dr3wski

So it finally happened today. About 18 miles from my apartment, I'm making a U-Turn to ride back and all of a sudden the rear tire is flopping around like a pancake! Of course I ride my road bike with nothing on it except lights (I MTB with a pump, tool and a spare tube). Luckily a cyclist driving by in his work truck drove me home.

My question is: My LBS sells me these Sunlite brand tubes and I buy the "extra heavy duty ones." Well, when I got back to my apartment I installed the spare that has been sitting around since last season and a few hours later the thing is back to pancake mode.

My size is: 700x18-23 (I ride an 09 Allez Double)

Where can I get some quality tubes online, because I'm not giving anymore money to buy Sunlite crap ??

Also, any recommendations on a lean and mean pump/inflation solution?

Thanks all!

GP

Did you check the tire for the cause of the flat?

Beaker

+100000000

dr3wski

The tire seems sound. The bead seems solid also. The tube I just installed and went flat may have been sitting around for a few years in a dry environment. I'll inspect the tube tomorrow (and reinspect the tire) and identify where the flat is. I'm just hoping to get some recommendations on preferred brands. Is there anything I should look for with regards to the tire (other than the obvious: holes, lol). Thanks!

Bob Dopolina 

^^^ What caused the first flat?

Did you inspect the first tube, discover the cause of the flat and correct the situation before you installed the second tube?

Start there.

dr3wski

Yes. I found a 1 centemeter tear (hairline) pretty far from the valve stem. This tube had probably around 500 relatively rough miles on it, so maybe it was on borrowed time?

Bob Dopolina 

^^^On the inside or outside of the tube?

Could it have been cause by your rim strip moving and the tube being cut by the spoke hole?

dr3wski

I'm 95% certain it was on the outside of the tube. It's sitting in my garbage pale right now and I don't want to dig it out and reinflate it. I'm just wondering if there are any preferred brands of tubes ???

10 Wheels

No, I use any brand and patch them when they flat.

Homebrew01

I've never preferred one brand over another.
The point the other posts are trying to make is that the 2nd flat may not have been caused by a bad tube.

Beaker

In addition to Bob's rim tape check, any time you get a flat out there, *carefully* run your finger around the inside of the tire after you've removed the punctured tube from the wheel. It's very common to find very small sharp objects embedded in the casing that are hard to see/invisible from the outside but will cause repeat punctures (small stones, staples, shards of glass)

10 Wheels

Wire:


Glass:

Beaker

^^ exactly

mulveyr 

Not quite sure why this isn't sinking in yet, but under the conditions you describe, it's 96% certain that you still have either some debris stuck in your tire, or a rimtape issue. That's why people are trying to get you to examine those cases before getting into tube brands ( Which are pretty much entirely irrelevant, anyhow ).

dr3wski

Yeah, you're actually all correct. I installed a brand new tube I just purchased and it went flat while I was out doing business-related crap during the day. I'm pulling everything apart right now and I'm going to find out exactly what the hell is inside the tire or if my tube tape is damaged. I've just never encountered this, but then again, I've never cycled this hard in my life Thanks again, all and I will let you know what I find!

dr3wski

...and that didn't take long--

I found this protruding about one centemeter through the tire:


(looks like a staple of some sort)

Above my finger is the condition of the tire after I pushed it from the inside outward. There is no visible hole, but clearly the tire is now damaged. Does this mean I better purchase a new tire? Thank you again, everyone!

Beaker

I've had a few of those buggers over the last few years. I'd keep riding on the tire though, chances of something else going through that hole are vanishingly small.

dr3wski

I got patches in the bag on my MTB, I'm gonna grab one and try to patch the tube. This hole (ya know, the one I created) seems a lot smaller than the one created while I was riding. I'm just gonna order some generic tubes, because an LBS (not the usual one I goto) hosed me for $8.00 for a Bontrager...like, c'mon.

mulveyr 

A good patch is just as strong as the original tube. So it's a heck of a lot more economical to just patch and get new tubes only when necessary.