Flat Tire from nothing?

This happened to me.  But it wasn't "nothing".  The rim tape was twisted over itself in one spot and the fold became like a pin.  I went through 3 tubes & a patch before I figured it out--doh!

Things under tension are never doing "nothing". The various rubber components on your wheel are under a constant tug of war between compression and expansion. Sometimes one wins out over the other. A tiny rip in a sidewall that provides just a tiny bit of irritation to the tube..a slow leak that shrinks the tube by maybe even 1mm over 24 hours dragging over that little irritation - BOOM. So many possibilities for things to go wrong on a tire its amazing it doesn't happen more often.

I once was sitting in my living room, home alone, watching TV when I heard an explosion in the kitchen. A simple drinking glass had been sitting in the sink, by itself, and had simply exploded all by itself. It shattered so violently that glass flew into the next room! Was one of the most amazing things I'd ever encountered, but it was no big deal really. It was under tension like all things. Something won out over something else. Would not have believed it though had I not seen it.

Happened to me after a long hot ride and the outside temp was high. It's very funny the first time it happens... I almost never "flat" while riding so I strongly beleive in the fact that people who get unexplained flats are protected against flats that happen for something !

Christian.

A couple of months ago I took my bike into my LBS for a good cleaning and tune-up. I had him change both tubes in anticipation of the many miles I would be covering (btw-I'm still waiting to cover all those miles I promised myself that I would do). Anyway, I loaded the bike on my car bike rack. While stopped at a light I heard a loud "POP!" coming from the rear. It was so loud I thought my car tire had blown. It turned out to be one of my bike tires. I took it back to the LBS and upon further inspection the seam had given out on the tube. The LBS replaced both tubes at no cost. The mechanic said that every once in a while he'll get a bad tube with weak seams, and they will blow without warning and for no reason. Perhaps this is what happened to you.

Several years ago I went through a bad stretch where I was flatting on nearly every ride. And a couple of times I'd go into the room where my bike was parked and there'd be another flat. I was very discouraged.

One day I was sitting at the table and I heard the pop. I knew what it was right away and was all set to fix another flat. But there, sitting next to the bike, was my little cocker spaniel, looking VERY guilty. It seemed my tires were nothing more than chew toys. I've hung my bike up ever since, no more flats...at least of the "Sitting around and nothing happened" variety.

LOL, I can see it now just from the description!

Totally off topic but you have a bike room!  wow!