griffin_

after work lastnight at 11:30 i locked my bike in front of the store and went to one of my coworkers house, i got a ride because it was far and i was feeling lazy, anyway i got dropped back off at 5am and both of my tires were flat
the holes were so small i couldn't see them even after i felt where the air was coming out
and i know they weren't flat when i locked it up because i was riding around in the store
blah blah

i found out today i couldn't replace a 700 tube worth a damn, never had a problem with 27s but i've ****ed up two new tubes today

heebro

yeah it was funny the first time I did a 700, took like 8 tries, 23.9 patches, and it was still flat...

inflate tube very slightly, put it in the tire
put valve through hole in the rim
put one bead over the rim all way 'round
starting at valve work the other bead over the rim but only half way round
go back to valve and work bead over the rim again in the other direction
end up with one six inch section of tire that seemingly won't go over the rim
use your fingertips to roll the rest of the tire over the rim. work it from the very point where it transitions from being inside the rim to being outside the rim. it *will* go on. once you get to a point it will just pop into place.

you may have to deflate the tube again after the first bead is on but make sure it isn't folded or twisted or poking out.
once it is all on, look all the way round, both sides, between the rim and tire bead to check the tube isn't poking out.

make sure the bead is evenly seated all the way round and inflate to a gazillion PSI.

NO TIRE LEVERS...

boots

the tires may have been punctured before you locked up without your knowing, even though you say you rode around in the store (?!!?)

on my first alleycat, I ran over a patch of glass just before the williamsburg bridge, rode over the bridge, rode to the bar, hung around for a while sitting on my bike, locked up, went inside, drank, came out, tires were flat. I thought it was vandalism, but i finally realized i had just picked up glass in both tires.

if you couldn't even see the holes, they would have been slow leaks, which you can ride for a good long while before they flatten out.

tink20seven

A while back, there was this guy in pittsburgh that would go around flatting people's tires with a staple gun. I seem to recall him having a slight problem upstairs (if you know what i mean). In a report that was released he was quoted as saying he "liked the snake sound"

perhaps he has a brother in philly?

genericbikedude

I did it. Sorry.

evanyc

"NO TIRE LEVERS..."

why not?

i can change a 700 in just a few minutes and did so yesterday, however it took me about 20 minutes of handpumping to get it inflated when my f'n co2 cartridge thing wouldn't work! suuuuucks. before the ride i actually thought "why do i need the handpump, i got 2 co2s... ehhh, might as well bring it." thank god.

ps. i also recommend once you get the tube under the tire, pushing out on the valve a bit just to make sure that area of the tube is all the way inside the tire instead of getting pinched by the bead. seems to be the area that happens the most and leads to it popping when inflated.

celephaiz

i seem to get flats locked up outside as well... most recently i was flatted when i left a bar in u city. It was late so i had my buddy drive it to his house, i put a new tube in, pump pump pump--------explode... put in another, pump pump pump--------explode. my buddy lends me his bike for the night to get home. The next day, when i was a little less drunk and less in a rush, i examined the tire in the light. there was a pretty sizable hole/slit in it... to this day i don't know if the hole was the result of me pumping a twisted tube to 110 and blowing through the tire or if someone slashed it (or even if my locking it to the fence somehow did it)... but i am fairly certain that pumping the tube through the hole blew it the second time... end of the story, I bought by first new set of 700 tires. they were a REAL ***** to put on

BostonFixed

Easy. Just ride it all the time, and never lock it up. No flat tires.

manboy

Zounds! These pneumatic tires surely are the devil's work.

puchrider137

ive heard co2 bleeds faster than air? true?

psn

Someone else claimed that the other night at the ghettodrome (our name for the MIT running track). The only thing I can think of is that the CO2 diffusion through the tube wall is enhanced due to a large concentration gradient, i.e. that there is a strong concentration of CO2 inside the tube and zero outside. On the other hand, CO2 is definitely a larger molecule than either N2 or O2, so I would think that the larger molecular size would actually slow this diffusion. End result, it doesn't seem like it would make a *huge* difference, but that was a really sketchy analysis.

That was a lot of science for a Friday night, so I'm going to go back into my hole now.

andylago

air diffuses through rubber?

ryan_c

Does this mean you never pump up your tires unless you get a flat?
Yeah, it diffuses, just very slowly. That's why if you let a bike sit for a year the tires will be flat (NOT gremlins)

andylago

i always figured it was leaking out of the valve stems.

...and are you saying there's no such thing as gremlins?

Camel

[QUOTE=psn]Someone else claimed that the other night at the ghettodrome (our name for the MIT running track). The only thing I can think of is that the CO2 diffusion through the tube wall is enhanced due to a large concentration gradient, i.e. that there is a strong concentration of CO2 inside the tube and zero outside. On the other hand, CO2 is definitely a larger molecule than either N2 or O2, so I would think that the larger molecular size would actually slow this diffusion. End result, it doesn't seem like it would make a *huge* difference, but that was a really sketchy analysis.[QUOTE]

Shape & charge could also make a difference (if there even is one) along w/concentration gradient.

steaktaco

I wouldn't park my bike there again, if I were you.

griffin_

thanks
i will though

its the suburbs

ImOnCrank

Gremlins my ass, it's the freakin gnomes that do it.

crushkilldstroy

i blame the government.