumped pins somewhere along her commuting route (targeting cyclists in general), she could be slowly picking those up for months. Unless her husband does the exact same route, he wouldn’t necessarily be affected.

+1

I might report it to the police, or at least ask them if they've had reports of drawing pins on cycle routes.

I would have thought that, unlike many other sharp objects, it would be difficult to get a drawing pin in a tyre while riding without knowing PDQ. I fancy it would be through the tyre and tube in no time and the result wouldn't be a slow puncture. On top of that, I'd expect the flat head of a drawing pin to create some noticeable noise if it somehow didn't cause a puncture but stayed in the tyre repeatedly hitting the road.

Have a look at the drawing pins you find. If the heads are smooth - as I suspect they will be - then it's happened while your bike has been parked. If the heads are roughened, then they have been picked up and ridden on. (Unless some cunning devil roughens their pins before inserting them )

FWIW marathon plus over a certain width ought to be resistant to drawing pin punctures, because the tread is thick enough that they won't go through. However in narrower sizes the tread isn't quite as thick.

I agree that once you have one in your tyre the noise would be considerable and ought to alert you to its presence.

I would say that someone malicious is either sticking them in your tyres (check them before you start each journey) or is strewing them on one of the paths that you (and others) use. It isn't that unusual for people to play pranks or to state their objection to mixed use of paths in this way.

I agree some kind of sealant-filled tube wouldn't be a bad idea if it keeps happening.

cheers

Ive had a drawing pin in the tyre that stayed inflated...well until i pulled thenpin out.

I guess the thing to do is to check the tyres for pins when you get to work, then if they magically appear when you get on the bike to go home you know someone has stuck em in.

oo

Unlikely as it sounds I suspect this is deliberate insertion.

After all.

Drawing pins?

One of those products from your childhood you had forgotten about.

It's surprising how far/easy it is to ride with a pin in your tyre!

A few years ago now I was out on a ride with my club. There were about 8 riders in all. Some kind person had thrown a full box (at least!) of drawing pins on the road we used just before the crest of a hill. The first few through did not seem to notice. Then one person stopped (but not in time to warm the others), we all had at least one puncture, I had three pins in one tyre and two in the other! Two of the group made it down the hill before noticing we had stopped, they rode back up the hill to find us and only discovered the pins in their tyres when we told them what had happened! We went back and cleared all of the pins we had avoided, seem to remember we collected 60 plus in total. Mt tyres only went flat when I pulled the pins out.

Having said that I'd be surprised if you would have this multiple times and not notice the puncture before you got to work/home.

I've cycled for miles with a clout nail in a tyre... as said, it's pulling it out that lets the air loose

Again assuming tis not an April Fool, I would suggest you are being targetted, or somewhere along your route is being targetted against cyclists in general.
I have once in 30+ years of cycling had a drawing pin in my tyre and once a small screw when i passed a property where there was building work; more usually it is glass or thorns and the odd impact puncture... to have that many drawing pins on a regular basis is just out of all proportion.

9 months and 7 punctures is hard to fathom.
7 punctures and 7 drawing pins is even harder to fathom.
Yes its possible there was a spill (deliberate or otherwise) on your route but I'd have thought over 9 months that issue would have resolved it's self before you got hit 7 times.

Why not fill your tyres with slime tube sealant and ride on. That way if you have a cowardly unknown enemy they are wasting there time.
If they ever suss out that the drawing pins aren't bothering you they may of course resort to something else but if that happens at least you'll know!