Hi, more newbie questions...I got a flat today that might qualify as a slow leak. I pumped the tire up and was able to ride a couple of miles to a gas station and then pumped up my tire again and rode back several miles to my car at which point the tire was almost completely flat.

When I went to change the flat at home. I found a small piece of sharp "something," in the tire tread. It wasn't glass. It kind of looked like a piece of rock but it may have been a thorn (I didn't have my glasses on and then I dropped it so I didn't get a chance to inspect it.) Visually, I found nothing wrong with the tube and I couldn't find a hole in the inside of the tire.

Questions...

1. Shouldn't I have seen a hole in both the inside of the tire and the tube?

2. These are puncture resistant tires (gatorskins). Shouldn't these be dramatically reducing the number of flats I get? I've heard of people going several thousand miles with zero flats with these tires and I get one my 4th time out ?

3. I was riding on the shoulder that looked like it had been resurfaced with what I can only describe as "rough rock." Is it OK to ride on this?

Thanks,

-Mike

You don't say where you live, but if you're lucky enough to live in the right part of the country, it could be a goathead thorn. But small sharp stones can do the same thing, whether you have flat protection or not. Personally, I don't get a lot of flats because I don't have a lot of sharp stuff on the roads where I ride. But nobody has NO flats.

You should have noticed where the pokey-thing was, because there's almost certainly a small hole in your tube that will keep causing you to flat; and it would have been in the same place. Now that it's too late to do that, you can put some air in it and hold it under water in a sink to find the hole.

Shoulders are the absolute BEST place to get a flat, no matter what they're made of. I try to avoid riding on them.

All true. You will get flats. They are just part of the deal. Carry levers, spare tube, pump. I also carry Parks stick-on patches for temporary repairs of multiple flats. I repair punctured tubes permanently with traditional glue-on patches.

Thanks, BP. I am in upstate NY. Not sure if we have goatheads here... The guy at my LBS said it may have been a rock that slowly worked it's way in and caused a slow leak... I was riding on chip seal or something like that and there was some loose stuff on the shoulder. But who knows it could have been a thorn too--I only got a quick glimpse of it without my glasses before losing it.

I am trying to stay away from the shoulder when it's safe. Will try immersing the tube to locate the puncture... Thanks for your input!

I didn't know about the Park Tool stick-ons--very cool. I think I'll add those to my tool bag for a temporary fix and practice my glue-on repairs at home. I've got a spare tube too but want to cover all the bases. Thanks for the tip.

A lot of slow leak punctures, like goatheads, can't really be seen in the uninflated tube. You need to hold a partially inflated tube underwater to find the problem. That makes it patching on the road nearly impossible, unless you can locate what caused the original puncture in the tire. Good to carry a spare tube or TWO, patches are a poor substitute. And, the absolute shoulder is no man's land; that's where all the nasty stuff hangs out.

Gatorskins get flats too, like any other tire. Tuffy tire liners are the next step. Pretty funky solution, but I'll admit to going a full season with no flats after using a set of these.

You rode on this stuff and got a flat. "Is it Ok to ride on this stuff". I think you already know the answer...

Like I tell all my customers.............x-resistant does not mean x-proof.

Do the Tuffy tire liners add much weight?