Louis Le Tour

About a mile out of town this morning my rear tire picked up a nail (a real fugly ucker!) and it proceeded to just about shred my tube. SO, after walking the bike home I headed into Modesto and stopped by the LBS for a couple of extra thick tubes and puncture resistant liners. Also before leaving for Xcountry next spring I put on a pair of 'Gatorskin tires. With any luck that'll reduce my flat tire rate to ZERO! I'm not a big fan of flat tires!

valygrl

Um, ok, no one likes flats very much but you better know how to fix them on the road, or you're going to have some looooong walks!

Louis Le Tour

This one would've required a tube replacement, SO, that'll be a part of my "survival package" in the future.

DeadGrandpa

I was just mentioning in another thread that I have about 500 miles on my new bike running Conti Town Ride tires and have had zero flats. Naturally, I now expect to have one the next time out since I forgot to add 'knock on wood'. I guess I should go out and buy a tire patch kit; haven't found my old one and the glue is probably dried up anyway. I am not a fan of flat tires, either (who is?) because it really kills momentum and hardly ever happens near a shade tree.

If you're riding a relatively heavy (compared to regular road bikes) Surly LHTD, why bother with a trailer? Saddle up w/panniers and ride!

zonatandem

Been riding since the early 1970s.
Have fixed hundreds of flats. Always carry a spare tube.

wahoonc

I ALWAYS carry a spare tube, patch kit and boot material. Since the advent of Kevlar belted tires my flat tire rate has gone to nearly zero, but not close enough to get rid of the spare tube or patch kit. Way back in the dark ages before kevlar I had one ride where I had 7 flats in 45 miles... wore the patch kit out.

Aaron

jimc101

Touring and no spare tube = real bad idea, as others have noted, always carry at least one, and know how to fix on the side of the road.

For the Gatorskin choice, having used them, personally would never bother again with them, overpriced, poor wet weather grip, and they punctured just as much as any other tire, although that's just my experience.

BigAura

You need to carry a spare or get an Uber account

Walter S

I thought everybody did. I just makes common sense.

Walter S

I carry two tubes and a patch kit. And I've had to use both of those tubes on the same day (once).

spinnaker

Ah it should have been a part of your repair kit from day one.

Why on earth would you want to try and patch any flat on the road when tubes are so darn cheap?

BTW The first rule of flat club. No one talks about flat club.

spinnaker

On tour I carry 3-4. Two in my wedge bag and another 1 or 2 in my emergency repair kit.

BigAura

+1 : bad karma

Machka 

Yes. That's how flat tires work. And if you are going to be a cycletourist, you need to a) carry tubes ... at least 2, and b) know how to change tubes.

You might also consider carrying a folding tire or at least a tire boot.


Oh and ... if your tours will take you into goatshead country, you might want to bring lots of spare tubes.



On the Last Chance 1200K randonnee ... middle of goatshead country ... changing flat number ???

Duane Behrens

Same here - don't usually bother with the patch kit, just change the tube. I take it out of the box first, put a rubber band around it, then put it in a sealed sandwich bag, then one more rubber band to keep it all compact. Fits into the under-seat tool bag easily that way.

Duane Behrens

Meant to add this: Learning how to change a tube on the road takes time and practice, that is, repetition. I changed quite a few tubes before I got comfortable with it all. During that training period I managed to create pinch flats, blowouts, mis-routed (crooked) valve stems, misplaced rim strips, undiscovered thorns, new cuss words and a host of other problems that now make me chuckle.

I think my worst fault during htat first year or so was being unable to recognize that a tire's canvas had worn . . . attempting to change out a tube only when I should have replaced BOTH tire and tube much earlier.

In any case the phrase, "It's easy once you know how" must have been coined by a cyclist . . . after he'd repaired his 22nd flat.

andrewclaus

I'm amazed when I see an automobile abandoned on the roadside with a flat tire. I guess not everyone learned how to put on the spare tire before they learned how to drive. That was required knowledge in my family when I was a teen. I'm similarly amazed when I see a bicyclist walking home with a flat tire. It's a five to ten minute repair, depending on front or back tire and if you need to patch.

I buy my patch kits, usually a half dozen at a time, for $1.50 each for seven patches, about twenty cents a patch. Tubes are three to four dollars each. I'll patch until I can't anymore. I carry one spare tube, usually patched a few times, change on the road and bring the punctured tube home or to camp to patch and put back in my seat bag.

I've had commutes to work (in goathead country) with up to three flats in one day. They I'll go months without. In statistics they call that "regression to the mean."

Machka 

Some of that repetition can be done in the comfort of your own home too. Spend an evening now and then changing tires.

Boudicca

My record was going through four tubes to fix a single flat, mine, the one from the friend I was riding with, from the good Samaritan who offered help and then back to the original. The first had a busted valve, the second pinch flatted, the third turned out to be the wrong size and didn't fit and finally I got the patch kit out, patched the original tube, reinstalled that one and got back on the road. Good Samaritan asked if I had anyone who could come and pick me up. Um. I was 50 miles from home, and I had the car at the start of the ride, so I couldn't really call the spouse and ask him to come get me. That's why I learn to fix flats.

spinnaker

[QUOTE=andrewclaus;17208707 It's a five to ten minute repair, depending on front or back tire and if you need to patch.

I buy my patch kits, usually a half dozen at a time, for $1.50 each for seven patches, about twenty cents a patch. Tubes are three to four dollars each. I'll patch until I can't anymore. I carry one spare tube, usually patched a few times, change on the road and bring the punctured tube home or to camp to patch and put back in my seat bag.

I've had commutes to work (in goathead country) with up to three flats in one day. They I'll go months without. In statistics they call that "regression to the mean."[/QUOTE]

There is NEVER a need to patch unless you are dumb enough not to carry tubes or simply ran out of spare tubes. And unless you are in an area prone for flats you are doing something wrong if you run out of tubes.

Machka 

+1

I've known how to change flat for years, but it became especially important when I started randonneuring in Manitoba in early the 2000s ... we cycled in some pretty remote areas, and I had no one to call to pick me up. I was on my own when it came to getting home. So, very quickly, I became reasonably good at changing my own flats and doing minor repairs. To assist me in that endeavor, I took a couple bicycle maintenance classes, one of which focussed on repairs we might have to do out in the middle of nowhere.


But a flat is really not that bad ... not the end of the world. It's just a few minutes out of my day, and it gives me a chance to get off the bicycle and stretch.

Machka 

We patch ... or more specifically, Rowan patches. If we have a flat during the day we'll change it with a new tube and then that evening, Rowan will patch that tube and put it back into the collection. There's no point throwing it out.

Jaywalk3r

If I can quickly and easily locate the puncture in the tube, I patch instead of replace. The hardest and most time consuming part of patching a tube is finding the hole, so if that part happens effortlessly, there's no reason to not take the extra minute or two to patch it. Plus, doing so leaves me with one more tube to use if I need it.

On tour this summer, I had three flats in the first 3150 miles, then three more in the next 30 miles on the last evening/night of the tour. Still having a new tube available for that third flat was very helpful. (My pump was also having issues, so a backup inflator also came in handy.)

Dave Cutter

I keep a tiny little scab-patch kit in the saddle bag as well. That way if I end up with two flats before I get home..... I have a fighting chance with patching ether the 1st flat tube... or the 2nd.

Also after I put the spare tube in a sandwich bag (with a tiny pinch of corn starch) I put the sandwich bag in a one gallon plastic bag, That way I can place the old tube in the gallon bag and take the old [flat] tube home.... without getting my jersey all dirty. I can do a proper patch job at home.

One of those little hand cleaning packets that you get with Chinese, of chicken take out are nice to have with the new tube too.

Doug64

Louis,
Fixing a flat tire is a routine task and a basic skill.

We carry 3 spare tubes for 2 bikes when on tours. We put a new tube in while on the road, and do the patching when we finish riding for the day. We are on tour now, and I gave away one of my spare tubes to a rider we met on the road who had the same problem as you. He was also about as prepared as you were.

My wife demonstrated how to change a tube in a bike maintenence class we taught. She could take the wheel off the bike, remove the punctured tube, remount the tire without using tire levers, and get the wheel back on the bike in about 10 minutes. She has had a lot of practice.

IMO the weight and handling tradeoff is not worth trying to get bombproof tires.

Also carry extra tubes, patch kit, tire levers, and a pump. It also helps to know how to use them.

FWIW- We had 13 flat tires using Continental Ultra Gator skins on our 3700 miles (2 bikes) cross country trip. If you run into puncture vine (goat head) country, you might get a lot of practice.