Just a Flat Tire, Right?
 

As will become clear I am not an experienced mechanic or cyclist for that matter. But I did think that I could change a flat tire (clinchers, BTW).

I hit something that I never saw today. It sounded like a long/skinny piece of metal. And the result was a rear flat. Not fun but hardly the end of the world. I was in a hurry and add that to marginal competence, then maybe it is (for me, anyway).

This was a local/errand type ride and all that I had was a single tube (I'm not a tube patcher, but I think I will be soon). But still no problem. So I took off the rear tire/tube and the first mistake I made was to just casually check the entire inner tire casing rather than find the hole in the tube and more carefully check that area of the tire. I felt nothing so installed the new tube and (in a manner that would go viral on Youtube) wrestled the tire/tube back on the wheel.

I had a Co2 inflator and, for some reason that mankind will never understand, that worked without a hitch. I was fumbling around getting the rear tire back on without tying my chain in knots when POW - rear tire went flat. At this point there was no reason to understand why this happened - I was stuck so it was 'the phone call of shame' for a ride.

BTW, we are far from done screwing things up at this point.

After dinner I again pulled the rear tire and checked more closely. I had a solid 3/8" (not at all clean) gash just above the bead of the tire. That was the culprit in the first flat and the second tube popped as it was being forced out that gash. Other than carrying more repair capability than I had, I'm not sure what one would do about that one (other than not waste a tube).

So I pulled an old tire that was in decent shape, and got out another NEW tube. I installed that (at least I am getting better at this) and tried to pump it up with my floor pump. I COULD NOT get it past 50 pounds. And it wouldn't hold 50 pounds for more than 10 seconds. As best as I could determine, this tube had a leaky value - it would leak air slowly no matter what the state of the presta valve (screwed in or not). I would have heard it but my neighbor was mowing his yard. OK - so much for that tube.

I found another old tube of questionable vintage and (yet again) pulled and re-installed. For some reason I had trouble this time getting the last 6 inches of tire into the rim. And somehow I managed to give myself a pinch flat with my tire tool while doing this! I mean, really?

So I dug even deeper into recesses of my garage rarely visited and found mouse droppings and one more tube. I put it on without a problem, so my assumption is that this worked simply to get me back on the road so that, in the most inconvenient place, I will encounter another flat. So first stop tomorrow is tubes and a patch kit.

dave

Sometimes the valve leaks due to a bent valve stem which can be easily straightened with a pliers.

you can repair a gash well enough to get home with any type of paper or tape. A dollar bill or piece of cardboard, or my personal choice, a piece of tyvek can be used as a tire boot

Thanks for the tips/info. FWIW, while the suspect valve stem was not obviously bent the tube would appear to hold air after some active 'messing around it the valve'. But I think this tube is too suspect to be used.

And it would be really appropriate if I could use mouse droppings to repair that gash :lol:

Would a 3/8" gash be considered "repairable" for future/general use of a tire?

Thanks.

dave

Just not your lucky day, but at least you had a phone and didn't have to walk for miles. I usually cut a few squares (~2"x2") from an inner tube and carry just in case I need a boot. I've given several away for others that have sliced their tires. Of course a dollar bill works, too, but not sure how big your gash was. Regarding the bad tube, it happens. If it has a removable core, maybe it wasn't tightened enough, but sometimes they are bad right out of the box. I personally would not continue to use a tire that had a 3/8" gash in it. Unless you like making the another call of shame.

Neither me. Just ditch the tire.

I carry a Park Tool tire boot. I've had to use one twice. In each case, the boot got me home. In each case, the tire was toast, but I made it.

A great example of making a short story long.

But, if the gash you found was long the rim and not more radial, I doubt the object you hit caused it. The most common causes or this type of blowout are riding with inadequate pressure for a long time, and abrasion from a brake shoe mounter a bit high (out from the hub) and overhanging the rim. Over time this can abrade the tire at the rim line, eventually leading to the tire tearing and blowing out. The best evidence of brake shoe abrasion as the culprit are lines running either direction from the tear.

Anyway, I hope your bad luck (and related grief) are behind you for a while.

Remember the lesson to always figure out what caused your flat before you try to fix it. I also recommend carrying a few stick on patches in case your spare tube fails.

It happened to me last weekend. I hadn't ridden my road bike for a couple of weeks. During my last ride I had 2 flats on my rear tire. I meticulously checked for tacks and/or thorns but didn't find any. I stopped thinking about it because I finished the last 30 miles of my ride without incident.

Before my ride last Sunday I pumped up my tires since I hadn't ridden the bike for awhile. They both showed some moderate pressure loss but nothing unusual. I pumped them both up to 100 and went to drop a few pounds off my bike. While doing some pre-ride reading I hear a peeezzzzzzzz. My bike flatted in the living room. I cleaned up and went to check out my tire. I dismounted the tire, visually inspected every last mm. I didn't see a single thing. So I install a new tire, pump it up to 100, and ride off to meet the group. As I was relating my story to the my friends I decided to spin my tires a couple more times. Lo and behold there was a small gash with the tube poking out. That ended my ride for the day.

I went home and checked my other tire and it turns out I had gash in that one too. During my ride a couple of weeks ago I must have gone over some glass and didn't notice. It took out two tires. They were GP4000s ii. One had 5k on them and the other had less than 500. I ended up using some 23mm Schwalbe Durano S tires that came on my SuperSix. I realize I don't have much feel of anything because going from 25 to 23 had no noticeable effect.