Mile21

Should I take it back and throw it at the store and demand they fix it or just stfu and get to fixing it myself?

500$ bike, rode it on a paved surface over nothing pointy. I had it one day and got the flat.

Grimlock

Sometimes it's just bad luck. I would go back to the store, explain your story (don't be a dick about it) and they might fix it for free for you. Worst case scenario, you buy the new tube and have them figure out what caused it.

liquefied

STFU and fix it yourself. Flats happen on bikes.

Mile21

Yeah, that's what I'm planning on doing. My post sounded pretty belligerent, and I apologize for that. I was hoping for a reply telling me whether it's covered under the warranty as it was only ridden once. I just didn't want to bring it to them and have them tell me it's up to me to fix when it should be covered.

Mile21

Am I correct in assuming (I'm new to riding) that to prevent this again I'd need:
Another tube to swap out when the flat happens
The rimming tool
A frame mounted pump or single-use inflator
Patching equipment to repair the tubes as I swap them out

And generally store them in the under-the-seat bag?

Also, do they sell the adapters for the presta valves anywhere common like MC sports or Dunham'?

I'm headed back to get the stuff today, the 10 mile walk home last night after the flat wasn't bad as the weather was perfect but I'd prefer not to get caught again when I'm time constrained as I ride to work.

frankenmike 

Flat tires are generally not covered, being that they are so common. If you don't know how to change the tube, bring it back to the shop and politely ask for a tube-changing lesson after buying a new tube. They just might have pity and throw you a tube no charge.

Mile21

Took the tire off in search of the cause of the flat and found the presta valve nut was loose. Can this be the cause of the flat or would it only loose air if pressed down?

Moozh

in your general assortment of items to carry about with you while riding keep a tube repair kit like the 'Park Tools Tire and Tube repair kit (TR-1)'. Comes with adhesive backed patches, a small square of emory cloth to scuff up the area to be patched and tire levers. Very small kit, very important kit and will save you from walking her back more than a few times. As small a pump as you can get away with, minipumps are not as good as a good old fashioned full sized t-handled pump (get one of those for home, I have one at home and keep another in the trunk of my car) but a minipump is generally small enough to toss in your pack and will ensure that you have a pump handy when needed. Works well, but tend to give you a bit of a workout BUT when needed and you our out in the wilderness it is a godsend.

Flats happen! For some folks more frequently than others. Unless the tube was not installed properly (pinch flat because of tube not seated properly) I fail to see how this is your shops fault.

Some folks carry an extra tire in their backpacks (catastrophic tire damage is rare but does happen...sharp rock rips your sidewall for example), depending on the type of bike/riding you do it might make sense to toss a folding bead tire in your pack (only if it makes sense for your situation of course.). Consider also a spare tube. Of course the other obvious avenue would be to seek out tires that are better at resisting punctures, thicker tubes (thorn-resistanct for example) and/or "slime" to assist in managing punctures. All a balance act and simply depends of how much redundancy makes sense for your situation...The ultimate I suppose will be to go 'tubeless' and use stans no-tube solution. Lots of mountainbikers do this and swear by it. It will likely mean you have to first find the tire/wheel combination that is ideal. Check out vid! https://youtu.be/FTlZvOVG8zs. Going with a 'Stans' solution pretty much means no flats ever again (tears could happen tho) and generally is the 'ultimate' solution out there.

I dont think the loose presta valve nut would cause it unless you had sharp edges or burrs on the stem hole of your wheel. Is that where the puncture occured? If so it would obviously be the cause and I would then talk nicely with the folks at your LBS.

Either way, when repairing a flat be sure to run you hand around the entire inner circumference of the tire to make sure you locate and account for whatever caused the puncture. If not you might find yourself repairing a puncture only to mount the tube and subject it the the very same object (thorn head that pierced thru the sidewall for example) that caused the puncture. Feel about and look to ensure there is nothing in there to cause any bother.

Always carry a repair kit and a pump of some sort, debris and object sharp enough to cause bother are an unfortunate fact while riding on the trails and it sucks to be miles along only to have some otherwise easy to repair flat force to you to have to walk all the way back to the trailhead/car..total pain.

Once you know how, repairing a standard flat wont take but three or four minutes, often a tad faster if you quit screwing around and take the wheel off the bike (I have to tell myself this at times...always goes faster if I just take the darn wheel off).

contango 

I agree with what's been said so far. It's not the shop's fault if you rode over something that gave you a puncture. Sometimes you can cycle over sharp gravel and not get a flat. Sometimes you cycle over what looks perfectly smooth and find a staple or something that punctures your tyre. It could have been a $5000 bike and still get a flat on your first ride.

As someone already said if you take it back and politely ask them to show you how to change the tube then (assuming they aren't busy) I'd hope they would. They might even throw in the tube as a goodwill gesture. Just don't go thinking you've got any entitlement to a free tube unless they sold you a bike with a specific defect that caused the flat.

If you find yourself getting a lot of punctures you might want to look at changing your tyres to something more puncture resistant. I've put something like 3000 miles on my Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyre and nothing has gone through it. A couple of times I've pulled inch-long thorns out of the rubber, and they haven't pierced the plasting armouring.

contango 

This might be stating the obvious, but when you find whatever pierced the tyre don't assume there's only the one cause. On a long ride I took with some friends one of the guys did exactly that, when he found the thorn in the tyre he pulled it out and threw it in the hedge, fixed the tube and reinflated, only to immediately puncture again because of the second thorn he had picked up.

He was seriously unlucky to have that happen, but it can happen.

chrismorg

you might want to think about some nice kevlar belted tires

Mile21

Good news! I took the tube out, submerged it, and couldn't find a leak. So I loosened the presta valve nut and put the dust cap on and submerged that and found it was leaking quite profusely. So I've to just pick up a pump today and the patching accessories Moozh posted and I should be good! Thanks for the help guys!

Zephyr11

One more thing just because you pointed out the price of the bike. That ain't it. It's got more to do with where you ride and what kind of tires you have on there. I lose track of how many flats I get on my $3500 bike with weenie tires that get ridden wherever. On the other hand, I think I've changed one flat on my cheap-o DMR that sees asphalt and packed dirt and doesn't have light tires.

Mile21

Yeah I still haven't had a flat on my road bike that I put 1100 miles on last Summer, and it cost a whopping 150$. Thanks for the input everyone

chrismorg

i had a earing in a tire once (better than the whole ear)