3 flats in 4 days (rant warning)
 

...

Some consolatation from a mathematician. Even with only a 1% chance per day of getting a flat, you're going to get two on consecuctive days at some point in your life. New tires, new tubes... a little care... that's all you'll need.

There's an idea for cyclist protection...bike paint jobs looking like splattered blood.

Two suggestions for ya, Crimson. One is nitpicky, one is useful.

1: Forget about the "enter" button at the end of the box, text wraps automatically.
2: Fix up your tires and tubes and go ride off your steam. Watch out for glass. :)
3rd bonus suggest: grab a beer and chill out after the ride. Breathe, my friend, breathe.

I had 3 flats in 10 minutes yesterday. Stop your whining, you pansy. ;)

I had three flats in one day on the same bike. What was really embarassing is that it was on a slow-paced group ride, too.

Stuff happens. I had a spare tube, enough patches and CO2 to get me back home, thank goodness. Save that, I was among friends and my wife was a phone-call away if it came to that.

flats no more
 

I had flats, one too many, so I went to airless tires on my OCR2. Now I do not get eye strain looking for "land mines" in Florida.

Bill

OK, I'm going to chance it again...http://www.nu-teck.com Get 130 psi airless and your troubles are OVER! No more flats. Ever. I'm NOT a shill. My daily is 40 mi rt and I've got 3 different commuters. 2 have Nu-Tecks. 8000+ cycle-commuter miles since I got my first set w/zero flats. Ordered a set for my new commuter and the bead was too big for the rims(my bad, not the manufacturer)so I'm getting a set of Sun CR18s-frt 32h, rr 36h. Ran the stock tires w/my new commuter and had a puncture within 2 weeks! W/all pneumatucs it's just a matter of time...

If you do decide to take a chance get the mounting tool, too. It's pricey, but well worth it. You'll have it when you outfit the rest of your fleet w/airless. :) Whatever you do don't get the same psi rated airless as you run in your pneumatics. Get AT LEAST 130 psi rated(5.00 per tire) no matter what. I got 110 psi for my 700x35mm hybrid tires and they're SLOW...but I don't mind, it gives me a better workout. Got 105 psi on my 700x20mm for my road bike commuter and they're LESS slow, but only because of the lightness of the bike. My commute times are always around the same whether I'm on airless or pneumatics, but it takes more effort when on the airless. W/shipping, mounting tool, custom psi, etc. it's going to be over 100.00 for your first set, but when you add up the cost of your set up, including pumps, xtra tubes and aggravation...it balances out. I was just SO fed up w/flats I ordered a set in desperation. Best decision re cycle-commuting I've ever made.

You can have my slime tubes when you pry them out of my cold, dead fingers! :p

Last week I hit two staples (two different days... near the same area... I wonder if someone is putting them out on purpose?)... slime spurted out of the tire for a bit before sealing... on both I made it home just fine. After the second staple (Friday) I pulled the tire off the wheel and removed two staples and 7 thorns from the tire, that ALL punctured the tube... Never had to stop during my commute to repair. :D

That said... the slime evidently does have a limited lifetime... it has a two year warranty... Last time the slime failed on a hole that was small the tube was about two and a half years old... the slime was evidently no good anymore.

Hey, now here's a good reason for drafting other cyclists.

You want hard luck stories? Well I had 3 flats last year spaced a few months apart. If I was lucky enough to have them on the same day or consecutive days, then I wouldn't have had to deal with a tube of dried glue.

Sorry, the only thing I can tell you is the day you start to accept that you'll get flat tires, is the day you seem to not get them anymore. Either that, or you've finally picked up all potential puncture causes on your route.

1. Usually due to someone posting an insanely large pic somewhere in the thread...throws off the sizing of everything... :(
2. Rock! Back on the steed, that's the way to do it!
3. Better is all that matters

I just picked up a new tire for my front. My old one is about to die...violently. I want to replace it before it goes.

Patch the tubes.

May the bad karma pass.

i blew a tube this morning... the valve stem seperated from the tube so no repair was possible. Plus i left my spare tube on my desk at work... chitty.

I'm surprised nobody mentioned the Schwalbe Marathon Plus yet. Since it has about a 10mm thick extra rubber layer in the tread, it has a much greater buffer zone when running over things like thorns and staples, which tend to stick in the tire then get hammered in deep as you continue to ride, unaware it is even in the tire. For comparison I logged 220 miles on stock Specialized non-Armadillo tires and got 3 flats. I switched to the Marathon plus tires and have only gotten 1 flat in 350 miles logged, and I've pulled at least two staples out which went a good 5-6mm deep in the tread but never penetrated the tube because of how thick the lining is. They're not perfect, if you run over a construction staple or a nail then you're still screwed, as all pneumatic tires have their limitations, but the SMP does offer probably the most meaningful fight against flats.

As for slime, I used it in one tube, and never again. It would goop up the filler valve any time I checked my tire pressure or added air, so after about 25 rides I couldn't even check the tire pressure anymore. At that point, it doesn't matter if it still holds air, it was so clogged up that it was effectively useless as a tire by then. I know many people swear by it, but I'd go airless before I went back to using slimed tubes again.

dont feel bad. My kenda kwest kevlars (which had me thinking ill never get a flat) got owned by a dam paperclip today (bend into the shape of a lockpick...), had to walk 4 miles :(

Lesson i learned: Carry 2x spare tubes and a hand pump from now on in addition my tools

The Marathons are good but I wouldn't call the Tuffy's pointless. More protection is still more protection and Marthons are not flat PROOF.
I've got a couple thousand miles on some tuffy's with no problems (no flats), same tubes.
Plus, those tires are REALLY heavy at 800g and they are expensive. You can get something like Panaracer Pasela Tourguard tires for near half the price (cheaper if on sale), half the weight, and for about $15 total and only 80g per tire add the tuffy liners. You end up with a much lighter, cheaper and fast rolling tire with some darn good flat protection leaving only the sidewalls vulnerable. I haven't noticed shifting either. I just pulled a pair out of one set of tires to switch to another set and I had to peel them away from the inside of the tire casing.

So no, they are not pointless.

Oh, and i forgot to mention to the OP that I had armadillos at one time and they flatted a lot. No liners installed in those.

schwalbe marathon plus tires.

One flat in 350 miles is hardly great. I have 2200 miles on my marathon plus tires without a flat and I'm hoping for 10,000 flat free miles.

If I do get a flat there are about 15 people ready to make fun of me since I go around bragging and showing off my schwalbe's everyday. : )

Mr Tuffy will indeed eventually cut your tube and it won't be something a patch will fix. I'm very happy with my Topeak Road Morph G pump which will get you back to 120psi, even if you don't have Popeye arms.

Ride in the middle of the lane and not on the edge where the glass tends to collect.

I had a really weird experience today.

I was riding up a hill and saw this dude up ahead walking a road bike. As I got closer, I could see his front tire was flat. I slowed down when I caught up to him and -- once he got his earphones off -- said, "Hey, you need a patch kit?"

And he said, "No thanks man, it's just a tube."

So I kept riding and have been baffled since.

So what are you saying then? I'm at at least 2,000 miles. So flat at 3,000 miles? 4k? 5K?
If i don't flat for the life of my tire, the Tuffy's are WELL worth it. :thumb:

Just HTFU,and fix it and ride on. Flats are a part of cycling
No need to get bent of of shape.

^^^

You know you're shamed when someone with a grover icon tells you to HTFU. :o

I guess I rode more than 2000 miles before I had a problem. The edge of the tire liner eventually caused a long gash to develop on the tube. Tuffy works so well, you may go thousands of miles without removing the tire. Maybe inspect tubes every so often, and change when you can see any wear? Talcum powder in your tires might also help.

I haven't used Tuffy in years, but I think it is a good product. I'm not suggesting you stop using it, just giving you a heads up on a possible problem. It may never happen to you. Carry a spare tube and a good pump and it will not be a big problem if it does.

I have never liked using ANY kind of flat protectors and I cannot reccomend them to anyone. They all add weight to the wheels, your most important performance oriented item on the bike, so I simply fix the flat, repairing it on the spot but usually with a spare tube I carry. I had two flats in one morning, years ago and I live in thorn country. If you do notice one route is Flat City or Thorn Alley, avoid it, if possible. I have all kinds, all kinds of bikes and love the feel of even very cheap bikes with good, light weight, stiff, home-built wheels. I'd just accept the fact that you're going to get flats no matter what and go for the feel of the machine under you.