Page 2 - Too many flat tires for my tastes

09-07.-2008, 08:14 AM	#16
garage sale GT Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 1,196	Re: Too many flat tires for my tastes - Suggestions? The restaurant across the street was owned by one Alphonse Capone. He may have had someone "whacked" in the bathroom. You can still hear him, they say. __________________ Your mouthwash ain't makin' it.

09-07.-2008, 07:40 PM

#17

Bigbananabike

Registered User

Join Date: Dec 2004

Posts: 667

Re: Too many flat tires for my tastes - Suggestions?

Here is a solution that works for me(for my training bikes - not used for racing) and for a friend who's done this for his daily 38kms commute in which he'd average 3 puntures a week!

He's now only had one punture(a builder's staple) in over 9 months of riding!

Get another tyre of the same size (700 x 23). Cut the beading off it on both sides. Take out your tube. Put the other tyre inside your current tyre. Put the tube back inside both tyres. Reseat your current tyre. Inflate as usual.
Your bike will be a bit slower to ride(you may loose 1 km/hour average say) but you won't flat your back tyre!
Only do it to the back for as we all know - we hardly ever flat on the front compared with the rear tyre.

If you do a race etc - just remove the inner tyre = you'll feel like your flying again!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Imagine3

I have a Giant OCR (of little concern here) but anyways, I bought a pair of Bontrager Race Lite wheels last year but unfortunately because of sickness, got no use out of them. I am rather happy with the weight and stiffness the wheels have, but perhaps the most important thing is lacking... the ability to stay inflated. So far this year, I have gotten 2 flat tires while riding the trails around my house. I am riding on the I&M Canal (Illinois & Michigan) which for the most part is crushed limestone. I have never had a problem riding on this trail before and NEVER had any flats on the trails.

Both times it has been the rear tire that has gone flat. When I looked at the tube after I got home, it is on the outside of the tube lending me to believe that it was caused by something I rode over.

The tires themselves are the standard ones that come on the Race Lite wheels and the tubes are Bontrager tubes that the bike shop carries stock. There is nothing in the tubes that would lead to a punctured tube and the wheel surface feels smooth as well. There are a few bumps on the trail but nothing too serious. Should I get new tires? any suggestions? And I am not too worried about weight since I am not racing on these. I just like to ride as hard as I can for the feeling of being drained at the end of the day.

10-07.-2008, 10:30 AM	#18
knonfs Registered User Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 48	Re: Too many flat tires for my tastes - Suggestions? GP4000 is what I use, they are not 100% puncture free; but I only experience a puncture every 500miles or so, and I only ride on the streets.

11-07.-2008, 03:04 AM	#19
RedRider2009 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: SE Wisconsin Posts: 164	Re: Too many flat tires for my tastes - Suggestions? Call me lucky, but I have not had a flat yet on the stock tires that came on my trek 1.5...the tires that came on it are the crappy 12 dollar bontrager tires. I have about 950 miles on them. The tread is wearing down very quickly, so I think I might buy some michelin kylion carbons... __________________ "Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place." -Lance Armstrong

12-07.-2008, 07:48 AM	#20
garage sale GT Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 1,196	Re: Too many flat tires for my tastes - Suggestions? The Centennial trail now goes through Lemont (Le Mont, good for climbing) and can be ridden from Joliet to its end in Willow Springs. It is paved from where I355 crosses it to its end. I think people who ride unprotected tires and don't have a lot of flats are probably road bikers who ride inside the white line where the cars blow the debris off the road. As I already told the OP elsewhere, I don't use a 700C and can't comment on the tires available for them but for path use I prefer a wider blackwall or gumwall with a kevlar flat protection belt. Roadbikereview.com or the search feature on this column should tell which ones work well. I just want to add that no method is foolproof. You have to inspect your tires after a ride and check for embedded objects. I have had glass shards eat their way slowly through even a kevlar belted tire and cause a flat. It only happened to me twice but then again I am good about inspecting. When the glass imbeds itself, it's only a matter of time before it eats through the kevlar, which is tougher by far than regular tire cords but by no means impervious to glass. Also, gravel paths can abrade and ruin the sidewalls of certain skinwall tires so it's something to keep an eye on. __________________ Your mouthwash ain't makin' it.

14-07.-2008, 09:02 AM

#21

garage sale GT

Registered User

Join Date: Jun 2006

Posts: 1,196

Re: Too many flat tires for my tastes - Suggestions?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister C

Lastly, i have given up patching tires. I just replace the whole tube. It seems more reliable to me but does have added cost.

Maybe you have the same problem I just did. I forgot not to use Worthless (some call them Glueless) patches. Some call them preglued which must be short for "too damn weak material inadequately preglued with ineffective glue".

I buy the blue-backed rubber patches which come with a metal scraper and a tube of cement. Grocery stores carry them in the hardware/automotive department. You abrade the tube around the hole, spread a thin layer of glue on both surfaces, let dry while still separate, then press together. 5 min seems like enough. A repair like that will last forever.

__________________
Your mouthwash ain't makin' it.

10-08.-2008, 09:48 PM

#22

Albert 50

Registered User

Join Date: Apr 2006

Location: Central Coast NSW ustralia

Posts: 1,020

Re: Too many flat tires for my tastes - Suggestions?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigbananabike

Here is a solution that works for me(for my training bikes - not used for racing)

Get another tyre of the same size (700 x 23). Cut the beading off it on both sides. Take out your tube. Put the other tyre inside your current tyre. Put the tube back inside both tyres. Reseat your current tyre. Inflate as usual.
Your bike will be a bit slower to ride(you may loose 1 km/hour average say) but you won't flat your back tyre!
Only do it to the back for as we all know - we hardly ever flat on the front compared with the rear tyre.

I've heard this several times [twice from BBB] & finally decided to give it a go. Not because I've had flats of late, more because I'm a tight ar$e & didn't want to replace my rear worn out tyre which only cost $15 from PBK anyway.
I used a PR2 & left about half the side wall intact. This has added about 175g to my rear wheel which I run about 5psi lower than before assuming the new set up would be a little harsher.
I've been training on this rear wheel for a few weeks now & frankly haven't noticed any detectable decrease in my average training speeds.

10-08.-2008, 11:31 PM	#23
POGATA Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 261	Re: Too many flat tires for my tastes - Suggestions? Continental

16-08.-2008, 11:57 AM

#24

Bigbananabike

Registered User

Join Date: Dec 2004

Posts: 667

Re: Too many flat tires for my tastes - Suggestions?

Good stuff.
My friend who's done this has had over a year of commuting 38kms a day with only the builder's large staple going through both tyres.
Great it hasn't slowed you down

Quote:

Originally Posted by Albert 50

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