Weird tire problem – slow leaks

[americancyclo]

check the rim tape to be sure there are no exposed areas that could puncture the tube. Also check the inside edges of the rim for spurs that might puncture. have the flats been in the same place?

[jrenaut]

That’s the problem – I don’t see any holes, and if I pump up the tube, it holds air for a while. I haven’t tried submerging a pumped tube in water to see if I can find the leak that way.

[Greenbelt]

@jrenaut 80839 wrote:

So I’ve been having a terrible time with my rear tire (23mm Gatorskin Hardshell). After about 3000 miles of no flats, I’ve been getting them right and left. At first I thought the tire was just wearing out, and that still may be it, but maybe not.

Perhaps the Volpe itself is rejecting your tire size preference and is emitting bad vibes through the frame to the tubes? Maybe a long off-road ride on bigger tires would satisfy its longings for dirt and gravel, and it will then relent to road tires again for a time.

[brendan]

Also, where is the air leaking out of? Is it near the valve base? Maybe the valve hole has a burr?

The primary reason to find the hole in the tube (fingers & ears, soap & water, etc.) isn’t to patch the tube, but to find out what’s causing the hole.

[Edit: oops, looks like you’re on top of it already.]

B

[jrenaut]

@Greenbelt 80843 wrote:

Perhaps the Volpe itself is rejecting your tire size preference and is emitting bad vibes through the frame to the tubes? Maybe a long off-road ride on bigger tires would satisfy its longings for dirt and gravel, and it will then relent to road tires again for a time.

Ha, that might be it. Maybe if it ever is spring I’ll put the knobbies back on and find some gravel.

[TwoWheelsDC]

I had the same problem (on my Volpe, no less). Turns out there was a tiny tear in the tire that was almost impossible to see, and it kept letting tiny amounts of debris in, which presumably was causing the flats. Eventually I found the tear in the tire and replaced it…problem went away. It happened during a period of wet weather, so I think the water was helping the debris get through the hole.

[jrenaut]

@TwoWheelsDC 80847 wrote:

I had the same problem (on my Volpe, no less). Turns out there was a minute tear in the tire that was almost impossible to see, and it kept letting tiny amounts of debris in, which presumably was causing the flats. Eventually I found the tear in the tire and replaced it…problem went away.

Hmm, that could be it. I’ll check the tire when I get home and I’m in a clean, dry place. Checking for that sort of thing in the rain in front of Swings is probably not constructive.

[Geoff]

I agree with americancyclo, check the rim tape. I had a similar maddening episode a year back. The leaks were coming on the part of the tube next to the rim tape and to my eyes the tape looked fine, but a mechanic who happened to look at the rim (I hadn’t even told him about the flats, forget why he was looking at it) said the tape had stretched too far into the recess for the spoke and would cause problems. Also, a friend with a series of flats learned that his vinyl type rim tape was probably chafing the tube at the edges. His solution was to switch to cloth tape.

[vvill]

The one time I had recurring flats on the same wheel was because of pre-installed poor quality rim tape. I switched to cloth tape (Velox, etc.) and it went away.

[jrenaut]

I was gone most of the weekend and have just been ignoring the problem so far. There was still air in the tire when I rode to work this morning. It’ll probably go flat again at happy hour on Thursday.

[Dickie]

Much Like TwoWheels I had a recurring flat issue last year caused by a very small cut through the tire tread itself. I finally marked the tire orientation (valve) with chalk, removed the tube, inflated it and put it in water to find the micro-hole. I realigned it in the tire to locate the issue. Turns out as the tube inflated it expanded the tire, forcing just enough of the tube into the cut and thus creating a micro-pinch. The water test is also important as it will tell you if the puncture is on the tread or spoke side of the tube.

[Vicegrip]

I did same as above. Mark the tube and tire then found the hole. Seems there was a short tiny wire stuck the the tire. Too short to feel with a finger but enough to get pressed into the tube whole riding. Had to turn the tire inside out and break out the reading glasses to find it. Would have been hard to find had I not known where to look via the hole in the tube and relation to the tire. Would present as a reoccurring slow leak.

[vern]

I’m having this problem now. Had a flat last night on the front. Had a second flat in the same tire/tube this morning, but conveniently it happened right as I arrived at work. When I fixed it at lunchtime I found a fairly large shard of glass in the tire corresponding to the hole in the tube. I found other bits of glass in other spots on the tire and removed those. Then, on the way home tonight, I get to Gallows and the tire goes flat. I pump it back up and it holds sufficiently until Hunter Mill, where I have to pump it up one more time to get home (another 3.5 miles). It’s now flat again. At lunch I inspected the rims and tape, ran my fingers along all of those edges and felt no burrs. The tires are worn, so I will replace them this weekend, and hopefully that does it. But the recurring flats is a bit maddening.

[vernonhorn]

I think tires tend to loose some integrity as they age, even though they may look fine, (ie not dry rotted, or with obvious flaws). When I start having this problem I just spring for new tires and think to myself “well, new tires = about ten trips on the metro, and then I’m back to saving money…”

[hozn]

I had this happen recently too — last week, 2 flats right around Vienna. In my case I could find nothing in the tire either time, but there must have been some tiny piece of glass or sand and I was more thorough cleaning the tire the second time. Fingers crossed that it’ll be another few thousand miles before I get another. Maybe there was broken glass on the trail out there (but certainly don’t remember seeing anything) …

[Author]

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