If the thing happens to someone for the first time, and to another person has happened several times.:o

Me too love my Road Morph :thumb:

Road Morph with gauge is great. I like the flexible tube because if it is possible to rip out a valve stem I will do it. This reduces my chances of doing so.
The gauge on the pump is hard for me to see unless I get my bifocals aimed correctly but it sure beats the "attach the pump, pump. Remove pump. Attach gauge. Remove gauge. Reattach pump. pump" dance.

Most of these small pumps can inflate either Schrader (car tire) or Presta (weird looking) valves. I prefer Presta since I find them easier to attach and remove the pump to.

I've ripped out more Schrader valves than Presta since I struggle to get the pump on and off the stem. If you have Schrader stems and a Road Morph pump, it is often easier to get the pump head on and off the valve if you loosen the collar at the business end of the pump head.

We have lots of goatheads here also. I switched to kevlar lined tires in spring and have had no thorn flats this year. My trike has Three, count 'em Three tracks so I have extra puncture chances.

I'm going to switch over to Presta stems as I change out my existing tubes.

All bike shops in my area of Ohio offer many different type classes from fixing flats to deralier adjustment. Most of the classes are very cheap and very informative. As far as falling goes, it will happen, it's just when will it happen. Please don't let that stop you from riding. If you get the opportunity take a Traffic Skills course 101 from the League of American Bicyclists. It will help you with controlling your bike and teach you how to ride with confidence in traffic. Keep riding it is great for the body and mind.

[QUOTE What kind of PSI can you reach with the CO2 devices?

[/QUOTE]
i carry 16gram threaded co2 tire inflators for flats. when i fill 700 X 25C tire the pressure goes to 115 lbs in 60* weather.

Thanks for the update...

Good luck with the new tires. I've been running the 700x28 version of the all-weather hardcase on my road bike (that I use on rail-to-trails) and have not had any problems with them. But, if you do, Trek will back them up.

... And I agree with you about falling down. My priorities riding are: Don't run into anything, Don't let anything run into me, Don't fall down, and finally: Have Fun! I figure that if me & the bike come back in one piece with no scratches or missing pieces, it was a good ride.

These flat threads always make me wonder why, when motor vehicles can go thousands of miles, maybe the entire life of the tires, with no flats why bicycles have so many. To my mind it says that modern technology hasn't been applied to bike tires. Maybe it is time to insist that manufacturers give cyclists as good tires and on motor vehicles. Oh, they will weigh a bit more you say? Eat a little less, carry one less candy bar. For most take a bit off the gut or but, or both. Seems to me the trade off is well worth it for all but the topmost competition rider, and maybe even there.

Or, maybe, the people posting here have most of the flats, leaving the rest of the cycling population in peace?

Pick up a car tire, then a bike tire. Most cyclists are not willing to put with a 10 pound tire to have that degree of flat resistance, nor are tey willing to tolerate that much rolling resistance. My one or two flats a year are not that big of deal.

The guys at my LBS have generally discouraged me from getting tires with flat protection (Bontrager calls them "hardcase"). I can't say that there is any one particular reason, just things like "Their harder to change" and other sort of nebulous type negativity towards them.

But most of them are serious performance cyclsts... The manager only uses one type of tire on his mountain bike because he knows what it will do in mud and leaves and such...

So, I guess, some people will sacrifice the performance to avoid flats. Others won't.

For myself, I'm just a masher. I would probably like a lighter more performance oriented tire. But I really don't want to have to worry about flats -- and I probably don't lose much (if any) performance by running the hardcase tires (or tire liners) since I'm just mashing along anyway. So I tend to go with flat protection.

But, if I was trying to keep up with the pack, I would probably go with the performance tires.

I think we have a lot of performance oriented riders on this forum. I ain't one 'em. Maybe someday, but not yet.

ps My main ride is equipeed with fenders and a kick stand. Does that tell you something about how highly I value performance?

@ Tex,

If there is an REI near you they regularly have free basic bike maintenance classes. Repairing a flat is something they cover fully.

Thanks tunavic. There is an REI not too far. I didn't know they have bike equipment or classes, but thanks for the tip. I will definitely check them out. Cheers.

Bontrager T2 Road Clincher for me, with the anti puncture tube liner, Sporting 110 psi,,

Thorns are no threat to me,,,come to think of it I don't do flats,,they're just no fun.

My most recent flat was on the Horrible Hundred back in November. It was a front flat at about mile 65. I hate front flats because the bike handling gets squirrely. I was not able to find the cause of the flat. It might have been a piece of glass that punctured the tire and then flipped out of the tire. I always try to figure out what caused the flat. Doing so is important. If the offending material that caused the flat is still in the tire, well putting in a new tube is just inserting a new sacrificial victim to the flat tire gods. The tire has been fine since then even though it is getting rather the worse for wear.

I carry 2 tubes and a topeak pump. I like the pump because it is a sort of miniture version of the floor pump. I can get a fair bit of pressure into the tire with it. Also, since it uses air, I am not likely to run out of inflating material.

I figure I get a flat about every 1,500 miles.

Also, as far as fixing a flat goes, it isn't hard. If you haven't done it, see if you can find a more experienced cyclist and have them talk you through it. It is one thing to "watch" someone else do something. It is a whole other thing to do it yourself.

There seems to be a "cool factor" in having the latest, lightest, high performance item even if it isn't the most durable and the rider is definitely not a top notch competitor. When I made the switch on one of my road bikes to kevlar tires it was amazing how many people counseled against it because they "would hurt performance". When actually, withiin my performance envelope, a pound or two difference in tire weight makes no significant difference. I suspect that is the case for others as well.

It seems to me tike tires could be easily made and sold that would be as flat resistance as motor vehicle tires. To say they can't is, to me, nonsense.

If someone enjoys thin, puncture prone tires and developing flat tire repair skills they can still have their fun. The rest of us can have more ride enjoyment time.

I don't know anything about manufacturing tires -- but that statement does make logical sense: Aramid and Kevlar are essentially impenetrable -- but fairly light weight. It seems like the puncture resistant tires are made by ADDING a belt around a regular tire which makes it stiffer and heavier. I have to wonder why they don't simply make the whole casing out of Kevlar and skip the added belt --that would eliminate a lot of the arguments against puncture protection.

Excellent point. If I were that worried about performance, I would have eaten 1/3 of my December food consumption.

As I mentioned, my Marathon Plus tires have about 1600 miles on them and barely look broken in.

If I get faster tires, I'll put them on a lighter wheel set. Swapping out the Marathons is too tough on the hands. I'd rather swap out the whole wheel set.

Having recently rejoined the cycling fraternity when I did get a puncture I wasn't looking forward to dealing with it. But half an hour later it was done and just like back in my teens I had oil and grease on me and my clothes, nothing changes. Good tyre levers and a spare tube helped and I was able to repair the old tube at my leisure.

I'm new to road cycling too and as I posted elsewhere, was lucky enough to have my first flat at home! Walked in to the garage to get ready to ride and there it was. Had never changed one before, but I had just watched several instructional videos on Youtube, and it only took me a half hour or so, and that included my essentially doing it twice (same new tube, but as I was nervous about it, I got it done and took it apart again to check it all out thoroughly). I also, after the suggestions of others here, carefully looked for the cause and indeed found a teeny piece of glass in the tire that clearly would have eventually caused another flat--sooner than later I expect. This was a front tire though---the back does look trickier.....I think I will check out my LBS or REI and see if they have some maintenance classes---I like to be self-sufficient.

(As for falling over, I'm afraid of that too--if I injure a hand or wrist I literally can't work. I've elected to ride platform pedals on my road bike for that very reason).

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who has a fear of falling. Seventy year old bones don't heal like those of younger folks. And I have yet to ride by bicycle since the roads have been icy, as has the bike/hike path I plan to practice on (I checked it today as I was driving back from lunch). But tomorrow is another day....

I have to go with you on that...

While I can't say that I am "afraid" of falling, it does seem counter-productive: I cycle partly for fun and largely for fitness. So, if I fall and break something, I am further behind than if I had never cycled.

I think we each need to know and respect the limits that we set for ourselves. The limits can't be too restrictive (or we would never get out of bed). But strict enough to reduce the chances of doing something that we don't want to do...

Been riding extensively since the early 1970s.
Covered 300,000+ miles so far.
Yup, you'll get flats eventually so learn to fix/cope with them.
For the past several years we have been using the Maxxis Re-Fuse tires on both our tandem and my road bike.
In 2011 had 1 flat (loosened patch)) in 5,200 miles.
In 2012 (til Dec. 27) had 4 flats (3 punctures, 1 leaky patch) in 5,200 miles.
Our Re-Fuse tires are 700x25s, Aramid (kevlar) protection and folding bead.
Carry a Topeak Mt.Morph pump on tandem and Quicker pump n single bike.
Works well for us!
Pedal on!
Rudy/zonatandem

I have had flats, but none last season. I usually call my wife to come get me. I carry a CO2 cartridge and spare inner tube just in case she's not willing and able. What about CO2 cartridges vs pumps? Any strong arguments for one vs the other?

TSAPP

Yes.

Oh, you want to know what they are? Why didn't you say so! :D

Almost every time I'ever ever used my pump it was to help someone else who upon patching a tire discovered either that his/her CO2 cartridges were empy or that he/she had left is/her pump at home. Or simply didn't caryy anything.

A pump never runs out of air. If you have a spare tube or a patch kit (and the hole can in fact be patched), the pump will work.

More importantly, I ride vintage bikes and a vintage bike loses style points if it doesn't have a frame pump. Everyone has a favorite, but I find the Road MasterBlast (despite its name) to be very good and almost look C&V.

YMMV.

I carry a pump. My expertise with CO2 puts me in the "dolt" category. Deflating ... to say the least.

You gotta pump pretty furiously with this puppy. But it weighs next to nothing and gets the job done.

http://www.amazon.com/Topeak-Micro-R.../dp/B000FIAVLK

CO2 fillers are a waste of resources. If you are too lazy to pump up a tube then perhaps you should reconsider your hobby. The energy, metal and landfill space from a single use CO2 cartridge can be better used elsewhere. IT not that one makes a difference, it doesn't, but millions do. Systematic of a use it once and throw it away culture, no reuses, non-repairabe.

i installed some tire liners, http://www.rei.com/product/787739/st...rs-700-x-23-25, and haven't had a flat in about 8,000 miles. they have saved me from at least 10 flat tires.
every time i take a rest i do a quick check to see if anything is stuck in my tires, and i regularly check my tires for debris embedded in my tires when wiping down my bike after a ride.

Wow, I had to reread this a couple of times.... Biking is one things I enjoy and can do. Even with my CHF (congestive heart failure) and an EF = 15% (Ejection Fraction amount of blood pumped out of your heart in one beat). So please don't assume all those that carry a CO2 pump as lazy. There is no way I can use a hand pump to get 100 psi in my tires on the road. I'm pretty well done with changing the tire during a normal ride of 25 miles or so. I do have tire liners and a good home floor pump. But, with the thorns we have on FL trails I'll take an CO2 type pump with me. AND I plan on riding as long as I can.

That's great! As a home health nurse I've worked with a lot of people with those numbers -- but I've never seen somebody like you. Most have trouble getting to the fridge.

I have nothing but respect for a person who has a limitation and then finds ways to work around it.

Thanks for sharing your story -- and keep up the great work!
:thumb:

I'm new to biking but I carry both a pump and CO2. I also carry two extra inner-tubes and a patch kit. Of course I have been known to wear a belt and suspenders. :)

+1, this is my situation, thanks for this reply.