neilfein

2 so far this year. 3 in 2008. None in 2007.

ian123

so, all of you years without flats people who ride road bikes what tire should i get?

vaticdart

0 in the last year, since I switched to Vittoria Randonneurs (well, one tube failure, but it was a very slooooooowwww leak). The last two weeks I had Serfas Secas I got 6 flats. Before that I had a the Kendra Kontenders that my bike came with and I had two flats on those in about six months.

I'm about to tempt fate by switching out the Randonneurs for some racing tires. The Randonneurs have been amazing: Seattle's pavement is crappy as hell and I've run over glass, metal shards, ridden on a lot of gravel, and I've had no problems with around 4K miles on the set. They are heavy though, thus switching.

PaulRivers

First, the first thing to do is track down where the flats are happening. If they're happening on the inside of the wheel (the rim side) you need new rim tape and a better tire isn't going to help. I've also had several flats right at the stem, and a better tire wouldn't help that either.

I personally have never had a flat on the outside of the tire since I started riding on Panaracer TServ Messenger tires, like these:
https://www.lickbike.com/productpage....=%271766-28%27

That was the first link I found - they come in practically every size possible, and mine came with a reflective strip on the tire.

Last week I was riding with a guy who had the Vittoria Randonneurs and he said he hasn't flatted on those, either. I think they're a little cheaper.

If you want really puncture resistant tire, though expect a harsher ride because of it, the two tires that get very good reviews are the Specialized Armadillo's and the Schwalbe Marathon tires. But like I said, ride quality suffers on those (haven't noticed a difference on the other tires).

daxr

Talking about flats is a guaranteed way to get more flats. Talking about not getting flats is a guaranteed way of getting more flats. Even though I'm not talking about flats, I'll probably get a bunch of flats now just because of all the bad juju on this thread...damn.

ItsJustMe

I can't give any advice; the reason I don't get flats is that there are no road hazards around here. I guess my advice would be to move to an area where the drunks throw cans out their windows instead of bottles, and cars are not parked on the side of roads and have their windows smashed.

I can put the thinnest, crappiest tires I want on my bike and ride 1000 miles without a flat. I just mounted Marathons for endurance, not for flat resistance. I figure $26 for a tire expected to last 8000+ miles is a better investment than $15 for a 2500 mile tire.

rajman

I get between 2-4 flats a year. In most cases my flats prove fatal to tires (0.25+ in gashes from glass or shrapnel). I ride between 4-8 000 km a year (my winter bike has no odo.).

AaronAnderson

Knock on wood I've never had a flat on a road bike. I know. weird. Had plenty on mountain bikes though. Well I've had one road flat, but it was my crappy job of installing a new tire (i pinched the tube with the tire tool)

Cyclaholic

I flat once every 2 - 3 years, and it's something catastrophic, like a chunk of metal gashing the tire wide open.

Before I started using Mr.Tuffy liners I was flatting once every 2 - 3 weeks.

gerv 

I've been using them on tires that aren't Schwalbe Marathon Supremes. I'm using a version from Slime which seems to also work well. The only problem for me is that these liners have no protection from sidewall damage, which has happened once or twice. However, for most of the flats I've had, using a liner would have most likely prevented the flat. (I haven't had a flat in over a year.)

bragi

I totally agree with you about Seattle's pavement; that's why I've stuck with the 37s. But I have a heavy touring bike, so lighter, skinnier tires wouldn't make much difference anyway. (I ride 16-20 mph on fairly flat ground with no headwind, which is fast enough for my purposes.)

MediaCreations 

I very rarely get flats .... but this morning was an exception. A large shard of glass found its way into my back tyre.

xfimpg

Sometimes it's the rim tape that is not flush or just old; replace it.

Ka_Jun

Knock on wood. None in three years on the commuterized hardtail. Just regular utility tires, I run relatively high pressure for mtb tires, though. On my XC hardtail, 4 in the last two years.

ian123

yeah mine were mostly caused by things that poked/cut all the way through my tire=/ my rim strips made of green duct tape seem to be working just fine though =) i think it is just the stupid debree on the road. and once my back wheel fell into a sewer drain thing that a car ran me in to and my tire exploded when it hit the edge. im getting mr tuffy liners hope they work well

Metricoclock

I've only had one in the past year and it went after i was at home and in bed, slow leak. I'm yet to have one happen with riding. I try to roll better tires and pay attention to the road hazards, unlike my friend who i've replaced her tubes twice this year and a new tire also in a 3 week time.

cdalefan

I feel like I am tempting fate by even reading this thread, so, no comment.

uke

It has much more to do what you ride on that what you're riding with, in my experience. The best solution is to pick cleaner routes.

JanMM

I am forbidden to comment.

Rocartfe

I average 1 flat every 500 miles according to my spread sheet. Only 2 so far this year. I find a lot has to do with how worn my tire gets. Almost always rear wheel only one front flat in three years.

snowman40

I've had a tube fail (close to home) just after replacing it. I popped a slimed tube after inflating to the pressure I like by running over a piece of glass (small, like the toe nail on your small toe small) after several storms. I also had a slow flat but didn't notice that until the next day.

I can't remember how many flats as a kid I had....

Most recently, I had a sliced rear tire but no flat yet and it has been replaced already.

Now, all this yaking I am sure I have just jinxed myself for this weekend's rides!

bkrownd

I'm coming up on 5 years commuting on 25mm slicks. I've had 2-3 flats, IIRC. Before that I did 11 years on a mountain bike with knobbies, and had about 2 flats.

Big_e

I got a flat just now. I was airing up my tires to get my bike ready for an inaugural ride of a new bike trail tomorrow morning and as I was walking away from the bike, I hear this "ssssssssss". I turn and my back tire is flat. Must be a seam leak.
I'm tired from work, so I'll take one of my spare bikes tomorrow and change out the tube later.
Ernest

PS: Guess that makes 3 flats in a year and a half time.

sumguy

My cheap hybrid with Kenda tires never flatted. My new bike had 4 flats in 6 weeks. Bought new Forte slicks with kevlar/aramid and haven't flatted since.

JoebikerLa

Run Marathon Plus tires with Stan's rim strips and homemade sealant from MTBR.com. Sealant formula:

one part Slime.
one part liquid latex.
one part water.
one part glycol based antifreeze.