I'm Tired of Getting Flat Tires :(
03-11-21, 11:48 AM
#26
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03-12-21, 11:50 AM
#27
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Just to check, are you using the same tire when you ride indoors? Tires get worn VERY QUICKLY on a trainer, and they will look clean and smooth so you might not notice the wear. That would make the rubber thin and more prone to punctures when you do get outside. Most people who ride a lot indoors get a separate (cheap) rear wheel with a dedicated trainer tire (they actually make super thick tires for this purpose) so they don't wear out their expensive tire so quickly. If you already use a different tire on the trainer, ignore this paragraph.
Also, add my support for the comments on tire pressure. I saw far fewer flats once I learned the optimum pressure for my weight and tire combination. If you're getting pinch flats (two holes right next to each other), you probably need to increase pressure (or stop riding so hard over sharp bumps). If you're getting frequent punctures, you might need to reduce pressure. Of course, avoiding debris will also help.
Also, add my support for the comments on tire pressure. I saw far fewer flats once I learned the optimum pressure for my weight and tire combination. If you're getting pinch flats (two holes right next to each other), you probably need to increase pressure (or stop riding so hard over sharp bumps). If you're getting frequent punctures, you might need to reduce pressure. Of course, avoiding debris will also help.
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03-12-21, 12:05 PM
#28
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Started 2021 with three flats in two rides.
:|
Good since then, excepting
Helps t'not run ober stuff...
Bein' retired, I no longer "have to" ride in the dark, nor in low light - biggest difference in flat prevention - after moving away from goat head land...
:|
Good since then, excepting
Helps t'not run ober stuff...
Bein' retired, I no longer "have to" ride in the dark, nor in low light - biggest difference in flat prevention - after moving away from goat head land...
03-12-21, 01:51 PM
#29
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it is amazing that a screw or a nail can stand up and puncture a tire , just running over it,
if you tried to do that it would never happen, it just amazes me that a screw or nail can do that
and who puts them all in the road, I can't think of a single time that I dropped a nail out of a truck
or lost a box of nails . just crazy
if you tried to do that it would never happen, it just amazes me that a screw or nail can do that
and who puts them all in the road, I can't think of a single time that I dropped a nail out of a truck
or lost a box of nails . just crazy
03-12-21, 03:09 PM
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03-12-21, 03:16 PM
#33
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Okay, gotcha. Yeah, on tubeless, I get punctures all the time, but it's unusual that I'll get an actual flat before a tire is worn out, which was a revelation coming from my previous flat frequency.
03-12-21, 03:22 PM
#34
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it is amazing that a screw or a nail can stand up and puncture a tire , just running over it,
if you tried to do that it would never happen, it just amazes me that a screw or nail can do that
and who puts them all in the road, I can't think of a single time that I dropped a nail out of a truck
or lost a box of nails . just crazy
if you tried to do that it would never happen, it just amazes me that a screw or nail can do that
and who puts them all in the road, I can't think of a single time that I dropped a nail out of a truck
or lost a box of nails . just crazy
03-12-21, 04:48 PM
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That was me a year and a half ago. Tired of so many flats. I got Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, which have greatly reduced (but not eliminated) flats. I've seen criticisms of those tires here on the forums, but I like them and flats are rare. (Two flats last year. Once I ran over a block of wood and another time I ran over a metal plate, both road debris that I didn't see in time.)
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03-12-21, 07:52 PM
#36
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I'm just here to vent.
Spend most of my time riding indoors so at least I don't get a flat doing that. But in my last 99.5 hours of riding outside on the road I've had five flats or one flat every 20 hours of riding. This seems excessive. After flat #4 I made the mistake of getting a GP5000 to replace the stock Bontrager tire that had a gash in it. It was a pain to install and a pain to take off after the inevitable flat #5 today.
Anyone have worse luck?
/End Vent
Spend most of my time riding indoors so at least I don't get a flat doing that. But in my last 99.5 hours of riding outside on the road I've had five flats or one flat every 20 hours of riding. This seems excessive. After flat #4 I made the mistake of getting a GP5000 to replace the stock Bontrager tire that had a gash in it. It was a pain to install and a pain to take off after the inevitable flat #5 today.
Anyone have worse luck?
/End Vent
In the last 15 months, I have had 2 flats and the flats were just about a year apart. I run Continental Ultra Sport 3s. Most of my riding is on paved bike trails that are maintained daily.
The difference could be, I do very little riding on the streets.
03-12-21, 09:31 PM
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Riding into the sunset.
The other fun one was an industrial razor blade.
A good trick with nails, screws, bits o' f, staples, etc., is to kick them up a bit with the front wheel so they meet the rear tire at the peeerfect angle.
The other fun one was an industrial razor blade.
A good trick with nails, screws, bits o' f, staples, etc., is to kick them up a bit with the front wheel so they meet the rear tire at the peeerfect angle.
03-13-21, 10:06 AM
#39
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Dave
03-13-21, 10:19 AM
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Last week I changed out my Conti 4000sii 700x28 for the Conti 4-Season 700x32. The 4000's seemed to be getting cut-up quite a lot. No punctures, just showing a lot of gashes. The 4-Seasons are definitely not as supply or as responsive but the rubber compound seems more durable. I'm 188, 5'11 and . I'm experimenting at 90-95 psi which seems a little high and I'm going to be dropping it down to the 80-85 range on the next few rides. My Trek FX carries a lot of spares, fenders, rack etc. so the overall weight sometimes calls for a bit more PSI.
03-15-21, 11:30 AM
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Like others mentioned with that many flats are you reinflating the flatted tire and checking where thr flat occurred? I'd be suspicious it's not coming from the road.
Possible causes:
- Something inside the rim causing flats. Usually new rim tape fixes it, rarely a new wheel is required. You can tell because the source of the flat is on the inside of the tube.
- Leak around the stem - your pump is yanking to hard on the stem when you take it off (need a new pump or lubricate the head on the current one), or you have a batch of bad tubes that all have the same defect around the stem.
- Leak always happens in same place on tube - something like a nail gets stuck in the tube and causes the same puncture over and over again.
- Tire is old (worn out tires flat constantly) or something else wore it down (maybe a trainer wore it out faster).
- You live somewhere with particularly flat-prone conditions (like goatheads) and just need a more flat resistant tire.
The first step is to take the tube off and add air to it and see where the flat is happening. If it's the same spot over and over...
Possible causes:
- Something inside the rim causing flats. Usually new rim tape fixes it, rarely a new wheel is required. You can tell because the source of the flat is on the inside of the tube.
- Leak around the stem - your pump is yanking to hard on the stem when you take it off (need a new pump or lubricate the head on the current one), or you have a batch of bad tubes that all have the same defect around the stem.
- Leak always happens in same place on tube - something like a nail gets stuck in the tube and causes the same puncture over and over again.
- Tire is old (worn out tires flat constantly) or something else wore it down (maybe a trainer wore it out faster).
- You live somewhere with particularly flat-prone conditions (like goatheads) and just need a more flat resistant tire.
The first step is to take the tube off and add air to it and see where the flat is happening. If it's the same spot over and over...
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03-15-21, 11:49 AM
#42
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I was getting flat tires from the spoke nuts even with carefully installed rubber gasket covering them. I solved this problem not by attempting the futility of trying to make the gasket system work but by replacing the wire wheels with spokeless mag wheels on ebay.
03-15-21, 12:05 PM
#43
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Specialized Armadillo - Only thing I've tried that works. I get over 4000 miles on a tire. I still get flats but they are rarer, usually near tire end of life. Flats are especially bad in the early spring. Rains push road gravel and radial tire wires into the bike lane. I'll get 4 flats in a week then none for months.
Gatorskin are cheaper and good enough for a front tire but not good enough for a back tire.
Stats - 205lb, 6ft 700x28. I bike for exercise not for sport so I'm not interested in the lightest components but emphasis long lasting.
Gatorskin are cheaper and good enough for a front tire but not good enough for a back tire.
Stats - 205lb, 6ft 700x28. I bike for exercise not for sport so I'm not interested in the lightest components but emphasis long lasting.
Last edited by jonboehm; 03-15-21 at 12:10 PM.
03-15-21, 12:15 PM
#44
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Buy two new tubes with removable valve cores. Buy a 2oz bottle of Stan's sealant. Mount new tubes and squirt half a bottle in each. Thank me later.
03-15-21, 12:22 PM
#45
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It seems like the majority of the complaints about the ineffectiveness of road tubeless comes from the use of Stan's. Does it work any better inside of a tube?
03-15-21, 12:57 PM
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I tried Stan's last year in a couple of tubes on my road bike. It didn't work, or at least by the time it sealed the tire wasn't ridable. But it did make finding the puncture easier, as there was a huge mess between the tube and the tire in the general area of the puncture.
03-15-21, 01:06 PM
#47
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I tried Stan's last year in a couple of tubes on my road bike. It didn't work, or at least by the time it sealed the tire wasn't ridable. But it did make finding the puncture easier, as there was a huge mess between the tube and the tire in the general area of the puncture.
03-15-21, 01:12 PM
#48
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Regarding the difficulty getting the new tire on/off: Brand new tires are always more difficult than ones that have been taken on/off a few times. Is it possible you bought the Conti GP5000 TL by mistake? The TL version is for tubeless, and so it is significantly heavier, less supple, and more difficult to get on/off than the "clincher" version (made for tubes). Most tubeless tires are also impossible to seat properly on the rim with a mini pump. If you're using tubes, avoid tubeless tires like the plague.
03-15-21, 01:13 PM
#49
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Regarding the difficulty getting the new tire on/off: Brand new tires are always more difficult than ones that have been taken on/off a few times. Is it possible you bought the Conti GP5000 TL by mistake? The TL version is for tubeless, and so it is significantly heavier, less supple, and more difficult to get on/off than the "clincher" version (made for tubes). Most tubeless tires are also impossible to seat properly on the rim with a mini pump. If you're using tubes, avoid tubeless tires like the plague.
03-15-21, 04:25 PM
#50
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It's definitely the clincher GP5000. Also, I took the tire off to check the rim tape and didn't notice anything unusual. The last three rides, since it's been really nice outside, were fine though I inflated the rear tire to 90 psi. More road buzz on the chip seal.
And for the person who asked, my indoor riding is on a smart trainer so there's no rear tire involved and it's also a different bike as it's one my wife and I can both ride.
On the plus side, I'm getting a new bike in about 9-10 weeks. I wanted 32mm tires but that would have added weeks to the shipping time so it's coming with 28mm tires and the shop will not mount them, credit me, and put on Continental 32mm All Seasons (thanks for the recommendations) and I can keep a set of GP5000s for the few times I really care about how fast I ride.
I could just be unlucky. In an 18 month stretch I got 10 flats on my car, all in the right rear tire. I ran over all sorts of stuff and managed to run over three screws over a period of a few months in the same small area of the tire and had to replace it as it couldn't be patched any more.
I appreciate all the actual help as really I just wanted to complain and didn't expect real advice.
And for the person who asked, my indoor riding is on a smart trainer so there's no rear tire involved and it's also a different bike as it's one my wife and I can both ride.
On the plus side, I'm getting a new bike in about 9-10 weeks. I wanted 32mm tires but that would have added weeks to the shipping time so it's coming with 28mm tires and the shop will not mount them, credit me, and put on Continental 32mm All Seasons (thanks for the recommendations) and I can keep a set of GP5000s for the few times I really care about how fast I ride.
I could just be unlucky. In an 18 month stretch I got 10 flats on my car, all in the right rear tire. I ran over all sorts of stuff and managed to run over three screws over a period of a few months in the same small area of the tire and had to replace it as it couldn't be patched any more.
I appreciate all the actual help as really I just wanted to complain and didn't expect real advice.