I can happily report that I pumped the sew-ups (Veloflex Criteriums, 23mm) to 140psi this morning then went out for 65 miles. I suffered no flat. All went well. However I did carry two spares "just in case".

145! I just graduated to 120-125 on the Vittoria Corsa's. I think they ride better than at 100-110! And no flats!

Alas, I had a flat this past week on the way to work. Riding the Grandis with Veloflex Masters I heard the dreaded Psst psst psst psst psst... Dang. A pretty big cut too in a new tire. Decided to patch it rather than swap tubes. Pumped the tired up to about 100psi instead of my usual 140 because I wasn't sure whether the tire's ability to hold shape was compromised. It held just fine for the rest of the commute, stayed okay in the office all day and on the ride home. So for the next day I pumped it up to 140 and it stayed together. Whew.

I still hate flats.

I don't know what Bell tubes are but I agree about the Rubino Pro. I use them exclusively on country New Zealand roads and haven't had a flat in over 10,000km!

I made my sacrifice to the flat gods today. I have to say my full size Zefal HP makes short work of getting up to decent pressure.

and don't say the dark entities of flats don't have a sense of humor, What flatted me was a 2 1/2 inc section of a bike spoke

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps257gwg6y.jpg

I hit a big pothole yesterday on my way home, pinch flatted my rear tire - I'd just pumped them up from 6 months of storage with a tiny hand pump, and didn't look at the pressure gauge.

While changing the rear, my riding buddy said, "hey, the front's flat too!". He volunteered his spare, and helped get that changed. Not paying attention, I didn't seat the bead on the rear well enough before pumping, and POP! sliced my spare open. Riding buddy volunteered a patch from his kit, we patched the front (puncture, not pinch), put it in the rear, inflated looking at the gauge, and rode off into the sunset (literally, the sun set while we were riding).

First time on a bike in months... and this had to happen. I'd have been sunk without help.

I shouldn't tempt the flat gods (demons?) but I can't remember the last time I had a flat.

I can remember the last time I had one. It was Wednesday. Small but non-trivial cut. Patched it, rode on home.

and for followup....patched the tube at my desk. I had to patch both sides of the tube...the darn spoke when through the whole tube. Fortunately I replace my patch kit every so often (Rema tip top) and the glue was fresh. i have learned my lesson there

A few months ago, I was riding in the country with my wife. She got a flat, and she told me to ride home while she waited for me to get the car. We had a time constraint. I insisted it would be better if I fixed it there. She let me do it, reluctantly. I surprised her with how fast I replaced her tube and pumped it up. I can do it in five minutes. I hope she remembers for next time.

Okay, one of you has angered the Flat Tire god and he is taking it out on me.

I rode my Bianchi to work on Friday, parked it for cleanup on Saturday, and on Saturday morning noticed the rear tire flat, a pretty new GP4000II. Hmm.:notamused: Later I found a tiny bit of wire protruding from the inside of the tire, less than an 1mm long, not visible from outside the tire. Patched it, moved on.

Today I took the Masi out for 57.8 miles and about 25 miles from home the front tire, a Veloflex sew-up, made some funny noises. First it felt like it had a bump whereas it had been smooth a few minutes earlier. Then it started going psst...psst...psst once every revolution. What the ' ? Air must have leaked from the tube to the space between tube and casing, I guess, which is why it formed a bump. Then as the ground deformed it some air would leak out. I've never seen anything quite like it. I stopped and pumped it up, didn't hear any leak, rode for a while, checked it again and decided to pump it more. Pumped it three times and on the fourth stop decided to install one of the two spares I carry.

[MENTION=190941]jimmuller[/MENTION] - Full on empathy for ya!

No more flats...

You ever had a running shoe blow out at 60mph? It's ugly.

My sew-up which flatted today turns out to be one I had patched before. Putting the tire under water showed bubbles in the same general area. I'm guessing my patch on the latex tube let go, releasing air between the tube and the casing. I now have two tires to send of to Tire Alert.

A week or so ago I sent two sewups off to TireAlert, which left me with one prep'ed spare. After some heavy rain for a few days I figured the roads would be swept clear of debris, and for the most part they were. So I rode the Motobecane to work these last few days. Yesterday morning about a mile from the house on a perfectly clean road surface one of the tires went pfft pfft pfft. Dang. Five minutes later I was on the road again but with no spare, praying I didn't have another flat before I could at least get to work more than 15 miles away. Okay, I did make it to work and home again with no problem, but I'm spareless until either the fixed ones arrive from TireAlert or I prep the two new ones stashed away in the basement. So no Masi ride today. I'll have to take the Grandis or the Tommasini. Tough decision, I know, not your everyday third-world problem.

Rhetorical question: Why didn't I wait a week before send my others away? I could have sent three instead. Because if I had I'd be guaranteed to have yet another flat next week.

In any case, it's still cheaper than driving to work.

[MENTION=190941]jimmuller[/MENTION], you need to plan your flats better.:innocent:

Hopefully you have begun the prep tasks for the stashed sew ups now.;) I need to finish my last sew up flat repair this weekend, the tubie fairy doesn't seem to have me scheduled for some reason.

Bill

Saturday morning at about mile 73 of the ride, my front tire went squishy. I'd just had a fabulous descent, about three minutes of twisting turning smooth pavement through the forest, dropping 400 feet in two miles, and I didn't notice anything wrong until the bottom. Good timing! A small puncture about 1/2" from the valve on the valve side. I believe it was a combination of a weak spot in the tube and a spoke hole. The spoke hole is well covered by Velox tape, but the tape is indented and put stress on a manufacturing defect. I replaced the tube and rode on.

Then Sunday afternoon at mile 307 of the same ride (yes, it was a long ride), riding through the intense heat of Lancaster County PA with [MENTION=337320]jhaddad8[/MENTION], we took an extended break at a little bistro table outside a convenience store in New Holland. Sitting felt good. But at some point we agreed we should get on the way again. It was at this point I realized my rear tire was flat. I was not pleased, but it made our rest that much longer, and it was a good place to sit for a while. There was a puncture, on the tread side of the tube; I didn't find its cause. I replaced the tube and we continued on our way.

Was that tube a Michelin? I had 5-6 flats that very same way with their tubes. All in three weeks.

I don't know, but probably not. I just buy the cheapest tubes I can. As I understand the process, tubes are made in once piece, but the valve (and the area around it) are glued onto that separately. So that's the natural place for a tube to fail.

This tube has been in use since January, over 1500 miles. I'm surprised it a defect could take so long to show up, but there it is.

Got one today on the way to work. Recently I bought a mini pump from Wiggle to use instead of my frame pump, which rattles on bumps. It works well for the intended use of adding air to the tire. Wouldn't use it to get to 140psi!

It was 87 with 71% humidity. I was averaging over 18MPH. When I stopped, it was raining from my face! little challenging to patch a hole in the rain. Yes, I didn't have a spare tube with me as I usually do. Bummer. The cartridge got me to 120 PSI, good enough to get me to work. We will see if there is still air in it when I head home.

Oh, it was glass on the MUP as I was informed by someone who stopped to ask if i needed anything, nice guy. He has informed the Park Service, owner of the MUP on GW Parkway, Mt. Vernon trail, of the glass. Obviously they haven't
done anything about it.

As those of you know who live here, people don't really care about cleanliness. Plastic bags and garbage are always visible. Finding glass is part of the disposal on the streets practice.

What are peoples favourite tire for puncture resistance? Im riding schwalbe delta cruisers currently... largely because of the price but yet to have a puncture riding in the city everyday so fingers crossed!

flat tires are really a pain in the ass. Literally!

And did it get you home?

I had very good results with Continental Gatorskins. It's not what you'd call a high-performance tire but IIRC I had only one pinch flat over two sets worn out by commuting.

YES! Held air! I used a cartridge to pump it up to 120 even though I now run 140 in the rear. Pumped it up to 142 last night. Because of the rain this morning, I didn't ride. I'll check when I get home. I also loaded a spare tube in my back pack I always carry.

I am reluctant to change to a different tire as I really enjoy riding these and I haven't had a flat for a while. They do look suseptible to glass though.

Don't know if I would call this a flat or not!

I pump my tires every morning before going to work. The front one has given me fits for the last several weeks by hissing at me nearly every time I fill it up. It takes extra effort to get it to the 130 - 135 PSI level that I like.

Today it was the same. It usually holds pressure better than the rear by 10 - 15 PSI at about 110 -115. Well I decided to investigate after watching it hiss at me when I was putting the chuck on it. Every time I pushed on the stem, it hissed. I needed to find out what was going on so removed the tube.
[IMG]https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4257/3...e92e1fd4_b.jpgP1050267, on Flickr[/IMG]