Colnago Mixte

I went through a period earlier in the year, where I had four bikes with rotating flats, to the extent I was fixing a flat after or during about 90% of my rides. Some days, I would fix 3 flats. It blows worse than you can imagine, and then people start accusing you of being an idiot for getting so many flats, when they live someplace with perfect roads, and not a single goathead within 500 miles.


I keep trying to get people to try the tires in the thread linked below, as everyday commuting type tires, they're super-tough, and are claimed to run for twice as many miles as regular tires before wearing out. For everyday non-racing use, they're unbeatable in my area for resisting flats. Great on dirt and gravel roads, but still fast enough to sprint for lights on in town. YMMV. Admittedly they are heavy. And they're a wire bead, and can be tough to get on and off. Other than those two things I have zero other complaints about them.


Best Anti-Goat Head Tire I Have Found

Colnago Mixte

Here's what the still-unflatted tires look like on my off-road / on-road Univega Gran Rally. Dusty (unfortunately everything in the Central Valley here is dusty) but you get the idea. If you saw some of the stuff these 28 mm tires go over, you'd be amazed.

shipwreck

treebound 

Colnago Mixte

You ever notice that when that happens and you pick up a big nail or screw, it's always in the back tire? That's because you need your front tire to launch it airborne in order for it to land in a position where it goes into the rear tire.

squirtdad

why is it flat's on the commute happen on the days you started late and have no time to spare...... Late to the first meeting.

300 miles on Michellin Pro 4...... not an ideal commute tire but rides and handles so nice

put a new tube in and will patch the old one at my desk.......I don't get too many odd looks doing this

the only thing that concerns me, is i couldn't find anything in the tire that would have flatted it...

next ride will see

and of course I pumped the tire all the way up, (100+ pumps) and forgot I have to have the tire way under inflated to go through the brakes........... so another 60 to 80 pumps and a few choice words

noglider 

Yeah I hear that Michelin Pro 4 is really nice. I don't blame you for commuting on it.

Salamandrine 

Usually, but not always.

I had a safety pin go right through my front tire a couple years back, somehow. It was kind of an interesting flat, as far as these things go.

My front tire got a scary hernia looking slice last weekend. Tube poking through. No flat, but it didn't matter because I still had to take the tire off to improvise a boot. I went for the piece of wet or dry I keep in my patch kit instead of the classic dollar bill. Note to self: put some tyvek scraps in patch kit.

I managed to crack my rear rim on the same ride. It was due for replacement anyway.

squirtdad

It appears I have irritated the flat demons. Second flat in a week. I was closed enough to work I just walked the last 1/2 mile.

if this keeps up I may have to consider a tire change.... the Michellin Pro 4 ride really well, but I am questioning their durability

Of course this could be an opportunity: more commute ready tires on current wheelset and get a a new tubular wheelset for the weekend

jimmuller 

I rode my PFN10 to work today. The rear tire started going pfft pfft pfft about 0.3 mile from the office. I had already put Stan's in, probably for a previous puncture IIRC. Anyway, the noise stopped after about 30sec and the tire never fully deflated. So I just rode the rest of the way to work. Later I just pumped it back up and rode home. It seems Stan did his job right!

rumrunn6

interesting. never used that stuff. so, a question for ya - in this situation, did you go digging for the offending cause?

jimmuller 

Usually, as it is usually obvious.. In this case I had no chance before the air stopped escaping. With a sew-up I would typically swap the tire and not bother to look for the leak until later. I have fixed a few sew-ups, but also sent some to TireAlert which means I didn't have to find the leak at all.

Stan's Tire Seal was recommended highly here. I started using it a few months ago when I went through a slew of flats from roads dirtier than usual this summer. I tried it just to see if I could avoid TireAlert's fee for so many tires at once. It worked well, even on a tire that experienced a second flat right after it sealed a previous flat. The recommendation had been just to put some in all the tires as a preventative anyway. The only downside is that it can squirt out of the valve if you aren't careful. The white patch that can form on the outside of the tire where the leak occurred is an easy way to spot the cause. If it is thorn or wire still in the tire you can pull it out easily.

rumrunn6

oh that's fun. so that stuff is for "sew-ups"?

squirtdad

Out of curiosity, has any one had any liuck with stans or tufo or the orange seal using them in tubes.

I tried slime both the tubes and the sealant and it didn't work well and it was a real mess

thanks

I have used the slime for car tires with slow leaks and it has worked there

ksryder

I've used Orange Seal in tubes with good results.

Slime is pretty useless, in my experience.

madpogue 

Slime is worse than useless. It renders a tube that might otherwise be patched useless. Gums up the valve, makes the tube impossible to store. You can't even re-purpose the tube as a makeshift rope/bungee/tie-down, on account of the mess.

MrK.

I have had good luck with slime in lower pressure MTB tires. I also use it in riding lawnmower tires to stop slow leaks.

jjames1452 

I went through one year where I had at least 20 flats in the Spring. Early riding in western Ohio is always a gamble with flats. Later in the Spring they clean the streets and blow the MUP's, so it gets better.

I got diverted from the river path, because of flooding, up to an industrial road. I rode through what I thought was sand. Turned out to have small glass flakes mixed in. A series of flats ensued until I figured out that small glass particles that I couldn't see were working their way to the tube. Replaced both tires.

And......I had the wrong size tubes for my 27 inch tire Trek 720......took me 4 tubes to realize that one. I know they are cheap, but I've had great luck, since then, with Seca flat resistant tires. I think it is superstion now........and bad memories. I'm afraid to hit send on this thread, as I know, on my next ride........

jimmuller 

That's what the bottle says. I should modify my comment about the "white patch". I saw that happen only once when the puncture was large enough that the tube didn't seal well right away. Eventually the tube did seal up however.

Never tried it in a butyl tube. The Stan's bottle describes it as liquid latex so I don't know how well it will adhere to a butyl tube. However the bottle does not say for "sew-ups with latex tubes only".

I'm still uncertain about how much to put in a fresh tube as a preventative. I read here to use two squirts, which means you get two tires per bottle. That seems like a lot, and indeed it can be problematic at times. For example, if you open the valve while it is at the bottom of the wheel's rotation it can squirt fluid out the valve. I would think (or at least hope) that with less in the tire it won't do that so easily. But the bottle says it stays liquid in the tire for 6 months, so you get lots of long-term protection. My recent experience with the flat commuting was very nice. The tube sealed up before all the air had escaped and I just rode on. Later I just pumped up the tire for the ride home. That was a significant win.

DynoD500_SR20-d

Stay clear from the GP Conti 4000's Both tires flattened within one month, I HATE this version

rhm

Just as I was trying to run out the door to catch the 5:13 AM train, I found my front tire very squishy. First puncture I've had on that tire. I put in a new tube.

Rat Trap Pass tires.

rhm

I've been slowly putting my Bottecchia back together, this time as a 650b fixie randonneuring bike. About ten days ago I got it this far:


Not much different from before, but new rear hub and new tires and new tubes. New lights were yet to come.

Anyway, a week ago Tuesday I got it out for a short test ride, not much over a mile, all on roads I ride every day. All good until I got about a hundred yards from home, when I went over a bump, then my rear wheel made this weird noise (something scraping the rear fender from the inside) , followed by another bump and another scraping noise, and by this time I was off the bike and looking at the rear wheel. OMG! There was a screw in the tire. I tried to pull it out, and couldn't.

I carried the bike home.

When I got home, here's what I saw:




I still couldn't pull it out. I had to get a wrench and unscrew it.


The screw went through the tire and the tube, making four separate holes in the tube. I patched it. I mean, it was a new tube dammit. And I booted the tire with two layers of tyvek, glued in with Barge cement.

jimmuller 

You are lucky it didn't punch a hole or dimple in the rim.

squirtdad

have had the happen once......lot's of little pock marks in the rim..... and really funny bump, bump feel when it flatted

rhm

Yes I am! I only posted it so you'd know you're not the only one who has all the luck with flat tires.