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Every ride...a flat

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Every ride...a flat

Old 06-13-22, 11:05 PM
  #26  
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Originally Posted by 79pmooney
Trick - the pliers on my Leatherman are the best I've ever used for things like tire hairs. They have real bite right out to the end. Open them 1/8", press firrmly into the tire, squeeze and pull. I've also bought very good tweezers in the women's cosmetics in supermarkets. I've never pulled tire hairs with them so I don't know if they have the grip to do that. (Excellent for picking out tiny splinters and broken thorns out of skin. My yard's got roses, raspberries, black berries and marionberries.)
​The problem I had was that I had just trimmed my nails.
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Old 06-14-22, 06:59 AM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by 79pmooney
Again, patch your tubes and reuse them. (And keep the tire mounted the same each time - with the label at the valve or opposite.) The patches become a running documentary on your issues.

I know, nobody has time to patch tubes. But I'll bet that had the OP been patching his, he wouldn't have enev needed t come on the forum to ask what's going on.
This is what I have long done but I’m about to quit. Going forward I will patch and figure the problem and then throw the tube away when I get home. The few recent “flats” I’ve had in the last few years have more often been old patches that worked for a year or so and then decided to start leaking in the middle of a ride. I’d rather not have to deal with that. Plus, you can’t really fix a patch that starts to leak.

Otto
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Old 06-14-22, 09:20 AM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by zandoval
If you decide to replace the tires here is a very good option...

Not knowing why the op flatted any tire might be a good choice. I use Continental GP5000's and I easily go 18 to more than 24 months between flats. And I'm still with the tubed version of them.

Back when I use to flat often, figuring out what caused every flat let me realize that most were not tread punctures. Solving the bad installation practices and rim problems were the overwhelming cause of my flats and I suspect the cause of others flats. Unless perhaps they live in goathead territory. Which I don't think Florida is.
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Old 06-14-22, 11:07 AM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by Iride01
...goathead territory...

Goathead Territory! ...Rats!!!

We have one little patch of exceptionally large goatheads in Bastrop Texas. It is right down by the river on a dry single track that is both picturesque and slowly navigable by road bikes. To bad cause most of us don't even go down there any more. Goatheads Rule... Ha...
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Old 06-14-22, 11:37 AM
  #30  
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Took a picture of my patched tubes based on your advice....almost the same spot, all 4 tubes. Tried to post it, but did not have 10 post to qualify for posting. Any trick here?
Anyway, went thru the tire and the rim, nothing to be found. No puncture marks on the tire no inside neither inside.

My pictures are @ EG 2022-06-15 of the Gallery. Thanks for your tip.

Last edited by geneg; 06-15-22 at 12:22 PM.
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Old 06-14-22, 12:03 PM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by geneg
Took a picture of my patched tubes based on your advice....almost the same spot, all 4 tubes. Tried to post it, but did not have 10 post to qualify for posting. Any trick here?
Anyway, went thru the tire and the rim, nothing to be found. No puncture marks on the tire no inside neither inside.
Are the patches on the inside or outside of the tube? (Laying the tube in carefully without twists is a big help here.) If inside, is the rim strip properly covering the spoke hole? And if it's outside, look for that tire wire or tiny thorn tip. You know to within a 1/2" where it is. Circle that with a pen. Pull the tire off. In really good light bend the tire to open up the tiniest of holes. Both sides, cord and tread. You know it's there. Find it! Or put on another tire. (It will work its way through any patch or boot you put over it and cause another flat. Not tomorrow but you'll see it.)

And next time, before you patch, look at the shape of the hole. Hairs make very small punctures or short, fine rips. Bead issues - usually long slits in line with the rim edge. Rimstrip issues - probably the shape of that portion of the spoke hole edge.

The three things that enable bicycles to work so fantastically well - the roller chain, inflatable tires and ball bearing. Thankfully the ball bearing behave very nicely once we have them rounded up and trapped. Chains are an ongoing expense and as much labor (or filth) as we are willing to put up with. Those tires - both a curse and a joy.

Last edited by 79pmooney; 06-14-22 at 12:04 PM. Reason: spelling
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Old 06-14-22, 03:09 PM
  #32  
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Already mentioned above, but adding additional information:
Rim strips can be made from, as far as I know: tape, rubber, plastic. I have experienced issues with rubber and plastic:
Rubber: The rubber that covers the spokes fails and the sharp portion of the spoke, or nipple punctures the tube.
Plastic: The plastic protector split over a recessed spoke hole on the rim. This was not visible when not under pressure. It could only be found when pushing down with your finger over each spoke hole.
I transitioned to tape on all rims years ago.

When I remove flat tires and tubes from the rim, I strive to trace back to a specific point in the tire and rim to check for issues: glass / wire / etc on the tire, or problem with the rim, or problem with the rim strip.
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Old 06-14-22, 03:22 PM
  #33  
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This is why I love double walled rims without spoke access holes in the rim bed, e.g., Mavic Ksyrium Elite with Fore drilling, and some modern carbon fiber wheels. No rim strips needed.
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Old 06-14-22, 03:36 PM
  #34  
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Swap the front/rear tires & tubes, and see if the problem moves. That'll probably tell you whether it's tire or rim.
If the problem recurs but has moved, discard the tire/tube, replace with new, and move on with your life.
If the problem recurs but stays on the same wheel, replace the rim tape and see if it goes away.
If the problem remains, things get harder. You have to find the offender. Use all your punctured tubes to identify exactly where the offender is. You've probably lost orientation, so you'll have to look in two places.

Keep in mind, sometimes tubes just fail. If all your tubes are of the same vintage, you could have serial tube age failure disguised as a puncture.
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Old 06-14-22, 05:15 PM
  #35  
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Is Velox / cloth rim tape (and similar) still used / recommended ?

Is talc / 'baby powder' (and similar) still used on tubes and inside of tire (for the non-tubeless crowd) ?
.
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Old 06-14-22, 06:10 PM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by t2p
Is Velox / cloth rim tape (and similar) still used / recommended ?

Is talc / 'baby powder' (and similar) still used on tubes and inside of tire (for the non-tubeless crowd) ?
.
If your not running tubeless, the Velox works now like it always did. Boring. As long as the width is right, you stick it on as straight as you can and forget about it. Still can be peeled back to replace a spoke (or the entire rim) and stick down again. Nowadays, width options might be tighter but you can buy wider and slice the roll to your width with a very sharp knife. I sometimes use baby powder, It helps for laying the tube in straight and I cannot see any harm. Also helps keep the tube from sticking at recent repairs. My bikes are probably illegal now in California but they didn't catch me the one time I ducked over the line. (Talc.)
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Old 06-14-22, 07:26 PM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by geneg
Took a picture of my patched tubes based on your advice....almost the same spot, all 4 tubes. Tried to post it, but did not have 10 post to qualify for posting. Any trick here?
Anyway, went thru the tire and the rim, nothing to be found. No puncture marks on the tire no inside neither inside.
Look close at the rim tape, if it's not glued down, is there any gap where the spoke hole edge is not completely covered by the tape - can the tape move?
If the holes/patches are approx half way around tube from the valve, check the rim joint for any non-smooth area, a very tiny rough spot will eventually cause a puncture. If you can 'feel' it with your fingernail, it's too rough.
However far around the tube the spot is, relative to valve, check the rim at equal/equivalent distance both ways around rim from spot hole.
For future, when mounting a tire (and using any rotation designation on tire), line up the primary Tire Labeling with either the valve or the rim joint - be consistent.
I also place a small piece of masking/painters tape on the tube near the valve, to the right/leading side of the rotation - this quickly lets me determine how the tube sat in the tire/rim in use.
This assures that all 3 elements, rim/tube/tire, are always in same relationship in use and allows you to find chronic problems much easier...
Ride On
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Old 06-14-22, 08:51 PM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by geneg
Took a picture of my patched tubes based on your advice....almost the same spot, all 4 tubes. Tried to post it, but did not have 10 post to qualify for posting. Any trick here?
Anyway, went thru the tire and the rim, nothing to be found. No puncture marks on the tire no inside neither inside.
I missed this bit of info.

Start with this: There IS a problem. This is known. You can talk yourself into "it's not this" and "it's not that" to the point where it can't be anything. But it's definitely something, so if it's not anything, you've overlooked something. That there is 30+ years of troubleshooting wisdom, handed out for free. You're welcome.

Is the hole on the rim side or the tire side?

If it's on the tire side, the challenge is you may have rotated the tire. But since it's in the same place on 3 tubes, maybe not. Those bits of steel belted radials can be tiny little boogers, and sometimes they only protrude when the tire is flexed. Get yourself some magnifiers, a really good light, cotton ball, and get serious. Either that or throw the frickin' tire away. I will admit to having done that once.

If it's on the rim side, the location is easier to find. It's in one of two places. It's there. Rim tape, a nick, rough joint, protruding spoke... something.

Enjoy
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Old 06-14-22, 11:55 PM
  #39  
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i am praying that my own "every ride a flat saga" ends today. new tube after sunday's flat. new flat today about 25mi into a 32 mi ride. got the old tube, found the TEENY hole, new tube, hole in same relative spot. inside of tire felt completely smooth to the tip of my finger, but there was a tiny hole on the outside and a tiny dark spot on the inside. fingernail picking revealed a hard spot. tweezer work and out came a miniscule little shard of glass, perhaps 1mm by a half a mm, triangular in shape. my first two flats were different tires, so this little guy can only take credit for half my bad luck this month.

geneg perhaps it's something you can't see, but could feel with your fingernail.
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Old 06-15-22, 08:33 AM
  #40  
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The reason I started this conversation is that I really puzzled with what happening one ride after another. That maybe problematic tire is a brand new, I replaced a worn one (only 1K) and probably made a mistake not going for a more puncture proof one. Was matching the front one, that was still good.
As far as a new set, what do you recommend except for Gatorskins. Those tires are available for several years now, do not have a current Cilica component (as I read on one of bike chats). Any Vittoria tires are good for puncture protection?
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Old 06-15-22, 09:08 AM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by geneg
Took a picture of my patched tubes based on your advice....almost the same spot, all 4 tubes. Tried to post it, but did not have 10 post to qualify for posting. Any trick here?
Anyway, went thru the tire and the rim, nothing to be found. No puncture marks on the tire no inside neither inside.
There is a gallery here on BF. Just upload your pics there and tell us that they are there and someone will stick them in this thread for you.

Or just learn how to make the URL not look like a URL to the spam filters. BF won't send spam police to your door for doing so.

Hint:. Don't use the linking or image tools. Just type or copy/paste in plain text and delete the things that identify it as a URL and add spaces around periods.

Last edited by Iride01; 06-15-22 at 09:12 AM.
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Old 06-15-22, 12:23 PM
  #42  
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Originally Posted by Iride01
There is a gallery here on BF. Just upload your pics there and tell us that they are there and someone will stick them in this thread for you.

Or just learn how to make the URL not look like a URL to the spam filters. BF won't send spam police to your door for doing so.

Hint:. Don't use the linking or image tools. Just type or copy/paste in plain text and delete the things that identify it as a URL and add spaces around periods.
Thanks a lot

I added pictures:
EG 2022-06-15
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Old 06-15-22, 12:59 PM
  #43  
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Originally Posted by geneg
Thanks a lot

I added pictures:
EG 2022-06-15
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Old 06-16-22, 10:22 AM
  #44  
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So it was the tire's fault. Those 2 metal wires were cutting all tubes.
I would start my ride with fully inflated tires (80 PSI) and would get a flat in first 5 miles. I would replace the tube and would finish 20 miles ride.
So why wires would not cut a tube during 15 miles ride? Lower pressure? I do not have a gage with me when I ride, so I would pump be a eye.
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Old 06-16-22, 11:32 AM
  #45  
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Originally Posted by geneg
Hi guys, I live in Boca Raton FL and ride along A1A every Sunday for 4 years since my move here. I ride Cannondale Bad Boy Ultra on Vittoria Randonneur Rigid Tyre, Full Black Reflex, 700 x 28c.

(about 1K on them) and about 2 month ago, I started to get flat tire every time I rode. After couple of flats, I brought my bike to a shop and they replaced an inner liner on my rear wheel (only rear tire got punctured so far)

Next Sunday ride, flat again. Got an outer liner on my rear tire, guess what happened next ride...flat. When replacing tubes, I usually go with my hand thru the inners of the wheel to find something that punctured, nothing to be found, Was suggested to replace my tires with Gatorskins. Thinking of doing it. But for now...

So my questions is, what can cause those punctures? Any suggestions based on your experience? Thanks in advance.
While I need to make some small revisions to this video I did take the time to put all the basic diagnosis info into an easy video. Watch it and get back to us. :
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Old 06-21-22, 11:41 PM
  #46  
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I had the same happen about 15 years ago. There was a tiny crack in the aluminum rim.
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