I didn’t believe this was possible. This morning the car looked rather down at one corner and on investigation the tyre only had about 10psi in it. I pumped it back up to 29psi and it lost about 5psi during the day. Pulled the wheel off and carefully examined it - the only damage is a woody thorn which has deeply embedded itself between two tread blocks! I’m amazed they can make it through steel belts, but it must have managed to sneak between the weave.
Will need to take it to the tyre shop tomorrow for patching; it’s a three month old Nokian WR A3 with the “8” still clearly engraved; it’s a front tyre so there has been no real tread wear.
that’s a bit of bad luck, especially from a thorn!
Can I have a picture of this thorn as it must be a fair old size?
Oh and what a pun a right thorn in the side…
I’m not surprised, thorns can be vicious things, hence their use in hedges.
That’s unusual but I can top it! My roughty toughty 4x4 had a puncture caused by a Rabbits thigh bone which went straight through the side wall. Probably getting its own back for being splattered.
You know how tough Landrover tyres are (the old-fashioned, knobbly type?)
There’s a VERY tough thorn bush in South Africa, “affectionately” nicknamed “Landrovus Flat-tyrius” by the Game Park guides… They avoid it like the plague as the thorns penetrate ANYTHING & changing a Landy wheel on a Game Drive in 4x4 terrain ain’t fun!
Just so you know you’re not alone!
Bill
My guess that had it truely been a “thorn in the side” it would have not have been repairable, legally that is?
Bike wise, thorns from hedge cuttings, usually Hawthorn, Blackthorn are worse, are a nightmare.
Fortunately today’s bike tyres are Kevlar re-inforced (cost nearly as much as a Toyo Proxy TIR 195/50/15) &
certainly reduce puncture risks. A front wheel puncture descending on a bike is no fun at all!
Even with Kevlar I still cary a spare inner tube.
Keith
Well, it was the thorn but, as it was in the tread, the local tyre place were able to repair it with a plug from the inside. £18, which is rather cheaper than a new Nokian WR A3. They said they do see the odd thorn puncture, and there has been a lot more debris on the roads with the recent storms.
Now thinking that the idea of a Hyundai Coupe spacesaver in the boot might not be such a bad one…
Farmers often cut hedges from the road using a tractor and a heavy duty scissor type cutter driven from the PTO on the tractor. They do so, usually as a condition of their lease not because they are concerned about the restriction to the road. Therefore they simply leave all the debris on the road thorns and all to puncture the tyres of the unsuspecting motorist. Meanwhile they have fulfilled their legal obligation and could not care less. Thorns are, in some instances, better than nails, ask a thatcher!
Regards Geoff Peace.
I live in a rural area and September time round here is ‘watch out for your tyres time’ as the farmers gaily strew the roads with clippings and thorns. I have had several flat tyres that way. I had a Rover once, got to work, noticed a big thorn in the tyre, pulled it out and watched in dismay as the whole tyre deflated. The local tyre place got to know the Rover pretty well. I must admit I come home a different way if they’ve been cutting the hedges. Last year the local farmer cut loads off people off when he cut through the telephone line while hedge cutting on the main road. He wasn’t too popular for a while.
. He wasn’t too popular for a while. Only for a while! Your restraint does you credit! Perhaps a definition of the word ‘while’ is needed. Where I was born it could mean a very long time, decades have been known!
Regards Geoff Peace