Originally Posted by
Shut up & ride
Rookie question... I got a flat from one end of a small carpenter's staple. Put in a new tube. Inspected inside of tire but didn't find the hole. After reassembling and pumping up the tire to 120 I see the hole on the outside. It's a straight hole, not a slit like from glass and it doesn't bulge at all at that point. Is there a high, medium or low risk of that hole pinching the tube in the inside? What's your guideline for when you a) do the dollar bill thing to protect the tube or b) go to a new tire? Thanks in advance.
The dollar bill thing is only appropriate when the tire has a gash big enough that it will bulge visibly under pressure, or if the tube will actually stick out through a gash. And it's only a temporary fix.
If this hole is small and doesn't bulge, then it's not going to be a problem (some of my tires must have dozens of tiny pinpoint holes from thorns). This is because you have likely only punctured the rubber and not damaged the cloth matrix, so the tire hasn't lost any strength. If it appears that the hole is getting larger, it means you've damaged the cloth/cords that make up the strength of the tire... and it should be replaced. Fortunately, most puncture flats don't do this kind of damage in my experience.