Been cycling for over 6 months now and over the past month I've gotten 4 flats, all on my rear wheel. Riding 10 miles a day + grocery runs, about 3 times a week.
Got my bike (single speed, small frame) second hand for less than half price and it was practically new. Looked at it with love every morning while waiting for my coffee to brew. She's not perfect, but she's mine.
But the honey moon stage is over, I guess…
I've been getting flats, always on my rear wheel. I've gone through 3 inner tubes in less than a month, and now today a slashed tyre (which was new).
The flats started about a month into riding with Panaracer Pasela tyres (size 23). So last week I swapped to Michelin Dynamic classics, this time size 25 for both wheels. Cleaned the rims. Oiled my chain. Inflated to recommended pressure & checked every day before leaving.
And yet, here I am back again walking home with my bike, defeated, sweaty, and dreaming of a £500 bike I saw online last night at 2 am. It's like my bike knows when I've been eyeing up other bikes.
What am I doing wrong?! Help!
by mrpucho
15 Comments
Rim. Check your spoke strip.
not sure of your location, but i had a series of flats when i used to work at a warehouse. One time I found the culprit; the tiniest wire that was just a couple millimeters thicker than my tread. Like a piece of wire off of a wire scrub brush or something. You could try a tire liner, I feel like that helped prevent flats for me.
Go to a bike shop and see if you can convert your wheels to tubeless.
Here in California, we have thorns (goatheads) that are horrific. I got 8 flats in a week once. I converted my bike to tubeless, rode it in the dirt and had 10 goatheads in it, I pulled out all 10, 5 punctured but they all sealed and I lost maybe 5 psi.
if you inflate the inner tube and keep track of where it was in the wheel, you can figure out where the holes are popping up. if the hole’s on the inside of the ring, it’s probably a spoke or some other sharp edge not covered by the rim tape. if it’s on the outside, check the tyre for thorns or glass or a hole on the tyre or the sidewalls.
I usually replace my rim tape at the same time I replace tire treads.
3 flats in two months. Switched to Marathon Plus tires. No flats in two years.
Are the holes coming from the tread side or the spoke side of the tire? Determining this will assist you greatly in figuring out a solution. If it’s road debris causing the puncture, make sure you’re meticulous in checking your tire for any remaining pointy bits. I do second the comment regarding tubeless if that’s an option for your setup, my daily commuter is tubeless and it’s been a lifesaver.
You can ask your bike shop for stronger more puncture resistant tires or go tubeless. I’ve now switched 2/3 bikes to tubeless and won’t ever go back. Going to swap the last bike over to tubeless asap.
If you have tubes, then use Flat-Out tire sealant in them BEFORE getting a flat.
I pull thorns out of my tires all the time and never have a flat from small stuff like that. I have only had 2 flats in the last 4 years and one was a self tapping sheet metal screw that was in my tire so long that the head had been worn flat before I noticed it, and that only went flat after I pulled the screw out (after riding home). And the other was a loose spoke that was poking into the rim and eventually rubbed a hole through the rim tape and inner tube on the inside of the tube.
You mentioned 25mm tires, that’s pretty skinny for a townie bike. If the tubes have small double punctures like a snakebite, that’s caused by a pinch flat, where the tire bottoms out and the tubes gets pinched between the road and the rim. This is common on the rear tire of an upright style bike, where most of the weight is on the rear, ridden on rough streets. If you feel that and observe this kind of puncture, try a little higher air pressure, it should prevent it. Also, get yourself a patch kit, you’ll save a lot of money over buying new tubes all the time.
Sometimes flats come in groups, especially if you ride on messy roads. Patch your tubes, you can reuse them multiple times.
Tubeless. I don’t get flats. My tires have hundreds of thorns in them. No flats
Hi there. I know your pain. I had chronic flats this summer too. Some things I’ve learned:
Tire pressure matters.. too low of pressure when you hit a bump- boom, flat! Keep those things inflated.
When replacing a flat, it’s imperative to check the inside of the tire for spiky junk. If there’s something in there, you’re gonna get flat again in no time.
Seating the bead.. make sure the bead is set all the way around in both sides of the rim. Depending on the tire, this can be tedious. Look at the bead line on your tire where it meets the rim. Should be consistent on both sides. If not, let out some air, muscle it, and re inflate until properly seated.
Finally, if all else fails, get some tire liners. These add a bit of weight but I’ve had good luck. Trying searching “rhinodillos tire liner” they stop a lot of punctures.
Hope this helps.
Snake bite (pinch flat) or typical flat?
One you need new rim tape. The other one you need marathon plus or something heavy duty and try to not run over debris.
1. While many are suggesting going tubeless, I wouldn’t recommend it on 25mm tires (or anything under 32mm). The main issue is losing too much air before the sealant can do its thing. It’s also expensive and messy—especially if you have to put a tube in on a commute. That said, I use tubeless sealant in my tubes all the time.
There are three main ways you can get flats with tubes:
1. Something from the road (thorn, nail, etc) is coming through your tire and piercing your innertube. The puncture will be on the road side (outside) of the tube. To combat this, use puncture-resistant tires (Continental Gatorskins with wire beads or Schwalbe Marathon Plus are my recommendations) along with sealant inside the tubes.
2. Rim tape or rubber gasket needs replacing. Basically, as your wheel turns, the spokes are flexing and compressing — pushing into the tube and causing a flat. The puncture will be on the hub side (inside) of the tube. High-quality rim tape (such as Velox) will fix this issue. Just be sure it’s wide enough. Don’t mess with the rubber rim strips. They are garbage.
3. Pinch flats. These produce two “snakebite” punctures in the tubes, which are caused by air pressure being too low or the tube being installed incorrectly. Be sure your tubes are installed correctly by putting a small amount of air in during installation and making sure they don’t twist. Then, find an online tire pressure calculator and be sure your air pressure is high enough. Also, avoid jumping curbs or hard impacts until you rule this out.