darklord

Hello everyone, I'm in need of some advice. I've been riding for a month now and I'm really enjoying it. I ride a 1998 cannondale R1000. It seems to be in great condition, I bought it at an estate sale (slightly used ) along two others ( New) . I ride 18 miles a day, Is there any reason why I get a flat tire every third or fourth day. Also what would be good to take along as spares or an emergency kit

Nermal

Spare tube & patch kit. Oh, and an air pump.


Don't know. I once had five flats in one day - mostly from goat heads.


By the way "spare parts" is usually a nice name for the bicycle junk box.

HTupolev

What condition are the tires in, are they old? Tires that are nearing their demise often start flatting regularly. Check to see if the tread rubber at the centerline is significantly flattened out rather than round and tire-shaped, or if maybe the sidewall rubber is cracking.

With the tire removed, how does the rim strip look? Is it decently smooth and intact and covering all the spoke holes?

How are you setting tire pressure? What's your bike+rider weight roughly, and what's the tire width? If the tire pressure is low and you hit things like potholes or curbs, pinch flats can occur where the inner tube is "pinched" between the tire and the rim; these flats are often known as "snake bite" because you can end up with multiple marks or holes on the tube.

Are you riding through places like dirty road shoulders which can have lots of little stabby things that can cause punctures?
Are there other things in your area that can cause flats, like goathead thorns? (If so, you might consider getting tires with a strong puncture-resistant layer. I like riding the flimsy thin stuff, but sometimes the beefy tires are necessary.)

It's important to look for the cause of a flat when it happens.
Objects that cause punctures can get embedded in the tire, and cause more flats when a good tube is installed.
Multiple holes or marks close together usually indicates pinch flats.
Single holes on the outward-facing side of the inner tube usually indicate punctures from stabby objects.

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As far as what to carry for flats:
1-A couple of tire levers.
2-A spare inner tube, or two.
3-An inflation device, either a pump, or a CO2 inflation setup.
I also like to carry glueless patches just in case. They not great, but they weigh nothing and take up no space.

For other mechanical purposes, at a minimum I like to carry a basic multi-tool.

SkyDog75

What kind of flats are you getting? Is something sharp making its way through the tire? Are you getting "snake bite" holes from pinch flats? Is the tube rupturing on the rim side?

I bring along a spare tube, a patch kit in case I get multiple flats and need more than one tube, a pump or CO2 inflator, tire levers, tire boot (in case the tire's casing gets damaged), and a multitool.

CliffordK

Start evaluating what kinds of flats you're getting. Every flat should have a diagnosis (which helps you locate glass, radial wires, etc).

Periodically I'll carefully look at my tires to remove every piece of glass in them, probing the bottom of all the little holes.

Not all tires are the same. Look for commuter tires with puncture resistant belts.

Where you ride on the road makes a difference too. There are far too many wonderful bike paths that are unusable due to glass and debris in the paths.

pdlamb

If you've been riding on the shoulder, where there's lots of debris swept there by passing traffic, don't do that. Get out of the debris lane and into a travel lane (or at least get closer to the fog line).

darklord

The tires are in good repair. When looking at the rim all of the spoke attach point are covered,
All the flats have been of the same type, a single pin hole
I weigh 200 lbs, and I keep the tire pressure at 100 psi
I'll take a closer look at the next one

darklord

Been riding on a bike path

darklord

Thank for the info

Ironfish653

All of the above is good advice; Patch kit, Pump, Extra tube, Tire Levers.

Are you getting flats while you ride, or are the tires just flat when you come back to the bike each morning?
If it's while you're riding, are you patching and re-patching or replacing the tube?

Also, if you're still on the original tires and tubes, they're getting on 20 years old, and even if they're not worn out, they're past the end of their service life.

Ironfish653

Replies came in while I was typing.

If you keep getting single pin-hole punctures, have you checked the inside surfaces of the tire? You may have something embedded in the tire casing that keeps nipping your tubes.

100 psi is about right for a 200# rider on 25mm tires.

Maelochs

HTupolev hits about everything.

Check the inside edges of the rim as well, for burrs or gouges. Also, if the tire has a wire bead, the bead could be broken or frayed and could stab the tube.

You can get some decent Continental tires for $10 a piece on the discount center at Nashbar right now. (If you run 700x23: Continental Ultra Sport Road Tire) Nashbar is 40 percent off everything today anyway.

Maelochs

All good stuff. I figure it is a radial-tire wire--- nearly invisible, barely puncturing the inner wall ... very gently run your thumbs all over the inside of tire. it would be good to note when you take the tube out, where the hole is in relation to the tire ( (check where the valve is and where the tire label is relative to the valve) so you can narrow down where to search.

SylvainG

When reinstalling the tire, make sure you put the tire branding on top of the valve. That way, when you get a flat and you find the hole in the tube, it will be easy to locate the hole on the tire (distance of the tube hole from the valve will be the same distance as the distance from the branding on the tire to its hole).

caloso

My thought too.

These can be maddening. They are tiny, and super sharp, so they are very difficult to see. Because they are so sharp, they'll often cause such a tiny hole that the tire doesn't fully deflate. One trick is to use a cotton ball to snag the wire.

10 Wheels

You will have a second Flat till you find it.

https://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...s/Royswire.jpg

Doug64

a good kit to put in a small sat bag:
Multi tool, nitrile rubber gloves, spare tube, patch kit, and tire levers. Don't forget a pump.

TimothyH

I immediately suspect worn out tires when I hear that flats are happening every three or four days.

Not sure what "tires are in good repair" means but if they are worn then all bets are off and everything else is secondary.


-Tim-

athrowawaynic

1. If you've kept track of where the pin holes have been, you can narrow down the area of the rim or tire. (Obviously, if it's the same place every time, there's something there puncturing the tube.)

2. Otherwise, if you take the tube out, run a ball of cotton along the rim and inside the tire--go both directions. Anything sharp should snag the cotton. It could be anything, but sometimes a loose strand of wire pokes out of the tire and can pierce the tube.

asmac

Carry something to mark the location of the tube on the tire before removing the tube so you can backtrack and focus on the part of the tire where the puncture occurred. I had a situation where a small kernel of glass had made its way into the thick puncture resistant layer of a Marathon Plus tire and it was not visible or feel-able when the tire was off the bike. It did emerge under riding conditions and created pinhole punctures on a regular basis. I finally started probing cracks in the tire with a turkey skewer and located it by feel. Once I dug it out all was well.

I've also heard that a nylon stocking can be very helpful to detect small pointy bits sticking out of a tire though I don't know if it would have helped me.

I recently switched to tubeless and am very happy with that. No flats so far. No possibility of snakebites, riding much lower pressure so more likely to ride over things instead of having them puncture the tire and self-sealing properties should help keep it that way. So far so good.

SylvainG

Why not simply put the branding of the tire over the valve's location when installing it? That way, you will always know exactly where the tire was in relation to the tube.

carbomb

^ Use that suggestion. If you line the valve up with the hole it goes in even if you forgot which way the tire went the hole can only line up with two possible points either way you flip it. Search those locations really, really well.

Sounds like there's a small something in your tire or rim that you're missing.

europa

One thing that hasn't been mentioned. Once in a blue moon, you'll get something, usually glass, stuck down a hole or cut in the tyre. With the tube out, you don't feel anything inside the tyre but with the pressure of riding, it pokes out and rubs a hole in your tube. A rare one but frustrating - again, it's good to check where the punctures are happening and look for a common origin. If there is a common origin, look for a cut in the tyre and go probing (I use the corkscrew on my pocket knife).

Old tyres, either old in age or just worn, will puncture more easily - most punctures occur in the last 30% of a tyre's life according to some websites. New tyres are relatively cheap and always fit new tubes with the tyre.
Modern tubes are rubbish and I've had them start to leak or pull away from the valve just through age. I'm not talking years either, an Aussie summer is enough to render your spare tube suspect.

If you're picking up thorns on the bike path, an old trick that works is to drape a bit of light electrical wire over the tyre and tie it to the fork so the wire drags lightly on the tyre. The idea is that you pick up the thorn and in half a revolution the wire flicks off the thorn. It works (I needed it on one commute some years ago). You can also buy a commercial version of the same thing.

One last point. If you're using the wrong swear words during the repair, the puncture fairies will get grumpy and target you. These swear words are specific to your area so we can't give you a list (besides, they're secret)

Nermal

Too bad they're secret. Australian language usage can be fascinating, if not always comprehensible.