How long does it take you to fix a flat?
08-12-19, 11:46 AM
#101
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While tires are getting better all around, flats can still occur, it's not wise to go without a means to repair the flat and using your cell phone to bother someone to come get you if you do is a bit immature; if you've crashed and burn and are at the hospital fine to use the phone, but a flat? I carry everything I need to fix most things so I don't have bother my wife; I have always kept in my mind from day one of our marriage that my wife is my wife and not my mommy.
08-12-19, 11:51 AM
#102
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Always a means of repair/replacement and reinflation. It's irresponsible to not carry them and depend on others.
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08-12-19, 12:32 PM
#103
Me duelen las nalgas
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Usually only a few minutes. I'll either replace the tube or use Lezyne self-sticking patches, which have worked great for me.
But according to Strava I took 42 minutes Monday morning to fix a flat. I was riding solo, in no hurry, and baffled by the flat. So I spent too much time inspecting the tire (brand new Conti GP Classic) and couldn't find a puncture. Didn't want to put in a new tube until I was sure there was nothing inside the tire.
Couldn't get the tube to hold air and between the wind and noise from the nearby highway (I was safely off on the access road, but it was really loud) I couldn't tell whether there was a leak. I finally figured it was a bad valve -- I'd had trouble filling that tube anyway.
So after piddling around way too long I finally inserted the new tube and was on my way. Once I decided to do that it took only a few minutes.
After getting home I finally realized it was a snakebite flat -- rim pinch. I'd seen 'em before, usually with heavier guys, but never experienced one myself. Probably happened a few miles earlier. I had to dodge an oncoming truck in my lane and remember a sharp jolt, from hitting either a rock or pothole -- I was looking at the truck, not the road at that moment. So it must have developed a slow leak that took almost 3 miles to flatten the tire.
And I usually prefer a pump. I have a CO2 kit but I use it only for group rides so nobody's waiting too long for me. The mini pump works fine but takes about 300 strokes to get a road tire up to riding pressure, around 70-80 psi.
But according to Strava I took 42 minutes Monday morning to fix a flat. I was riding solo, in no hurry, and baffled by the flat. So I spent too much time inspecting the tire (brand new Conti GP Classic) and couldn't find a puncture. Didn't want to put in a new tube until I was sure there was nothing inside the tire.
Couldn't get the tube to hold air and between the wind and noise from the nearby highway (I was safely off on the access road, but it was really loud) I couldn't tell whether there was a leak. I finally figured it was a bad valve -- I'd had trouble filling that tube anyway.
So after piddling around way too long I finally inserted the new tube and was on my way. Once I decided to do that it took only a few minutes.
After getting home I finally realized it was a snakebite flat -- rim pinch. I'd seen 'em before, usually with heavier guys, but never experienced one myself. Probably happened a few miles earlier. I had to dodge an oncoming truck in my lane and remember a sharp jolt, from hitting either a rock or pothole -- I was looking at the truck, not the road at that moment. So it must have developed a slow leak that took almost 3 miles to flatten the tire.
And I usually prefer a pump. I have a CO2 kit but I use it only for group rides so nobody's waiting too long for me. The mini pump works fine but takes about 300 strokes to get a road tire up to riding pressure, around 70-80 psi.
08-12-19, 04:03 PM
#104
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I am running tubeless Mavic so I haven't had to deal with this.
08-12-19, 10:50 PM
#105
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...yet.
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Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
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Blogs: The Experienced Cyclist; noglider's ride blog
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08-13-19, 08:49 PM
#107
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I tried the Lezyne glueless patches and they were a major fail, they would fail about 24 hours after putting them on, but I don't have that problem with Park glueless patches, the Park will stay on for 3 or 4 years without coming apart.
08-13-19, 08:53 PM
#108
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I have rarely had the experience of getting a flat while riding. After many decades of biking, I learned early on that multiple layers of tubing helps insulate things. Then Mr Tuffy came out. After wrapping the spoke ends in the rim with two layers of electrical tape (one layer the thick pliable, waterproof and vinyl on top). Heat in the summer will cause unexpected blowouts when things aren't protected. Mr Tuffy goes between a heavy duty tube and the tire. Went ten years on one wheel between flats. They work.
08-13-19, 10:01 PM
#109
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6 minutes at the roadside with a mini hand pump. 4 minutes with a CO₂ inflator.
I got two flats during the King of the Mountains series. I lost 12 minutes and dropped to sixth place. Now I always carry a CO₂ inflator.
I got two flats during the King of the Mountains series. I lost 12 minutes and dropped to sixth place. Now I always carry a CO₂ inflator.
08-14-19, 05:19 AM
#110
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Yep. Pretty much the same for me. Haven't timed myself in several years but at one time, we'd start the clock whenever someone in our group ride had a flat and 6 minutes with a hand pump was my average time. I use inflators, now, and have never timed myself.
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08-15-19, 12:20 PM
#111
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I just had a flat on way to work yesterday. Might have taken me 10 minutes. I checked over tire both outside and inside thoroughly before putting new tube in.
08-15-19, 12:46 PM
#112
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Yes, MTB but with a small knobby tread for street use. Thorns, glass and even wire will find its way on a narrow skin and high pressure. I just hate stopping to change a tube or even walk home.
08-16-19, 02:59 AM
#113
Senior Member
+ one! I also carry a boot or most of the time just a dollar bill for a boot just in case the whole in the tire is large.
08-19-19, 07:17 AM
#114
Newbie
I run sealant in all of my tires - including those that use tubes - and on average I get less than one flat per year. There may be multiple thorns and small wires in them that would have caused flats that the sealant handled, but I'll never know. I used to work in the bike biz and have changed thousands of tubes, so I can do it in just a few minutes on the road, though it's typically for other people. The only thing that takes any real time is pumping the tires up.
08-19-19, 03:46 PM
#115
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Gotten it down to 5 minutes flat.
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