emansk8boi

So my inner tube just popped two days in a row. i rode my bike from the shop and around for awhile then i leave the bike alone for a whole night, next day i check the bike and its flat. so i go to the shop and they fix the flat again. then i ride straight home and leave the bike alone ( the shop is a few blocks away from me so the ride is very short) next day it's flat again. what is causing this? my tire or in need of new rim tape? someone told me it might be the rim but i already checked and took off the old rim tape. suggestions?? help?? please and thank you.

seau grateau

There's probably some glass in your tire.

bones_mcbones

+1

hairnet

Are there any other shops you can go to? You need help from someone that will actually find the cause before tossing in a new tube.

bones_mcbones

Also, learn how to change your own flats. Jesus.

Rootman

Having gone through 7 flats in recent days I second the motion that there is either something in the tire that is causing this, or, less likely, defective tubes. I went through 3tubes this way, I had a flat, took the bike in as I was busy an it was time for a free tune up anyway, they replaced the tube. At the same time the mechanic also shortened a frayed rear brake cable, my guess is he shortened the cable FIRST and dropped a tiny piece of wire into the tire. It too went flat over night. After having them replace it yet again - and having IT go flat I took it apart myself. Turned the tire inside out and rubbed along it and found the nearly microscopic piece of wire embedded in the inner surface of the tire. I had to use magnifying glass and tweezers to get it out.

Then I got a flat on my new bike, it had a stiff wire pierce the tire. I went in to the LBS and bought the ONLY tube they had on the shelf. Came home, it wouldn't even hold air the first try, defective vulcanization around the stem. Went back, the "magically" found 2 more tubes "in the back" (after the first guy refused to look) and I took them home. Second tube blew out a few days later, same stem failure, third tube blew out in 17 miles, with the same stem failure. After taking both bad ones back the guy finally admitted that they had a string of defective tubes.

TL;DR: Do it yourself, inspect the tire bead and rim, with a magnifying glass and your fingers, one guy even suggested a cotton ball as the tiny fibers can get snagged on stuff your fingers might just slide over.

illdthedj

ill have to third or fourth the notion you got something pokey inside your tire.

take the tire off completely, and reverse it.
i've used a towel before to really rub the inside of the tire...sometimes there is just something there thats super hard to see.

and +1 on a tiny piece of cable wire, happened to me before.

RGNY

as above.

and, one time i had to squeeze my way around the dismounted tire to find the shard of flint that was stuck in it. luckily the 'armor' layer was bright blue and helped me find it.

KLiNCK

Your rim tape may need to be replaced. I was recently working on a bike that needed to have a spoke replaced. I had to remove the rim tape to change out the spoke and true the rim. Rim trued no problem, and I reinstalled the rim tape, tube and tire. Every time (7x !!) I tried to inflate the tube it would hold air for about 5 minutes and then would go flat. I originally thought that perhaps there was "sharp" somewhere in the tire that was the culprit. Checked and double-checked (and triple-checked), couldn't find anything. I did notice, however, that the tube was being punctured at a different spot each time on the side that seats against the spoke holes of the rim. The original rim tape seemed to be fine and was still covering the spoke holes every (7 LOL!) times that I checked/patched the tube. This was a 35C tire and I was able to mount it with out tire irons so it wasn't pinch flats. WTF? I put on new rim tape (and a tube) and everything was fine after that. I guess the old rim tape was "creeping" when the tube was being inflated and exposing the spoke ends which would then puncture the tube but then slide back into place as the tube lost air ...
I had never run into that problem before!

hockeyteeth

Christ, mate. Should have put proper cloth rim tape on there the first time you found the cause of the flat. All mechanics should know that cheap vinyl rim strips don't work well on double-walled rims. And those cheap SS bikes that come with ****ing rubber rim strips on crappy deep dish rims, don't get me started.

gregjones

A cotton ball works great to find these little buggers.

Jandro 

Had this happen to me on a long night ride (wolfpack hustle). Went through three tubes. I limped back over the bridge, found a driveway with a strong light, and took the whole tire off to meticulously inspected it until I found a hair-width piece of wire just fractions of a millimeter longer than my tire was thick. I was about ready to throw my bike off a cliff before I finally found it. Ended up getting home after 1am after a couple recovery pints to ease my pain

SpeshulEd 

If you're going through multiple tubes, maybe take a look at them and see if the hole is in the same location on each.

I got two front flats the same day a couple of weeks ago, looked at both tubes, each hole was 6" from the stem. Looked at my tire near the valve hole and sure enough, a little thorn was sticking through...had to rip it out with pliers.

europa

They reckon running your finger tips around inside the tyre is a good way to check for sharps - the sudden pain tells you you've found something and the blood on the tyre shows you where to look for it

Actually, I like the cotton wool idea, might try that next time I need to.

Sometimes the beastie doing the puncturing is buried in the rubber of the tyre and you need to flex the tyre to find it. Another tip is to lay the tube over the tyre, valve at the valve hole, and the position of the puncture shows you where to look for the culprit.

With regards to your rim tape, it's not just the end of the spoke that needs to be kept away from the tube, the access holes for the nipple (if you have them) can have a sharp edge that'll do the same thing.

One final tip. It is okay to swear at the Puncture Fairy. He's about 6'2", hairy, smelly and greasy and used to be the Army Truck Fairy until he decided to change careers. He doesn't mind a good swearing ... provided you don't mind copping another puncture.

Wspsux

theres a snake in your boot

postprimepedal 

Check the tire for small cuts or heavy wear, anyplace grit can work its way through to the tube.