cyclezen

8 flats in the past 10 rides, on three different machines...
been a bad ju-ju 10 days... I am freekin livid!
flat sources:
1 - 2 inch dry wall screw which drove itself thru the tire and into the rim - I COULD NOT remove it without using the phillips part of tool...

3 - metal wire bits driven thru tire - wire looks like the remnants of auto tire steel belts...

4 - tiny glass shards - I sweep my tires while riding, more than most riders do... still never enough
worst concentration of flats was in Montecito and Hope Ranch, rich people take poor care of their roads - bad roads a re not a biggie iff'n you drive a new bentley every yr.

I've taken to riding my 30+ yr old Nago Super, which has tire-savers installed

If I didn;t 'patch' I wouldn't have had enough tubes to cover the epidemic...
Tubes are all Conti - which I now think are NOT any better than your std nashbar tube.

tried the 'Old tire' piece of rubber patch - iffy
getting that talc off the old rubber takes more than just a wash or sanding...
.25c patches - I can live with that...

iff'n you really wanna have fun with tahrs, try repairing sewups...

Edit: meant 'Old Tube' piece...

pallen

yes, that was the ones. I don't remember any of them failing and they were fun! Fire and smoke and danger!

ahsposo 

No, I rarely flat.

Maybe cuz I don't ride on MUPs or where autos don't go. I let the autos "sweep" the road for me.

Conti GP 4000s

If I do flat I got better uses of my time than patching a $4 tube.

The last time I flatted on a road bike with the Contis was 18 or so months ago when I had a moment of inattention and got a pinch flat on a nasty pot-hole.

About six months before that I picked up a piece of steel belted radial wire.

It's a rare day I don't get at least 20 miles.

I'll bet my Rema Tip-Top kit is 10 years old and probably no good.



I ride with two spare tubes and some clueless patches and a cell phone.

ahsposo 

I believe this to be essentially correct. For butyl at least and latex is pretty stupid for the recreational rider like myself. The only thing I have to have is a smooth valve stem. Those threaded things hang on to my pumphead and I've ripped out stems.


Sewups are an even bigger waste of time than patching tubes even when they're not flat. For the recreational rider the only plausible reason to use these is for 'cross.

"Oh, the ride is so supple" is a big stinking pile of delusional bull. I have ridden tubulars for more miles probably than clinchers so I know.

Now the rim you mount them on might be a better ride but the tire? NFW.

joe_5700

I guess it all depends on where you ride. Just about all of my miles are on roads, highways ad highway shoulders. Sometimes avoiding glass is nearly impossible... Autos can leave behind steel belt wire... Also miles 1000-2000 were completely horrible for flats on my Serfas Seca RS tires that I had on one of my bikes. I think my next set of tires will be GP 4000's.

StanSeven

Two things that really reeduce flats are replacing tires before they are worn thin and keep an eye on the road for galss and debris. It's amazing how it easy it is to avoid glass when you get used to spotting it.

Diegomayra

I agree. This is definitely not something I would do on the side of the road. I inflate the tube to bulge the area where the pinhole is, use a dremel to speed up the roughing process. Usually do an area about 3/4" wide by 1" long.

Worked for me.

StevenAkaProek

patched tubes work as good as a new tube

I got a flat on my Gator skins after 1,500 miles

I replaced the tube. Inspect it and notice a patch I totally forgot I was riding on

M_FactorX19

i carry Lezyne stick on patches with me when i ride and have not had any trouble with them.