xoxoxoxoLive

When I was riding my Motobecane as a Hybrid, ( with large mountain bike tires ), I think that
in 2 years never had a flat. Now that I have switched to 700 x 38c cheap Kendra tires, with
standard tubes from REI. I'm getting flats all the time. Maybe go 3 months no flats, then
(boom) 3 in one week, 2 on the back and one on the front. This makes 6 flats total since
changing tire size and pressure, run 85 PSI in them, I was doing a lot of trail riding for
the most part. But just over the last few weeks have been staying on the road working
on my speed and distance. And been getting the flats, there not pinch flats, just small
holes, like thorn punctures. I was using the same tires trail riding with no problems,
but when I switched to the road, 3 flats this week. ( just bad luck), I always carry a
new spare with me, then patch the flat tire and put it aside. Do you guys ride on patched
tires, or always replace with new ones. I love the performance that the 700 gives over
the 26 inch Mountain Bike style tires, hands down, even on medium trails, much faster.
I guess that I'm asking a 2 part question, do the smaller high PSI tires prone to more
flats, and do you ride on patched tubes. Now my back up is a patched tube...I'm new
to the narrow higher PSI tires, just wondering if this is normal. Richard

Frankgt2

1 flat on my road bike so far... cuz my tires worn out, just in 6 months and they were showing the cords

xoxoxoxoLive

Maybe I'm just having a run of bad Luck. Richard

Frankgt2

Tires matters, terrain, tubes... all matters, including sometimes weight if I aint wrong. What tires are you using?

Talldog

Don't really know if they are more prone. I have had more flats on MTB tires than 25-28C tires but it may all come down to chance. Riding on patched tubes is not a problem. If patched properly the patched section is actually stronger than the rest of the tube, or so I have been told. At any rate I have never had a patch fail. That being said I would probably limit patches to a total of two on any one tube. No particualr reason other than it fits within my own "comfort zone" vis a vis riding jury rigged equipment of sorts.

xoxoxoxoLive

Kendra 700 x 38c I was using these same tires doing light off rode riding and no flats,
last few weeks, only road riding and have had 3. I've patched them and they hold, but
still put new ones back on, now my spare is a patched tube..and I have 2 more back ups..LOL
Must just be bad luck..They say things come in 3's....Richard

irclean

Must be a Kenda thing... I had some re-badged Kendas on my Schwinn (re-badged because they said "Schwinn" on the side in raised, white lettering) and I too suffered numerous flats. I've had no flats since I switched to Michelin Pilot City tires. Last winter I used Schwalbe Marathon Winter tires and had not flats with them, either. I considered buying Marathons for my fair-weather tires based on my experience with the Winters, but the Pilot Citys were half the cost and I liked their slick profile better. No regrets to date.

xoxoxoxoLive

Mine do have Schwinn on the side...must be re-badged...I just hate the feeling of every time
I walk by the bike now I'm feeling the tires...LOL Richard

qmsdc15

Flats happen. Usually from a tiny pieces of glass. Broken glass is common on paved road, rare on dirt trails, if you get my drift. When you repair your tube, find the piece of glass and remove it from the tire casing or else it will cause another flat.

A properly patched tube will hold air better than a new tube. I retire a tube after it has seven patches, just because patches add weight.

I use kevlar belted tires on my hybrids.

irclean

Fiding that glass is sometimes easier said than done. One trick I picked up along the way; use a cotton ball - run it along the inside of the tire and it should snag on anything (like a sliver of glass) that could puncture your tube.

Dont' skimp on your patch kit - buy a decent one with feathered edges.

idiotekniQues

it's time to get schwalbes (or your choice of flat-resistant tire)

1nterceptor

A lot of riders use patched tubes.
Check out my video at the bottom,
I'm riding a rear tube with 2 patches
and a front tube with 4 patches.
700 X 25 tires.

Tom Bombadil

Typically a hybrid tire that is 700x38 to 700x42 will get fewer flats than a road bike tire. The rubber casings are significantly thicker on the larger tires. And several hybrids come with puncture-resistant tires, as most buyers aren't concerned with the weight of the tire, like a road bike rider typically is.

But if you ride in an area with a lot of sharp objects, you're going to get flats unless you have one of the heavily armored tires.

In the past 3 years, my Trek hybrid with 700x38 tires have gotten a total of one flat. And that happened when I rode through broken glass.

There certainly are several degrees of puncture resistance. A cheap tire will have only the rubber casing. Better tires will have anti-puncture belts under the tread. It may be a light belt or very heavy. The most puncture resistant tires tend to weigh a lot & cost a lot.

Dunbar

IMO, cheap tires aren't very flat resistant. I run Forte 700x35 which flat a lot. The bike lanes here are where all the debris accumulates and they only seem sweep them every 8 weeks Luck plays a big roll too, I've gone months without them and then bam 2-3 flats in 100 miles.

I'm about 2 flats away from ordering some Armadillos or Marathon Supremes.

irclean

Save yourself the aggravation and order them now! You may want to consider Michelin Pilot Citys as well; I have nothing negative to say about them, but plenty of positives.

serra

I'm using cheap Kenda's as well, but I've only had 1 flat in over a year. After the fateful ride, out of the 200 goat heads I pulled out, only 1 managed to cause a puncture. Might be my amazing tubes though, Avenir thorn resistant. I'm thinking it's more their doing than the tire. When my tires go, I'm definitely going to get Schwalbes though. I've heard amazing things about them.

qmsdc15

You probably ride a lot more than the folks who are reporting one flat per year. Anyone who rides a whole year on the same pair of tires doesn't get out much.

xtrajack

What are these flats you speak of??


Seriously, though I ride 14 miles a day minimum, I roll with Schwalbe Marathon Plus w/Mr. Tuffy liners. I can't remember the last time I had a flat.

meanwhile

Marathon Supremes will do something like 7,000 - 10,000 miles.

Also - isn't anyone using a tube sealant like Dr Slime or Sludge?

qmsdc15

So you ride less than 10,000 miles per year!? I though you were a rider.

No, I've never use sealant. Doesn't that add a lot of weight in the worst place?

meanwhile

I ride like an idiot - umm, I mean a man - singletrack on a crosser, fast. That means that I'm good for two 1-2 hr rides a week and one longer one if the pain isn't going to kill me... Seriously, I'm back on the bike after +6 months off with a trapped nerve. And after half a dozen rides my body is already losing fat and putting more muscle on - and I'm 220lb mesomorph. My training pattern is designed to force a very large amount of muscle stress, which means that big recovery gaps to avoid natural steroids crashing the immune system. (It's a variant on https://www.exrx.net/ExInfo/HIIT.html.)

Oh - sometimes I cycle on the road inbetween rides, but that doesn't really count.

The effects of weight at the rim are mostly a myth. You can double mass at the rim to allow for angular inertia, but you then have to consider the system weight of the bike plus the rider. So 200g at the rims, x2, compared to a 200lb bike + rider weight makes a difference of about 0.5% to acceleration. A more worrying problem would be an increase to rolling resistance, but I'm told that this doesn't seem to be a problem.

qmsdc15

Glad you're feeling better. Just kidding about the miles. You'll get there.

Thanks for the tip about the tires. I know you have recommended them before. I'm going to try them next time I buy tires.

meanwhile

Or you could try Duremes if you want something a bit tougher. A poster who rides gravel and limestone tours got his speed up an amazingly 10% by switching them. (They're Supremes with a little extra grip.)

qmsdc15

You probably don't have as many smashed beer bottles on your route.

qmsdc15

I had a big nail go though my tire, get bent, put four holes in the tube and came out the tire again. I look at my tire, see the head of a nail going in and the sharp end coming out. What are you going to do? Schwalbe, yeah sure... Stuff happens...