General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Recurring flats? Rss Feed  
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2016-09-06 9:40 AM


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Subject: Recurring flats?
2 flats over 8 days....same tire (rear).
Only ~50 miles on tube 2

It totally could be stroke of luck, and I suppose time will tell...but....any specific things to look for?

First flat:
Used bike. 2014. No clue how old that first tube is or what it's seen.
Going down a hill. A steep fast one. Stupid me, I was so excited to be riding my new bike, I never put any tubes/tools on it. Had to call my wife. At probably the furthest distance on my ride. (The good news is, she forgot something later that day and I had bring something to her....almost as far...WHEW!!!! dodged a major bullet there)

2nd.
The tube (brand name) was probably about 1.5 years old. It was still in it's box when I put it on last week. I had recently gone over some railroad tracks....(3 miles prior to the flat?). They are BAD. Like REALLY bad. But.....again, I would have noticed. I hit a really gnarly pothole.....less than .25 miles before I noticed the flat. The kind that of pothole that's like a mini sink-hole. At least 6" deep, straight down, but just not wide enough that you'd get stuck. Again..... it was another quarter mile before I noticed anything.


Both times, I looked pretty close at the rim to see if there was anything. Nothing. Ran my fingers through there......nothing. I do have both tubes and I'll check later today to see if there's any common point of failure.

At least this time I was prepared. Also, those non-threaded CO2 cartridges. Hah. If you can operate those things, you're a genius. Like I said, I was prepared. I bought an extra threaded one in case I couldn't make the non-threaded one that came with my knew charger work.



Edited by jhaack39 2016-09-06 9:41 AM


2016-09-06 9:42 AM
in reply to: jhaack39


701
500100100
Subject: RE: Recurring flats?
Duh. You know. I just realized I never thought to check the inside of the tire itself.
Sheesh.
What a maroon.
2016-09-06 10:02 AM
in reply to: jhaack39

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Subject: RE: Recurring flats?

This is why you should always line up the logo of the tire centered over the valve hole of the rim.  That way you can inspect the tube and know exactly where the puncture happened and reference that portion of the tire if it's a puncture on the top side of the tube, or that portion of the rim if it's a puncture on the inside of the tube.  If it's a pinch flat, you should see two holes in a snake bite type fashion.  Sometimes the holes are really small so you have to inflate the tube a little and dunk it in a bucket of water to look for bubbles.  Often times I find small staples or wires embedded in my tire that I would never feel or find without finding the tiny hole in the tube by submerging it. 

2016-09-06 12:48 PM
in reply to: jhaack39

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Subject: RE: Recurring flats?
Probably just coincidence. Could be something inside the tire but 50 miles is a little long for that. Could be a pinch and the pressure of those two bumps made you flat but 50 miles is a little long for that too. Could be that the tires are old and in need of replacement. Or could just be bad luck. Keep us posted if you figure it out.
2016-09-06 1:20 PM
in reply to: miamiamy

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Subject: RE: Recurring flats?
I have an ENVE carbon fiber wheelset. I started getting recurrent flats. I inspected the front wheel and found an irregularity. The term I learned was that I had lost my bead. Somehow with a bump or overheating, the bead did not hold any more. When I bought the wheelset the guy I got them from assured me they were heavy duty. Apparently not since I don't remember hitting anything of note. I have a downhill stretch that has over a mile of 14% grade that I went down and may have over heated the rims. I realize that you shouldn't feather the brakes, but if you don't, you'll hit 50mph really quickly. With a hair pin turn at the bottom you'd have to be pretty nervy to do that.



I've had flats occur because the tire was stuck under the bead of the tire. I've had flats occur because there was a piece of glass embedded in tire. You had to bend the tire back and forth to find it. I've had pinch flats from too low of a pressure in the tire. I've had flats from a spoke that had pressed on the tire lining enough to make a small hole. I've had flats from pinching the tube while mounting it.

Every time I get a flat I do the best I can to determine the source of it. For awhile TXDOT was using these really sharp rocks on the shoulders of highways that could blow a tire really easily. Oddly enough I asked them if they could sweep the shoulders. About a week later, to my surprise, they went out and did it.
2016-09-06 7:09 PM
in reply to: NeilsWheel

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Subject: RE: Recurring flats?

what pressure did you inflate to?

what kind of rim tape do you have?



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