Originally Posted by
jaxy357
Hello, is anyone else dealing with frequent flat tires? I tend to ride in the bike lane, a.k.a. the shoulder of busy roads, which has debris that I end up not dodging in time. Is there any way to prevent flatting or do I just need to be more adept at swerving around things? The most recent example was in the dark at 5 am (headlight only does so much), but usually this happens during the day.
Lots of good ideas presented. I'll add one major point. (which is actually 2)
Vision and sightline.
If you're having to 'swerve' around hazards, then you're needing to improve possibly 2 things - 1. Identifying a hazard earlier. If you can't ID the hazard then you're bound to encounter it.
Which means you need to 'recognize' that it's a hazard. And seeing it well ahead of having to do emergency maneuvers. To do that one needs to take direct attention away from the immediate front of wheel area and see more of what is well ahead of you. The further forward you can focus, the more comfortable margin you have to decide the avoidance measure. The faster you ride, the further down the road you need to See and identify. Really strong motorcycle riders develop that skill to a high level, or you're never on the bike long enough to become 'skilled'.
2. Sightline - is in conjunction with the Long vision awareness. Whatever limits you're sightline should also affect on how and how fast you ride. Idea is to never outride your sightline. So many things impact on sightline, obstacles, lighting, your own vision reality, your reaction abilities...
If it's dark, your sightline is limited by what you can see, usually what is well lit by your lights. You have to match your speed and skills to what you can see from your lighting.
If you're not happy with your night sight, get more or better lighting...
Most riding areas/roads are not homogeneous. There are bad, crappy sections and then those which are nice, smooth, clean. RIding aware is important, they require different attention.
As for tubeless - it's an option. For me anything 28mm or narrower tire/wheel, I would not rely on tubeless, too little air volume at too high pressure to be worthwhile if you get anything above a tiny pinhole puncture
More Puncture resistent tires - a good additional option, if the 'ride' quality works for you
Ultimately, SIghtline and A well developed ID/vision of hazards as early as possible will go a long way to reducing punctures.
Ride On
Yuri