Lessons learned regarding flats
 

In the past couple years, I've only gotten maybe 7 or 8 flats. Most of them, thankfully, were not on my commutes. However, 2 of them occurred in the past 2 weeks on my commute home.

The first was my own stupidity - anxious to install and use my new rear wheel, I forgot to put the rim tape on. The fact that I had brought a spare tube didn't help much, since I forgot to bring the pump with me that day. Surprisingly I rode about 80 miles before any problems occurred.

The flat I got today was because of a heavy-duty staple in the road only about 2 miles from work. When I went to change the tube, I found that my "spare" was the one that had burst because of the lack of rim tape, which of course hadn't been patched. I'm glad I brought my patch kit with me.

Lessons learned:
1. Take your time, and install things the right way.
2. Don't leave your method of inflation at home.
3. Make sure your spare tube actually holds air.
4. Always carry a patch kit.

Each of them is basically a no-brainer, but I guess I've been a bit careless lately.

I have a spare tube but no patch kit. I shall get one. Thanks for sharing your lessons learned.

I got my first flat in five months tonight (or Sunday, depending on how you look at it). I had the road bike out on Sunday then hung it up without noticing a problem. When I grabbed it for an evening ride tonight the rear tire was at about 25 psi. Stupidly, I just pumped it up and hit the road. I didn't have a lot of time before having to pick my daughters up at Girl Scouts, but I thought I could squeeze in a quick ride. Seven miles into a planned 8 mile ride the rear tire was completely flat. Naturally I didn't bring a spare tube, so I got to jog the last mile.

My lesson: slow leaks can quickly become fast leaks when re-inflated.

Did something similar two days ago. I was anxious to try out some new tires. In the middle of installing I was interrupted by a telephone call. Woke up in the middle of the night feeling something not right and went to check the tires. Yep sure enough, I forgot to tighten the QR.