Commuting - Tubes: lumpy, limpy, and generally frustrating

Hi. I'm new to commuting and new to this forum.

I did my 60-mile round trip commute for the third time today. Beautiful weather, 95% on bike paths, a generally pleasing experience. Except about 3 miles from work, I got a flat tire. This is my second flat in 3 trips.

I'm riding a roadie with 700-23 tires. Seeing as the gauge on my pump is pretty much worthless, I usually just inflate to feel. The tube I lost this morning was a Michelin. Does anyone have any advice for durable tubes or a technique for prolonging the life of my tubes?

Thanks,
Mike

I recommend Kevlar belted tires, and maybe the thorn-proof tubes from Performance. They're heavy, but you're commuting, not racing.

(60 miles three times today already? That's pretty good :). )

you can also install Mr Tuffies they are a strip that fits inside your tire since I have installed mine I have never had a flat. You can get them at any bike store.

I'm riding a roadie with 700-23 tires. Seeing as the gauge on my pump is pretty much worthless, I usually just inflate to feel.



You might want to buy a small bicycle pressure gauge (or a car/truck gauge in your tires' range) to make sure your tires' pressure is up where it should be. This may be contributing to the flats you are getting.

You can patch tubes, so they are not "lost".
A wider, tougher tyre may help. Tyre liners are only suitable for wider models, but a kevlar or other puncture-resistant tyre will help.
Check your rim tape. The best type is cloth tape by Velox . Other tapes can be too narrow, or move about, exposing bits of metal.

Wait, wait! First look at the tube. If it's a puncture, yeah, look into what's making it thru the tire, and do something about it wrt. tougher tires / tubes / liner, etc. But "inflate to feel" gives me the willies. I used to do that. Last year I got several snake-bite flats. One day I hit a stone that snake-bit BOTH tubes. And of course, I only carry one spare! The next day, I invested in a decent gauge, "inflated to feel", and was shocked to find that it was less than half the recommended pressure. I'd been underinflating for years. DON'T trust your sense of touch. Get an accurate gauge, or a pump equipped with one. You'd be surprised how much you can underinflate just by guessing the pressure. And the length of your commute easily justifies the investment.

Oh, a "snake bite" flat, BTW, is a pair of punctures, space an inch or so apart, on the inside of the tube. They happen when an underinflated tube is pinched by both sides of the rim at the same time, when you hit a bump or the like. 'Course, it's not always two punctures. If you get any kind of short, straight-line puncture on the inside-facing side of the tube, it's probably caused by the rim. Which means either the tube wasn't seated properly when you aired it up, or it was underinflated.

Where on the tube was the hole? Tread-side, wheel-side, side-wall?

What caused the flat? Thorn, glass, pinch flat?

edit: you beat me to it, madpogue!

Hi. I'm new to commuting and new to this forum.

I did my 60-mile round trip commute for the third time today. Beautiful weather, 95% on bike paths, a generally pleasing experience. Except about 3 miles from work, I got a flat tire. This is my second flat in 3 trips.

I'm riding a roadie with 700-23 tires. Seeing as the gauge on my pump is pretty much worthless, I usually just inflate to feel. The tube I lost this morning was a Michelin. Does anyone have any advice for durable tubes or a technique for prolonging the life of my tubes?

Thanks,
Mike

Patching a tire under time-pressure is almost always a disaster. When you get a flat put on another tube. Then at your leisure, patch the flat. I wipe off the tire and patch the tube while watching TV. Take the tire and tube off the rim. To find the flat, put some air in the tube and put it in some water and watch for bubbles. Circle the spot with a pen and dry off the tube.

Follow the mfg's instructions to put on the patch. Be sure to wait for the glue to dry before applying the patch.

Another help is to line up the tire label with the valve stem when you remount the tire, then when you have your next flat (& there will always be a next time), after you locate the puncture on the tube, you can easily backtrack & locate the place on the inside of the tire where the puncture occurred. Often you will find a piece of rock, glass, debris etc that needs to be removed. Before my friend taught me this trick I have had the unpleasant experience of putting in a new tube only to flat again within a few miles! Don

Another help is to line up the tire label with the valve stem when you remount the tire, then when you have your next flat (& there will always be a next time), after you locate the puncture on the tube, you can easily backtrack & locate the place on the inside of the tire where the puncture occurred. Often you will find a piece of rock, glass, debris etc that needs to be removed. Before my friend taught me this trick I have had the unpleasant experience of putting in a new tube only to flat again within a few miles! Don

Damn, he beat me to it! I've started doing this, too, after getting three flats in one day late last year. Of course, I've had no flats since then (almost 9,000km now) on which to test it out.

Damn, he beat me to it! I've started doing this, too, after getting three flats in one day late last year. Of course, I've had no flats since then (almost 9,000km now) on which to test it out.

Once I've found the offending item (more often than not it's a shard of glass) I also check the rest of the tyre. I usually find a few more bits and pieces embedded in the rubber just waiting to work their way through into more delicate places.

Once I've found the offending item (more often than not it's a shard of glass) I also check the rest of the tyre. I usually find a few more bits and pieces embedded in the rubber just waiting to work their way through into more delicate places.

Good point. I do this too. Truth be told, I've picked out one or two scary-looking things during my current flat-free run.

Another help is to line up the tire label with the valve stem when you remount the tire, then when you have your next flat (& there will always be a next time), after you locate the puncture on the tube, you can easily backtrack & locate the place on the inside of the tire where the puncture occurred. Often you will find a piece of rock, glass, debris etc that needs to be removed. Before my friend taught me this trick I have had the unpleasant experience of putting in a new tube only to flat again within a few miles! Don
That is really a great idea! It's funny that I've never heard that before and I've been at it for over 22 years and a number of flats. Thanks!

(60 miles three times today already? That's pretty good :). )[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I suppose I should either start packing a lunch or be more clear with my grammar.

The first flat was on the sidewall, a pin sized puncture. I haven't checked the second one yet, but I examined my tire while changing it and couldn't find any offending particles. It was also 55 miles after my previous one so I'm guessing it was a completely unrelated problem. (The path I was on is pretty notorious for flats.)

I will definitely get a tire gauge. I actually thought that by underinflating, I would cut down on flats. I appreciate the other advice as well, and as I tell my wife every night, "I'm sorry I was so careless, and I'll try to repay the kindness and helpfulness you've shared with me by striving to do better in the future."

Thanks for the help. And thanks Al Gore for creating this forum.
Mike