Junked tubes
 

Tried to go for a ride today, and I ended up throwing out 3 tubes which kept me from riding. 2 of the tubes went bad from tearing where the valve attaches to the tube itself. So I figure I'll patch up the hole in my last tube and stop at the LBS on my ride since I was going past it and pick up a few spares. The my third tube which went bad on my ride Sunday had so many holes in it that I ran out of patches! Not that I started with a new patch kit. So now I am unable to ride since I don't have 2 tubes or patches to get to the LBS. I'm doing my first metric century this Sunday and was hoping to use today as day for prepping for it. I work night shifts tonight and tomorrow and won't be able to get a good ride in Thursday or Friday. Saturday I just plan on doing a warm up ride, nothing too significant since I've only done a half dozen 50 mile rides. I need to get some new tubes/tires that won't get flats or go bad like this. One of my tires on the Sunday ride even had the valve tear as I was topping it off when I replaced the rear wheel that went flat. Why does this keep happening?

Tubes often tear at the valve when horizonal force is exerted on them. This can be from using a handheld pump or from overly harsh treatment when they are seated in the tire and on the rim.

Paul

What is the condition of your tires? That could be the reason you're getting so many flats. Are you putting enough pressure in? They should be close to the maximum recommended to avoid pinch flats, and be very careful installing the tubes to avoid pinching them. Try not to use a tire lever to put the tire back on any more than necessary, and put enough air in the tube to give it some shape to avoid pinching it between the tire and rim.