CarLo

how come I keep popping them? I'll be on my third inner tube at the rear, so how do I prevent my fourth one?

RomSpaceKnight

What size tire? What air pressure you running? What popped them? There is a slime product you can fill tires with. May not work too well on snakebites, don't know though. Roadbikes are susceptible on rail tracks and manhole covers. More air pressure my work. My roadbike runs 110psi.

Cromulent

Check the inside of the tire for anything. If there's something poking through the tire, it might be small. Smaller than that. Check very, very carefully.

Then, if you're sure there's nothing there, check the inside of the wheel for any burrs or anything that seems rough.

Is your rim tape covering what the rim tape is supposed to cover?

Are you inflating your tires to a proper psi? Too much, they could blow. Too little and you could get snakebite flats.

Is the tube getting pinched between the tire and the rim. If so, a little talcum powder on the tube will help. Make sure the tube and tire are seated properly on the wheel.

That's all I can think of. Anyone else?

sgtsmile

About sums it up.

Joe Dog

If they blow when you put them on and pump them up, you are pinching the tube between the rim and and the tire bead. If they flat right after you mount them (rather than "blow") you've got something stuck through your tire wall that punctures the tube as soon as you pump it up. If you put them on, ride around awhile and then flat, you are probably not pumping them to to a high enough pressure and getting pinch flats (snake bites).

If you are really unlucky, you get all three.

One the same day.

In the rain.

On your birthday.

Eli_Damon

This happened to me once. It turned out that there was a hole in my tread that I kept failing to notice.

meldex

Also make sure there are no holes in the tire. They will bubble out and pop on high presure tires.

(I had this problem yesterday a hole in the side wall. I didn't detect it until i poped a second tube.)

Carusoswi

Carlo:
You never replied with tire type, size, etc. Make certain your rim design is appropriate for the amount of pressure you are trying to run. When I first got back into riding, I just pulled my old Schwinn out of storage, bought some new higher pressure tires, then started popping tubes as you describe. The problem was that the old '73 era rims were not designed to hold a tire at the higher presssure (110 psi). New rims, no more blown tubes.

I disagree that too much pressure will pop tubes. The tire holds the tube and keeps it from popping, no matter how much pressure you add. What eventually will happen if you add to much pressure is that the tire can fail. On modern rims, that would take more pressure than the average cyclist would ever push into a tire. My tires are rated for something like 110 psi max (probably to protect the mfr from liability claims), but I regularly run at 145 PSI. When I have flats, they are generally due to punctures, or, if, from previous punctures, a tire develops a hole so that the tube, under pressure, "bubbles through" as the previous poster put it, and pops like a balloon (call it a herniated tire).

Other advice given previous is also good - make certain that rim tape that insulates the tube from spoke ends and spoke holes is in good shape and thick enough to do its job at the pressures you run.

Also, make certain to check around the stem opening for sharp edges, and make certain the rim tape is protecting there, also.

When you do blow tubes, check the location of the failure for clues as to the cause. A leak along the outside of the tube indicates a puncture or a hole in the tire large enough that the inflated tube works its way thorugh the outside of the tire and pops. A leak on the inside of the tube probably means that there is something wrong with your rim/rim tape, spoke ends, etc.

Good luck.

Caruso

CommuterRun

I don't know. A few months ago I had three unexplained flats in a week on the same rear tire of the same bike. Checked carefully for a cause each time and found nothing. All three happened after the bike had been ridden, but while it was parked.

Defective tubes? It's only thing I could think of.

Carusoswi

The only time that has happened to me, I found a break in the tire that allowed the tube to slowly work its way through when under pressure. Obviously, you checked the tube to locate the leak - where was the area of the leak located? Outside or inside of the tire.

I've had several tubes fail at the stem, also, where the material holding the stem simply gave way - IMO an obvious manufacturing defect.

Caruso

richardmasoner

I missed that one.

Something I haven't seen suggested yet -- misaligned or worn rim tape will allow the spoke to poke into the tube on some rim styles. This may be the cause if you're getting many flats for no other apparent reason. Snakebite is probably the more likley cause, though.

CommuterRun

Inside, but I didn't find anything that would have caused it, rim tape okay, no protruding spokes, etc., and after the third time it hasn't happened again. Same rim, same rim tape, same tire, same routes, same rider. ???

Just one of those things I guess.