Fifty Plus (50+) - Blessed rain, cursed flat

A soaking multi-day rain to restore some of the 13" deficit is a blessing. Changing a flat under an underpass in the rain, at night, with sand all over it, and the bar mounted high intensity light alternately blinding and useless - is a curse. I should have gone another 1/8 mile to the wide well lit sheltered entranceway of a local company. I also left my cell phone at work.
I'm going to change out the flat prone Continental S tires for a tougher style. I have the Continental GP 4000 and some Forte Pro on hand.

Rain and flats seem to go together!

I have had great luck with my GP 4000's and they are lively enough for my riding style.

Tyson

You may try the conti gatorskins, my flats went away when I started using them

I would consider it lucky to even have an underpass! I once repaired the chain on a Harley in the middle of a cold, rainy, windswept, sagebrush flat.

A soaking multi-day rain to restore some of the 13" deficit is a blessing. Changing a flat under an underpass in the rain, at night, with sand all over it, and the bar mounted high intensity light alternately blinding and useless - is a curse. I should have gone another 1/8 mile to the wide well lit sheltered entranceway of a local company. I also left my cell phone at work.
I'm going to change out the flat prone Continental S tires for a tougher style. I have the Continental GP 4000 and some Forte Pro on hand.

Your biggest mistake was forgetting your cell phone. :D

Your biggest mistake was forgetting your cell phone. :D

I never forget my cell phone because I don't have one. That's one of the things that makes me who I am.

I never forget my cell phone because I don't have one. That's one of the things that makes me who I am.

Have a cell phone that sits in the car till the battery goes flat. Just exchanged my 7 year old form with the wifes- but it has different buttons. All I can do with it is look at it and wonder how to work it.

We have pay as you go over here and I got the phone in 2000 with £20 credit on it- It still has £18.00 left.

On the flats front. Don't have many problems on the road- Only one flat in around 4,000 miles but the MTB's are seem to be at least one flat per ride. If I get away with it on one ride- It is multiple flats a ride or two later.

Don't have many problems on the road- Only one flat in around 4,000 miles but the MTB's are seem to be at least one flat per ride.

I'd forgotten about that. Back in my mountain biking days I used to get a lot more flats. MTB's take a lot more maintenance too.

I'd forgotten about that. Back in my mountain biking days I used to get a lot more flats. MTB's take a lot more maintenance too.

And cell phone service in some of the parks north of NYC is spotty as well. I can't understand why some people don't want cell towers in their neighborhoods. :-)

Rain and flats seem to go together!

I have had great luck with my GP 4000's and they are lively enough for my riding style.

Tyson

It's good to hear the 4000's are working for you. I recently had new tires put on the Madone and this was what the LBS recommended. I haven't had them long enough to comment on flats but I've been pleased with how the bike handles with them.

Had a string of flats recently and a riding buddy pointed out that my tires were just too worn. He recommended Specialized Armadillo Elites which he says ride fast, reasonably sticky, has had no flats on and since they are not kevlar you can actually get them on and off if you ever do have a flat. I had some kevlar tires on a bike that was stolen and I do have to agree. Putting them on the first time was one of the most frustrating experiences ever and I do tube exchanges very quickly normally. Do they loosen up with time...anyone that has them. Then again...riding them I had no flats and their rolling resistance is low.

I never forget my cell phone because I don't have one. That's one of the things that makes me who I am.

You could always get an older cell phone.

Rain and flats seem to go together!
I have had great luck with my GP 4000's and they are lively enough for my riding style.
Tyson
I had a flat two mornings earlier, but at least the rain had stopped and it was sunny.


Your biggest mistake was forgetting your cell phone. :D

Perhaps. My wife wasn't home yet and she's been lobbying for me not to ride in the rain. My daughter removes car door handles while backing out of the garage. I could have backtracked 2 miles when I noticed but It was already late and darn if riding through rain isn't 50% harder than normal riding.

Had a string of flats recently and a riding buddy pointed out that my tires were just too worn. He recommended Specialized Armadillo Elites which he says ride fast, reasonably sticky, has had no flats on and since they are not kevlar you can actually get them on and off if you ever do have a flat. I had some kevlar tires on a bike that was stolen and I do have to agree. Putting them on the first time was one of the most frustrating experiences ever and I do tube exchanges very quickly normally. Do they loosen up with time...anyone that has them. Then again...riding them I had no flats and their rolling resistance is low.

What size tires to you run? I ride a road bike (700/23C) and use the folding type tires. I don't remember the last time I needed levers to get any brand on or off. I can imagine that wider MTB type tires might be more of a problem. Just curious.

As for brands/flats, I rode Armadillo Turbo's on my old Schwin LeTour (27-inch wheels x 1 1/4). Three sets of these tires, and no flats. They kept going until I wore the tread off. But, they were heavy. Started with similar Armadillos on my Cannondale Cyclocross Disc. Again, they wore fine and flat-free, but were heavy. Moved to Schwalbe (various grades). Much lighter, many more flats. Now using a set of Michelin Pro racers (700x23C) on my Giant TCR. Have ridden since August with them - around 1200 miles - no flats so far, and they seem lighter than those Armadillos.

We all know that frequency of flats has as much to do with where you ride as the tires you run, so that's a variable as well.

Caruso

What size tires to you run? I ride a road bike (700/23C) and use the folding type tires. I don't remember the last time I needed levers to get any brand on or off. I can imagine that wider MTB type tires might be more of a problem. Just curious.

As for brands/flats, I rode Armadillo Turbo's on my old Schwin LeTour (27-inch wheels x 1 1/4). Three sets of these tires, and no flats. They kept going until I wore the tread off. But, they were heavy. Started with similar Armadillos on my Cannondale Cyclocross Disc. Again, they wore fine and flat-free, but were heavy. Moved to Schwalbe (various grades). Much lighter, many more flats. Now using a set of Michelin Pro racers (700x23C) on my Giant TCR. Have ridden since August with them - around 1200 miles - no flats so far, and they seem lighter than those Armadillos.

We all know that frequency of flats has as much to do with where you ride as the tires you run, so that's a variable as well.

Caruso

I ride mostly 700x23 and some 700x25. The model of Continental I have on are not known for toughness and are too light. I think the rain - and lots of leaves/other trash cluttering the MUP contributed. The first flat was a thorn of sorts. The Forte pro or GP 4000 should help. I run 700x23 Vrelstein Fortezza SE on my SS that are more like 700x25. They are reasonably durable but blue stripped. My other tires are black black/gray, and red striped. The Fuji is red/white.

[QUOTE=robtown;5531686] I think the rain - and lots of leaves/other trash cluttering the MUP contributed. The Forte pro or GP 4000 should help. I run 700x23 Vrelstein Fortezza SE on my SS that are more like 700x25. /QUOTE]

Wetter roads can equal more flats.

I use the Vredestein SE's and the GP 4000's as well. I've put over 12k on the combination of those tires and never had a flat. I use the SE's on my everyday wheels as they are closer to 25's and a little heavier. I use the 4000's on the mountain centuries as they are lighter but seem to be very durable. I think they are great tires.