Thorn Season

[PedalUma]

It is Thorn Season for cyclists in Northern California from about August 7th through to the first rains in November. The best solution is to not go off-road with your bike during Thorn Season. One bike today had 50-80 thorns in each tire. The thorns are barbed and break off in the tire and only go one way, in.

What are the plants that cause the vast majority of bike flats in our area during Thorn Season?



Goat heads, Tribulus terrestris, or bad land in Latin. Stay far away from areas with this plant. It can often be found in sidewalk expansion cracks.

Yellow Star Thistle, Centaurea solstitialis in Latin, or yellow star. Stay away from areas with these. The barbs are microscopic and the thorns long. A landscaping crew can weed whack these and rake them, but that disburses the thorns by bike paths.

Wild Blackberry, Rubus moluccanus in Latin, or Spice Islands Blackberry. Even when you do stay away from growing blackberry bushes they are still often along creeks and bike paths. Crews will cut them back and use power blowers to clean up, thus spreading the thorns out on to paths and trails.

Although not a plant, avoid riding behind restaurants that serve wine, such as their alley ways. It is nice to avoid cars by using alleys, but those wine bottles drop out of their bins on recycling pick up days, spreading shards of glass. Brown beer bottle glass is especially hard to spot. During Thorn Season it does not rain in Northern California, and this glass accumulates behind restaurants with nothing to wash it away.

 

[Chargeride]

Jesus christ, and you get eaten by a bear thats fallen out of a tornado trying to fix them.

 

[PedalUma]

These days I am using FlatOut. It lasts the life of the tire.

 

[PedalUma]

If you take a rear hub-motor bike with a rear flat to the shop downtown, they want $50 labor plus $20 after tax for the tube. If I inject it with FlatOut instead it will fix the flat and protect the tire for its life. I charge $15 for that. Because I buy it by the gallon I end up making $1200 per gallon profit while saving each customer $55. The glitzy shop downtown has 49 reviews on Maps. Because I treat people right while saving them money I have 164 reviews at all five-stars. They have three full-time employees. I am just me.

 

[edobici_forza]

@PedalUma just letting you know we are listening…

On my ride today, I stopped on Sheep Camp trail to lower my tire pressure slightly, after riding all pavement prior, and when l looked down I saw the thorns. Haha. I never knew all of the various types, so I appreciate your post. Yep, we have all of these in the mid-peninsula too. On My XC MTB, the tires are holding up with a dozen wet spots-first time ever! Never saw this before. So now I am investing in Orange Seal and Stans sealant…Haha! J/k. It is what it is. My ebike has 45mm and my Hakka MX muscle bike has 32mm Conti GP5ks and all is well. I have flatted on both, but quickly repaired on the ride with

I ride three bikes tubeless…XC MTB with 2.4in, a gravel/road ebike with 45mm, and the gravel bike with 32mm road tires

And I never mentioned here previously, but when I lived in SF, going up to Petaluma and Sebastopol, were my favorite spots to road ride-chill. Such a beautiful area! I am fortunate to have friends in Marin and Santa Rosa. Also, I used to ride my motorcycle up there too during my BARF days.

So thanks for the thorn tips. I recently rode to Point Reyes, and got hit hard by nettles, but that is not a tire issue, but a bare leg issue. Hahah!

 

[PedalUma]

Oh, Man!

 

[Brendon@OEB]

We're getting tons of goat heads here in Oregon on our rental bikes. Thicker more flat resilient tires combined with Tannus to the rescue!

 

[Marcela]

Growing up in Wichita we had goat heads and the stickers, and mom's cactus out front. Up around Kansas City we don't have any of that. Though a year or so ago I noticed some stickers that had migrated to the area. I confiscated those and haven't seen any since. Definitely don't miss those experiences.

 

[PedalUma]

We're getting tons of goat heads here in Oregon on our rental bikes. Thicker more flat resilient tires combined with Tannus to the rescue!

Do you know where you cannot get a Tannus?
You can't get a Tannus where the sun don't shine.

@Marcela, Thorns are migrating north.

 

[teskow]

If you ever want to see thorns come to Tucson, AZ. Big ones little ones and very size in between. 99 percent of everything that grows here has thorns.

 

[PedalUma]

@teskow, How about jumping cholla? If you give it the side eye, it will jump and attack.

 

[Marcela]

@teskow, How about jumping cholla? If you give it the side eye, it will jump and attack.

That cactus we had out front looked similar to that, wasn't jumping but close. Those needles go in and curl. Takes a pair of pliers to pull them out, and they don't go willingly!

 

[PedalUma]

That cactus we had out front looked similar to that, wasn't jumping but close. Those needles go in and curl. Takes a pair of pliers to pull them out, and they don't go willingly!

I experienced those in Joshua Tree. Nasty effers. It seemed like an evolutionary strategy. It is almost as if they want to kill you and use your rotting body to feed their babies.

 

[Nvreloader]

This is what I now use, so far with and have had no problems.

I use Flat Out (Sportsman series) and HD tubes on my Warthog MD 740 with 26" x 4.80" and the Biktrix Juggs 4 Ultra with 26"x 3" fat tire bikes that are ridden off road, cross country on cow and wild horse trails, with 4800+ miles logged so far, and a Blue Billion Goat Heads, on OEM thin tires..
https://www.goatheadwarriors.com/plant-identification

Here is the HD tubes that are used, kind'a expensive, but worth it, imho.
https://www.amazon.com/Bakcou-Heavy...ompatible/dp/B0B29NB7C4/ref=asc_df_B0B29NB7C4?

Here is the Flat out tube sealant used.
https://www.amazon.com/FlatOut-Tire-Sealant-Sportsman-Formula/dp/B071QWCW42?

https://multiseal.us/product/sportsman/

First install:
You have to remove the inner tubes valve air core, (buy a good metal valve core tool), turn the tires valve stem to 3 or 9 o'clock position, add the required amount of Flat Out per your tire size, insert the core back onto the innertube valve, re inflate the tube to the correct pressure needed, and get riding.

When riding, when you find a low/flat tire, fill the tube with air and keep on riding, Flat Out will seal the leak, while riding and having air pressure in the tube.

This is the air pump I used on all my bikes,
I have adapted the plug to fit all my (2-52v and 4-48v) E-bike battery's connection points, with Hailong flat bladed pins.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0986MWSFX/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_6?smid=A1I0M5B37LZH6O&psc=1

The HD tubes plus Flat Out have been a game changer as far, as for no flat tire or repairs while riding, in over 4800+ miles of cross country trail riding.
yrmv

 

[PedalUma]

This is what I now use, so far with and have had no problems.

Cool. That is great information @Nvreloader !

After I use FlatOut I clean the inside of the stem with Qtips and then use silicone grease inside the stem before reinstalling the core. It prevents the FlatOut from clogging the valve open.

 

[Nvreloader]

Ped
Thanks for that tip, I cleaned the inside of the stem,
but didn't put any silicone on the valve core...........oops.
Tia

 

[PedalUma]

Ped
Thanks for that tip, I cleaned the inside of the stem,
but didn't put any silicone on the valve core...........oops.
Tia

I buy and use automotive brake parts grease on many things such as pedal threads and inside nylon geared motors. It is high-temp silicone grease but not in a little tube and not food-grade like Plumber's grease used on the O-rings of kitchen faucets. I am doing FlatOut five or six times per week. I won't touch scooters. But have found that I can repair most of their flats in five-minutes. I use $1 of FlatOut on them and charge $15. On bikes I use $2 of FlatOut by the gallon and make $883 per gallon proffit. It is the easiest sale ever. They come in with a rear flat on a hub-drive. And I simply ask if they also want me to also do the front. That is $24 profit in ten-minutes x 6 for an hour it comes to the equivalent of $144 per hour. Do you also want me to adjust the brakes? That is $20 per wheel. And another five-minutes. That comes to $244 per hour, for the total job, averaging $194 per hour. I do not let them see me do it. I say, 'Go get a burger and come back; it will be ready.' Then I get a tip and a five-star review. That was so fast! This is great.