Hybrid Bicycles - How often do you get flats ?

When I was riding my Motobecane as a Hybrid, ( with large mountain bike tires ), I think that
in 2 years never had a flat. Now that I have switched to 700 x 38c cheap Kendra tires, with
standard tubes from REI. I'm getting flats all the time. Maybe go 3 months no flats, then
(boom) 3 in one week, 2 on the back and one on the front. This makes 6 flats total since
changing tire size and pressure, run 85 PSI in them, I was doing a lot of trail riding for
the most part. But just over the last few weeks have been staying on the road working
on my speed and distance. And been getting the flats, there not pinch flats, just small
holes, like thorn punctures. I was using the same tires trail riding with no problems,
but when I switched to the road, 3 flats this week. ( just bad luck), I always carry a
new spare with me, then patch the flat tire and put it aside. Do you guys ride on patched
tires, or always replace with new ones. I love the performance that the 700 gives over
the 26 inch Mountain Bike style tires, hands down, even on medium trails, much faster.
I guess that I'm asking a 2 part question, do the smaller high PSI tires prone to more
flats, and do you ride on patched tubes. Now my back up is a patched tube...I'm new
to the narrow higher PSI tires, just wondering if this is normal. :) Richard

1 flat on my road bike so far... cuz my tires worn out, just in 6 months and they were showing the cords

1 flat on my road bike so far... cuz my tires worn out, just in 6 months and they were showing the cords

Maybe I'm just having a run of bad Luck. :mad: Richard

Tires matters, terrain, tubes... all matters, including sometimes weight if I aint wrong. What tires are you using?

Don't really know if they are more prone. I have had more flats on MTB tires than 25-28C tires but it may all come down to chance. Riding on patched tubes is not a problem. If patched properly the patched section is actually stronger than the rest of the tube, or so I have been told. At any rate I have never had a patch fail. That being said I would probably limit patches to a total of two on any one tube. No particualr reason other than it fits within my own "comfort zone" vis a vis riding jury rigged equipment of sorts.

Tires matters, terrain, tubes... all matters, including sometimes weight if I aint wrong. What tires are you using?

Kendra 700 x 38c I was using these same tires doing light off rode riding and no flats,
last few weeks, only road riding and have had 3. I've patched them and they hold, but
still put new ones back on, now my spare is a patched tube..and I have 2 more back ups..LOL
Must just be bad luck..They say things come in 3's....Richard

Must be a Kenda thing... I had some re-badged Kendas on my Schwinn (re-badged because they said "Schwinn" on the side in raised, white lettering) and I too suffered numerous flats. I've had no flats since I switched to Michelin Pilot City (http://www.michelinbicycletire.com/michelinbicycle/index.cfm?event=pilotcity.view) tires. Last winter I used Schwalbe Marathon Winter (http://www.schwalbetires.com/node/1788) tires and had not flats with them, either. I considered buying Marathons for my fair-weather tires based on my experience with the Winters, but the Pilot Citys were half the cost and I liked their slick profile better. No regrets to date. :D

Must be a Kenda thing... I had some re-badged Kendas on my Schwinn (re-badged because they said "Schwinn" on the side in raised, white lettering) and I too suffered numerous flats. I've had no flats since I switched to Michelin Pilot City (http://www.michelinbicycletire.com/michelinbicycle/index.cfm?event=pilotcity.view) tires. Last winter I used Schwalbe Marathon Winter (http://www.schwalbetires.com/node/1788) tires and had not flats with them, either. I considered buying Marathons for my fair-weather tires based on my experience with the Winters, but the Pilot Citys were half the cost and I liked their slick profile better. No regrets to date. :D

Mine do have Schwinn on the side...must be re-badged...I just hate the feeling of every time
I walk by the bike now I'm feeling the tires...LOL Richard

Flats happen. Usually from a tiny pieces of glass. Broken glass is common on paved road, rare on dirt trails, if you get my drift. When you repair your tube, find the piece of glass and remove it from the tire casing or else it will cause another flat.

A properly patched tube will hold air better than a new tube. I retire a tube after it has seven patches, just because patches add weight.

I use kevlar belted tires on my hybrids.

Flats happen. Usually from a tiny pieces of glass. Broken glass is common on paved road, rare on dirt trails, if you get my drift. When you repair your tube, find the piece of glass and remove it from the tire casing or else it will cause another flat.

A properly patched tube will hold air better than a new tube. I retire a tube after it has seven patches, just because patches add weight.

I use kevlar belted tires on my hybrids.
Fiding that glass is sometimes easier said than done. One trick I picked up along the way; use a cotton ball - run it along the inside of the tire and it should snag on anything (like a sliver of glass) that could puncture your tube.

Dont' skimp on your patch kit - buy a decent one with feathered edges.

it's time to get schwalbes (or your choice of flat-resistant tire)

A lot of riders use patched tubes.
Check out my video at the bottom,
I'm riding a rear tube with 2 patches
and a front tube with 4 patches.
700 X 25 tires.

Typically a hybrid tire that is 700x38 to 700x42 will get fewer flats than a road bike tire. The rubber casings are significantly thicker on the larger tires. And several hybrids come with puncture-resistant tires, as most buyers aren't concerned with the weight of the tire, like a road bike rider typically is.

But if you ride in an area with a lot of sharp objects, you're going to get flats unless you have one of the heavily armored tires.

In the past 3 years, my Trek hybrid with 700x38 tires have gotten a total of one flat. And that happened when I rode through broken glass.

There certainly are several degrees of puncture resistance. A cheap tire will have only the rubber casing. Better tires will have anti-puncture belts under the tread. It may be a light belt or very heavy. The most puncture resistant tires tend to weigh a lot & cost a lot.

IMO, cheap tires aren't very flat resistant. I run Forte 700x35 which flat a lot. The bike lanes here are where all the debris accumulates and they only seem sweep them every 8 weeks :( Luck plays a big roll too, I've gone months without them and then bam 2-3 flats in 100 miles.

I'm about 2 flats away from ordering some Armadillos or Marathon Supremes.

IMO, cheap tires aren't very flat resistant. I run Forte 700x35 which flat a lot. The bike lanes here are where all the debris accumulates and they only seem sweep them every 8 weeks :( Luck plays a big roll too, I've gone months without them and then bam 2-3 flats in 100 miles.

I'm about 2 flats away from ordering some Armadillos or Marathon Supremes.
Save yourself the aggravation and order them now! You may want to consider Michelin Pilot Citys as well; I have nothing negative to say about them, but plenty of positives.

I'm using cheap Kenda's as well, but I've only had 1 flat in over a year. After the fateful ride, out of the 200 goat heads I pulled out, only 1 managed to cause a puncture. Might be my amazing tubes though, Avenir thorn resistant. I'm thinking it's more their doing than the tire. When my tires go, I'm definitely going to get Schwalbes though. I've heard amazing things about them.

IMO, cheap tires aren't very flat resistant. I run Forte 700x35 which flat a lot. The bike lanes here are where all the debris accumulates and they only seem sweep them every 8 weeks :( Luck plays a big roll too, I've gone months without them and then bam 2-3 flats in 100 miles.

I'm about 2 flats away from ordering some Armadillos or Marathon Supremes.

You probably ride a lot more than the folks who are reporting one flat per year. Anyone who rides a whole year on the same pair of tires doesn't get out much.

What are these flats you speak of??


Seriously, though I ride 14 miles a day minimum, I roll with Schwalbe Marathon Plus w/Mr. Tuffy liners. I can't remember the last time I had a flat.

You probably ride a lot more than the folks who are reporting one flat per year. Anyone who rides a whole year on the same pair of tires doesn't get out much.

Marathon Supremes will do something like 7,000 - 10,000 miles.

Also - isn't anyone using a tube sealant like Dr Slime or Sludge?

Marathon Supremes will do something like 7,000 - 10,000 miles.

Also - isn't anyone using a tube sealant like Dr Slime or Sludge?

So you ride less than 10,000 miles per year!? I though you were a rider.

No, I've never use sealant. Doesn't that add a lot of weight in the worst place?

So you ride less than 10,000 miles per year!? I though you were a rider.

I ride like an idiot - umm, I mean a man - singletrack on a crosser, fast. That means that I'm good for two 1-2 hr rides a week and one longer one if the pain isn't going to kill me... Seriously, I'm back on the bike after +6 months off with a trapped nerve. And after half a dozen rides my body is already losing fat and putting more muscle on - and I'm 220lb mesomorph. My training pattern is designed to force a very large amount of muscle stress, which means that big recovery gaps to avoid natural steroids crashing the immune system. (It's a variant on http://www.exrx.net/ExInfo/HIIT.html.)

Oh - sometimes I cycle on the road inbetween rides, but that doesn't really count.


No, I've never use sealant. Doesn't that add a lot of weight in the worst place?

The effects of weight at the rim are mostly a myth. You can double mass at the rim to allow for angular inertia, but you then have to consider the system weight of the bike plus the rider. So 200g at the rims, x2, compared to a 200lb bike + rider weight makes a difference of about 0.5% to acceleration. A more worrying problem would be an increase to rolling resistance, but I'm told that this doesn't seem to be a problem.

Glad you're feeling better. Just kidding about the miles. You'll get there.

Thanks for the tip about the tires. I know you have recommended them before. I'm going to try them next time I buy tires. :)

Glad you're feeling better. Just kidding about the miles. You'll get there.

Thanks for the tip about the tires. I know you have recommended them before. I'm going to try them next time I buy tires. :)

Or you could try Duremes if you want something a bit tougher. A poster who rides gravel and limestone tours got his speed up an amazingly 10% by switching them. (They're Supremes with a little extra grip.)

What are these flats you speak of??


Seriously, though I ride 14 miles a day minimum, I roll with Schwalbe Marathon Plus w/Mr. Tuffy liners. I can't remember the last time I had a flat.

You probably don't have as many smashed beer bottles on your route.

I had a big nail go though my tire, get bent, put four holes in the tube and came out the tire again. I look at my tire, see the head of a nail going in and the sharp end coming out. What are you going to do? Schwalbe, yeah sure... Stuff happens...

Once I rode over something that sliced my tire open as well as any knife could do. The inner tube was sliced too. I never saw what I hit.

The stock Kendas on my Giant Cypress flatted several times and then the sidewall separated on the rear wheel. I went with Michelin City tires and haven't had a flat in over 800 miles.
I average between 100 and 150 miles a week on the badly maintained glass strewn streets of Metro Detroit. The city tires are great on pavement but are too smooth to handle dirt or gravel very well.

I use kevlar belted tires on my hybrids.

This Sunday I stopped at a pump on the trail I was riding and got into a conversation with a couple of gentlemen who also had stopped for a fill. One of them was filling his kevlar belted tire as well as his water bottle. They had ridden the same crushed limestone part of the trail that I had done. They were both running 23 mm tires which are a little narrow for that part of the trail and one of them was using unprotected tires. I have 32 mm Hutchinson Acrobats with "Protect Air" a fairly thick hard rubber layer under the tread. It was the kevlar tire that got the flat. All this proves is that there is something out there that can get any tire. There is no reason to think that the other gentleman and I even hit whatever it was that got the kevlar tire, we might have done no better if we had. It is pretty much a given that the unprotected tire would not and the owner of that tire even said that if he had gotten the flat instead of his riding partner he'd be out buying kevlar tires today! As it was the kevlar owner seemed a little disgusted but it happens to any tire sooner or later so you just have to be prepared to fix it.

Ken

You probably ride a lot more than the folks who are reporting one flat per year. Anyone who rides a whole year on the same pair of tires doesn't get out much.
I get out plenty mind you, about 100 miles a week in between classes. Perhaps my bike just kicks ass?

You probably don't have as many smashed beer bottles on your route.

Actually, smashed beer bottles are what the Plus is designed for:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/components/tyres/product/marathon-plus-10686

It's a bit of a boat anchor compared to the Supreme/Dureme, but it's probably the best protected tyre there is. I'm glad I don't need to run them.

I get out plenty mind you, about 100 miles a week in between classes. Perhaps my bike just kicks ass?

A 100 miles a week is not bad. I ride less than twice that much. :) Most of my miles are on city streets.

I've been lucky thus far. I've had one flat since I started riding in April. That's in approximately 700 miles of road riding, and no real protection. Just cheap Kenda tires and stock tubes.

Actually, smashed beer bottles are what the Plus is designed for:

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/components/tyres/product/marathon-plus-10686

It's a bit of a boat anchor compared to the Supreme/Dureme, but it's probably the best protected tyre there is. I'm glad I don't need to run them.

I have come to accept a certain number of flat tires, I don't keep track, but perhaps once a month, including trailer tires.

I'm currently using a mountainbike with 26in Armadillos which seem very flat resistant. The 700c Gatorskins on my hybrid are lighter and faster but get more flats. I prefer the Gatorskins despite having to stop for repairs more often. I don't think I want boat anchors, but thanks for the suggestion. I will get something different from the Contis next time just to compare, but since I don't really keep track of flats or miles or exactly how long my tires last, I don't know if I will be able to accurately judge the difference. I agree with khutch, that a lot of it is luck. Good vision and fast reflexes probably would help, but with my trailer, I need to find three lines through the shards, not just one.

I wipe off my bike tires after rolling through broken glass, but can't reach the trailer tires. Sometimes if the glass was really fresh and thick, I'll stop and wipe the trailer tires off too.

Because I go through a lot of tires, I should take advantage of that fact and try different models instead of sticking with what I know and can easily get (stocked by merchants I patronize).

What's the best 16" tire? I'm currently using Primo Comets (not the kevlar version). They haven't proven to be very flat resistant and are now worn down and will need to be replaced soon.

I have come to accept a certain number of flat tires, I don't keep track, but perhaps once a month, including trailer tires.

I'm currently using a mountainbike with 26in Armadillos which seem very flat resistant.



Armadillos are real armoured rubber. I'm told the Plus is even tougher though. If was you I'd try the sealant.



The 700c Gatorskins on my hybrid are lighter and faster but get more flats. I prefer the Gatorskins despite having to stop for repairs more often. I don't think I want boat anchors, but thanks for the suggestion.


I *think* the Pluses are supposed to be faster than the Armadillos. I'm a tyre fanatic, so my standards for rolling resistance are high. (Meaning that I require it to be low.)

I will get something different from the Contis next time just to compare, but since I don't really keep track of flats or miles or exactly how long my tires last, I don't know if I will be able to accurately judge the difference. I agree with khutch, that a lot of it is luck. Good vision and fast reflexes probably would help, but with my trailer, I need to find three lines through the shards, not just one.



What's the best 16" tire? I'm currently using Primo Comets (not the kevlar version). They haven't proven to be very flat resistant and are now worn down and will need to be replaced soon.

Ask on the recumbent forum? They should know.

I haven't had a flat yet this year and did about 500 miles.
The trick lies in constantly peering at the ground below and meticulously steering and avoiding driving into little holes or on sharp rocks or even glass
... and having good tyres ofcourse ;)

I got two flats in a couple of weeks with the stock Kendas on my Giant Cypress DX. The last actually ruined the rear tire. I replaced them with Specialized Nimbus Armadillos and Airlock tubes and haven't had a flat since.

Have ridden 1000 km this month and had one flat on relatively new 26 inch Marathons... the chunk of glass that violated my tyre was as big as my thumb nail but did not penetrate too deeply into the tube.

Good quality tyres will last a long time... I have Schwalbe Hurricanes that still look great after more than 10,000 km of mostly urban and winter riding.

I have not had a flat yet with a little over 2000 miles on Continental Ultra Gatorskins 700 x 28. Had considerably different results with the Vittorio Zaffiro tires that came on the bike. Just put a set of 1.5 x 26 Armadillo's on GF's bike, I hope for similar results from them. I do not care at all for fixing flats.

I'm curious about a statement from earlier in this thread. How is it that a patched tube holds air better than a new one?

A 100 miles a week is not bad. I ride less than twice that much. :) Most of my miles are on city streets.
Ah, lucky! Haha I wish I could get out that much.

I do have a confession:
My tubes are slimed. I may have had more punctures and not noticed. I've only had one while pulling goat heads out, so I imagine there could have been more that I just didn't notice.

I had a flat friday morning on my commute. Right rear tire.

I'm curious about a statement from earlier in this thread. How is it that a patched tube holds air better than a new one?

I'm surprised someone agreed with that before someone questioned it. My thinking is that the patch more than doubles the thickness of the rubber where it covers. Since an undamaged tube looses air over time and I presume it is oozing through the rubber, thicker rubber equals less oozing. Just a theory. :o

Ah, lucky! Haha I wish I could get out that much.

I do have a confession:
My tubes are slimed. I may have had more punctures and not noticed. I've only had one while pulling goat heads out, so I imagine there could have been more that I just didn't notice.

Goat heads? So after you pulled it out, slime plugged the hole and no worries? I'm starting to open my mind a little bit about this slime thing.

I've got some tubes with so many patches, that they are polka dotted ---- as long as they can hold air, they are good to go.....

That being said, I used to get 2.5 flats per week, or one every 100 miles or so ---- since switching to Schwalbe Marathon Supremes, I worry about my patch kit drying up. But, I get to use it on someone else' tire, every month or so.....

Goat heads? So after you pulled it out, slime plugged the hole and no worries? I'm starting to open my mind a little bit about this slime thing.

Pretty much. I just gave the wheel a good spin, 20 seconds later, no more hole. It does add weight to the tire, but that only affects accelerating, and only by very small amount, probably not very noticeable. I make up for it in the time I don't spend fixing flats. :D

Extra weight? :eek: I think I'll hold off on that for now. Time spent fixing a flat is often a welcome break from the riding for me. Something that will make the riding harder in exchange for fewer rest stops isn't for me. :lol:

I got a flat yesterday but didn't discover it until this morning. It was on a Specialized Nimbus with Armadillo Technology. This tire is fairly new and the tread wear is hardly noticeable. Given that this is considered one of the most flat resistant tires available, this experience reinforces my feeling that any tire can get a flat. This tiny piece of glass can get into any tire's outer casing and it will stay there virtually undetectable until it penetrates the tube. Next to a quarter to show size but you can't see is how thin it was. It was very thin in case you're wondering.

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/DSC04391.jpg

Goat heads? So after you pulled it out, slime plugged the hole and no worries? I'm starting to open my mind a little bit about this slime thing.

Slime is the soft porn version of tyre sealants. Stan's No Tyres system is the hard core:


http://www.notubes.com/movie_newdemo.php

Adult bikes only!

That's nasty. I would never put that in my tubes. Yuck

I was late today but not because of the flat. I noticed it when I was putting out the recycling and I had it fixed better than new in no time, long before I left out.

The trailer flat was repaired quickly on the road and though I was already late, it didn't make me much later. After I fixed it and was putting my pump away a a girl rode by and smiled. I jumped on and we chatted a bit. That wouldn't have happened if I used Slime. She was in shape and kitted out. I shouldn't say that. If she wasn't friendly, none of that would matter. It never matters but it never hurts. Have I made it OK for any women who might be reading or have I dug myself into a deeper hole? :p

Thanks a lot for starting this thread. I flatted in the parking lot at Saturday's Bike to Battle Cancer ride (that was a piece of glass) and again at mile 17 with a thorn. I know better than to post in these threads and just got a good reminder of why.

Thanks a lot for starting this thread. I flatted in the parking lot at Saturday's Bike to Battle Cancer ride (that was a piece of glass) and again at mile 17 with a thorn. I know better than to post in these threads and just got a good reminder of why.

Seems like the minute I say how good somethings working, I,m setting myself up
for an epic fail :lol: . Sorry about your flats, Richard