Flats Galore
 

Some would call it a bad commuting day......guess I would just call it challenging!

Got to work just fine. Lovely ride in. I park the bike across in the storage area of the kitchen I work in and try to check the tire pressure once mid day but did not do it today. So I was walking the bike outside and noticed it was soft. Decided to fix it at work outside and to enjoy the weather and ease of a simple tire change. Took the read tire off, inspected the outside of the tire first, nothing I could see, took the tube out, filled it with air and no noise and could not feel, see, or hear any air leak. Took the tire off the rim, inspected the inside, didnt find anything. Turned the tire inside out and still nothing. Strange. So I decided to put the new tube in, put the tire on the bike, filled in with CO2 and then noticed I added too much. Damn it. It became unbeaded so I let air out, beaded it, and another CO2 in and it was perfect.

Started riding and went through the glass central of the world, Camden, NJ. Turned a corner and noticed it was turning flat again. Damn it. Off the bike and repeat. Noticed a BIG piece of glass and took it out, tried to patch the tube but the glass pretty much tore so deep into the tube that it was a gonner. I was screwed. I needed to get home because I have a conference call at 4 pm (I left work at 2:45 and it usually takes me 45-50 minutes). So I decided to go with the original tube (and still could not find the leak). So I pumped 120 psi by hand and off I went.

Went by the bike shop and got more tubes.

What was weird was the original tube. Why was it soft? I could not find anything, no leak no nothing. I wonder if one of my chef friends took a little air out of it.

GRRRRRRRR

Still has air in the original tube?

yes

Sounds to me like someone was having a little fun with you, although, I admit, flats are no fun at all. I would be a little tweaked if someone was having that kind of fun at my expense.

Yep Thats what I am a thinking LOL Hang a sign and laugh with the pranksters.

They were probably inside the office laughing at you while you changed what you thought was a flat :roflmao:

What a waste of time it was! Paybacks are a B1itch!

Had the tire been filled with air, rather than CO2? CO2 leaks out through the tube, so tires inflated with CO2 will go flat after a while.

As an aside, on my commute and utility bikes, I use Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires - not the lightest and fastest of tires, but when you count the time saved in fixing flats, they seem much faster. I have (between the two bikes) ~13,000 flat free miles on SMPs. One disadvantage is that you forget how to fix a flat ;-P

How long was it since you'd last checked the tube? Wild temp fluctuations since then?

[QUOTE=chefisaac;14291724] I sense that you're just being polite...

So far so good! Seems like you've done everything by the book...Everything should be just fine!

:lol: :roflmao2: :lol:

Since your original tube was just a little low and you couldn't find anything wrong, just a tad more air would have saved you!

I think your leg was pulled on that one, Chef! :lol:

PS.

Of course, there was the Camden glass affair, too :cry: