noglider 

And I've only lied once, ever.

jimmuller 

Can I use that line on stage? I'll credit you, if I don't forget.

SJX426 

I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken.
@rhm - I sympathize with your multiple rear tire flat stories. I went through a similar experience too. It may be in this thread! After a couple of flats, I removed the rim tape and found another layer underneath, and another under that. My theory is that the PO had the same issue and magically put the assembly together just right, until I got a flat.

I ended up buying those little plastic pieces that snap into the spoke holes ILO using tape. No more flats from holes on the rim side.

ollo_ollo

I don't really hate flats. Maybe because they always came in clusters between long, no flat periods. About when they reached "major annoyance" level I would enter another no flat period.

One I'll always remember. My Torelli, the only brand new bike in many years. Had only done a few short rides making adjustments. I was on my way to work, to show her to my fellow bike nerds when I heard a click, click. Looked down and saw a screw head centered in my front tire! Very high on the annoyance scale.

I just went through my fleet and pitched all the old tubes. Some had more than 5 patches, so I've had my share. Don

SJX426 

Not a new bike but nearly new Clement Tubular that rode like a dream. Had maybe 40 miles on it:
[IMG]P8181676, on Flickr[/IMG]

skillasw

HA! The gods have spoken...Amazingly I actually did jinx myself I got my first flat in 2 years yesterday! Though it never affected my ride, wasn't flat until I looked at it this morning. Wow last time I mention anything about no flats!
Unbelievable..

skillasw

Well I definitely angered the tire gods, or flat tire gods, that's #2 this month! Piece of glass, best of all it was raining, but as i changed the tire the sun came out, maybe I'm absolved now. No worries, always ride prepared.

rhm

I had a flat on Saturday. About 75 miles into a 125 mile randonnee, the warmest part of a mild January day, so pretty lucky timing.

Rear tire went squishy. I pumped it up and rode a mile or so, decided it was losing air too fast to get to the next stop, so I pulled over to a stone wall in the sun and changed the tube. Couldn't find the cause of the puncture, a small hole probably right in the tread, so I went on. No further problems.

I patched the tube later.

jimmuller 

I strongly advise you to be prepared for another flat tomorrow.

rhm

Good advice in any case.

nlerner

I've been re-arranging my basement bike workspace, hanging bikes from new places and whatnot. At least two of the bikes I moved, ones I hadn't ridden in many months, have developed flats. We're not talking the natural process of air molecules escaping, either. These bikes somehow developed punctures while hanging on a hook or being stationary in a bike stand. Wtf?

rhm

You have a cat, right?

jimmuller 

He! I was just thinkin' that the F.G doesn't take hubris lightly. Hence @skillasw should expect another flat Real Soon Now.

Air spontaneously moving outside the tubes? Holes spontaneously appearing? And cats? That wouldn't be Schroedinger's cat, would it? A lot of folks have been searching for it.

nlerner

We have three, but they’re banished from the basement. Still, cats.

noglider 

While straightening up my desk/work area at home, I found three inner tubes. I have a code for myself: bound with a rubber band means patched or otherwise airtight. Not bound with a rubber band means it needs patching. So I have three inner tubes I have to patch. I can remember getting one flat over the summer, but when did the others occur? I think getting a flat is now such a non-event that I forget it readily. And that seems like a good thing unless I want to keep track of how often I get flats.

Well, maybe one is from someone I met on the road. Occasionally, I'll give my spare to a pour unprepared soul and take their punctured tube in exchange.

I realize I manage my tubes similarly to how I manage my socks. I keep more than I need. When I need to change (which I do every day with socks), I do so, and all my socks are generic replacements.

jack002

Do many people do this? I keep one or two spare tubes, levers and a pump with me, if I get a flat I change the tube, look for whatever sharp may be in the tire and take the flat tube home and patch it there?

This has worked for me for years. On the really long odds of getting two flats in one ride I now carry two tubes now, I didn't use to, but was never caught without a tube when I needed one.

No flats last year, like 1 or 2 the year before.

I don't feel comfortable putting on a patch out in the wild when I don't have all my tools near me, and I want to get back on the road as soon as possible. I can swap a tube out in just a few minutes.

noglider 

I carry one spare tube and a patch kit. I haven't had two flats in one ride in a long time, so there's not a lot of patching done in the wild.

jimmuller 

On bikes with clincher tires I carry one spare tube and a patch kit. A patch kit can handle as many flats as it has patches, whereas a spare tube can cover just one. Also a patch kit is lighter than another tube. For years in the old days I didn't carry a spare tube at all. But a spare tube has its advantages if you can't find the puncture.

Sometimes I replace the tube, sometimes I just patch the one that flatted. It depends on how quickly I can find the puncture and what the prevailing weather and environment are. Patching a flat means I still have the convenience of a good spare tube if it becomes necessary. Just replacing the tube means on the next flat I won't have the option. I have encountered multiple flats occasionally. I've also seen other riders swap in a spare tube, puff it up with a CO2 cartridge, and then notice the tube pinched between tire and rim and watch it go flat immediately. That sometimes ends up with me giving them a tube and letting them borrow my frame pump. Or I'll swap in the tube and pump it myself.

On bikes with sew-up tires I carry two spares on most rides, sometimes just one on my commute and then if I have a flat I worry really hard until I get within walking distance of home.

squirtdad

i carry a tube and a patch kit (for clinchers) and a frame pump. I have had 2 flats on the same ride 2 or 3 times in the last 30 years.

tubies, carry a spare and some liquid latex. no flats on my few hundred miles of tubies yet

rhm

By my way of thinking, you must find the cause of the puncture, whether you patch or replace the tube. The easiest way to do this is to pull the tube out of the tire, before removing the wheel from the frame, and inflate it. Once the puncture is located, you can assess how easy it will be to patch it. If it's going to be complicated, replace it; if it's straightforward, patch. It's also really easy to find the cause of the puncture at this point. While the glue is drying you put away most of the tools, remove the debris from the tire, boot as needed. Very little time is wasted; and the job is done.

If I'm in a hurry, maybe I can save a couple minutes by just replacing the tube, but it doesn't always save time. Sometimes it's worth the gamble.

HTupolev

I like flat tires in moderation. Having tons of flats is annoying, but if I'm never flatting at all, then my tires are overbuilt and I should switch to something lighter and suppler.

jimmuller 

You posted to the wrong thread. This is for people who hate them.

noglider 

Well put. I guess that's my attitude, but I never thought to put it that way. I don't get it with people who feel getting a flat is an affront to their existences. I like nice tires, and I won't apologize for that.

Best laugh I had all day. Thanks, Jim.

Though being a Panaracer and Vittoria fan mostly, I just installed some used Continental tires on a bike that I'm selling, and damn, I'm impressed. They seem like they'll be durable beyond anything, though I'm only guessing.

gaucho777 

@nlerner, Actually, the cats might help. Not too long ago, I came down to my garage to find a bottle of Stan's sealant in a puddle of sealant on my workbench. Then a couple weeks later the same thing again on my tool bench. Turns out something had gnawed a hole in the bottom of the sealant bottle. Well, since then I put out a bunch of traps and caught a rat. I'm hoping it was a solo male and there are no more. If not, I fear those buggers are going to start sniffing out my the sealant that's already been injected in my mounted tubulars (and I mostly ride tubulars). What kind of animal diet is Stan's sealant! I hate flats and rodents.

rhm

I remember for a while in the mid eighties there was a rash of car accidents in Germany, the brakes on new Mercedes cars were failing, but only cars parked on the street. Cars parked in the garage were immune. Turned out the local marten population (a marten is like a very large weasel) liked the new brake linings and would eat them. Mercedes had to change the recipe.