The Golden Boy 

Yesterday I took a ride- while I was packing up to go, I kept forgetting stuff. Ended up making several trips to the garage and back into the house- As I was checking out my bag, I took my patch kit and put it in the front pocket of my bag. So about an hour into the ride I felt that tell tale 'rim hitting gravel' feel... no problem- and then realized I took my pump off about a week ago. And then I remembered I took the tire levers out when I was going through my bag about a week ago...

Here's the bike a month ago:

720 6 14 20 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr


And then yesterday after about 4 miles of walking:

720 7 11 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr


Today I made the effort to ride out there again- with a patch kit, tire levers and pump.

M1K 7 12 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr



It doesn't look like the tire sidewalls got chewed up in the walk- and it was all on crushed limestone/dirt and a little gravel. Do I need to worry about the tires after I finally patch that tube?

clubman 

Not unless it flats.

Sorry you had to interrupt a good ride.

Pars 

I wouldn't think so if you didn't ride on it when it was flat. Walking the bike with a flat tire shouldn't hurt the tire. I've done it a number of times and never had tire problems with it after.

Drillium Dude 

I was only a mile from a service station with this particular flat, so the lack of a pump wasn't an issue - but the lack of spare tube, tire levers and patch kit meant I ended up walking nearly 12 miles home. These photos were taken just as the sun was setting, too, which means most of the walk was in darkness. I got home around midnight





Damn lucky I was wearing my Sidi touring shoes (no cleats) because I really can't imagine walking that far in sock-feet. Still and all, an interesting experience.

OP: I think your tire will be fine. Doesn't appear there is enough weight over the rear wheel to promote sidewall damage of any kind. I had no issues walking mine 3 times the distance and in fact still have the tire as an emergency spare even today.

DD

katsup

I've also been unprepared for a flat before. Didn't realize I took out my spare tube a week before, got a flat from a stick puncturing the tire. Tried to patch, but failed so I started walking. I only made it 1/2 mile before I hitched a ride though.

When I got home I realized the stick had gone through both sides of the tube . Patched the other side and put the tube back in. Ran a boot in the tire for awhile before replacing. And of course, I put the spare tube back in the saddle bag.

mech986 

Well, if your bike weighs about 25 pounds, you had about 12-13 pounds rolling on a flatted tire and tube under the pressure of the rim edges. Personally, I’d inspect the tire sidewalls very carefully inside and out. If ok, probably leave it in service. As for the tube, patch it if you like but inspect even more carefully as damage is less visible. If it holds air, you probably are ok. But for a few dollars, you’d have a new reliable tube and less worries. It’s just a few bucks.

nlerner

Years ago I was out for a solo ride and suddenly felt that tell tale squishiness from my rear tire. Dang, a flat! No problem. I had the spare tube that I had been dutifully carrying around on that bike plus a frame pump. Well, that old spare evidently had developed a crack at the valve. And I didn’t have a patch kit. Thus ensued about an 8-mile walk home. On the way I started eyeing crappy bikes locked up at bike racks to “borrow” a tube, but just couldn’t go there. Now I carry a spare tube plus a patch kit.

The Golden Boy 

I took off my bag, hung my water bottles off my bag strap, even took off my rear light (hey, a few ounces that far back...)

I feel like a clod because it’s been so long since I’ve had a flat, or even an “incident” and so much longer since I’ve had a flat so far from home or my car... Yeah, I kept stuff with me- but almost as a formality- I didn’t expect to actually use that stuff. You get complacent in your luck.

gomango

I have a very similar story, except for the fact that I was using DA spd-sl pedals.

I lasted about two blocks with the Sidis on and then went barefoot the rest of the way.

Needless to say, I no longer use those pedals on any of my bikes.

I have been diligently switching to Shimano XTs since then and I always make sure to bring the needed equipment when riding, especially on our country road rides.

dedhed

I'm shocked that on, I'll assume, the Glacial Drumlin trail no one with a pump stopped or asked if you needed anything.
Whenever I see someone "broke down" I'll ask if they need anything.

jonwvara 

Roughly the same thing happened to me a few weeks ago, but fortunately I only had to walk a couple of miles. Now that it's safely in the past, I try to regard it as a useful lesson.

There's a proverb about it: Experience is dear school, but the fool will learn in no other.

EDIT: Now that I reflect on it, that proverb has pretty much governed my entire life. So far.

3speedslow

I have to have a memory board on my door which I check before I go out everyday. It’s needed greatly! More then once it has catch me without something crucial. One of those checks is “full flat kit”. Today... I need to add mask to the list!

tkamd73 

Used have the same problem, I think it’s called half-hiemers or CRS, ( Can’t Remember **** ), as a solution, I decided to bring just a phone and credit card on all rides from my house, less then 40 miles. I can usually remember those 2 things.
Tim

The Golden Boy 

The entire time I was out there I saw TWO people- On a Saturday night/evening!!! and one of them I saw on his way out and on his way back.

I always ask if everything is OK- I've been able to help a couple of people here and there. The best was a guy who's crank bolt had fallen out- and his crank was spinning on the spindle (that was on the Bugline). Now that I say that- I've since replaced my Leatherman with a lighter and smaller Swiss Army knife- I think the Leatherman is going back out there...

Bikejock200M

I guess we all have are share off stories, however, before I walked 12 miles, I would have ridden that rim all the way home!

Salamandrine 

I remember at least a couple times BITD when I had to ride 5 or 10 miles home on a flat tire. This was with sew ups, and therefore it wasn't that bad. At some point I started carrying a back up patch kit in my jersey pocket, in addition to the usual spare under the seat. I did have enough common sense most of the time to take two spares if I was doing a long ride, say 80-120. Walking home in wood sole Duegis would have been basically impossible.

sovende

I've been lucky so far this season and have not suffered a flat while actually out on a ride 😎. I have however suffered a couple of issues. I recently replaced a set of aging tires with a set of gum sidewall Cheng Shin tires from Nashbar. They were I guess what you'd call New Old Stock since I've had them for quite some time. I did inspect them prior to installing them and they seemed OK. I recalled "popping" a rock or some sort of debris while on a ride a few days earlier but didn't experience a flat. The next time I was going to ride that bike, while airing up the tires, I realized I was unable to get ANY air to stay in the tube. Closer inspection revealed a 3-4" linear tear along the border of the gum sidewall and the rubber portion of the tire! Very glad that had not happened while on a ride since even an emergency "boot" would never have held. I'm guessing that the time in storage had allowed for some deterioration of the ply material and hitting that piece of debris further insulted that portion of the tire. Note to self: tires do have a shelf life!
Second issue occurred a few days ago. (Same bike &#128563! New tires (not NOS &#128521 had been on for a few days but had been riding a different bike. As always, checked pressure pre-ride and was topping up to 90 PSI. Final stroke to bring pressure to 90 blew the valve stem clean out of the tube 😬! Tube was not new but don't think that it was terribly old 🤔. Replaced the tube with a new (again NOT NOS).
I have several bikes that I ride routinely. Each has an under saddle bag with a tube, patch kit and tire tools (among other things). I've never carried a spare tire. Most of those bikes have a dedicated frame mounted pump. For the ones that don't, the under saddle bag has a CO2 inflator. I will say I've only had to use a CO2 inflator once and was somewhat disappointed with the performance.
For the past several years, I've always ridden with my cell phone. I should also carry a credit card as suggested in one of the replies. I carry a few dollars but that's for coffee and/or snacks 😉 and probably wouldn't be enough for emergency repairs or an Uber or Lyft ride (who takes cash for those services?).
Take away points (for me at least): New tires and tubes are cheap insurance. Spare tube (new!) and patch kit including a pump are a must! Cell phone (mobile, if you prefer that term), cash and/or credit card will likely succeed if repairs don't or can't fix the issue!

repechage

Punctures always seem to occur in clusters.

sometimes one can anticipate.
that tire that shows a casing flaw ready to spoil a nice ride.
happened last week, wheel stopped with the gathering doom up top. Rode a different bike and exchanged the tire.

the maddening ones are the tubulars that take an hour to drop pressure- sometimes one finds the line of bubbles if submerged and it is inches away from the actual tube issue.

be easier if more tires had remove-able valve cores, then I would try sealant.

Bad Lag

I keep a small Lezyne pump in my seat pack at all times (and a tube and a patch kit). It is small, so it is slow to refill a 700C tire but it is WAY faster than walking home. I just won't leave home without it.

I believe it is the small version of this pump - link to Lezyne web site.

Steve Whitlatch 

I had a flat this year with a tubular Corsa, side wall blow out from road debris. I had a spare and c02 but still had to call the wife to come get me. I puchases a set of used carbon wheels from the shop of a wheel builder in my area. They came with the like new Corsa tires already glued by the builder. I could not get that tire off on the side of the road. That man glued the crap out of those tires. It took me about 25 minutes prying with a plastic lever to get enough tire off to pull the rest off of the rim at home. Decided to change out both tires and do a much more modest glue job. I never had to fight so hard to remove a tubular before.