Originally Posted by
Andrew R Stewart
The location, size and shape of the holes/punctures tell a lot, without better description of the holes I don't see being of much help. Rubber does degrade with time and can start to crack with it's being bent and stressed (like sitting of flat tires). Tubes leak air naturally, just at a rate that most won't call "being flat" but still enough to have the suggestion of frequent pressure checks making good sense.
Punctures along the tube's sides can suggest a tire sidewall issue or riding with too little air pressure (pinch flats). But could have other less common causes. I can't see the rim strip having any influence of this type of flat.
Punctures near the valve might be simple poke throughs from some object or indicate a seating/fitting issue between the tube/tire and rim. But the base of the valve is a common spot where the tube won't always fit snug down against the rim's interior and can cause the tube to expand (like a balloon) into the gap. This spot will have a wall thickness, of the tube, that is now thinner and can easily burst (like an aneurism). When mounting the tire seating the valve down against the tire's beads and/or the rim helps limit this.
There are many times where novices can't find the causes of their problems but if an experienced person were to have a look the solution would be had fairly quickly. Is there a friendly bike shop near you? Andy.
What is confusing to me is that i was riding this bike for quite the long distances for at least five years, been using it for work, had a cargo on it, etc, and i had no problems of this nature. Almost no problems in any other sense too. So what could really happen in 2 years of not using it? I have no idea except that some parts such as a tape perhaps got dried or something, but i really can't imagine it should have such an influence that now i have inner side punctures on a daily basis on a rear wheel.
Bike is about 10 years old now, perhaps really this tape stiffened or something, but i doubt it is the only problem. @Cyccommute gave a detailed description on what could be going on, he says that the rubber is not as stretchy as it once was - could be the case, but i think it could be the combination of all these factors. Also i don't know if it's possible that if a bike just sits flat the spokes may eventually 'shuffle' a little.
As for the friendly bike shop near.. nah, not really. There is one person into it, but for some reason i don't have much of a confidence in abilities.
Already before i posted this i was searching for possible causes using AI, so it mentioned as possible culprits - tape too old, spoke that should be made smooth if it feels sharp etc. Cyccommute made me think but i really don't know. If i am using proper sized tubes for the size of i tire i use, i really can't believe that the rubber got so bad in only a few years. It's all quite puzzling, but today i will remove the tape and send pictures via links if that is possible, just to make sure that if anything could be done in this sense - gets done.