Flat. Caused by spoke maybe?

Ahhh!  I wanted to do a decent ride today but when I got everything ready, it didn't take long to discover that my rear tire was flat.  The rear tire has been slowly leaking but not enough to get too excited about.  It would drop about 10 psi between rides but I wasn't sure whether there was an actual leak or just the temp differences from where it was stored.  Anyway, I picked up a spare tube and Slime Scabs (all the store had) so I could replace the tube and patch the current one as a spare.  When I took it apart, I noticed that the rim tape (rubber) was punctured and the tube was punctured on the inside at the same spot.  Now, this would normally make me thing "spoke" right?  My spokes are down inside the hole.  I tried to move the spoke but it's tight.  I don't see how it could have possibly punctured the rim tape and tube.  I felt along the hole to where you can gain access to the spoke and I felt no burrs with my fingers either. 

I replaced the tube with the new one and filed the tire with air.  I was cleaning the bike when I suddenly heard HSSSSSSSSSSS and it was flat.  Same mark on the tube.  WTF?  Please tell me what I'm missing here.  I've had spoke punctures before but they were pretty easy to see because the spoke ends were just under the rim tape and the spoke was loose, allowing it to move.  That is not the case on my bike so I don't see how it could possibly puncture the tube. 

Oh, and does anyone like the Slime Scabs?  I've never used them before.  I tried one but it didn't hold.  I don't know if it's due to the existing problem I have right now or if they are just not that good.

Oh, don't make fun of my cheapie Schwinn but here is what the wheels look like.  They are 700c x 25 tires.



Edited by Pector55 2009-08-29 6:14 PM