vol

I have to commute in about an hour

I rode home last night with no problem, fully pumped tires 2 days ago. But just now, as I was getting ready for my commute, I was shocked to find the front tire completely flat!! I'm trying to pump it, but it seems the valve is too movable and air is leaking from there. When I pull the valve as far out as possible, it leaks less.

So what caused the leak? I didn't even touch the bike after I got home last night. It shouldn't be a puncture, I think, since it was perfectly fine when I got home, and I now only hear the leaking sound around the valve.

Homebrew01

There may be a hole at the seam where the valve stem connects to the rubber.

rhenning

Valve has ripped loose fron the tube at least partially. Put a new tube in the tire. Part of commuting/bike riding. Roger

JohnDThompson 

No way to know with certainty until you get the tube out and examine it, but it sounds like you may have a leak at the base of the valve stem. These usually aren't patchable, so replacing the tube is likely your best option. It's also the fastest option, assuming you have a spare tube available.

vol

Thanks. As I try to pump it, the valve keeps receding into the tube. I'm puzzled why it happened between last night and now since everything was fine and I didn't even touch the bike. If changing the tube is the only solution then I'm done for today and the next few days as I don't have spare tube, and even if I had, I'm total newbie when it comes to this, having never removed the wheel or tube.

I rode flat city street and have (until now) excellent tires (Kenda K-192 w/Kshield 700x35c). I wonder if when I pumped it 2 days ago I somehow loosened the valve? But that shouldn't happen so easy since I'm ultra careful in placing the pump nozzle to the valve.

vol

If this were not urgent, would that be fixable without changing tire? Is it a tear? Does this happen commonly?

rhenning

How can you have 1,949 posts and have never replaced a tube? I am almost smelling a troll here. NO you can not fix a broke/ripped valve stem. Rule one of commutting is never leave home without a tube and bike pump. That should be true for any ride. A spare tube is the first thing I buy for any bike I ride. Roger

mconlonx

Press in with your thumb on the tire right where the valve is to keep it from recessing into the rim when you are trying to get the pump head on the valve.

You may have something stuck in your tire -- small bit of glass, piece of wire -- that puts a very small hole in your tube, so that you could fill it up one day, ride it, still think it is fine, and them come back a couple days later to a flat. When replacing the tube, carefully inspect the inside of the tire, visually and by feel, for whatever might have caused the hole in the tube.

That is, if it's not a tear at the valve hole...

vol

Thank you so much. I just pumped it full, with one hand holding the valve until it didn't recede any more. If it remains full for the next 20-30 minutes I'll ride it. Hope it doesn't happen on the road. Definitely will go to the LBS tomorrow to have it checked.
(Fortunately I'm in NYC so there is always a subway not far away in case of a flat on my commute, though I can be late)

Btw, FYI, my tires are so good--and I'm so careful where to ride and how I ride, and never load my bike with weight--that I rarely need to pump my tires. I usually need to pump it every month+. The pumping before this past Tuesday was done at least a month ago.

Edit:
15 minutes later, the tire is not as hard full as just after being pumped. So mconlonx that's probably as you said, maybe on my last commute yesterday something stuck into the tire. I'll have to forgo the ride today . Thank you all for the prompt responses. This forum is where I go when I have similar emergencies. So helpful.

vol

Would walking the bike with the completely flat tire 20-30 minutes (to my LBS) damage the tire? I try to decide whether to go that far (after getting off the train) to my LBS for better service, or to go to the one nearby.

Schlug

No. Walk away!

vol

Ok, great. Thanks! I had actually been planning to go to my LBS to buy another bike even before this happened.

Schlug

Yeah, you're all good. A walk to the shop won't hurt a thing.

cny-bikeman

As noted it will not damage the tire or tube to roll a bike with flat tire(s), but anyone who does so (for example) to get to a gas station to pump up tires that have gradually lost air should be aware that tires and tubes may migrate significantly under such circumstances. They will stretch on one side of the valve and fold up on the other side. It's important to inspect the tube and redistribute it to prevent problems in the future, or even an immediate blowout.

vol

To make the story complete (keep in mind that this is the very first flat I have ever got since buying this bike new more than 3 years ago):

Today I went to my LBS. It turned out the leak was from a small tear on the tube around the valve stem, which was caused by the spoke end coming into contact with the tube, which, in turn, was caused by a small tear of the rim liner (or rim tape, which looked like made of cloth fabric) around the stem area (before today, I wasn't even aware there was such a thing as the rim liner) . And there is no way I could have prevented it by being careful in whichever way: it's simply that it's time for some wear and tear like this to happen.

Is there anyone else who has never got a flat with the same tube on an actively-used bike in more than 3 years?

So, on one hand, it boosts my pride that after 3+ years, the first flat I got was unlikely due to my fault (since I rarely pumped the tires, it's unlikely my pumping manipulation had caused the tear of the rim liner); on the other hand, I'm starting to expect when the rear tube will meet the same fate . I saw the guy replaced the tube without any tools (he just used his hands, no tire levers). Next time hopefully I could do it myself, though the rear wheel is more complicated to remove and reinstall.

(Perhaps 1 flat in 3+ years explains why I have never removed wheels or replaced tubes by myself.)

P.S. There are at least 3 LBS's right where I live, but I took the pain to carry the bike into subway (down and up stairs), transferring trains between stairs, then walked the bike for 20 minutes to the LBS where I had purchased this bike---it took me 1+ hour from my home to the LBS. I think I'm quite a loyal customer, albeit still a very newbie after 3+ years.

Popeyecahn

Survey said:

I was not so lucky with my first serious bike, I think I had 3 flats the first month. That said Vol, you should have learned how to do this for the simple idea of tire rotation. I don't know how many miles you've put on the bike in 3 years, but I can bet the tires may need rotation.

vol

What do you mean? Do you mean to change the relative position between the tube and the tire?

Popeyecahn

Nope, just front to back as simple as that ;-)

vol

Ok, I just searched the web and found this. In my case, though, the front tube got the flat first.

Popeyecahn

Hmmm Sheldon sez no to that, wasn't aware of that. Guess I'm just a cheap ba$t@rd... Nevermind my previous comment.