What a sorry tale! After fitting my new Specialized Storm Control mud tyres recently I’ve had nothing but bad luck. Not quite the bad luck that Dave experienced in one disastrous six week spell a few winters back when he ripped tyre valves out of his inner tubes with more predictability than radioactive decay, but close.

First out I managed to pick up an unfortunate flint in the tyre face, creating a tyre cut which the latex sealant in my tubeless set up couldn’t overcome. Then last Wednesday I picked up another more serious cut which I didn’t notice until I got home and cleaned the bike. At which point I noticed a full inch and a half cut in the sidewall that had caused a tear big enough for my ‘temporary’ inner tube fix to bulge through alarmingly. Much too big to repair in my view.

I can’t believe my luck and now don’t know what to do. This tyre is definitely beyond repair but I was starting to appreciate some of it’s better qualities on Wednesday night. It was grippy and predictable, letting go in a nice smooth manner and rolling really well despite looking as though it would be quite draggy.

I wasn’t the only one either to pick up a flint cut which might be because they’re hidden under a layer of wet leaves at the moment. Davebus ripped his rear tyre beyond repair too so I’m tempted to excuse the tyre and mark it down as Strike Two. And in mitigation, Lee has given his set far more abuse over the summer without problems.

But faced with another £20-odd shell out I’m in two minds. Against flints I don’t know that there’s any tyre this side of chunky that would fair any better. For the time being I think I’ll bung an old Continental Vertical on and hope for the best.