View Single Post
Old 12-12-12 | 08:04 AM
  #9  
cyccommute's Avatar
cyccommute
Mad bike riding scientist
Titanium Club Membership
20 Anniversary
Community Builder
Community Influencer
 
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 29,187
Likes: 6,265
From: Denver, CO

Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones

Originally Posted by nishikiaero
So I bought this bad boy about a month ago for next to nothing, and since then I've fully serviced it including brakes, gears, new chain, new tyres and spokes alignment. But after six rides I've come away with four flat tyres. While two came simultaneously from hitting a decent-sized pothole, the other two seem to have come out of nowhere. It's frustrating as hell because I keep getting stranded miles away from home, and it's getting costly forking out for new tubes. It's a 1980(ish) Nishiki Aero with a 56cm frame - I'm 172cm and 76kg - Am I too heavy for this bike? Or are the old alloys just simply too weak? Any other suggestions as to how I can prevent further flats? I just use it for road riding

Cheers,
Ryan
Flats are random events...unless there is a underlying mechanical cause like rim tape or failure to remove the puncturing object. Others have covered this. I'll cover technique.

You say that 2 flats came from 'hitting decent-sized pothole(s)'. Therein lies some of your problem. You aren't particularly heavy but you can still do damage to you tires, tubes and wheels if you don't ride properly. Hitting a pothole hard enough to cause a pinch flat says to me that you are sitting on the saddle like a sack of potatoes and letting the bike take the impact. You need to ride 'light' in the saddle by using your arms and legs to absorb the shock of impacts. You don't 'sit' in a bicycle saddle like you would a chair. You hover over the saddle most of the time and when you see an impact coming...you should be watching for them too...you lift your body up and used flexed arms and legs to absorb the impact. Your body's suspension can provide several inches of travel and allow the bike to bounce upward on impact so that the wheels don't take the brunt of the hit.

I'm a lot heavier then you and I ride bikes with lower pressures but seldom experience pinch flats. That's because no matter what bike I ride...mountain bike, road bike, commuter bike or loaded touring bike...I always ride light in the saddle. I even jump mountain bikes and seldom set down with a KERTHUNK! because I let my arms and legs absorb the impact.
__________________
Stuart Black
Dreamin' of Bemidji Down the Mississippi (in part)
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!





cyccommute is offline  
Reply