flat tires

[OneEighth]

Do you know if the tubes are getting holed in the same place? That would help you pinpoint where to look on the inside of your tire to find the sliver of whatever that has probably poked through and is causing your flats.
You can also run your thumb around the inside of the tire. Might get knicked, though.
Just in case—are you making sure that the replacement tubes are completely inside the tire and not caught between bead and rim?
Good luck.

[JustinW]

Pinch flats, perhaps? Are you hitting a sharp-ish curb or bump in the road consistently with your rear wheel (perhaps while lifting the front off of the bump)? Easier to get these than you’d think. Given some of the road conditions around here (including transitions from path to road, sidewalk to road, etc.), I’m surprised we don’t have more such flats.

[Dirt]

Sometimes tires that appear good visually and by feel are just old and prone to flats.

[SteveTheTech]

Good advice fellas,

What kind of a tire/tube/wheel combo do you have?
Any chance we can get some pictures?

[Dirt]

Interestingly enough, the tire documented below never gave me any flats, which explains why I never bothered to look and see if it was worn out. Also oddly enough, I got a flat the first ride after putting new tires on. The bastards! Do as I say, not as I do

Another thing to note: You don’t realize how much worn out tires slow you down until you put on new ones. It was kinda like someone removed the cinder block from my jersey pocket the morning after putting new tires on.

Hugs and kisses,

Pete

[eminva]

All right, I’ve got to ask the opposite question . . . how do you know when your tires are worn out if you AREN’T getting flats? My tires have 3900 miles, show no bald patches like Pete’s photo, although they are sort of “flattening” in the middle like in Pete’s photo.

Thanks.

Liz

[Dirt]

Great question. I’m sure there’s a scientific way to know, but in general I look for a few signs that my tires are wearing out:

1) Many unexplained flats.
2) Visible flat spots, lack of tread or casing showing through. Dry rot on the tire is another sign… cracks in the rubber or casing.
3) The tires start to feel really slow. There is definitely a point where I can feel the tires holding me back. It kind-of sneaks up on you, though. It is a gradual thing. Slight inclines that usually are a breeze to power up become more labored.

Many people change the tires when they get a significant flat profile on the rear tire. I tend to ride them till they are dead, dead, dead… at least I do on the commuting bike. If it strands me, I can still make my way home one way or another. There’s no way I’d head out for a 70 mile ride on the tire I photographed above. Definitely unwise. I didn’t bat an eyelash at heading to work (18+ miles each way that day) with it though. I bought new tires on the way home.

Slight variation on this topic… Rotating tires.

Some people do it. I tend not to. The way you should rotate tires is this: Replace the front tire with a new tire. Replace the rear tire with the front tire. Throw the rear tire away. If you’re someone who does not let their tires wear down way too much, this can be a very good way to keep fresh rubber on the bike. You always want your front tire to be the newest. Getting a rear flat is annoying. Getting a front flat is much more dangerous.

I had a front blow-out (defective tube) this week while riding quite fast on a downhill. I was riding the fixie, which makes it even more sketchy. I think I had a thread a few months back about getting 3 flats on the rear tire during a commute and I ended up riding home 9 miles on a flat rear tire… found the fridge empty, so I rode another 6.2 miles on the same flat tire to get dinner. That usually spells the end for the rim…. It was a good day for it to die. Oddly enough, the rim wasn’t damaged. Bicycle wheels are amazing things.

Happy Thursday.

Pete

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=38.895210,-77.029702

[Joe Chapline]

The last tire I replaced had a bulge in the sidewall, and that’s happened with other tires. Something else to watch for.

[americancyclo]

You might also want to check the inside of the rim, or near the hole for the tube stem. Sometimes you’ll find a small burr that will put a hole in your tube, but they can usually be filed down without a problem.

As an aside, this morning as I was about to get on my bike I heard a strange noise, I went to pick at what I thought was a leaf stuck to my front tire, only to discover it was a huge flap of rubber. I made it home fine last night, and put her away safely. She must be stepping out on me under the cover of darkness. :rolleyes:[ATTACH=CONFIG]335[/ATTACH]

[Greenbelt]

@eminva 7233 wrote:

All right, I’ve got to ask the opposite question . . . how do you know when your tires are worn out if you AREN’T getting flats? My tires have 3900 miles, show no bald patches like Pete’s photo, although they are sort of “flattening” in the middle like in Pete’s photo.

Thanks.

Liz

Impressive. That seems like a lot of miles. I seem to wear through tires in 2000 miles or less. (Course I probably weigh more…)

[SteveTheTech]

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6182/6049900286_64feda5085_b.jpg

Nice DoF and bokeh!

Most of the decent replacements I’ve had my eye on have a very small wear indicator built into the tread of the tire

This is the closest thing I’ve got nearby currently. IDK why the internet doesn’t have pictures of this but….

[Dirt]

@Greenbelt 7247 wrote:

Impressive. That seems like a lot of miles. I seem to wear through tires in 2000 miles or less. (Course I probably weigh more…)

Totally depends on the kind of tire you’re using. The speedy roadie tires, like I photographed before last me 2-3000 miles. If I’m lucky, I can get 5000. Touring tires can last much, much longer than that. I got more than 10,000 miles out of my Specialized Armadillos. I’ve got at least 5000 miles on my Schwalbe Marathon Extreme’s (26×2.0 on the cargo bike). I found the 700x35c Marathon Extremes were less durable. They started showing wear after about 2000 miles.

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=38.895210,-77.029702

[CCrew]

@Joe Chapline 7245 wrote:

The last tire I replaced had a bulge in the sidewall, and that’s happened with other tires. Something else to watch for.

Yeah, cracking in the sidewalls, and also I’ve noticed some of mine seem to get bigger in profile also.

I’m with Dirt though. My Cross bike needs new tires now. They look ok, but it feels like I’m riding with the brakes dragging these days.

[nicegirl]

I’m glad I’m not alone on the OP’s problem! Found the fourth flat in as many months on my back tire this morning, UGH! I’ve had the bike 3 years and the first flat in the series was the first flat period, so this is a weird, new, and annoying problem. I had the bike shop put in an extra rubber strip thingy (I just like to ride bikes, I don’t actually know anything about them) between the tube and the wheel but alas. The bike shop said it had to do with how I was pumping the tire (I have the pump with the flip up lever, which they said was the wrong kind of pump). I was super careful when filling it up not to joggle the valve stem but no dice. I am ready to just buy a new wheel and hope that it’s better.

[acorn]

Mystery still unsolved. Bike mechanic says- no problem with tires, alignment, rim tape, etc.
My new theory is- my husband is secretly under-inflating my tires in the hope that I will think something is wrong with my bike and let him go bike shopping for me.

[Author]

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