ssm4ssm4

hey all. I've been a mountainbiker for a while and I've always had a problem with pinch flats. I ride pretty rocky terrain (new england trails) and I ride about 40 psi. What can I do to prevent this? I've spent a fortune on tubes. Thanks.

Sam

Maelstrom 

How big are your tires? Do you run thickersidewalls or try to save weight with thin ones?

DjRider04

Run thicker tubes

Switch to tubeless (Stans)

Get larger sidewalled tires

Your pressure should be fine.....

BloomBikeShop

I know all about rocky New England trails. I'm an xc racer and one thing I do is run my tires at 50 psi to ward off pinch flats. It's not the best for traction, but it's not usually a problem unless it's wet.

One easy (and cheap) thing you can do is coat your tubes and inside of your tires with baby powder. It keeps them from sticking together so the tube is less likely to pinch.

Juniper

Have you experimented with different tire pressures? My first thought is you might be running a little low. The tip on dusting the insides with baby powder is a good one, too.

ssm4ssm4

Thanks for all the advice. I'll try 50 psi and see what happens. Got to get me some baby powder as well, thanks again.

sam

WorldWind

50 psi is way to hard for trail riding….

To stop getting pinch flats you have to get up off your ass and let the tire ride over the terrain. It’s a matter of finesse not tire pressure.

When we leave the pavement and hit the dirt the pressure gets let out to 36-33 or even lower when it’s wet. Go around the rocks and hop the roots, it’s a dance you can’t do sitting down.

Juniper

One consideration is how much you, the rider, weigh.

WorldWind

It’s more about how light you are on your peddles. Even the skinniest grommet that slams his wheel into edges is going to flat.

Juniper

My riding style is generally out of the saddle and light on the trail. I'm considered pretty nimble when it comes to picking a line. But, at 182#, if I ran my tires at 33-35 lbs I wouldn't have much of a ride; I'd be rimming on every small twig on the path.

rasheed

when i used to run 2.1s on my fluid i used to get pinch flats often - usually from bunny hops where i didn't get my rear wheel high enough over whatever i was jumping (often a high curb or low ledge or something like that). i changed my tires to tioga dh 2.3s and haven't had a pinch flat since.

given that, my suggestion would be to either run a higher psi, or to get wider tires.

ssm4ssm4

hey

i'm 170, so weight is not a problem. not to brag or anything but i don't sit on my ass during the ride and i'm pretty nimble around rocks. new england is notorious for rocky terrain so i don't think it's my inferior riding skills causing these flats. i'll try the baby powder thing and inflating to 50. i'll give you guys an update. thanks.

sam

Juniper

Please give us a follow-up. There's always a lot of debate reSI's.

Jim311

Anybody who rides hard will get pinch flats. Running a bajillion PSI is a stupid idea.. I'd rather flat than have no traction and have the bike beat the piss out of me. Tubeless tires are better in pinch flat situations, but it's a total misconception that it's impossible to pinch flat a tubeless tire. How do I know? I've pinch flatted 2 tubeless tires, both due to either improper inflation, or just coming down way to hard on an unfortunately placed sharp rock. They usually pinch at the bead and won't hold much if any pressure. I'd say just learn to ride a little more carefully and lightly, or buy some tougher tires and thicker tubes. Running higher PSI is sort of a lame fix to such a problem IMO.