pdlamb

We've already broken into the February or March postings, so perhaps this semi-serious question will be treated nicely.

I had a flat a couple days ago. Found a glass shard near the stem, pulled it out, and ran my thumb around the inside of the tire to make sure there was nothing else in there. Replaced the tube and pumped it up, and rode home. Everything was copacetic.

Until...

Checked the tube last night, and the leak was nowhere near the stem. As a matter of fact, it was almost diametrically opposite to the stem. Looked like a Michelin wire puncture, but I checked the tire and couldn't find anything.

So, in that situation, what would you do?

A. Cross your fingers, hope it was a wire that fell or was pulled back out of the tire, and keep riding.

B. Pull the wheel, take the tire off and do a detailed search for the cause of that flat.

Actually, what I'm doing now is:

C. Ride a different bike.

But I know I'll want to pull the original bike out after a mechanical, a flat in the morning before commuting, or some other reason. So I'm left wondering what the Smart Thing would be.

cb400bill

B. But use a cotton ball to help find the offending piece of wire.

Crankycrank

As long as the tire hasn't been rotated from its original position when you had the flats, it should be fairly easy to determine if something is still in the tire that caused the flats by just lining up the tube puncture to the tire. Sometimes whatever caused a flat is no longer in the tire and nothing to worry about. Don't overthink it.

Troul 

with flats that close in time for failure, I would base the decision on how old or worn the tire is. If it has a bit of miles on it, new tire & new sealant. Save the old one to see if it'll be a good indoor trainer candidate.

downtube42

Commuter bike: cursory search, then just ride.
Rando bike: find the cause or replace the tire. Possibly move said tire to commuter bike.

OTOH if I have a boring rainy weekend, I might be inclined to remove the tire and spend a day in the garage with some tunes on searching for the offending item.

sweeks

A lower standard of reliability for a commuter bike? That seems... backwards to me.
I'm a dentist who commutes by bike. I want my commuter bike to be darned near bullet-proof. On a recreational ride, a flat is less of a concern.

choddo

Apart from changing another bike over to tubeless?

I would assume the ride home had been a successful test.

p.s. “copacetic” - chapeau.

choddo

There was only one puncture. Its cause was misdiagnosed.

Troul 

i read it as they had an initial flat by the stem, then a mysterious flat later pop* up in another areas not near the initial one. Chasing flats is not something I'd leave up to a guessing process. Replacing the entire tire & later thumb over the old tire in a better environment would be my approach ymmv.

downtube42

My morning commute is 3.5 miles and 300' downhill. I can switch a tube, walk, or catch a bus that comes every 20 minutes. Of course I want reliable, but even a catastrophic failure is no big deal.

On my rando bike, I might be 50 miles from anything, much further from home, somewhere I've never been.

zandoval 

Get to it Stud!

choddo

Not sure what you mean, cos he’s already at home in this scenario and can check the tyre properly without replacing it first - you’d replace the tyre out on the road?

GamblerGORD53

Me too this week. Damn no-see-um- no-find-um, little wire somewhere. I'd whack it down with a hammer if I find it. Now I have 2 tubes with a hole. The tire is old but only recently been used.
I've wrecked a couple SMP tires picking at the wire with tweezers. Nipped a couple threads and the whole tire bulged.

Troul 

negative.
imo, you're reading my posts inaccurately.

choddo

well that’s why I said I’m not sure what you mean.

So you’d replace the tyre … somewhere … and then properly check the old tyre somewhere else?

Troul 

Quote:

Originally Posted by choddo

So replace the tire… at my convenience before the next ride… and then properly check the old tire at my convenience in an area that best makes sense.

Worded to hopefully make it clear...

MNBikeCommuter

B. Pull the wheel, take the tire off and do a detailed search for the cause of that flat.

My anxieties if I didn't would ruin every ride, just waiting for the inevitable...

pdlamb

Right. One of the few times I've found the "cause" of a flat before I took the tire off, and wouldn't you know, the one flat didn't even happen there!

I'm with downtube42 on the commute thing -- I'm normally within walking distance of a light or shelter on my commute. Rando? No idea how far down that country road I'd have to go to be able to see what I'm doing, and with my luck, the helmet light battery is about to run down.

I didn't emphasize the possibility of never finding a wire if I go back and look some more. But I think I'd be happy for my unexpired tetanus vaccine since I'd probably have a healing scratch right now if the wire was still in there.

1979schwinn 

Use a dryer sheet, rub inside tire and tube.,

noimagination

Ugh.
I would go with B.

I've done D a few times (D: the leak is slow enough so that I can pump up my tire before the ride and finish the ride with enough air in the tire), but eventually the hole will enlarge enough that you will no longer be able to make it through a ride. So I, personally, would probably go with D for a few days until I hit a weekend where I can take the time for B.

Finding the wire, assuming that's what it is, can be really, really hard - often they're impossible to find on the road. I've not had success with the cotton ball method, because the inside of my tires are usually rough enough to snag on a cotton ball even without a foreign object. What's worked for me is to localize the area of the tire that I want to examine, turn the tire inside out and spread the casing by pulling at it and look closely with a strong light. I'm nearsighted, so I can get really close to the tire, but if you have trouble focusing at close range then a magnifying glass might be useful.

79pmooney

+1 In fact I rode reliable training tubulars for years commuting because 1) the guaranteed 5 minute tire change and 2) whatever caused that flat was no longer on the wheel.

Now, if possible, I patch tubes. $$s and eco, yes but primarily for the excellent, durable record of where the flats were. Tires always go on with labels at the valve. When patches overlap, bingo! I know there that issue is!

sweeks

It would be pretty awkward for me to arrive late for a patient and have dirty hands!

Troul 

not like they can cancel the appt for free. Fee for that. No worries for you!

rumrunn6

sounds like the OP is all set. flat fixed. move on

the OP didn't say what they were gonna do w/ the old tube. I'd be inclined to patch it & test it

sweeks

I don't do that (charge for missed appointments). Happens rarely, and then I get a coffee break!