the miracle of reinflation?
07-13-15, 11:47 AM
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the miracle of reinflation?
Friday I went riding and got 9 miles into a 15 mile ride and got a rear flat. Could not find anything obvious. Pumped up the tube twice and it deflated both times. When I got home I used my larger pump and filled it to 120psi. Next morning it was still at 120. Went riding 22 miles, fully expecting to replace the tube during the ride. It never deflated - nor did it on Sunday's 23 mile ride. the valve was hand tightened, no cap, so how does this happen?
07-13-15, 12:43 PM
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How did you get home Friday?
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07-13-15, 01:40 PM
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My guess: There's a hole in your tube. When you inflated it on the ride, it deflated again due to a hole, as tubes do.
When you inflated it at home and set it up, the rubber of the tube has made consistent contact with the rubber of your tire and without the rolling stress to open to hole or create a gap, no air has been lost. 120 is high psi. It can hold stuff together. The New York water mains for instance are only held together because of the high pressure inside them [citation needed], but don't think too heavily on that.
After sitting there for a bit, there's a bit of "stick" in the rubber that's holding it in place. If you start rolling on it again, it shouldn't take long until it starts losing pressure again.
When you inflated it at home and set it up, the rubber of the tube has made consistent contact with the rubber of your tire and without the rolling stress to open to hole or create a gap, no air has been lost. 120 is high psi. It can hold stuff together. The New York water mains for instance are only held together because of the high pressure inside them [citation needed], but don't think too heavily on that.
After sitting there for a bit, there's a bit of "stick" in the rubber that's holding it in place. If you start rolling on it again, it shouldn't take long until it starts losing pressure again.
07-13-15, 01:41 PM
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my wife had the car at the state park and was heading home - she picked me up since she was driving that way - would have changed out the tube if she wasn't so close
07-13-15, 01:54 PM
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Your floor pump uses bigger air molecules than your portable pump 
Probably leaking out of the valve and a few fills moved it enough to seal 100% again. If i suspect that on one of my bikes, I put a little spit on the valve to see if it bubbles.
Probably leaking out of the valve and a few fills moved it enough to seal 100% again. If i suspect that on one of my bikes, I put a little spit on the valve to see if it bubbles.
Last edited by Number400; 07-13-15 at 01:59 PM.
07-13-15, 02:02 PM
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I often spit on schrader valves... just to see, but rarely find them leaking
50 miles would be a lot of miles to put on a tire with a hole and some mystery seal.
Do you use some kind of a tire sealant in your tubes?
07-13-15, 02:11 PM
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Everyone was; sitting 'round a campfire in the Rocky Mountains.
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"The older you do get, the more rules they're gonna try to get you to follow. You just gotta keep livin', man, L-I-V-I-N." - Wooderson
'14 carbon Synapse - '12 CAAD 10 5 - '99 Gary Fisher Big Sur
"The older you do get, the more rules they're gonna try to get you to follow. You just gotta keep livin', man, L-I-V-I-N." - Wooderson
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07-13-15, 09:47 PM
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Farmer tan
If it's not the valve, then lick the tire and look for bubbles. Yeah, the whole tire...
07-13-15, 10:55 PM
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07-14-15, 04:57 AM
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I am an airline pilot, and stuff like that happens all the time to our planes. No sense wasting precious time on the ground trying to fix something that might fix itself.
We just run'em and hope for the best.
We just run'em and hope for the best.
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