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Niki Terpstra’s winter puncture protection hack

Dutch rider doesn't want to be changing a flat in the cold

Nobody wants to be fumbling around with cold fingers trying to change a flat, especially not on a drop ride during the off-season. Niki Terpstra of Quickstep Floors, the winner of the 2014 edition of Paris-Roubaix and the 2016 Eneco Tour, is still in the Netherlands training out on the road before gearing up for training camps in warmer climates before the 2018 season.

To help prevent flats during the cold weather training, the 33-year-old Dutch rider has resorted to a creative anti-puncture setup. He recorded his process of setting up the bike in an Instagram story on Sunday.

While the Specialized Roubaix Pro is a good training tire with puncture resistance and good traction for riding rough roads, one layer of rubber is not enough insurance for Terpstra. Improving this puncture protection is the centerpiece of this operation.

The hack he employs involves cutting the sidewalls off a second pair of Roubaix tires to insert underneath the tire mounted to his wheel. He also removes 2-mm of tire to make sure it sits inside the outer tire well. The double protection employed presumably won’t stop the possibility of pinch flats and certainly won’t help the weight or rolling resistance.

Terpstra’s Specialized S-Works Venge disc mounted with his fresh set of double puncture protection tires and a fender is an enviable winter rig. While the severity of Dutch winters is much different from Canada, extra puncture protection is always welcome when riding on gritty roads in the fall and winter.

What do you think, will this hack help Terpstra prevent flats? Let us know in the comments below.

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