Road Cycling - What happens when tire goes flat?

I hate starting my (stupid) questions with: I am new...

Well, being new to road biking, I am quite scared of experiencing tire going flat at speed. Never had one on my one week old Giant OCR1. At the same time, I see that everybody has flats all the time. My question is what happens when that happens, what would be the right thing to do, how to react. I guess, I am asking for some education. Thank you,

D.

I hate starting my (stupid) questions with: I am new...

Well, being new to road biking, I am quite scared of experiencing tire going flat at speed. Never had one on my one week old Giant OCR1. At the same time, I see that everybody has flats all the time. My question is what happens when that happens, what would be the right thing to do, how to react. I guess, I am asking for some education. Thank you,

D.

Don't freak out and gradually bring the bike to a stop lightly using, or not using the brake on the wheel that the flat's on. I've never actually had one at any significant speed (maybe 20mph?), and you hear the telltale "hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss" as it looses air with each revolution so you sometimes have some forwarning. Turns get kinda sketchy on a flat but its not a big deal IMHO. Its the same as when a car tire blows out... no sudden moves, stay calm, stay in control, gradually bring the bike to a stop.

If it is a front tire the key is not to turn the wheel, flat tires have almost no traction. I've been riding a while, am big, and have had lots of flats, nothing to worry about.

Have had flats and blowouts at speed; had front tire blow on a 30 mph descent on our tandem.
Relax, no quick moves, sat upright to catch the wind (airbrake?) and gently put on rear brake. It was like riding a bronco, but came to a safe stop.
Probably will never happen to you so don't worry that far ahead of time
Enjoy your new bike!

Change a tire a few times at home. Don't let a flat tire be your first experience of changing a tire. If you have problems have you local Bike Shop (LBS) show you how.

Thanks guys, I learned quite a bit.
I have experience changing tires on the mountain bike and of course I had flats on it many times, but speeds are very different and that was my main concern. Thanks,

D.

Thanks guys, I learned quite a bit.
I have experience changing tires on the mountain bike and of course I had flats on it many times, but speeds are very different and that was my main concern. Thanks,

D. 4 years ago I decided to take up cycling. I got an old bike that had been sitting around for 10 years, pumped the tires up, never checked anything out on the bike, and started to ride. Needless to say, my stupidity was bound to cause me trouble. I just got going when the front tire went. The tube bulged out through a whole in the dry rotten tire, logged in the forks and stopped the front tire instantly, sending me right over the handlebars.

I now know to make sure the tires are in good condition especially the front tire. If the condition of the tires is good then the flats you get will not be catastrophic and you can usually handle it with a controlled stop.

I'd imagine that, if you can control a mountain bike on rough trails, you can control a road bike with a flat.

Again, speeds are what made me nervous, but all your responses helped a lot. I was going 66 kmh (41 mph) today and felt much better already. Thank you,

D.

Change a tire a few times at home. Don't let a flat tire be your first experience of changing a tire. If you have problems have you local Bike Shop (LBS) show you how.

Good advice, roadside is not the place to learn.

Carry the appropriate gear with you to change the flat too. I carry an extra inner tube and a repair kit. I replace the bad innertube so I'm riding on a good tube and fix the other one before I get going. That way when you get your next flat, for some reason they seem to come in pairs for me, you have another tube ready. I also carry a tire tool to remove the tire and a gerber multi-tool in case something else comes up with the bike.

Dave

Do you ride in pacelines?

If so you need to promptly call out "Flat" to give those around you forwarning that you are about to get out of the line and why.

You could consider using a tuffy plastic liner, I do. I too am very concern with riding at speed down a hill at 40+ speed and blowing out. With a liner on with no air in the tube you'll notice that the tire has a better rolling feel to it. You won't have the feeling that your rolling on the rim, because the tire, tuffy, and tube create enough density between tire and the rim to roll more confident when no air is present. But you must glue the liner onto the tire with contact cement, my opinion. And yes I have had a flat going down hill at speed and felt quite safe when it happened.

Well, most flats will not blow outs - that is sudden. Most flats will leak air and take several minutes to go completely flat. I generally figure out that a tire is going flat before it becomes a real problem as far as handling the bike is concerned.

I have had a few flats that happened quickly but all of those happened at a reasonable speed while I was going straight and then it is merely a matter of coming to a controlled stop.

A sudden flat could cause difficulty on a high speed turn or on a high speed descent but I have never experienced either. Given the fact that flats are not really that common, say once every 1,000 miles, and sudden flats may happen once every 50,000 miles, your chances of having a sudden flat in a high risk situation is pretty low.

Other posters here have had them and they have found that with proper handling you can survive them.

You could consider using a tuffy plastic liner

wut

2004?

Bumping a 7-year-old thread on flat tires? You need more coffee.

Thread closed.