How common is a front tyre puncture?

[SPRIDDLER]

My perception is that it is very uncommon. I've had a few punctures in a rear tyre but never, ever, a front one, which is a blessing as I imagine that a rear tyre blow out is more controllable than a front one.
It's a bind as it's a tedious and filthy job repairing a rear tyre, especially when on a non QD wheel.
During my idle lockdown I've been musing and wondering if it's because...

a). The rear tyre carries more weight?
b). The rear tyre is powered?
c) The rear tyre is usually wider with its footprint covering a greater area of the road surface?
d). The front tyre 'flips up' say a nail and the rear tyre picks it up? (I've seen and made a wire 'puncture saver' that runs on the tyre and supposedly extracts a nail/screw etc. before it's driven into the tyre).
e). Front tyres wear more slowly so have a deeper tread for longer than a rear tyre?

[Rob Harknett]

Well the front tyre would be first to pick up a nail, but most being ribbed do not pick up easily, so the studded rear tyre gets it.

[ajscomboman]

My perception is that it is very uncommon. I've had a few punctures in a rear tyre but never, ever, a front one, which is a blessing as I imagine that a rear tyre blow out is more controllable than a front one.
It's a bind as it's a tedious and filthy job repairing a rear tyre, especially when on a non QD wheel.
During my idle lockdown I've been musing and wondering if it's because...

a). The rear tyre carries more weight?
b). The rear tyre is powered?
c) The rear tyre is usually wider with its footprint covering a greater area of the road surface?
d). The front tyre 'flips up' say a nail and the rear tyre picks it up? (I've seen and made a wire 'puncture saver' that runs on the tyre and supposedly extracts a nail/screw etc. before it's driven into the tyre).
e). Front tyres wear more slowly so have a deeper tread for longer than a rear tyre?

Next you'll be pondering what the best type of oil is for our bikes!!

[SPRIDDLER]

Next you'll be pondering what the best type of oil is for our bikes!!

I do like to know these things, Rob.
It doesn't seem to be car rear tyres that have more punctures than front ones. Nearside ones more usually than offside which I assume is due to running more often in gutter debris, but bike tyres............

[Stan Palmer]

In my experience of bicycles it is almost certainly the front tyre kicking it up and the rear picking it up. In my youth I frequently ride through Brixton market, sometimes before they cleared it up. Several times I saw a nail as the front ran over it, just time to say “oh sh*t” before the back punctured. Made worse because it was cobbled and the nails could hide. Luckily we lived at the bottom of the market so not far to push.
Stan

[56G80S]

Inevitably I can report that I experienced a front tyre puncture! I was on the Matchless leaving Oliver's Mount after the races at Scarborough. I'd been parked on grass all day, going down the hill and suddenly seemed not in control. Stopped close to a streetlight. I had for some reason tyre levers (and of course other tools). With the help, of all things, a passing vicar(!) patched the puncture and eventually underway.

It wasn't pleasant.

I can recall my father telling me about riding a 350 Matchless in Germany towards the end of the war. Apparently an early thing to do on arrival was to fit a length of stout angle iron or similar to the front of the motorcycle with the end running close to the tarmac in front and angled over the rider's head. The Nazi resistance would stretch wire across the road, sometimes lowish level to unseat and other times at neck height. Ironically, he found the Germans the people he liked most and he saw action all over the place as he was in the then RASC (now Logistics?). Odd, ain't it?

He loved the Matchless.

Johnny B

[G15 Roy]

a). The rear tyre carries more weight?
b). The rear tyre is powered?
c) The rear tyre is usually wider with its footprint covering a greater area of the road surface?

[/quote]

Next you'll be pondering what the best type of oil is for our bikes!! [/quote]

So the answer to your puncture on the way to the 2018 IJR is ? A B or C or all three

[clive]

I have had a number of front wheel punctures over the years but nothing like as many as rear wheel ones. The most exciting was on a fully laden combo just as I was about to enter a roundabout at speed. Absolutely no steering.

[Plugsnpoints]

Slightly off subject. I remember my dad recalling when they used to travel before the war, when he was a child. My grandfather had a Series E Morris, and obviously punctures were more common then.

My grandad was what they call disabled these days. If they had a puncture, nan would get out, remove the wheel, then the tyre and tube, patch it then refit the tyre on the rim before bolting it back on the car. Tough old bird was my nan! Nowadays a lot of people wouldn't know where the jack is

[Andy51]

Well, it wouldn't do them much good even if they did know where the jack is, as many cars these days don't have a spare! If you're lucky they have a space saver spare wheel, which is b****y useless as the stowage space isn't large enough to put the punctured road wheel. A friend of mine was taking 3 other friends plus luggage in his car when he got a puncture. One of the rear seat passengers spent the rest of the trip with a large and muddy wheel on his lap!

On the subject of bike punctures, like Spriddler I have only had rear wheel ones. Although I slowed down successfully on both occasions, the loss of control was unnerving and I would hate to have a front wheel blowout. Cheers, Andy