Flat tire woes

[lancito brazofuerte]

@DismalScientist 50281 wrote:

Niagara cycle has Paselas for about $20 each. With TourGuard: about $25. RibMo: about $30.
I typically ride Paselas w/ TG.

well there ya go. All hail the interweb discount!

I paid $25 each for my non tg paselas from my LBS. Still a killer deal

[brendan]

@ebubar 50269 wrote:

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions. I made it to the metro (~2 miles) without incident. I’m thinking i’ll take the tire in to a LBS to get their opinions on long term rideability. Might just need a Park boot (those are nifty looking, definitely picking some up for the flat-pack) if i’m lucky. I’m heartened to hear that they can work “longer term” for a small little blemish like mine. Also might try those tubes that I can fill with the sealant. If I end up getting a new tire, any suggestions from the folks on here?

More unsolicited advice.

I’ve run tire boots on hybrid and balloon tires until the end of life of the tires. I agree one should be treat them only as a temporary limp-home fix for more narrow tires. They’re also have a noticeable effect on ride quality when you use them on narrow tires.

If you do use sealant *please* tell the staff at the bike store when you bring your bike in for work/maintenance. They’ll probably look angry, but at least they’ve been forewarned to be careful not to get explosively slimed.

I’m a fan of kevlar-lined tires. Not kevlar bead (foldable) but kevlar lined for puncture protection.

While I’m babbling…

My in-the-field kit includes: topeak alien ii, a tire lever (technically redundant with the alien ii, but more comfortable), a glueless patch kit, one or two extra tubes, two tire boots, a couple cables (tandem length for the cargo bike), some housing ferrules and a few kmc quick links that fit the more common chain sizes. On the dummy i also keep all that in a waterproof box with some more touring type material. Well I did until it was stolen along with my bar mitts…and favorite hat and gloves. Anyway, that box usually also contains: fiber fix spoke, temporary derailleur hanger, tiny lockring remover, zip ties, extra bolts and washers for loose accessories/racks, etc.

I bring the quick link because I’ve been known a) to pop the pin out when I’m pushing it by mistake and at that point it’s nearly impossible (and definitely unwise) to try to push it back in and b) to crack the outer plate pushing a pin back through. With the quick link, just push the pin all the way out and discard it. Also, you can sometimes can use the quick link in such a way to decrease the loss of chain length when repairing a broken/damaged chain, depending on where it is broken/damaged.

The addition of tire boots and quick links to a pretty standard kit (tool, patch kit, lever, tube) would cover the vast majority of in-city commuter needs. The addition can prevent a required detour to the bike shop on the way to/from work. Assuming you ride with two brakes and two derailleurs, the more touring-ish stuff is nice but not really necessary…unless you’re headed out of metro range. Which some commuters are…

Brendan

[lancito brazofuerte]

Damn Brendan- That is a serious tool kit. But if I was riding a loaded cargo/touring bike every day, I’d more than likely carry one too.

One question for you though- If you’ve got a lockring tool for cassette removal, and can remove broken spokes on the side of the road, why not carry replacement spokes instead of the fiber fix ones? There is a large touring/rando population where I am and they all seem to carry a couple extra spokes.

[Rod Smith]

Contrary to the experience of others, I’ve found the Park tire boot to be a temporary fix. The edge of the boot abraded the tube and caused it to leak within a couple hundred miles. Tires 700 x 28 inflated to 90psi. A dollar bill very neatly folded in thirds, then half (six ply) did the same but not nearly as quickly, being much thinner than the Park boot.

Spending three dollars plus on a set of three tire boots, is basically trading three good tire boots (that can also be used as money) for three boots of lesser quality. My two cents.

[mstone]

@lancito brazofuerte 50336 wrote:

One question for you though- If you’ve got a lockring tool for cassette removal, and can remove broken spokes on the side of the road, why not carry replacement spokes instead of the fiber fix ones? There is a large touring/rando population where I am and they all seem to carry a couple extra spokes.

I’d need four different metal spokes, or one fiber. On a long tour, it’d worth carrying the spares (even if you use a temp and go to a bike shop after, it could take days to get the proper replacement). In town, it’s much less of an issue to use a spare, take the wheel to a shop, and ride n+1 while waiting for a part.

[PotomacCyclist]

I finally experienced my first flat tire — while riding on a Capital Bikeshare bike. I was riding on a road near a construction site. I heard a minor thud, something I always hear if I hit a small rock. It usually doesn’t cause any problems. But the bike felt odd as I kept riding. Since this was CaBi, I was going pretty slowly, probably 6-8 mph. I stopped and checked the back tire. Flat. I walked it over to a light and looked for a cut. I couldn’t see a cut. But then I saw the problem, a 1/2″ screw that went straight into the tire. Oops.

The nearest station was only about 100 ft. away, so I walked over there, swapped bikes, pressed the red Repair button, turned the seat around to signal to other users that the bike was out of commission and continued on my way.

The funny thing about CaBi is that even with a flat, I could barely tell that anything was wrong at first. No swerving, no loss of control. But eventually, I could tell something was going on with the rear tire.

I guess this is why there are so few accidents on CaBi. Get a flat tire and there’s no loss of control. I also read a comment online (or maybe on this forum) that the person saw someone riding CaBi in a bike lane. A car driver opened the car door suddenly, right into the CaBi rider. Because of the heavy weight, the slow speed and the low center of mass of the CaBi bike, the CaBi rider just bounced off the door lightly, didn’t tip over and just kept going, almost as if nothing had happened.

[Tide19]

Had my first flat two nights ago and learned an important lesson, always spend the time to be sure you’ve identified and removed the source of the flat.

The valve on my rear tire tube has been a little touchy for the last week or so. If I turned it all the way down, I would slowly loose air. If I kept the screw on the valve a half turn from full-tight, the valve wouldn’t depress and release air. When I slowly lost tire pressure on Monday and couldn’t see any visible signs of a rupture or cut in the tube, I assumed that the valve had been the cause.

I switched out the tube and did a check of the tire to make sure I didn’t have anything coming through the tire, but when I inflated the tube, it immediately let the air back out. Luckily, a cyclist finishing up his ride stopped and offered me a lift in his truck. When I got home and got the tire all the way off the wheel in better light, I could see the tiny piece of glass that killed two separate tubes. If I’d been a little more thorough inspecting the tire, I would’ve had a success story with my first flat (with a big assist from Dickie via cellphone). Instead I had to finish my ride in the passenger seat of a truck.

[KLizotte]

A couple of days ago I had my first flat in over a year (thanks Armadillos!); fortunately I was less than a mile from home. It was a slow leak. I couldn’t find anything suggestive of the cause so I stuck the tube in a sinkful of water but didn’t see any bubbles. Weird. I presumed it was a one off event possibly due to a stuck stem so I installed it back on the bike but it was flat 24 hours later.

I then took out a brand new tube from Conti (the box says 700×20-25c) and was shocked to find that it is way too big diameter-wise (I have 700c wheels with 25mm tires). I could wrap a rim and a half with it. What the heck?!

Fortunately I had another correctly sized tube but am confused as to what I accidentally purchased. I can’t fathom what size rim the tube is designed for. What am I missing here? I need to buy some more tubes to keep as spares tonight.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]3179[/ATTACH]

[DismalScientist]

Looks like the right tube to me. Did they accidentally put a presta-valved pennyfarthing tube in the box by mistake?

[KLizotte]

@DismalScientist 56334 wrote:

Looks like the right tube to me. Did they accidentally put a presta-valved pennyfarthing tube in the box by mistake?

I did wonder if there was a manufacturing mistake. I should have taken a pic of it hanging off the rim as it is easily a foot too long. I’m gonna bring it back to HTO tonight and hope they will allow me to change it (can’t find the darn receipt). I’m peeved because they didn’t have any cheapie tubes at the time and this was a pricey one. Glad I didn’t discover this issue while far from home.

[Dickie]

I usually find that new tubes initially appear too long (2″-4″ of slack) as if they are stretched at the factory… although a foot of slack seems extreme. Try putting about 10 psi into the tube before you fit it into the tire to see if a little inflation removes some of the slack. This might seem counter-intuitive but it works more often than not and is considered a good practice. The added advantage to a little inflation is that the tube becomes much easier to handle and fills the tire void much nicer. Obviously you want to then let this pressure out as you begin the work the tire back onto the rim. The other possibility is simply a manufacturer mistake… although that seems unlikely.

[Dickie]

@Tide19 56332 wrote:

Had my first flat two nights ago and learned an important lesson, always spend the time to be sure you’ve identified and removed the source of the flat.

The valve on my rear tire tube has been a little touchy for the last week or so. If I turned it all the way down, I would slowly loose air. If I kept the screw on the valve a half turn from full-tight, the valve wouldn’t depress and release air. When I slowly lost tire pressure on Monday and couldn’t see any visible signs of a rupture or cut in the tube, I assumed that the valve had been the cause.

I switched out the tube and did a check of the tire to make sure I didn’t have anything coming through the tire, but when I inflated the tube, it immediately let the air back out. Luckily, a cyclist finishing up his ride stopped and offered me a lift in his truck. When I got home and got the tire all the way off the wheel in better light, I could see the tiny piece of glass that killed two separate tubes. If I’d been a little more thorough inspecting the tire, I would’ve had a success story with my first flat (with a big assist from Dickie via cellphone). Instead I had to finish my ride in the passenger seat of a truck.

You seem to be flying through your “rites of passage”… forgetting to clip out at a stop light, starting and finishing the same ride in the pouring rain, switching to bibs and never going back to shorts, and now flatting on an incline before dusk on a busy road…. and failing miserably… slow clap “Rudy”.. well done![FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif].[/FONT]

[mstone]

There are pneumatic devices you can try if your tube is too droopy.

[KLizotte]

@Dickie 56337 wrote:

I usually find that new tubes initially appear too long (2″-4″ of slack) as if they are stretched at the factory… although a foot of slack seems extreme. Try putting about 10 psi into the tube before you fit it into the tire to see if a little inflation removes some of the slack. This might seem counter-intuitive but it works more often than not and is considered a good practice. The added advantage to a little inflation is that the tube becomes much easier to handle and fills the tire void much nicer. Obviously you want to then let this pressure out as you begin the work the tire back onto the rim. The other possibility is simply a manufacturer mistake… although that seems unlikely.

I inflated it a little as soon as I took it out of the box. I immediately noticed that there was too much material to fit in the tire so I hung it on the rim to see how much excess I had. Oiy! The other spare tube I had on hand was definitely much smaller and fit as expected (I don’t remember the brand since I threw out the box long ago).

Could it being characterized as a “race” tube have something to do with it?

[Rod Smith]

Strange. Continental is a brand that I’d pay an extra dollar for vs. a generic tube. Let us know what the shop says.

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