Tonight on the way home from work, I had a flat. It started out as the front tire was a little low so I pumped it up. This happened three times within a few miles. It was on a back country road and it was dark and cold by this point. I pulled over once again and the tire was flat...again! Crap, I thought. Now what? Tired after a long day, I called the Mrs. and she came and got me. ( I got a Angel for a wife!!) Has any of this happened to you?

Yeah, pretty much once the tire starts losing air you're done. Every time you pump it up it stretches the hole a bit and you lose air faster than the previous time. The thing to do is carry a pump and a spare tube.

Yes, my wife has bailed me out a couple of times...in fact the very first time I rode my bike to work, I had a front tire flat on the way into work. Flipped the bike over and changed the tube, only to find that I had no CO2 for the inflator and no pump. So I called my wife, who was still in bed, and had her bring me some CO2 cartridges...she had to get dressed, and it took about 30 minutes, but she showed up and bailed me out. I got to work about 5 minutes late, but never got caught that way again, without CO2 or a pump.

Tractor Tom in Okeechobee, FL

It happens to all of us. My bride has bailed me out a few times too over the years. Just carry a spare tube and a small pump.

I let the long silver sag wagon take me home when I have a flat, or am too drunk to ride. OTOH, I make sure I always have a spare with me so I don't have to resort to that. It still doesn't help though when you're drunk. (This has happened more that I ever thought it would. I typically ride in on Wed and Fri, and these are the days the guys always want to go out and have "one" after work.)

stop right there! that's wonderful that your wife bailed you out, but the first thing you should have done was get off your bike and patch or replace the tube. check the tire for sharp objects and big holes, install the tube, inflate, and ride on. if all of us relied on bailouts to get us home, we would quickly annoy everyone we know who has access to a car while we are riding.

what was stopping you from fixing it on your own?

at least one tube, one patch kit, and one pump minimum for commuting, IMO.

I also don't understand commuting with co2 instead of a pump... three bucks a pop, and if you don't get it right the first time, you're screwed....

Patch kit, spare tube, pump. At night a helmet mounted light puts light where you look.

Oddly enough, my only flats have been on the rear tire. I think it's because that's where the weight is.

Anyway, I carry a spare tube and a frame pump, along with some tire levers. I change out the tube and patch the old tube when I get to my destination.

spend the extra $$ on some good tires. Armadillos or Marathons and you won't have flats. maybe one a year.

If you haven't gotten a flat while out riding you haven't been riding for very long. Doesn't take much to be prepared to fix a flat on the road, as others have already pointed out.

Now, there's a decent reason for one.

I have to agree. My wife would love to bail me out if I ever needed it, but she is blind. Not that we own a car anyway. Really, it should be something truly gnarly like a frame failure that makes a cyclist reach for the phone. A flat? We need some kind of formal censure protocol for this incident. What next will people shamelessly reaveal that they have done here? Take the bike to the LBS to get the flat fixed... ?? I'm afraid I know the answer to that <smh>.

The only thing that breaks that needs a phone call home is a bone. Unfortunately that's happened two times too many for me.

even broken bones shouldn't make you resort to calling your backup. a guy got halfway through a small group mtb ride here the other week before taking a gnarly spill. he rode it back and then noticed his arms and hands were going numb... three fractured vertebrae.

I think I'd rather just get the ride to the hospital and then home, thanks... Broke BOTH wrists one time, and my pelvic bone another. And there was also the time I bit completely through my upper lip on a spill and it was hanging. The surgeon that stitched me up was drop dead gorgeous. She had to sew my tongue back up into my mouth too

When I first started commuting I was getting way to many flats. I always carried a spare tube, patch kit, tire levers, and pump. The first time it happened I was discovered how nice most other bikers were asking if I had everything I needed, etc. One person even stopped to help and advice, such as checking for any debris, etc. It was my first time doing this on my road bike (had only done a mountain bike prior) but I got it done with a bit of struggling. Sadly I continued to get flats at to high of a rate, the final straw for me was a flat on the Golden Gate bridge thanks to some broken glass I couldn't see in the low light and fog. Nobody stopped to see if I was ok on that one, but I got it changed and home safe. After that last flat I got a set of flat resistant tires (conti gatorskins) and haven't had a flat since. I am always careful to check air pressure daily to avoid pinch flats.

I never thought of calling for help, though if I needed it my wife's travel schedule means it may not be there. My backup plan if I didn't have a tube or anything more major broke would be to take a bus home.

It's always nice to have the option to call for help, but you should be self sufficient with items for basic repairs and if possible know a backup transit option.

I'm ususally riding to a commuter train station so a bail out would involve up to a fifty mile one way drive for my wife, so I carry two spare tubes and a pump. Three flats and I catch a bus.

Some people do this simply because they do not want to always show up at work 20 minutes early just in case they have a mechanical but also do not want to have to show up late because of a simple problem. I know one guy who spent a lot of time riding in some pretty exposed areas that are known for storms coming in incredibly quick so he would carry a pump and a co2, the co2 was simply in case he got caught out in a lightning storm and flatted.

Hmmm.... Evaluate your commuting preparedness you need to...

seriously, through--you should practice switching a tube out, patching a tube (you now have a test bed--you did keep your old tube, right?), and inflating your tire to a reasonable pressure.

Yup. Flats. They happen.

I've had plenty of flats, but I just throw in a new tube. The only time I've bailed is once when I had the entire side of the tire blow out for about 4 inches.

I got really good at changing flats when I got a road bike this year. thin 23s at 120PSI seem to flat a lot more than thick walled 32s at 40 PSI... I probably had 6 or 8 flats this year - I probably had a total of 8 flats in the previous 8 years before that, except for one fateful day when I had a bad rim strip and didn't realize what was up, and had 5 flats in one day. I started patching on the road which is never good.

If bike tires were tough enough to prevent flats, they'd be too heavy to ride. So to get a reasonable or pleasant ride, they are vulnerable.