Flat tire hilarity
 

I have a Caad9 that I bought new in 2010. I have had an issue with chronic flat back tire ever since I got the bike. I was ( and am ) a newbie rider so I did some foolish things at first like not pumping up the tires before every ride. I have ridden 1250 miles each year for two years. I finally got frustrated at the end of last summer and put a teflon tire on the back tire and had my LBS check the rim out. It was retaped and a nick in the rim was smoothed out that I had gotten the first year riding. I got about 400 miles in between January and March and rode my trainer a lot. Never got a flat. Problem solved I hoped.

Last week I attempted a metric century and my back tire went flat at mile 56. Then this week I got another flat back tire. I gave in and bought a new wheelset thinking my back rim must have cancer. I put Mavic Aksiums on the bike and though a budget wheelset they blow the stock tires away. I took the bike on its maiden voyage and rode 25 miles and averaged 18.1 mph. Thats good for me.

Go to get on the bike today and low and behold the back tire is flat. One ride, new wheelset, same problem. I found the shard and removed it but I am still livid that I got a flat after one ride with the bike hanging in the garage. I guess I should just be happy that the flat went full bore after my ride was over.

What else can I do ? Change bike routes ? Walk the bike over the set of RR tracks on my route? Give up biking and run instead ?

I have now had 98 flats on the road (+more at the house). I carry 5 spare tubes and a spare tire.

Have fun.

Flats and winds are part of riding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVT2H...lurksmarvelous

Chad on The Purple bike had 8 flats one day.

Rim tape smooth?

Checked tires for tiny shards of embedded goodness? (Inside out so that the middle now flares out so stuff can poke out)

Pinch flat? Pressure is too low.

Puncture flat? Pressure too high.

Pressures you're running at? I had all sorts of problems at 120/90/115. 105 seems to be perfect for me. No flats since running 105psi back in September of last year.

Are you purposely running over the tracks? "Hop" to lessen the sharp pressure that that would entail.

Pumping up before every ride?

Good tires? Cracked? Old? Flat?

That actually encouraging to me. If my flat tire rate is just par for the course then good. It just seems a bit excessive to me. I have only 340 miles in this month and have already had three flats.

Wheelset is new. Tires and tubes new so had no wear. I always inflate to 120 psi before every ride. Im 6'0 and 180 lbs. maybe I should try 105 psi ?

Ive gotten awfully damn good and fixing flats but I would not miss doing it so much !

Flats do come in Threes.

105psi or 100 would give you a softer ride.

For me, flats come in groups. Last summer was horrible...I had a flat 4 out of 6 weekend rides. And when I didn't, my riding partner did. I've been flat free since October of last year...crap...did I just type that?

1 flat in 5000kms for me, get good tires and run them at the right pressure.

There's been more written about this than about abortion, but here are some thoughts:
--It's probably not coincidence. I used to keep track of flats, and one summer I averaged one every 30 miles (lots of thorns here), but they were evenly distributed front and rear.
--Do you know where on the tube the punctures are occurring? Inside by the rim or outside by the tire? If they're near each other, that gives you a clue. If you always mount the tire with its label aligned with the valve, then when you find the hole in the tube, you'll know where to look on the tire for the sharp thing.
--If the punctures are on the rim side of the tube, recheck the spoke ends etc. CAREFULLY. A tiny burr can wear through.
--Also check around the valve hole in the rim for rough spots.
--Be sure the tire isn't holding a tiny glass shard or the tip of a thorn. Feel around the entire inside with a finger. Somebody already mentioned this, but it's important. I ran over a thorny branch one time and had nine flats before I got the last tip out of the casing.

Lmao.....now I dont feel so unique. Even I did not get that many flats.

Same here, but I will say that I use mr tuffy ultralight liners. They work magnificently, no punctures yet over 3000 miles on all the bikes. This is with a combination of average, durable and very fragile (known good road only) tires.

Last flat was when my wife pinched in early March. That was a clear pressure issue, as she had just hit a damn big bump.

yes, there is something you can do to reduce flats. i use Mr. Tuffy Ultralights tire liners. they come in various widths. i use the narrowest ones (orange, i think). cost about 20 bucks and reduce my flats by about 90%. they weight about 32gm each. the allow me to run some of the cheapest, lightest, narrowest, cut and flat prone tires out there, with confidence.

edit: i see somebody beat me to the punch!

I average 1 flat every 1500 miles.

Durable tires + right pressure = good times.

use conti gatorskins. i bet that solves ur problem. or lose some weight.
 

use conti gatorskins. i bet that solves ur problem. or lose some weight.

In 2011 rode 5,600 miles and had one puncture.
Use Maxxis ReFuse tires 700x25 on both our tandem and racing bike.
Live in AZ, so lots of cactus thorns, a few goatheads and loads of road debris . . .
Good tires and a bit of luck.

You've got something on your route, maybe close to home and I'm guessing that there is broken glass or stainless wire/staples embedded in wood, concrete or asphalt that you keep running over. Could even be a carpet tack strip in the house, could be one piece just in the right place.

+1 always figure out what caused your flat, then you can figure out what to do to help avoid getting as many.

I put the armadillo elite tire on the back. The tire that came on the Mavic wheelset was pretty thin.

I believe that there is some section of my route that is giving me this issue. I ride the same route with a few variations. Im going to stop at certain points and inspect tires. Try to narrow down where this is happening.

Haha. I would play around with pressures if everything else checks out. By chance, what tires are you riding on? I rode on Michelin _____'s (forget the name) and I flatted almost every week. I had only rode them for 3 months and even though they looked ok, stuff was just getting in through everywhere. Blah.

Try using some Tufo sealant in those tubes, or Finish Line. If your holes small, less than 2mm, this stuff will plug the holes. Put the liquid sealant in when you install the tube. It is liquid rubber and hardens when in contact with air.

Wait, I didn't say that correctly about hardening when contact with air. Dumb. But the stuff works and since you seem to have a hex on you, this might help.

That would drive me bonkers! I've gotten about 5 flats since I've been riding... 2 in rain, wet roads seem to attract debris to the side. All others were because I was still on "last years tube" and I left my bike at full pressure in my black inside/out car, it got over 40 celcius in there. Probably one or 2 "real" flats on sunny days.

I ride over 12000k/year. Run Specialized Mondo Pro tires and whatever tubes the LBS gives me, Kenda or whatever. You guys are unlucky!

This has been a turrble year for flats for me. Not so much goatheads this season, but more road debris and tire defects.

Since March, I have gone through two patch kits.

Look on the bright side, you must be getting good at changing flats. Is it me or does that pressure you are running (120 PSI) seem a bit high? I run 105/95 at 155lbs and havent had a flat in over 1000 miles. Just jinxed myself but who cares.

You guys with severe puncture issues need to install tuffy liners. 32g each won't be noticed by most people, but cutting out 90% of your flats-- even if you can change a tube in under 3 minutes-- is a huge gain of useful riding time.