rhm

My latest flat was on Saturday. On the eighth day of a tour through central and western New York State, which included countless descents at 35-40 mph, and occasionally faster, we stopped in the town of Schuylerville to snack on potato chips, hard boiled eggs, and a Twix bar. Not long after sitting down, BLAMMO and my rear tire was dead. This was a pasela col de la vie 650b with less than 750 miles on it, and it tore at the bead. Luckily I had a spare tire in my pannier!

rhm

Another one this morning. Out on a ride of maybe 30 miles, some good hills, some reason on the way home, and my front tire went flat a mile from home. The cause was a little thorn-shaped thing right through the center if the tread. Seemed to be stone, maybe steel. I patched it. Didn't have that little piece of abrasive you use to scuff up the butyl for the glue to stick so I found a little rock and used that. Classic caveman!

Panaracer Pasela Tourguard tire, 700 x 32c.

Essthreetee

Yep. I got another this morning. Heading out on my usual route...looked down at my front tire and noticed the goatherd going round and round...pulled it and listened. Didn't hear anything, so I thought I got lucky. But just in case, changed my route and headed home. Got about a mile and a half from home...it was done. Called the sag wagon...and home again.

rhm

Oy, I'm slipping! Got a flat on the way to work on Friday. Tiny little pointy thing stuck in my Pasela Tourguard tire. I got it out first by poking it with a Phillips head driver from the inside of the tire, then yanked it out from the outside with a finger nail clipper. Alas, it fell to the ground and I couldn't find it to figure out what it was. Probably a thorn.

Patch applied and pumped it up and all was good.

Essthreetee

I too got another today. Out on a nice ride...about 12 miles from home. Back tire goes flat. Pulled over in the shade...swapped out the tubes...on my way.

No biggie. Just another quirk of riding.
Just looked at my previous flat...it was also on the 13th....hmmm.

fender1

Have you tried adding a small bottle of this:

https://www.biketiresdirect.com/prod...ss4boc0ltw_wcb

If you are using a presta valved tube, unscrew the core with a 4mm wrench. Add fluid and re-install core. Inflate tire and spin around. In about 18 moths or so, you put a new tube in and repeat.

scozim 

I went all year without a flat - even over new chip seal roads this year. Then a month ago I accidentally went off a curb in a parking lot and must have pinched the tube as it was flat 20 minutes later (Armadillo tire). The next week the tube was flat in the shop - found a small wire in the tire, almostmlike ampiece of brake or derailleur cable. Same tire was flat this morning so I swapped the tire to the front and put a newer one on the weight bearing back. We'll see

rhm

Got one yesterday. Drinking from a bottle of Gatorade on the D&R canal towpath, 100 miles into a ride that turned out to total 111, not paying attention, went over a rock that was just a little out of spec. Instant pinch flat. I patched it.

Grand Bois Cypres 700 x 32c.

Italuminium

Saturdand sundays are the worst, broken beer bottles of people drinking on their way to the bar everywhere. #justdutchthings

rhm

Got one yesterday. Heading east on a busy road as the sun was setting behind me and giving me a lot of glare in my mirror, so I couldn't really monitor the traffic approaching behind me, so I had to stick to the shoulder more than I like. Lots of broken glass. Front tire started feeling squishy, then flat. Pulled over, looked at the tire really close and found a chunk of glass in the tread. Popped it out and marked the spot, pulled the tire off, pulled that section of tube out, pumped up a little to confirm the location of the puncture, patched it, and was on my way. Never even had to take the wheel off the bike.

Panaracer Minits Tough 20 x 1.25

noglider 

I have a tube that keeps losing air slowly. I've put it in water and looked very slowly and carefully for bubbles, but nothing. It goes from 60 to 30 in about five days. Maybe I could find the leak, but next time it runs down, I think I'll just replace the tube. I've already spent too much time on it.
@rhm, you got two flats in a short space of time.

rhm

Ya think? What's this thread called, anyway?

OldsCOOL

That's funny stuff, right there.

fietsbob

The things that make for a Puncture resistant tire add weight .. go for a Schwalbe Marathon Plus tire and put a Heavy Duty/Thorn-Resistant inner tube inside ,

and that will get you close to a puncture 'Maginot Line'..

jimmuller 

Could that be a latex tube instead of butyl? Or maybe you have a Heisenberg tire where the air isn't quite sure whether it is on the inside or the outside.

jimmuller 

IIRC, the Maginot Line was rather easily punctured, wasn't it?

noglider 

I think the latter is more likely than the former. I think I would recognize latex. I've had latex tubes before.

fietsbob

Re: Maginot & German Wehrmacht, They went around it.. not through,

you can armor the tread band but the Tire sidewall is still a potential failure . so I thought the analogy applicable .

but thanks for paying some attention..

jimmuller 

I have to ask (because I'm too lazy to go back and see if you said this already), what tires are you running?

Essthreetee

Well, today would be my day (according to the past pattern) but I won't get to ride today....

rhm

Tuesday's puncture was on a Panaracer Minits Tough 20 x 1.25. Pretty new tire; this was its first puncture. I have a variety of bikes for a variety of purposes, and this is a folding bike I use when my commute involves taking a bike on a rush hour train.

lostarchitect 

Guys, the thing is, RHM rides more than pretty much anybody I know. I'm sure he rides 10x as much as I do, so I wouldn't be surprised if he gets 10x the flats.

noglider 

True. @rhm, how many miles a year do you ride?

rhm

I'm a bit shy of 4900 so far for the year, so I guess it'll come out to 5300 or so by the end of December.

daf1009

Ok...when I saw the name of this thread "I hate flat tires..."

My first thought was..."really, who doesn't?"...So...is there anyone out there that "doesn't hate flat tires?" :-)