oboeguy

Ah, just like a baseball player's first hit in the major leagues, one always remembers the first flat on a bike. This morning I reazlied that my back tire was flat as a pancake. Out came the wrench. tire irons and patch kit -- I haven't received my fresh tubes yet (my fault for taking too long to order).

The patch seems to have held for the morning commute, and so did the rear wheel -- when I patched the tube, I realized I had also broken a spoke (apparently unrelated). Now in addition to being late to work thanks to the above (thank goodness I realized all this at home) I have to leave work early to hit the shop, which all it means is that I'll probably be staying really late one of these days to make-up time!

Guest

Congrats! Welcome to the club!

I had my first flat on my Bike Friday in late April... more than a year after owning the bike. It was a pretty catastrophic failure of the inner tube that happened all at once, and to make it worse, the bike shop (an authorized Bike Friday dealer) where I brought my bike in to get spare inner tubes and a couple of spare tires gave me the wrong size for my rims, so not only was I not able to complete my full ride, but I pretty much had to wing it for getting home (from the outskirts of Chicago back downtown). It was terrible.

I always say it can't get worse than that. Call that your worst and assume it won't be as bad next time... and always have spare tubes around!

Koffee

eff-J

I fell victim to the infamous "spontaneous flat" problem that plagued Dahon's 2004 P8 models. Boy was that frustrating! Especially on a brand-new, barely-ridden bike. Grrrrr...

But, some new tubes and a couple rolls of good rim tape later, I'm doing fine. So far. (Knocking on wood)

oboeguy

LOL! I'm relatively accustomed to spontaneous flats on my roadbike. For a good 8-9 months I was riding these wicked fast Vittoria tires (Open Corse something or other) which I got from probikekit.com at a deal that was too good to pass up, never mind the fact that they probably weren't the best overall choice of tire, given the conditions around here. Well, they were fast, for sure, but gobbled-up glass like there was no tomorrow, regardless of how often I "brushed" them clean on the bike with my gloves. All too often I'd notice the flat the next day because the air leak was so tiny.

I'm going with the theory that I hit a really big bump yesterday on the Dahon (I seem to recall a couple) which busted my spoke and gave me a pinch flat. I'm not exactly light, at around 195lbs, plus I have probably 10-15lbs of stuff on my back most days.

eelozano

I got a flat on the first day with my new bike (well when it was new -- a year ago).

I was riding around and I ran directly over a concealed nail

It was MTB...so even the lbs said that I hit it at a perfect angle.

Hasn't gone flat since though...which is good.

folder fanatic

I always felt that getting your first flat tire is one of the saddest days on a new bike. I always rate my good luck and skill in avoiding the pitfalls of road debris by not getting a flat in the first place!

James H Haury

If you never flat ,you are not riding enough.a flat is simply part of life.

folder fanatic

I don't see how I am not riding enough. I usually depend on my bikes to transport me at least 10-20 miles a day. I attribute my lack of flats by paying attention on what is in front and on the sides of me when I am riding at all times for debris as well as other vehicles. I find that is the best prevention of flats-and accidents.

oboeguy

LOL! So not true. Absolute statements like that are silly. Lighter people who ride on pristine roads simply will not flat very often. Heavier guys who ride on crappy surfaces (that would be me -- though not "plump" I'm not a little skinny climber dude either!).

Edit: since it's my thread I guess I'll update the flat status. I think I did a lousy job patching the first flat, because it flatted again not long after. I ended up putting a fatter tube in it out of desperation (only thing the shop had) and haven't flatted since. Wo0t!

Cyclon

That reminds me, I should pick up a spare tube for my Dahon Speed P8. All I have right now are patches.