patentcad

Now I don't ride MTBs as much as many of you, but I do enough miles on the road in winter on my hard tail, and now I'm riding in the woods 2x weekly (combined trail/road ride of about 2-2.5 hours each time out). I got my first hard tail in 1992 or so. I have NEVER had a flat riding a knobby tire (I ride 2.1" tires). I would imagine they're pretty hard to puncture, primarily because the knobby surface largely eliminates a major cause, which is sharp debris sticking to the tire surface and working its way through the rubber. It's much harder for items to stick to the actual tire surface since the knobbies are doing the rolling. MTB tires are also thicker than 700c road race clinchers.

Is that typical? I'm still carrying a spare tube and I'm prepared, but it never seems to happen.

deraltekluge

If you quit carrying a tube, it will happen.

patentcad

Duh.

RT

You would think MTB tires/tubes are easier to change, but I've found that road tires and tubes are easier. I've had a couple flats in the past few years where, unless someone was holding up the nail or sharp piece of metal like a field goal attempt, it was otherwise impossible to puncture at an exact angle like that, but it did. I know roadies can be weight weenies, but I've found that Slime rim strips are worth their weight in gold when it comes to puncture protection.

Out of curiosity, do you run full psi on the Fly Ti?

streetlightpoet

Actually, knobby tires provide an easier place for pieces of debris to become trapped. Although there usually isn't much broken glass on the trail thankfully.

busted knuckles

I have never flatted on a road bike in almost 40 years.

patentcad

You're not riding enough.

pinkrobe

Dude, you have totally cursed yourself.

You also don't ride enough...

patentcad

Wait. 40,000 bicycle miles since May 2005 isn't enough?

I'll ramp it up just for you.

patentcad

Oh no, not a flat. On my bicycle. In the middle of nowhere. Please God, no, no, no, no.

santiago

Must be those awesome Motobecane tubes.

patentcad

Indeed.

scrublover

Aaaand that's why you've not flatted your mtb stuff yet. Or, riding somewhere with uglier terrain than Stewart and so on would likely do it as well.

patentcad

If it's unpaved, it's too technical for me as it is.

scrublover

Nah, it isn't that bad. You can't have put in as many road miles as you say you have without gaining a modicum of decent handling skills. Methinks you sell your handling skill short.

lldecker

I'm with the OP

I ride trails about 5 times a week (50mi/wk+) and have never gotten a flat. My local trails never put me more than a mile or two away from home base (car, camp, etc). I wonder what the use of carrying a spare tube and tools is? I would rather hike my bike than fix a flat in the middle of a trail. Is this typical?

scrublover

Yes. Depending on your locale, you could be riding way the hell away from home/pavement, have a long walk due to a mechanical, be somewhere where you are unlikely to run into anyone to get a hand from for a long while.

I've had plenty of rides with plenty of sh#t gone wrong with my or others bikes when we've been a long way from the cars or home. The ability to fix it and either limp home by bike or continue the ride is a nice thing. Can you carry everything for every eventuality? No, but you can at least have the basics.

Short list of stuff gone wrong on some rides I've been on: helivaced a rider out last spring from one trail. Steri-stripped a rider's chin after he'd put a big gash in the underside. Splinted a few fingers. Fixed many, many flats and broken chains. Broken crank bolt. Broken frames. Critical bolts fallen out somehow-->replaced with some spares carried. Broken shifter/brake cables - fixed in a couple cases by someone having a spare. Loads of bonking or dehydrated riders - somewhat fixed by sharing a bit of food and water. Broken pedal bodies, springs, or cleats that have fallen off shoes. Broken cassette teeth, mangled derailleurs, bent or broken chainrings, chainring bolts that go missing. Lots of stuff that coule potentially mean a looooong hike depending on where it happens. Keeping your stuff in good repair sometimes doesn't cut it, 'cause sh#t happens. Knowing how to, and having something to fix it with, can make a difference.

See this thread for plenty of opinions on the subject:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...light=camelbak

Now, all that said, if you don't ride in remote spots, and are always within a mile from home or something... (those must be lotsa' laps on some really short loops to get 50 miles a week but never get more than a mile or two from home.) Then I wouldn't sweat things.

patentcad

I carry a spare tube of course. If I snap my chain I'll have to walk a couple of miles.

pinkrobe

Did you go back in time with your mountain bike or something? Great Scott!!!

pinkrobe

Be thou not afraid! For thine is the power of the sacred tire lever...

ca7erham

This week alone (in 3 days) I've gone through 2 flats (one MTB one Road). Annoying, but managable (thanks for the cheap patch kit perfomance).

G-Monkey

It's pretty hard to get flats when all you do is ride in grass fields.
Also lose the fenders and the Super Hero costume.

C Law

C law thinks P cad should not be time travelling with his Motobecane as it weakens the ti welds

nachomc

I don't flat too often. I had a freak flat a couple of weeks ago - it was fine when I left for Tahoe and flat when I got there Other than that, it had been a year and that flat was a pinch.

born2bahick

That is amazing! You have been very lucky or your very good at avoiding crap. I used to get four to ten flats a year. Some were pinch flats and others were just locust thorns and punture vine that grow in this area.