Fifty Plus (50+) - tire size = flats?

I am new to biking-I have been riding a mountain bike for 2 years and I am looking at flat-bar road bikes or hybrids or fitness bikes,,they seem to be called all three ..I like the trek Fx7.2 or 7.3 ..My question is do thinner tires get more flats? Casual cyclists have told me that, but bike shop owners have not. I want the opinion of more experienced riders.

I think it really depends more on the type of tire than the size. I ride on 700x23 Bontrager Lite hardcase tires
and rode over 2000 mile on them this summer with no flats.

I commute on a bike, and especially at this time of year when it is dark during the commute, it is hard to avoid road debris. On the commute bike I use Schwalbe Marathon Plus - which I think are 28s, and I have gone over 4000 miles this year flat free.

Thin/thick should not matter for flats as long as the tire is matched to the intended use. For example you probably can't expect 23mm road tires to survive gravel roads as well as larger sections. This may have as much to do with the rim section width as much as the tire width. And it may also be a function of the higher pressures usually assosciated with the thinner tires.

You will generally find that the tire sizes that come on the bikes as original equipment will point toward what works best with that bike. Tread designs can vary though. For road use a tire with a more smooth tread may be appropriate.

Thanks so far--crazb the tires that comes with the trek fx 7.3 are Bontrager Race lite hardcase 700x32 sound similar to yours..the fx 7.2 comes with Bontrager Invert, puncture resistant 700x35..as far my intended use it would be almost exclusively pavement..as I have a mountain bike for trails.

Generally, narrower tires will require higher air pressure for a given rider weight to avoid snakebite flats. For lighter riders, this may not really come into play. But say a 200 lb. rider on 700cX20 tires will need to keep a close watch on air pressure to avoid pinching the tube between the rim and the tire casing when crossing railroad tracks. Wider tires can run lower pressure with less problems.

When riding onroad, I get flats more frequently with my mountain bike than with any of my road bikes. I have had extremely good luck with Specialized Turbo or Armadillo 700Cx28 tires, but Continental Ultra 2000 700Cx28s (which actually measure about 25mm) have also served me well. The big enemies seem to be goathead thorns and metal shrapnel.

I recently changed the UO-8 to 27x1-1/4" Vittoria touring tires, but do not yet have enough experience with them to comment on reliability, although I do like their ride quality and road adhesion at 80 PSI, my self-imposed maximum for flat-walled rims.

I do not think that tire size matters as much as rider weight, road conditions and tire composition. Heavy riders get more flats than lighter riders and you get more flats in wet weather. Generally, you flat at some time after your tire picks up glass, for example. Heavier riders drive the glass or thorn into the tire as they ride. You pick up more debris on the tires when they are wet.

My wife has no flats since June of 2006 and I have four. We ride the same tires on the same routes at the same time. She rides over the glass and I flat. Invariably, we will ride through glass. If we do, we stop and wipe the tires off.

Puncture flats and pinch flats are different things and have different causes. I don't think punctures would have much correlation to tire size, but pinch flats are definitely related to tire size/rider weight/air pressure/impacts.

Mountain bike offroad and I found a puncture on most rides. Never wore tyres out but ripped them up badly on rocks and flints. Even on the road- the knobblies did not fare well with punctures so as far as I am concerned- Skinny road tyres have been better. Only 2 punctures in about 4,000 miles

I know of no evidence that skinny tires are more prone to flats than wider ones. However, I can understand how people might come to this conclusion:

1) Most skinny tires are intended for use by sport and recreational cyclists, who care more for light weight and low rolling resistance than reliability.

2) Skinny tires have to be pumped up more often due to their higher surface area to volume ratio. If not pumped up often enough, there may be pinch flats.

Skinny tires need not be fragile, lightweight things. For example, the Schwalbe Marathon Plus is available in a 25-622 size and, like all of that model, is about as flat resistant as a car tire.


Paul

I get far more flats on my road bike than my mountain bike - on the road.

I would think skinny road tires would have the advantage. Higher pressure, less chance of pinch flat. Less contact with the ground means less likely to hit debris.

Thanks so far--crazb the tires that comes with the trek fx 7.3 are Bontrager Race lite hardcase 700x32 sound similar to yours.

2,500 kms on those tyres with only two flats - a shard of glass and a long piece of wire. You've got nothing to worry about.

Choose your tyre size and wheel size for the purpose. Whoever was telling you that size affects punctures (in this useage) doesn't know what they're talking about and is doing you no favours.

Richard

I have noticed that my tires tend to get flats when they get pretty worn. It does not take much to poke a hole through them. I would think that a larger tire would wear a bit longer and give fewer flats. Of course, no matter what tire you have, it will still wear out eventually.

I have heard from people who ride mountain bikes with slicks on paved roads that they get as many flats as when they rode road bikes with narrow tires. That might be because there are certain things that will give you a flat no matter what you are riding and a bigger tire is more likely to hit it offsetting any wear advantage.

I guess the only way to know would be to put on a bunch of miles, keep careful track of your flats and mileage and alternate tire size. I have never ever heard of anyone doing this.

The thing is that on most things like this, people are going with their impressions and do not have any supporting data.

On my aussie forum, we have a Black Cat competition running - basically you get a point for every flat. The only common thing is the randomness of the flats. Mileage doesn't seem to matter. Tyres don't seem to matter. Rough roads don't seem to matter. Broken glass doesn't seem to matter. It's random. Sure, you can increase your chances by fitting really tough tyres and leaving the bike at home ... but even that doesn't work. I recently put a new tube in a tyre after pulling the valve off the old tube when pumping it up. The new tube blew out with less than 40lb on the guage, leaving a hole I could poke my little finger through. Two flats, no riding ... and that was on my track bike (with 5 laps of the velodrome under its wheels - I'd stripped the rear hub on its first outing).

Richard

I like the notion of a black cat competition. It is whimsical.

...you get more flats in wet weather. You pick up more debris on the tires when they are wet.


That's certainly been my experience - flats in the rain. For example, in very mixed weather on a Denmark tour this summer - no flats at all for the whole group on dry days, one or two flats each on wet days, irrespective of tyre width, pressure or make.

As well as the adhesion point expressed above, an experienced bike mechanic gave me the theory that in the wet, sharp flints float like icebergs, massy side down and sharp point up.

I think you get more flats in the wet because the moisture lubricates the glass shards. Often you'll find a piece of glass in your tire that hasn't worked its way through, but if it got wet it would have an easier time. Certainly if you've ever cut old car tires to make a bumper on a dock you know they are easier to cut if you wet the knife.

I would think skinny road tires would have the advantage. Higher pressure, less chance of pinch flat. Less contact with the ground means less likely to hit debris.But if you do hit sharp debris, the small contact patch means there is more force to drive the point into the tire.

I'll jump in here with a tangent. I rode 70 miles yesterday with no problem. When I went to clean my bike this afternoon, I had a flat tire. This has happened to me a number of times -- I go out in the morning and my tire is flat. Now, I either a) got a flat as I entered my drive way, b) a slow leak started sometime during yesterday's ride, or c) someone is sneaking into my garage and letting air out of my tires. Any thoughts?

or c) someone is sneaking into my garage and letting air out of my tires. Any thoughts?

Has there been a guy on a white bike lurking in your neighborhood?

:roflmao:

I've had this experience and put it down to worn tires with small cuts. My theory is that the tube is forced a little into the cut as it flexes and gets pinched enough to leave tiny, hard-to-find hole. It goes down slowly overnight. Or immediately -- recently I repaired a tube 3 times in a row and it went flat as soon as it got up to pressure with another tiny hole.

Until recently I was riding on 700x40 tyres and was plagued by flats on the rear tire (which was the one that was worn with small cuts). I've now changed to 700x35 Marathon Plus and don't expect to have a flat again

I've now changed to 700x35 Marathon Plus and don't expect to have a flat again

Oh no! You've tempted the God of Flats! :(

Oh no! You've tempted the God of Flats! :(

Holy Hubris Batman!

I'll jump in here with a tangent. I rode 70 miles yesterday with no problem. When I went to clean my bike this afternoon, I had a flat tire. This has happened to me a number of times -- I go out in the morning and my tire is flat. Now, I either a) got a flat as I entered my drive way, b) a slow leak started sometime during yesterday's ride, or c) someone is sneaking into my garage and letting air out of my tires. Any thoughts?

One case, the thorn, or whatever, works in, but air isn't coming out fast enough to notice; overnight the pressure drops to the point where the "seal" relaxes, then, whala. Many times I've picked up a goathead(easily seen) a few miles from home, and make it, no problem. Once the pressure has dropped, however, only a patch job will do. Of course, If ya pull it out, ya hafta patch it now!

The other case is the troublesome presta valve, where the tire requires pumpup every day, day in, day out, then, whatever the problem was with it goes away, and it holds pressure very well!

http://texnat.tamu.edu/cmplants/toxic/images/goathead/goathead3.jpg

One case, the thorn, or whatever, works in, but air isn't coming out fast enough to notice; overnight the pressure drops to the point where the "seal" relaxes, then, whala. Many times I've picked up a goathead(easily seen) a few miles from home, and make it, no problem. Once the pressure has dropped, however, only a patch job will do. Of course, If ya pull it out, ya hafta patch it now!

The other case is the troublesome presta valve, where the tire requires pumpup every day, day in, day out, then, whatever the problem was with it goes away, and it holds pressure very well!

http://texnat.tamu.edu/cmplants/toxic/images/goathead/goathead3.jpg

Curious. Never had that problem. I've been riding Continental GP 3000 and GP 4000 tires over the last 2+ years; originally with Continental tubes and now with Slime tubes. I'd say every 4 or 5 days; sometimes longer. Do you close the valve when you're done?

Just been out to the bike shed and 3 sets of wheels- Checked all of them and they have not lost pressure in the couple of weeks standing. The Michelin PR2's in 23 are noted as having puncture resistance and so far it has proved so. The Kendas in 26 are the only tyres I have had punctures in and both have been in the front. I have done less miles on the Kendas but perhaps on rougher ground? Not found the cause of either puncture but probably in and out Thorns.

I have to admit that I am getting to be a weight weenie so the tyres for Boreas are fairly lighweight at 190 grammes and When I got the new tubes- I went for lightweight Butyl. Trying to lose the odd 1/2 oz so I can truly say I have a 15lb bike. Problem is that I went back to the Flite Max gel saddle for comfort and reckon I have put it back on again plus a bit more. I'll have to weigh the bike again to see if I have lost anything over the heavyweight 230 gramme tyres and standard butyl tubes I had on before.

Curious. Never had that problem. I've been riding Continental GP 3000 and GP 4000 tires over the last 2+ years; originally with Continental tubes and now with Slime tubes. I'd say every 4 or 5 days; sometimes longer. Do you close the valve when you're done?

I buy the Performance brand light weights (not lunarlights), 26 * 2.

I've forgotten to cinch down the valve a few times w/o losing pressure!

No, sometimes a tube just won't hold full pressure until the next day; now, if I can find a very slow bubble, that cures it, sure, but have had many cases where it is the valve, and the water bucket confirms it.

Maybe it's a mote of dirt, I don't know.

As long as I can do out&back without stopping to pressure up, I'm a happy!

I buy the Performance brand light weights (not lunarlights), 26 * 2.

I've forgotten to cinch down the valve a few times w/o losing pressure!

No, sometimes a tube just won't hold full pressure until the next day; now, if I can find a very slow bubble, that cures it, sure, but have had many cases where it is the valve, and the water bucket confirms it.

Maybe it's a mote of dirt, I don't know.

As long as I can do out&back without stopping to pressure up, I'm a happy!

Could be the quality of the tube...