Bicycle question - ok I've had 2 flats in a week

[episodic]

Best way to prevent flats? They are no fun. Already tried 'slime'. . .

Are the kevlar tires any good? they are not too pricy (was thinking of one on the rear). . .

 

[Colt45]

Take the glass / nail out before you change the tube

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

How are they going flat? From debris or from pinch flats? (pinching the tube due to it being underinflated)

 

[datalink7]

Inflate to sidewall.

 

[Sea Moose]

Inflate to sidewall.

you beat me to it

 

[episodic]

ok assume im a bike newb - I inflate the tire till it is 'firm' - explain a 'littttttle' more thanks

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

Read the recommended max PSI on the side of the tire and make sure you inflate it to that pressure (or maybe even a tad higher).

"Firm" to your thumb is not going to be very firm when your bodyweight is crashing down onto a bump in the road. It needs to be pretty hard. Just read the tire.

 

[Born2bwire]

ok assume im a bike newb - I inflate the tire till it is 'firm' - explain a 'littttttle' more thanks

It usually doesn't take much pressure to make it feel firm. I would use an appropriate tire gauge to make sure.

 

[Dirigible]

Good advice here.

1) Make sure you have removed what caused the first flat from the tire or it can puncture your new/patched tube again.
2) Use a tire gauge (all my bike pumps have built-in gauges) to check the pressure and inflate properly. The tire sidewall will give you the proper pressure range.
3) I was skeptical until I tried them, but the Specialized Armadillo tires really do reduce flats - I've had one flat in the past four years when using these tires on my road bike. They are freakin' expensive though.

 

[FleshLight]

Specialized Armadillos or Conti Gatorskins. Could also be a leak at the valve stem of your cheapo tube. Try using fancier tubes like Conti's or Michi's.

 

[dahunan]

STANS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_BsT8D9JYY

 

[0roo0roo]

they used to make plastic type insert strips that you lined the tire with inside, made for an additional barrier for thorns.

 

[theflyingpig]

Best way to prevent flats?

Stop riding.

 

[Tiamat]

If you have a road bike with 700cm x20-30mm tires fill them to at least 110 psi. The heavier you are the more you should fill them (to 120-130psi). The harder the tire is, the more easily it will simply roll over debris rather than debris becoming embedded into the tire and blowing out the tube.

If you have a mountain bike or hybrid, then you are looking to fill the tire to at least 40 psi.

You NEED to fill your wheels every time you ride. Over the course of a ride and a day of rest, the wheels easily go from 110 psi to 80 psi. Both pressures feel "firm" to the touch. You need a good bike pump with a pressure guage.

 

[bobsmith1492]

Kevlar-lined are the way to go. I rode my Bontrager Rangers about 3000 miles before getting a flat, and it was a piece of stiff wire that poked straight in.

I then proceeded to knock out 20 pieces of glass embedded in the outside of the tire that had NOT caused flats.

 

[StageLeft]

Bikes flat most on the rear.

Running a pressure too low and you risk a pinch flat. Most are puncture, though, and a pressure too high can increase the liklihood of these.

Kevlar tires do help. I've heard amazing things about the armadillo tires, but other manufacturers are coming out with comparable tires. Cheap tires flat a lot. I have some on my road bike and one summer was flatting no less than every 50 miles. Seems better now but I run a lower pressure and I also am far more cognizant of what I'm riding over and avoid junk on the road.

The heavier you are the more you should fill them (to 120-130psi). The harder the tire is, the more easily it will simply roll over debris rather than debris becoming embedded into the tire and blowing out the tube.

On the contrary, push a pin into a balloon that is barely inflated and it does not pop. Now put it into one heavily inflated. The balloon has little give. When you increase PSI you decrease the area of ground contact and thus increase the pressure on the ground of any given patch, which increases the force at which debris enters the tire. Instead of "rolling over" the debris, unless the debris is pushed out of place, the tire will come down on that debris with higher pressure.

I'm sure someone has done a study, but http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tires.html#pressure says "An overinflated tire is more prone to damage from sharp rocks and similar road hazards."

You should get a bike pump: $30-40 will get you one and they are awesome and fill the tire super quick.

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

Good advice here.

1) Make sure you have removed what caused the first flat from the tire or it can puncture your new/patched tube again.
2) Use a tire gauge (all my bike pumps have built-in gauges) to check the pressure and inflate properly. The tire sidewall will give you the proper pressure range.
3) I was skeptical until I tried them, but the Specialized Armadillo tires really do reduce flats - I've had one flat in the past four years when using these tires on my road bike. They are freakin' expensive though.

also, if you don't want to buy a whole new tire yet you can buy tire liners that will protect against most punctures, but not against pinches.\\\

ps. if you get a standing pump, get one with a built in pressure indicator. those are a real time saver.

 

[Muse]

Take the glass / nail out before you change the tube

Yes, that's rule number one.

Here's what I do. Living in the city, there's all kinds of shit in the streets, from tacks to nails to glass to staples, etc. If you use thin tubes and tires you'll get flats.

1. I have a road bike (and use 27 x 1.375" tires). I have polyurethane liners between the tube and tire in both tires. I've done this for many years and I'll estimate that this tactic alone has reduced my flats by a factor of 5! Maybe more. I used to get them all the time, now very rarely. They're sold at bike shops, I got mine at REI, and they last forever. I use ones designed for wider tires than I'm using to get more protection on the sides of the tires. You can pick up tacks, etc. on the side, not just the bottom. I glue the liners into the tires with contact cement. I have the technique down. When I change tires, I need to glue the liner in again, not a big deal. The liners pull out of the old tire very easily.

2. I have an extra thick ("thorn proof") tube on my back wheel, the one that's harder to change a flat tire. This isn't necessary, but affords additional protection.

3. I try to always carry an extra tube and all the equipment necessary to fix a flat on the road. I also carry stuff to fix a tube, in case I have time to do that. It's been a very long time since I had to fix a flat on the road. Been lucky -- the ones I've gotten in recent times I've noticed before I got out the door.

 

[Meghan54]

So, as asked, are you having pinch flats or a simple single-hole flat?

Pinch flats are typically caused from underinflation of your tube/tire and the tube is pinched between the rim and the road hazard. They're also called "snake bite" flats.

Pinch flats look like two "pinches" or holes on the sides of the tube, right where the tube would hit the rim when the tube's flattened to the rim. The fix is inflating to what the tire calls for on its sidewall....this is indeed a case where inflating to sidewall pressure is called for.

A single hole flat, on the other hand, is just that....something like a nail, thorn, whatever, has punctured the tube in one spot and punched a hole in the tube. One problem is many times the offending object isn't really visible from the outside, esp. if it's a small thorn, and simply replacing/fixing the tube doesn't remove the problem, giving another flat almost immediately.

If that's the type of flat, make sure you remove the tire and run your fingers around the entire inside of the tire. I've caught many small thorns, wire, etc., barely visible and barely sticking up inside the tire, by running the inside of the tire after someone's complained of numerous flats and replacing/fixing tubes.

 

[Rubycon]

Just get solid rubber tires - no more flats!

 

[Muse]

Just get solid rubber tires - no more flats!

But you may have your fillings shaken out and/or get arthritis in your wrists/elbows from the shaking/vibrations. :twisted: Or you could roller skate like me. Never had a flat.

 

[nageov3t]

lose weight, fatty?

 

[Rubycon]

But you may have your fillings shaken out and/or get arthritis in your wrists/elbows from the shaking/vibrations. :twisted: Or you could roller skate like me. Never had a flat.

Design an active suspension based on electrohydraulic actuators and you could ride on steel wheels in comfort.