Debusama

Or do the odds of a flat seem to double in a race, and then and increase exponentially based on how much you like the course and think you have a good chance to win? I’ve had 6 flats in the last two years since I started racing, which isn’t too bad, but 4 have been in races, and two have been on a course that is near my house and I use it as a training ride about once a week. I have never had a flat on the course during a training ride.

cmh

Do you use different tires for racing vs. training?

Debusama

I use gator-skins in the winter/early spring, but when race season begins I put on my race tires/wheels and leave them on throughout the season.

ericm979

The number of flats I get went way down when I lowered my tire pressure to what's in the Michelin chart.

Creatre

I very very rarely get flats on my Michelin Krylion Carbons. I usually get 1 per 2500 miles (life of the tire). Usually when the tire decides to throw in the towel, it will start flatting like crazy. By that I mean, I'll be on a 30 mile ride and I'll flat 3 times. Hence, if I have a big ride coming up and closing in on 2500 miles I always replace the tire just in case. Luckily I have not ever had a flat in a race (knock on wood).

SpongeDad

I race on Continental 4000S front / GP 4 Season on the back (stands up better to trainer workouts) - never had a flat. Inflation to 105-110psi, I weigh 158-160lbs.

MDcatV

this is highly likely the root of your problem. you're getting flats in races because you're racing on tires that you use for training. when you're training you pick up road grime, glass shards, pebbles, etc. that embed into your tires and eventually work their way through the tread, into the tube, and result in a flat. you need to be on training tires for training and racing tires for racing. the best way to accomplish this is to have a training wheelset that is durable and a racing wheelset that is all purpose fast. other alternatives are to change tires before and after racing (kind of a pain in the neck), or at minimum, to examine your tires closely a few times/week and pick out debris with a safety pin.

carpediemracing 

I used to use my light stuff for just races. Eventually, though, I realized that I needed to finish races before anything else. Nowadays I'll use my clinchers (Krylion Carbon) pretty readily in a race, and my tubulars (EVO CX) are pretty durable.

I don't like light clinchers to the point that I've given them away (sub 250g). Inevitably they all punctured. I bought some ProRace2s and immediately flatted on all four of them, cutting the tires in the process. Since my riding habits have stabilized in the last 20 or so years, I don't think it's my riding. I've also ridden the same roads on Krylions and other slightly heavier tires and not had a problem.

In a race, too, you'll ride on parts of the road you don't ride on in training, like near the yellow line, etc. This may put you into debris- or pothole- ridden areas. Although you may train on the roads, unless they're very quiet roads, you're probably training on a limited bit of that road.

Finally, are you getting pinch flats (snake bites), blow outs, or actual puncture type flats?

Pinch flats would lead me to guess that you're riding on less-familiar parts of the road.

Blow outs would imply loose bead fit on rim (or improper installation). Since tires are much more consistent than rims, I'd consider different rims or tighter tires.

If you have actual punctures I'd get slightly heavier tires, like the Krylion Carbons (my personal favorite). I can use glass-strewn shoulders to move up in races since most riders are too afraid of puncturing their race tires; for me, when I'm on Krylions, I know I can ride through that stuff with near-impunity (160-190 lbs racing weight, typically 105/110 psi clinchers 125/130 psi tubulars).

ridethecliche

I thought pinch flats were caused by user error.

Also, cdr has way better luck with krylion carbons than I do. I loved the first couple of pairs, then their QC went downhill and all of them I've had since crack and start to separate at the sidewall.

carpediemracing 

Yep, that's my opinion too (i.e. hitting a pothole). It would imply that there was a surprise in the road conditions, i.e. riding on a different part of a familiar road, like near the yellow line, instead of on a familiar part of the road, i.e. near the shoulder.

So I may know the roads around here pretty well but the main ones I only ride on the shoulder. I don't know the conditions of the center of the road for those larger streets, and multilane ones too.

ridethecliche

I meant incorrect installation of tubes.

Isn't a pinch flat when a tube gets pinched between the tire and the rim?

Creakyknees

Not the way I use the term - by common parlance around here, a pinch flat is synonymous with "snakebite flat" - for example when the far side of a pothole smashes the tire against the rim, causing an instant "pinch" and the characteristic 2-holes on the sides of the tube.

To the OP - yeah, you are flatting way too much, I basically follow cdr's plan. Bulk of my training, all weeknight racing on Conti 4000's, special weekend races bring out the carbon tubies but those are still Conti Sprinters, generally considered a "training tire"

carpediemracing 

Usually a pinched tube results in a blowout, but unless it's a minor pinch, it usually blows out within minutes of installation, or even upon inflation of tire.

I used to "phsaw" the saying "to finish first you must first finish". Then I flatted my 160 gram 17mm tubulars, or crashed, or whatever. Now I don't use TT tires, paper thin sidewall tires, etc. I'll ride on grass ("grass surf") without hesitation, ride on glass even on my tubulars with only little uneasiness, and use potholes and other rough road surfaces to my advantage. Heck, I even race on clinchers sometimes (the Krylions you don't like ). But it's really frustrating to flat during a big race, more so than any savings the 20-50 grams a lighter tire may give me.

Debusama

My race season tires are Evo cx clinchers. The reason why I leave them on through the race season is to reduce the chances of having problems due to mistakes in mounting them. I do generally wipe them down after every ride or two, and definitely before races. One of the race flats I had last year was a pinch, which was why I stopped trying to remount tires before every race. The others were punctures though. My theory on why I get more flats in races is that on solo rides or in a pace line in a group training ride, its pretty easy to see and avoid debris on the road whereas when you’re boxed into a race pack, you kind of just have to run over whatever comes. I don’t know why my tire, as opposed to the guy whose wheel I’m on ends up flat: I may have to chalk it up as a streak of bad luck.

ridethecliche

Ah thanks for the correction!

I wasn't quite sure

chadteck

I've gotten many flats while training and none while racing. Usually there is at least some effort made to clean up a race course before a race, so you should be less likely to encounter debris.