plagued with flats!

Hi, everyone!

I'm pretty new here; been mostly lurking around up to now. I'm also fairly new to road biking (started about 3 years ago). I ride a Cannondale Synapse which I love but this spring I've had a ridiculous number of flats and I'm looking for some suggestions. I discovered that my rim liners had shifted and were the cause of a few of my flats so I had them replaced but just 2 days ago got a front and rear flat in the same ride. Ugh! Anyway, I've been reading a little about tire liners, puncture resistant tubes and tires and am wondering if anyone has any advice? My rear tire is a Continental Gatorskin and the front is still the original which came with the bike, which I'm looking to replace. I'm not a racer but ride 150-180 miles a week during the summer. Can anyone weigh in on tire liners (whether to use or not use and what brand) and what type of tire to get? The upside is that I have become a pro at changing a tire out in the middle of nowhere. Thanks so much!

If you've been riding 150-180 miles a week for three years on your original front tire, it's beyond worn out! Don't the Gatorskins have wear bars? My Conti GP4000s do. (I get around 3500 miles from a front tire, 1800-2000 rear, and I consider that EXCELLENT wear.)

If you don't have wear bars and it isn't obvious by feel, repeated flats are a good sign of a worn-out tire.

Flats are often caused by insufficient air pressure (pinch flats). Do you check your tires with the pump/tire gauge before every ride?

When you change your flats, do you check the inside of the tire for anything that could puncture the new tube? Many times multiple flats are caused by something that is still in the tire.

I don't think it has anything to do with preventing flats, but I always store my spare tubes in a baggie with talcum powder. It makes changing tubes easier, and sometimes you can see the puncture--and what's causing it--better against the white of the powder.

I like Hutchinson tires alot, and now I'm riding on Serfas with no problems.

It's also a good idea to check your wheels entirely after each ride. Look for bits and pieces embedded in the tires, small nicks and cuts. If you can lift even a fingernail worth of rubber away from the tire, slap a little super glue underneath and then wipe it smooth.

Also watch that you don't ride over an more than you have to in terms of road trash, possible wires from retreads, thorns, stickers, sharp gravel, glass.

If I think I have rideen over anything suspicious I will reach forward a let my glove skim the front wheel while I am riding, and stop to wipe off the back wheel as needed.

I have been riding a Trek pilot 5.2 with Bontrager race lite kevlar tires,for 4 years, have done two and a half cross countries and have only ever had two flats, niether was on a cross country but just a worn out tube on one and some unaviodable stuff on another. I am convinced that it is both the vigilance in checking my tires and the Bontrager tires .

Not to bad an average for flats for an old lady who rides between 150-200 miles a week on Texas highways and byways.

marni

You can wipe your rear tire without getting off. It's not a beginner skill, but it's not hard. You can either reach back carefully with one hand behind the seat tube, or use the top of one shoe on the top of the tire, depending on your bike's geometry and your flexibility.

I guess I should've clarified my mileage; 150/week is only for about 4 months of the year as I live where we have a serious winter! But still, that works out to around 2400 miles. I do check my tire pressure before every ride and I don't think my Gatorskin has a wear bar. I haven't been that great about checking my tires after every ride but will start now, that's for sure. I did wipe my front tire this morning after riding over some gritty stuff and didn't crash so thanks for that tip! Wiping the rear will take a little more practice, though. Thanks for the help, everyone!

By chance are they treating your snow covered roads with cinders? If so, closely inspect your tires for cinders - they can and will do a real number on tires & tubes.

I'll chime in about tire liners...I use them, and love them! I use the "Stop Flats 2" brand. I also ride a Cannondale Synapse (just got it actually!). The Stop Flats 2 liners I use are the orange ones, which are for 700x23 road tires. They go in between your tube and the rim, and so far they have worked flawlessly for me.

As for tires, I swear by Vittoria Rubino Pro's...they came stock on my previous bike and I rode those (with the liners in) for about 5,200 flat-free miles. I would not hesitate to get them again.

On my Cannondale, the stock tires are Schwalbe Ultremo DD's...which seem fine, but it's way too soon to tell.

I know I can wipe the rear without getting off, but I haven't mastered the skill. Nor do I seem to have the flexiblilty or bike construction to use my shoe. It's something I'm working on but in the meantime, 'd rather stop and wipe than flat.

marni

I feel your pain. I put a fully inflated bike on the car bike rack, and when I got home, it was flat. I get a flat every 28 days whether I ride it or not. It's more regular than my period.

Good one, Chicken Little! Made me laugh!

So, if tire liners go between the tube and rim, they don't help much for a sharp object penetrating through the tire and into the tube, correct?

I don't think our hwy dept uses cinders on the road, just a lot of salt.

I am looking into Continental Gatorskin hardshell and Verdestein Fortezza tires if anyone has an opinion. I will look into the Vittoria Rubino Pros, as well.

Thanks again!

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Originally Posted by nscrbug

I'll chime in about tire liners...I use them, and love them! I use the "Stop Flats 2" brand. I also ride a Cannondale Synapse (just got it actually!). The Stop Flats 2 liners I use are the orange ones, which are for 700x23 road tires. They go in between your tube and the rim, and so far they have worked flawlessly for me.

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I use a Mr. Tuffy tire liner in my rear tire, but it goes between the tire and the tube. I don't exactly know what my rationale is in only using one on the rear, except that I hate changing rear flats even more than I hate changing front flats.

Love Conti Gatorskins and Conti GP4000's...I would highly recommend either one.

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Originally Posted by 2PharmDs

So, if tire liners go between the tube and rim, they don't help much for a sharp object penetrating through the tire and into the tube, correct?

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Tire liners go between the tire and the tube.

Rim strips go between the tube and the rim, to keep the tube from getting cut by the spoke holes.

On my Kona, I have Mr. Tuffy liners, have not had a flat yet. My LBS never seems to recommend tire liners, they seem to frown on them - please someone tell me why - they move around, etc. - I don't know. My Giant road bike I had a flat on recently, I was told I had about a month of life left on the tires, so I changed them for Continental Grand Prix. So happy!

I like to carry a cotton ball in my seat bag. If I get a flat, I take off the tire and wipe inside. Anything sticking through the tire will catch some cotton ball and be really visible. I think I got that idea here. It's also better than sticking yourself on something sharp using your fingers.

A worn tire does not have to be worn down to the cords to be worn out, as was mentioned already, escalating flats are one sign the tire is tired.

I also only use cloth rimstrips (Velox for example) and not those plastic ones as they are prone to shifting right off of the spoke holes, and that's flat city for sure!

As for tire liners, I don't use them. They change the feel of the tire on the road, and not for the better, and add weight. A tire in good shape, mounted properly, with good condition tubes properly inflated and good rim strip, are all that is needed wheel-wise, to help prevent flats. As for flat resistant tubes, they make no sense to me. If something is in the wrong place at the wrong time and is strong enough to go through a tire, it can puncture the thickest tube.

Sometimes it's just bad luck.

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Originally Posted by tzvia

Sometimes it's just bad luck.

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So true.

I just last week had my first ever flat on a moto, on a brand new (<100 miles) tire. Picked up a big old screw. Darnit! At least it's a tube-type tire, so I was only out the cost of a tube, not a whole new tire.

One of my last flats on the bici (maybe my very last one, don't quite remember) was a carpenter's staple. It was so far through the tire that I was wishing for a pair of pliers, and wound up having to use my teeth to get it out. :eek:

Sometimes it's just bad luck. Flats happen on a bicycle.


ETA: It's also good to check your tires before or immediately after a ride, ideally every ride. Lots of times little pieces of glass can get embedded in the tire, and if you catch them early you can pull them out harmlessly, but if you ride on them they'll eventually work their way through and puncture the tube.

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Originally Posted by RolliePollie

I use a Mr. Tuffy tire liner in my rear tire, but it goes between the tire and the tube. I don't exactly know what my rationale is in only using one on the rear, except that I hate changing rear flats even more than I hate changing front flats.

Love Conti Gatorskins and Conti GP4000's...I would highly recommend either one.

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Ack...my mistake!!! It does goes between the tube and tire...silly me. :o

Velox rim tape is great. I don't use tire liners. I will make a boot if I have a cut or puncture in the tire and don't think it needs total replacement.

Having a problem with double flats suggests to me that you're either running over a lot of stuff you shouldn't be running over (glass, etc.) or you aren't inflating your tires to the correct pressure. Hit one good hole with too low pressure and you're asking for a double pinch flat.

I use "race" tires all year and generally don't have problems. When dealing with road salt, gravel, etc. I will more frequently inspect for cuts and debris stuck in the tire.

Another common cause for chronic flats is having a valve stem hole that is sharp. This would tend to promote ripping at the valve stem attachment to the tube. It's not easily fixed with rim tape like sharp spoke holes, for obvious reasons.

Wow! Great conversation! Thanks for the proper definitions- I do have cloth rim strips- had plastic previously and that was definately the cause of multiple flats on my rear tire so that problem should be fixed. And now that too low tire pressure has been brought up, I believe that may have been a cause of my double flat situation. And I do realize that sometimes it is just bad luck- I also ran over a huge carpenter's staple once- but this frequency was more than just that. Thanks for all the help!