I have gotten my 7th flat in 3 months.



UchuuHejjihoggu

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Aug 12, 2011
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I have gotten my 7th flat in the past three months. The flat always occurs on the INSIDE of the tube. I NEVER get any flats by running over things. It was suggested to me that I buy rim tape. But the rim tape I already have is only 2 years old. So, whatever, I spend 8 bucks and buy some fancy rim tape along with another 2 new tire tubes. I was sent 13mm instead of 17mm, whatever, it still covered the little spokes. Well, here is a picture of the most recent “flat”, it looks like the tire was slashed:

http://oi53.tinypic.com/2e0ivl4.jpg

Here is the doubled up rim tape:

http://oi55.tinypic.com/jtmg6p.jpg

This is usually not the case, usually, as you can see in the picture, those little bumps on the inside of the tube. Usually there will be a little tear there, or near the valve. This time the tires are just slashed. What are those bumps anyway? I was positive they were from the spokes pushing up on the rubber a little bit, but now there is cloth on top of the rubber on top of the spokes.

And get this, it NEVER happens when riding, ever. I mean, come on. Out of paranoia I checked the damn tires last night even though I didn't plan on bike riding for a couple days. They were FINE. Today, check them, randomly, again, FLAT.

Some other details: I am only 123 pounds. Only ride on paved roads. Ride 1-2 times a week max, but over the last months none, since I always have a flat. It is a mountain bike. Recommended PSI is 50, I inflate between 50-55 due to air always slowly leaking out of the tires. 26 inch rims. Name-brand Mongoose bike. The bike is 2 years old. Always parked in the garage. I have spent almost 100 dollars on tubes. I can't do this anymore.

AND not to mention the right pedal crank always always always clicking on every single rotation. One problem at a time I guess.

Also, this is not tire specific. It started off as only the back tire, but now it's both.

Also, I have tried three different brands of tubes. Spelling aside, Avenir, Schwinn, and some other ****.

So, what do I do?

Thanks
 
Remove your tires and inspect the entire inside surface of the tires. Make sure you have nothing protruding that will pierce your inner tube.

When putting your tire back together make sure your tube is not being pinched between your tire bead and rim.

Lastly place a video camera in your garage. You never know your spouse could be flattening your tires because you are always skipping out on your bike without doing your chores.
 
Good advice above, but how hot is your garage and is 50 psi the 'recommended' PSI or the 'max' psi listed on the tire sidewalls and how sure are you that you're pump is accurate?

The reason I ask is that long slit in the tire is almost certainly a high pressure blowout which often happens when tires are pumped up to or beyond their maximum tire pressure and then left in a hot enclosed space (usually the back of a car on a hot day) and the tire pressure goes up even further with heat, exceeds the tire blow off pressure and explodes with a bang leaving a long slit or large ruptured area in the tube. That first image sure looks like a high pressure blowout and given that it happens when you're not actually riding the bike it seems like heat and or excessive tire pressure are likely culprits.

Remember the maximum pressure ratings on tire sidewalls aren't recommended pressures, they're the limits before you run into troubles and only very heavy riders should need to approach those limits. At your weight I wouldn't pump tires up anywhere near their limits.

Hard to say without more info, but I'd start by putting a bit less air in the tires and perhaps letting some out if the bike is stored in a hot place. I regularly let 20 psi or more out of my tires before leaving them in my car on a sunny day, when I don't I often get blowouts.

Good luck,
-Dave
 
If you get stem flats - I had that problem a few years ago - check your valve stem hole in the rim, there could be a burr on the inner edge of the hole. These are easily removed either with a round file or a small grindstone that can be attached to a drill.
 
Given this is happening on the inside of your tube the rim tape or your method of tube installation could be faulty. That kind of hole can only occur if the inflated tube is allowed to escape from the rim-tyre enclosure (which actualy holds the pressure) and expose itself to the open air.

The rim tape is an important part of this enclosure. Spokes will not pierce the tube if they are of the correct length. Their ends sit in receses in the rim, completely out of the way. Rather it is usually the recess which, if left uncovered (even a little bit) by the tape, will lead to a puncture.

The first thing I would do is remove all the tape you have and get rid of the rubbishy rubber strip. They are usually terrible, are not stuck down and so can move around. Just putting tape over the top isn't going to solve any problems caused by this. One decent tape layer would be much better.

Then I would install fresh fabric tape (Velox, Zefal etc are fine, duct tape can be fine too). The tape must be wide enough to stretch from wall to wall of the rim (The Zefal stuff you have in your rim currently is not wide enough) but shouldn't stretch very far up the walls. It comes in different widths for this reason. The point being that the tape must completely cover all the spoke holes and have some width to spare to allow the glue to adhere to the rim. Note that no rim tape will last forever. Expect to need to replace it every 12 to 18 months.

Once the rim is properly taped, then you can look at whether the tube may be getting pinched on installation. After putting a fresh tube into the tyre take a little extra time to move around the rim squeezing the bead inwards so you can see into the rim. If the tube is properly installed then it should be completely hidden from view under the tyre and you should only see the rim bed and tape. If any part of the tube is visible, when inflated it will push in between the rim wall and the tyre bead. If any part of the tube gets exposed to the air outside then it will burst if given enough time.
 
I never did anything special with my air pressure in hot garages...and I use to live the desert of So. Calif where in the summer time the outside temps reached over 105 and on occasion 115 and never had a tire blow due to heat, even riding in those temps where the pavement was even hotter!

I would install the new rim tape, but before you do check if you can either see or feel any of the spoke ends protruding from the eyelets.

By the way, if I look real close at your first photo I can see a indentation in the tube near the cut that is evidence that either your rim tape is shot or you have some spokes protruding to far from the eyelet. In the second photo I can see the spoke protrusions indenting the rim tape outward toward your tube.
 
So, finally after all this time I give up and decide to go to a bike shop. I ride all the way there for 30 minutes. I get there, ask if the estimates are free, they say yes. I tell them the problem above, and they say “I don't know.” They then say they need to see the tire. I say my bike is out front. Then they say they have to take the whole bike apart. I say no, you just need to take the tire off and it takes a minute. Then they say bring in the tire and one of the mechanics will look at it. So, I ask if they could provide me with an allen wrench or something or would I have to use my own tools. They said use my own. What a *****. So I ride 30 minutes back just for a freaking allen wrench, something they probably had 10 of laying around. Ride all the way back to the shop. Take the tire off, and show them. “Can you take the bead off too?” Excuse me, do you expect me to ride all the way here with a tool chest and bike pump? Isn't this your job? Then she gets all defensive then they finally do it. He checks the tire out, says everything is fine. “I'm supposed to charge you for putting the bead back on, so you do it. What lovely customer service. Because 30 seconds of work is worth money.

Long story short, they said “I don't know.” Thanks for that. So I ride home, with nothing solved, and bam. A flat. Walk back there this time, show them, again they say “I don't know.” So I buy 30 dollar heavy duty tubes and leave. I may have spent more on tubes in the past three months than it would cost to buy two new rims.

Here is the new flat, this is usually where all the flats happen over and over again:

http://oi56.tinypic.com/4lkghk.jpg

To the left of the valve. On top of a little bump. My 7 year old cameras macro sucks, sorry.

And again, the rim:

http://oi55.tinypic.com/jtmg6p.jpg

They said the rim tape is fine, the PSI is fine, everything is fine. Well, obviously something is not fine. Damn shop, that's why I always like doing things myself. But as stated in the problem above, I am pretty much baffled.

As for the crank making a noise on every rotation, any ideas? Should I just buy some spray grease and lube up every nook and cranny? I have examined the cranks for 30 minutes, there appears to be no way to take them off. No screws, nuts, bolts, anything. It feels like... Maybe a ball-bearing shifting? Inside the cylinder that the two cranks connect to. Only happens when pedaling up any slight hill. Level ground is fine, for the most part. They said it would cost 4 dollars to tighten the crank, and it would only take a minute. Then later he felt it then said to leave it in the shop for a week because he was too busy. Ha. Ha. Ha.

I swear, if these heavy duty tubes get a flat I am demanding my money back.

Some side notes:

I mention I inflate to 50-55PSI and the tires say 50PSI max, she freaked out like I inflated it 10x too much. I said it's fine, I did it my whole life that way. The tires loose air pretty quick. Then later she told the mechanic the tires need 45PSI and I put in 55PSI, yeah, no. The funny part is, when they inflated my tires, they put it up to 60PSI and said it was fine.

And they see me struggling getting my bike out the door and do nothing to help me. Then the customer gets out of his way to help me. Not his job. I said thank you, but I was so enraged it may have sounded scary. So I said it again, haha.

EDIT

After over a year, I think I finally fixed the clicking problem. And when I think about it, the problem started around the time I noticed the little circular screw that goes around the end of the bottom bracket came loose. I did not have the proper tools to do this, but I loosened the circular screw with my fingers, saw where I was supposed to tighten at (I had no idea where to do it before watching some videos today), so I put a screwdriver tip on one end of it, and hammered it less than 1/4 of an inch clockwise. I took a little test run, and I felt absolutely no clicking! So I went back home, got ready to give it a longer test run, and it started raining. Oh well. I actually remember bending some piece of metal earlier as well, it was kind of scraping the chain. Maybe that was it, but I am leaning more towards the bottom bracket.

For now, I think the problems are solved. I still don't know what the deal it with the rims. The best I could do it buy another 10 dollar thing of rim tape, take everything off, then put it on, but I just don't see the point in doing that. There are no sharp spokes coming out, they do come out but they are just soft raises in the tape. If these tires hold up, I guess I don't have to go through anymore trouble.

Thanks for your replies everyone, you are all more knowledgeable than the local bike store "experts". At least the one near my house.
 

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