Commuting - How many flats have you had this comute season?

This is my first season of commuting and have been lucky not to have a flat yet? Great Im sure Ill have one on the way home tonight!! Anyways, with all the rocks and glass out there on the shoulders - there must be a bunch of you that have had flats. Any of you had the flats in difficult and busy areas?

I've had two this year, one with my very old 700 x 35 tires and tubes. I had one two weeks ago in my new 700x28. I had neglected to check my pressure on this trip, and I hit a bad pothole. In the past, I had gone years, and thousands of miles without a flat on the road.

Jonathan

Good to know that they dont happen all the time, its never a fun thought. Actually - with my new bianchi, Im not sure how good I would be at fixing a flat. I previously road my old Schwinn Voyager with wider tires, did a change just for practice on that one and it was rather ugly, but got the job done.

Three. Two of them were due to exploding sidewalls on my old cheap tyres (which I have since dumped), and I ran over a nail for the other one. I've also had two other flats on non-commute rides.

Chris

I've been lucky. I've only had one flat. I didn't realize it until after work, but I ran over a piece of wire a short distance from work one morning. That evening when I discovered the flat, I repaired it in the air conditioned front lobby of my building. :D

This season? Well, the 'season' here last year round, so for this year the number of flats I have had is... um... actually I've lost count. Probably some number between 1 and a hundred.

I tend not to take too negative a view of flats. I simply fix it, and enjoy the opportunity to take a bit of a rest by the side of the road while the cement dries. Besides hurrying it will most likely mean you'll botch the job and have to redo it, taking longer in the end.

Allister

I've had three this year.

The first two were from runnng over some glass, got a two-fer out of that one (both front and rear were punctured, but the front held air long enough to get home).

Most recent was a puncture from a "goathead" thorn. Those of you who live in the Southwest US know about this one. It's a seed from a flat-growing ground-cover-type plant, which has two very stiff thorns that stick out at about a 120 degree angle from each other.

The angle between the thorns practically guarantees that one of them will be sticking up in the air waiting to jab itself into your tire, at which point the thorn usually breaks off and stays. They do a pretty good job of self-sealing afterwards, so you end up with a slow leak. Ride into work in the morning and everything seems fine. Come back to the bike in the evening and a tire's flat.

All in all, though, not too bad a track record--especially considering the amount of glass I encounter on the roads around here!

SteveF

I used to have flats about ever 300 miles or so when I was using Mich pros 700X23. Riding in winter with it being so wet I changed to Contes 2000 700X28 and rarely get a flat anymore plus a bit better ride and not any real loss of speed. I feel a lot of roadies would be better served using 700X28 size tires for regular riding and saving the folding pro tires for the down and dirty. *S*

Hammer till ya puke !
Dudley

Practically on the first anniversary of my bike commuting, I got my first, and second, flats from road glass. Unfortunately, I only had 1 spare tube with me and couldn't find the glass in the tire in the gathering darkness and mosquitos. Sweet hubby answered the call of my cell phone, so I got to do repairs in the relatively bug free basement.

Earlier this summer, while commuting to a client site, I travelled along a rute that had a lot of broken, but the broken glass never caused a flat. A lot of the glass that I did go over was actually in tiny bits that didn't penetrate the tire walls.

If I had a lot of tires and tubes and time to waste, I might try to do a study that addresses the question: what debris on the road will actually cause a flat, and what debris on the road merely looks like it will cause a flat? Not all pieces of broken glass are created equal.

On a high traffic road, I'll often just roll right over glass that looks pretty powdered down so that I don't have to make any sudden veering.

Originally posted by ViciousCycle

On a high traffic road, I'll often just roll right over glass that looks pretty powdered down so that I don't have to make any sudden veering.

Sometimes its a good idea to scan the road ahead and use handsignals to avoid making any sudden changes of direction. But always have a look over your shoulder to ensure that your intentions have been understood.

Chris

Only had one...at 0 kmh/mph! Was track standing at a light, and pop shissch... Better at the light than at speed (had max of circa 60 kmh about 5 km before the tire failure.

I've only had two crashes as well, both due to weather, once black ice, once snow. Gotta try out some spiked tires this winter!

happy trails,
tt

Originally posted by Tom_The_Bikeman
I've only had two crashes as well, both due to weather, once black ice, once snow. Gotta try out some spiked tires this winter!

Me too! We'll definitely have a good thread on spikes and winter tires soon.

Jonathan

I have at least one flat a month (often more) and that is despite checking my tire pressure every other day (I follow the upper tire manufacter's recommendations: 80 or 95 psi usually depending on the tire). I have had problems recently when switching to smaller tires (see flat fest thread in mechanic) but that is unusual.

I looks like I am having more flat than most then. I am not sure why. Roads are pretty bad around here: pot holes, glass shaft and goat heads. I like my bike because fixing a flat is easy. I got resigned to have flats (I tried thorn resistent and slime tubes but they cost twice more and it does not makes much difference it seems). I carry around surgical gloves (not to get my hands dirty), dry soap (in case I still get them dirty), two spare tubes, tire leviers, a small hand pump and a CO2 pump. Changing a tire takes less than 5 mins (more like 2 unless something gets trickky) and I factor that time in when I commute.


I have mostly been using 700x28 and 700x32 tires. As I said I am having some problem (which is fixable I think) with 700x25. I have some 700x35 but haven't tried them yet.

I think that I do about 100 miles per week (from estimating on the map) but have no computer thing on my bike.

I've had about 6 this year, so much so that the guy I commute with started to make jokey comments.

The last one was a cracker. It started raining really hard in Edinburgh and I decided I was still going to cycle home. I went downstairs to find my commute buddy on the phone to his wife and she was obviously telling him that he should leave the bike and take the train. Anyway, as i'd got changed he decided he would cycle so we were both in shorts and waterproof jackets.

Cycling along in the pouring rain was quite refreshing as it was (for Scotland) reasonably warm. We got to the cycle path which was running with water. I'd just turned to John to comment that it made it harder to see any glass and he'd just replied that wet tyres pick up punctures more easily when I heard a rythmic hiss from the front of my bike. Looking down i could see a bubble on the tyre (air escaping) and then it went down.

We were out in the open and by the time I'd changed the tube (5 mins) both of us were soaked.

The next day John showed me his watch which had got so wet the face steamed up.

I decided never to put pressure (however subtle)on anyone else to cycle if they didn't really want to.

I have posted of my flat woes on other threads, but I respectfully decline to post to this one on the grounds that it may curse me. Rats! I've probably said too much already.

So far this year I have had only 2 flats, one was on a club ride, the other on a fast evening ride, none while commuting.
The first flat was when I blew a cheap Vittoria tubular (a subject for a rant, if there ever was one) while hitting a simple bump in the road. This was caused by the inferior construction of the tyre, and as a result, I don't waste my money on cheap tyres anymore.
The second flat was on a very nice (and expensive) tubular Continental, which shouldn't have happened at all, if the Slime in the tube had done it's job (yet another rant!). This one, I actually repaired at home, even though it was a really awful mess. I now have the only Conti Sprinter with GREEN base tape.
The bikes I use for commuting all have good, tough tyres. The hybrid uses Conti TT2K's, the touring bike uses Specialized Turbo Armadillos, and the road bike usually uses Tufo S33 specials. All of these tyres regularily ride through broken glass, metal scraps, and awful pavement. A small piece of glass did get through a tufo, but the tufo sealant did a great job of plugging the hole.

Originally posted by RainmanP
I have posted of my flat woes on other threads, but I respectfully decline to post to this one on the grounds that it may curse me. Rats! I've probably said too much already.

One...but I'm with Rainman on this one! :rolleyes:
I don't want no stinkin' flats!

In Darwin, kids think it's really fun to smash bottles on cycle paths.

I've had four flats - all from drawing pins (maybe someone doesn't like me).

Took a week off last week and rode around Door County Wisconsin. I had three flats on my Trek and one blow out on my old back up Falcon with tubular tires. I'm starting to figure out how to use the co2 canister.

Hi all!
I have had about 7/8 flats this year, some simple ones that I noticed at home or work, and a couple out on the road.

The most exciting one was about 4 weeks ago. I was slipstreaming a grader at 45km/hour and his rear wheel flicked up a lump of ashpalt bit bigger than a golf ball. I ran over it with the front wheel and BANG!
The bike shimmied all over the road- I very gently braked, didn't panic and stopped safely-PHEW!
The guy was watching my mad bikin' manouvers out the back window- don't know how I found time to look up!
Fixed it as usual and on my way home again.

Well now I will watch this thread to see all of you berate me for slipstreaming traffic, but just quietly I love it.
Best I did was 5km of 60kph behind a bus- he knew I was there!

But to all- please don't follow my lead, it is DANGEROUS.
Regards, sillystorm

Originally posted by john999
In Darwin, kids think it's really fun to smash bottles on cycle paths.

I've had four flats - all from drawing pins (maybe someone doesn't like me).

They do the same here. I just ride on the road. It gives you more room to avoid them.

Originally posted by john999
In Darwin, kids think it's really fun to smash bottles on cycle paths.
How many times I have reasoned that glass bottles should be discontinued...

Originally posted by sillystorm


Well now I will watch this thread to see all of you berate me for slipstreaming traffic, but just quietly I love it.
Best I did was 5km of 60kph behind a bus- he knew I was there!

But to all- please don't follow my lead, it is DANGEROUS.
Regards, sillystorm

I once did a few kilometres behind a truck going well over 70 - max speed 79km/h. Don't know if he knew I was there. Actually I did it twice within a week of each other on different roads, but haven't scored a ride like it since. Might be a bit harder now I don't have an 11t cog.

On topic bit: Thankfully, I didn't get a flat while I was doing it.

Allister

An update on my trials and tribulations.
This week, riding home on Tuesday I had a flat tyre, so being the well prepared commuter I whipped out the spare tube, felt the inside of the tyre- no sharps, so fitted the spare and pumped it up. A neighbour stopped and asked if I needed a lift 'No thanks only 5km from home'. As they drove off the spare POPPED! Damn.
So got out the repair kit and patched the tube- a previous patch had let go.
Back on the bike and 1km down the road - FLAT!- so I pushed bike off the main road and rang home. We have just bought a new car and my SO had said 'No bike in the car'! So over the last few weeks we purchased roof racks and bike carrier to fit- all THULE brand, and expensive. SO comes to pick me up and we fit the racks, only my children have played and locked the locks.
"Its OK the keys are in the glove box" says SO. " No I left them with my car keys on the bench at home", I reply.
I wait at road edge while SO drives home for keys. She returns and we fit bike to shiny new racks and off home. :angel:
Next day off to work, no problems. A nice warm day then an afternoon storm. I ride hard to get through the worst of it and then- FLAT TYRE. I whip out the spare, no sharps, fit it and off again. One kilometre later- yep you guessed it- FLAT.
So rang SO again - bike rack already on car this time. But had to walk half kilometre to get off freeway.:cry:

Later that evening I removed the tyre/tube together and inflated. Found the hole but nothing in the tyre, until I stretched it and used a torch. I found a 1mm, or 1/16th inch, piece of wire in the tyre. I worked out that it only punctured the tube when the tyre heated up enough to stick through a minute hole in the tyre.:(
Can you believe that?

The result- I scrapped the tyre- as it bought me bad luck! I also will purchase a few new tubes, I draw the limit at 7 patches per tube.
I can look back now and laugh, but thats how bad luck runs sometimes.
regards to all, sillystorm

Last flat was over a month ago - a snakebite type as I rode over a kerb - so tyre pressure probably at fault.

Number of flats is way, way down since using Continental GP folding tyres. I dunno why - they're not marketed as being specifically robust, I buy them coz they're one of the cheapest folfing and I like to carry a spare on long rides

Stew