Bicycle Mechanics - Find the leak?

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vrkelley
07-24-04, 11:51 AM
I'm baffled at this tire I fixed. The tube holds air for about 4 hrs and then suddenly goes flat. When I put the tube in water, I don't see a leak. What's the deal?
operator
07-24-04, 02:14 PM
Pump it up more, if you don't pump it up enough it might not leak enough for you to see enough bubbles to catch your attention.
GreenFix
07-24-04, 02:48 PM
I had a tube with a similar issue. It turned out that the leak was near the base of the valve stem. It would only leak air when the stem was stressed slightly. O's suggestion is a good one though.
Maybe you need new rim tape? Could the spokes be poking into your tire? If the hole is in the same place every time you remove the inner tube to patch it, that may be your answer.
Koffee
Some tubes have pinhole leaks that open up only under high pressures, so are impossible to test for out of the tire. You can't test a naked tube to more than
5-10# psi without the tube inflating like a balloon and thus enlarging it to the point
it may be difficult to get into the tire. Considering what your time is worth it
might be best to chunk the tube if you have already gone over it several times.
Chasing pinholes is frustrating. Had one tube with 6-7 patches on it before I
discovered this. Stayed up overnite in the tire at 100# after each 'repair'
but went flat by 20miles on 6 successive rides. (Slow learner). Steve
Ecco-Bike
07-24-04, 04:15 PM
ditch the tube, they're too cheap to worry about it.
ecco.
jkittlesen
07-24-04, 04:30 PM
what Ecco says
vrkelley
07-24-04, 08:46 PM
ditch the tube, they're too cheap to worry about it.
ecco.
Yep that's what I did. I'm done with trying to patch tires. It's fruitless. It takes an average of 3X remove and patch cycles to get it right.
I jumped ship and bought the Armadillo All Condition with a Performance Thorn resistant tube. The tube is 5X heavier than a regular one...and the armadiollow is 2X heavier than the 23cm Kenda. :0
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