plagued with flats!

[OakLeaf]

Sometimes it's just bad luck.

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.

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.

[nscrbug]

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.

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

[aicabsolut]

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.

[2PharmDs]

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!