Mysterious Flats

"hemyd" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I seem to be plagued with flat tires - on every bike I've ridden. On my

last

Quoted message said:

bike, at one stage I had a flat tire. Pumped it up, no probs. Then the

next

Quoted message said:

morning it's flat again... changed the tube, the tyre, still goes flat.
Smoothened the wheel rims - that seemed to do it. Now I have this hybrid
only a month or so old. Get back from 11km ride from work - no probs.

Check

Quoted message said:

the bike a few hours after (about half an hour ago) - bloody rear wheel
flat! No trace of any nail or such in the tyre. Pump it up to the max 75,
check the valve - no probs. Just checked it again now - still no probs.
Betcha it's flat again tomorrow morning when I'm about to ride to work!

What

Quoted message said:

is it with these mysterious flats? Although I've done a fair bit of riding
in the past ten years, I am not an expert on this in any way. Any ideas?

Henry.

Make sure that you are using a decent set of tyre levers. I once had an
el-cheapo set that I was using and I went through 3 tubes in a row before
finally working out that there was a burr on the tip of the levers and when
I was doing the final lever in of the tyre I was ripping the tube. I
generally try not to use levers when changing a tube (especially for putting
tube back on) but on this occasion the tyre was a really tight fit on the
rim and so I needed an extra bit of help.

Ride On,

Gags

hemyd said:

I seem to be plagued with flat tires - on every bike I've ridden. On my last
bike, at one stage I had a flat tire. Pumped it up, no probs. Then the next
morning it's flat again... changed the tube, the tyre, still goes flat.

These are sometimes cause by tiny shards of glass embedded in the
tyre. Normally you can't see any glass on the outside of the tyre,
it's embedded in the tyre. You need to look for cuts, open them up by
bending the tyre, and check for glass in the cuts.

Quoted message said:

Smoothened the wheel rims - that seemed to do it.

I used to get flats from cheap rim tape, i got it changed to cloth. No
flats yet.

Quoted message said:

is it with these mysterious flats? Although I've done a fair bit of riding
in the past ten years, I am not an expert on this in any way. Any ideas?

When you get a flat, remove the tube, locate the hole by pumping it
up. If the hole is on the inside, the part that touches the rim, well,
I guess you've got to fix the rim tape somehow.

If the hole is on the outside of the tube, the part that touches the
tyre, I line the tube against the tyre to work out were the hole is in
relation to the tyre. Check for cuts in the area, open the cuts and
inspect for glass.

"Gags" <gags_44nospamatnospamtpg.com.au> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Henry.

Make sure that you are using a decent set of tyre levers. I once had an
el-cheapo set that I was using and I went through 3 tubes in a row before
finally working out that there was a burr on the tip of the levers and

when

Quoted message said:

I was doing the final lever in of the tyre I was ripping the tube. I
generally try not to use levers when changing a tube (especially for

putting

Quoted message said:

tube back on) but on this occasion the tyre was a really tight fit on the
rim and so I needed an extra bit of help.

Ride On,

Gags

Thank you. This particular bike is brand new - only a month old. Couldn't
find a reason for the flat. Tightened the valve, did a saliva test, couldn't
fault it. Stayed fine for about an hour, then flat again. I need it for work
first thing tomorrow so I replaced the tube. I used a cheap set of plastic
levers - no sharp edges though. Inserted the tube carefully and inflated it
slowly. We'll see what it does tomorrow.

I've now had probably a dozen or more flats on several different bikes, and
what bugs me is that in no cases was there any sign why the tube went flat.
What methods do you guys use for finding the cause of a flat - say, if
you're on the road?

Henry.

"chesty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"hemyd" <[email hidden]> writes:

I used to get flats from cheap rim tape, i got it changed to cloth. No
flats yet.

Quoted message said:

is it with these mysterious flats? Although I've done a fair bit of

riding

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

in the past ten years, I am not an expert on this in any way. Any ideas?

When you get a flat, remove the tube, locate the hole by pumping it
up. If the hole is on the inside, the part that touches the rim, well,
I guess you've got to fix the rim tape somehow.

If the hole is on the outside of the tube, the part that touches the
tyre, I line the tube against the tyre to work out were the hole is in
relation to the tyre. Check for cuts in the area, open the cuts and
inspect for glass.

I like that rim tape idea. The tape on this bike seems to be the standard
thin rubber. I bought this current hybrid for $500, supposedly discounted
from $700 (but then again all bikes seem to have been discounted).
regardless, the first problem I had was a slipping cassette. The bike shop
changed it, telling me that "sometimes they use cheap cassettes on these
bikes". My previous bike was a "K Mart Special" mountain bike (now for $99).
I've had no problems with it, except the heavy riding due to the wide tyres.
I guess I will investigate the rim tape.

I will also pump up the tube and check where the leak is.

Thank you for the advice.

Henry.

"hemyd" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Gags" <gags_44nospamatnospamtpg.com.au> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Henry.

Make sure that you are using a decent set of tyre levers. I once had an
el-cheapo set that I was using and I went through 3 tubes in a row

before

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

finally working out that there was a burr on the tip of the levers and

when

Quoted message said:

I was doing the final lever in of the tyre I was ripping the tube. I
generally try not to use levers when changing a tube (especially for

putting

Quoted message said:

tube back on) but on this occasion the tyre was a really tight fit on

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

rim and so I needed an extra bit of help.

Ride On,

Gags

Thank you. This particular bike is brand new - only a month old. Couldn't
find a reason for the flat. Tightened the valve, did a saliva test,

couldn't

Quoted message said:

fault it. Stayed fine for about an hour, then flat again. I need it for

work

Quoted message said:

first thing tomorrow so I replaced the tube. I used a cheap set of plastic
levers - no sharp edges though. Inserted the tube carefully and inflated

it

Quoted message said:

slowly. We'll see what it does tomorrow.

I've now had probably a dozen or more flats on several different bikes,

and

Quoted message said:

what bugs me is that in no cases was there any sign why the tube went

flat.

Quoted message said:

What methods do you guys use for finding the cause of a flat - say, if
you're on the road?

Henry.

For bigger flats (ie ones that went down quick) you should be able to locate
the hole by listening for the hiss but with smaller ones it is sometimes
hard to hear them (especially if you are next to busy road). I usually
inflate the tube until it starts to get pretty big and then go around the
outside of the tube and look for the hole as usually you can see the hole
once the tube is over inflated.

It is always a good idea to lean the wheel up against something once the
tube is out and keep the tube in the same orientation as it was in the wheel
as you check for the hole. This way you only have to check in one location
for the offending sharp object in the tyre. Once you have found the hole
(always finish checking the entire tyre to make sure that there is only one)
you line up the tube to the tyre and then check in the general area for the
"sharp bit". Usually you have to fold the tyre a bit around any cuts in the
tread to "open them up" so that you can check out if there is anything left
inside. I quite often use the end of a tyre lever to assist in poking the
offending piece of glass (it is nearly always a shard of glass) back out
through the way it entered the tyre.

As I said in my previous post, it is good if you can manage to change the
tube without having to resort to levers but this will depend on your
tyre/rim combination and your wrist/thumb strength. When I was in Sydney in
the mid 90s I was on a ride and happened across an attractive girl who had a
flat on her mtb and was miles away from home. I had two spare tubes and was
on my way home and so I decided to be nice and give her one of the tubes
(the one that had been repaired about 5 times or so). I took off her wheel
and then managed to do the entire tube change, including removing the
offending piece of glass) in about 6 or 7 minutes without having to use
levers. Of course she was suitably impressed with my mechanical aptitude
and chivalrous behaviour and asked for my number so that she could reimburse
me for the inner tube. Of course I was only interested in helping the lass
(had girlfriend at the time) and so I told her not to worry about it and we
both went our respective ways.

Ride On,

Gags

hemyd said:

"chesty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"hemyd" <[email hidden]> writes:

I used to get flats from cheap rim tape, i got it changed to cloth. No
flats yet.

Quoted message said:

is it with these mysterious flats? Although I've done a fair bit of

riding

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

in the past ten years, I am not an expert on this in any way. Any ideas?

When you get a flat, remove the tube, locate the hole by pumping it
up. If the hole is on the inside, the part that touches the rim, well,
I guess you've got to fix the rim tape somehow.

If the hole is on the outside of the tube, the part that touches the
tyre, I line the tube against the tyre to work out were the hole is in
relation to the tyre. Check for cuts in the area, open the cuts and
inspect for glass.

I like that rim tape idea. The tape on this bike seems to be the standard
thin rubber. I bought this current hybrid for $500, supposedly discounted
from $700 (but then again all bikes seem to have been discounted).
regardless, the first problem I had was a slipping cassette. The bike shop
changed it, telling me that "sometimes they use cheap cassettes on these
bikes". My previous bike was a "K Mart Special" mountain bike (now for $99).
I've had no problems with it, except the heavy riding due to the wide tyres.
I guess I will investigate the rim tape.

I will also pump up the tube and check where the leak is.

Thank you for the advice.

Henry.

I'f they don't KNOW what kind of cassette went onto the bike, that's a bit of a worry. As far as the flat goes, I've no idea that hasn't already been mentioned, but then I'm a bit of a cycling noob.

"hemyd" <[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

I've now had probably a dozen or more flats on several different bikes,
and
what bugs me is that in no cases was there any sign why the tube went
flat.
What methods do you guys use for finding the cause of a flat - say, if
you're on the road?

90% of the time for me it's glass in the tyre that
does it. The best way to find the puncture is to
inflate the problem tube and push it under water.
This will show you exactly where the puncture
is - just look for the air bubbles escaping.
On the road I just scan the tyre for cuts - one
will probably have glass wedged deep in it..

hippy

On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 at 12:43 GMT, Gags (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:

Quoted message said:

tyre/rim combination and your wrist/thumb strength. When I was in Sydney in
the mid 90s I was on a ride and happened across an attractive girl who had a
flat on her mtb and was miles away from home. I had two spare tubes and was
on my way home and so I decided to be nice and give her one of the tubes
(the one that had been repaired about 5 times or so). I took off her wheel
and then managed to do the entire tube change, including removing the
offending piece of glass) in about 6 or 7 minutes without having to use
levers. Of course she was suitably impressed with my mechanical aptitude
and chivalrous behaviour and manly buffed muscles and toned
body and asked for my number so that she could reimburse
me for the inner tube. Of course I was only interested in helping the lass
(had girlfriend at the time) and so I told her not to worry about it and we
both went our respective ways.

Well, you could have worn disguise, and given her my number!

Also. I fixed your post for you.

--
TimC -- http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/staff/tconnors/
Heisenberg may have been here.

hippy said:

90% of the time for me it's glass in the tyre that
does it. The best way to find the puncture is to
inflate the problem tube and push it under water.
This will show you exactly where the puncture
is - just look for the air bubbles escaping.
On the road I just scan the tyre for cuts - one
will probably have glass wedged deep in it..

hippy

agree with all that but would add...

remove the tube taking note which side corresponds to which side of the tyre. Then when you do locate puncture in tube as above hold tube up next to tyre to find coresponding area on tyre. 9 times out of ten you will find the guilty party wedged deeply (or not so deeply) in the rubber. Also whether the hole/puncture is on the 'roadside', 'side' or 'rimside' of the tube.
oh hang on, i think Gags already covered this... 🙄

I must admit, whenever I come across a flat tyre on my pushie & pump it up, it seems to mystriously go flat afterwards [after a period of time] as well.

There’s something in that for all of us…….

"hemyd" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I seem to be plagued with flat tires - on every bike I've ridden. On my
last
bike, at one stage I had a flat tire. Pumped it up, no probs. Then the
next
morning it's flat again... changed the tube, the tyre, still goes flat.
Smoothened the wheel rims - that seemed to do it. Now I have this hybrid
only a month or so old. Get back from 11km ride from work - no probs.
Check
the bike a few hours after (about half an hour ago) - bloody rear wheel
flat! No trace of any nail or such in the tyre. Pump it up to the max 75,
check the valve - no probs. Just checked it again now - still no probs.
Betcha it's flat again tomorrow morning when I'm about to ride to work!
What
is it with these mysterious flats? Although I've done a fair bit of riding
in the past ten years, I am not an expert on this in any way. Any ideas?

Henry.

i went thru a prob recently with just the rear wheel constantly getting
flats..
the valve was forcing into the hole and getting a small cut on the side of
the valve.
so it'd be ok until i rode it for a few kms..the tube would move a bit and
open up the cut near the valve letting all the air out🙁
new rim tape and some filing arount the valve opening to remove any sharp
bits have fixed the prob

Dej wrote:
<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

i went thru a prob recently with just the rear wheel constantly getting
flats..
the valve was forcing into the hole and getting a small cut on the side of
the valve.
so it'd be ok until i rode it for a few kms..the tube would move a bit and
open up the cut near the valve letting all the air out🙁
new rim tape and some filing arount the valve opening to remove any sharp
bits have fixed the prob

Yeah I was getting those, I think it was when I detached the pump I was
yanking the valve stem. I took one of the busted tubes, cut a little
patch of tubing out, doubled it over and cut an eyelet through both
layers, and put it over the valve stem before putting it in my bike. It
was tricky to get it small enough that the tyre still sat in nicely
around the tube but I got it soon enough, and it has fixed the problem.
My rims on the commuter are just deep enough that a standard stem is too
short and a long stem looks ridiculous.

T

"Tamyka Bell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dej wrote:
<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

i went thru a prob recently with just the rear wheel constantly getting
flats..
the valve was forcing into the hole and getting a small cut on the side

of

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the valve.
so it'd be ok until i rode it for a few kms..the tube would move a bit

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

open up the cut near the valve letting all the air out🙁
new rim tape and some filing arount the valve opening to remove any

sharp

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

bits have fixed the prob

Yeah I was getting those, I think it was when I detached the pump I was
yanking the valve stem. I took one of the busted tubes, cut a little
patch of tubing out, doubled it over and cut an eyelet through both
layers, and put it over the valve stem before putting it in my bike. It
was tricky to get it small enough that the tyre still sat in nicely
around the tube but I got it soon enough, and it has fixed the problem.
My rims on the commuter are just deep enough that a standard stem is too
short and a long stem looks ridiculous.

T

Many many years ago (when I was 16 years old) I did a touring type ride from
Sydney to Brisbane with a friend. A hole had worn in my tyre exposing the
tube. I spotted an old leather boot on the side of the road, cut the tounge
out of it and used it to line the tyre until I got to the next bike shop.

Marty

Marty Wallace said:

"Tamyka Bell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dej wrote:
<snip>

Quoted message said:

>
i went thru a prob recently with just the rear wheel constantly getting
flats..
the valve was forcing into the hole and getting a small cut on the side

of

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the valve.
so it'd be ok until i rode it for a few kms..the tube would move a bit

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

open up the cut near the valve letting all the air out🙁
new rim tape and some filing arount the valve opening to remove any

sharp

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

bits have fixed the prob

Yeah I was getting those, I think it was when I detached the pump I was
yanking the valve stem. I took one of the busted tubes, cut a little
patch of tubing out, doubled it over and cut an eyelet through both
layers, and put it over the valve stem before putting it in my bike. It
was tricky to get it small enough that the tyre still sat in nicely
around the tube but I got it soon enough, and it has fixed the problem.
My rims on the commuter are just deep enough that a standard stem is too
short and a long stem looks ridiculous.

T

Many many years ago (when I was 16 years old) I did a touring type ride from
Sydney to Brisbane with a friend. A hole had worn in my tyre exposing the
tube. I spotted an old leather boot on the side of the road, cut the tounge
out of it and used it to line the tyre until I got to the next bike shop.

Marty

That's a fortunate find!

Out on a ride with a mate, near Sandgate, he comes to a sudden stop and,
instead of cruising into the servo to fix his flat, bails straight away.
I am stunned, there is a nail sticking OUT of his tyre. Hmmm. Big ugly
hole. I knew if we replaced the tube it'd just peek out and pop again.
I took his flat, borrowed scissors from the servo and cut a good chunk
out of the busted tube to keep the new tube safe the whole way home. It
was pretty damn scary the rest of the way though - because he was using
my last tube... which had a slow leak I hadn't fixed yet...

hemyd said:

I've now had probably a dozen or more flats on several different bikes, and
what bugs me is that in no cases was there any sign why the tube went flat.
What methods do you guys use for finding the cause of a flat - say, if
you're on the road?

Pump up the raw tube. Without the tyre encasing it, you can
usually find the hole quite easily. Feel around with your
hands for the tickle of escaping air. Once you find the hole,
then (using the valve as a marker) find whereabouts on the
tyre and rim the puncture occurred. Check that part of the
tyre for embedded objects.

-kt

hemyd said:

I seem to be plagued with flat tires - on every bike I've ridden. On my last
bike, at one stage I had a flat tire. Pumped it up, no probs. Then the next
morning it's flat again... changed the tube, the tyre, still goes flat.
Smoothened the wheel rims - that seemed to do it. Now I have this hybrid
only a month or so old. Get back from 11km ride from work - no probs. Check
the bike a few hours after (about half an hour ago) - bloody rear wheel
flat! No trace of any nail or such in the tyre. Pump it up to the max 75,
check the valve - no probs. Just checked it again now - still no probs.
Betcha it's flat again tomorrow morning when I'm about to ride to work! What
is it with these mysterious flats? Although I've done a fair bit of riding
in the past ten years, I am not an expert on this in any way. Any ideas?

Where abouts is the hole when you repair it?

If you have machine-built wheels, somtimes where the nipples
are ground off, you can get metal shards sticking up. Check for
these. Also as someone else said, check for stuff embedded in
the wall of the tyre. Run you fingers (carefully) around the inside
of the tyre.

-kt

I'm getting paranoid in my old age. Not finding any reason for the flat, and
not wanting to go riding on the new tube without knowing what caused the
flat, I went to the bike shop where I bought the bike to buy a thorn
resistant tube. The very expert fellow there checked out the puncture,
followed it to the position on the tyre, then found a cut in the thread.
Inside that was a sliver of glass, having penetrated but just below the
inside surface of the tyre, all ready to cause the next puncture. Got an
expert repair and off I went to work. I got a bit cheesed off last night
finding that flat and needing the bike the following morning.....

Henry.

The shop is Bicycle Recycle in Moorabbin, a family business. Although I am
far from expert, I'm developing a respect for them...

"hemyd" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Gags" <gags_44nospamatnospamtpg.com.au> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Henry.

Make sure that you are using a decent set of tyre levers. I once had an
el-cheapo set that I was using and I went through 3 tubes in a row

before

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

finally working out that there was a burr on the tip of the levers and

when

Quoted message said:

I was doing the final lever in of the tyre I was ripping the tube. I
generally try not to use levers when changing a tube (especially for

putting

Quoted message said:

tube back on) but on this occasion the tyre was a really tight fit on

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

rim and so I needed an extra bit of help.

Ride On,

Gags

Thank you. This particular bike is brand new - only a month old. Couldn't
find a reason for the flat. Tightened the valve, did a saliva test,

couldn't

Quoted message said:

fault it. Stayed fine for about an hour, then flat again. I need it for

work

Quoted message said:

first thing tomorrow so I replaced the tube. I used a cheap set of plastic
levers - no sharp edges though. Inserted the tube carefully and inflated

it

Quoted message said:

slowly. We'll see what it does tomorrow.

I've now had probably a dozen or more flats on several different bikes,

and

Quoted message said:

what bugs me is that in no cases was there any sign why the tube went

flat.

Quoted message said:

What methods do you guys use for finding the cause of a flat - say, if
you're on the road?

Henry.

hemyd said:

I like that rim tape idea. The tape on this bike seems to be the
standard thin rubber. I bought this current hybrid for $500,
supposedly discounted from $700 (but then again all bikes seem to
have been discounted). regardless, the first problem I had was a
slipping cassette. The bike shop changed it, telling me that
"sometimes they use cheap cassettes on these bikes". My previous bike
was a "K Mart Special" mountain bike (now for $99). I've had no
problems with it, except the heavy riding due to the wide tyres. I
guess I will investigate the rim tape.

I will also pump up the tube and check where the leak is.

Thank you for the advice.

Henry.

Cheap rim tape like that initially caused flats on my latest bike.
Another thing to watch for is the hole in the rim for the valve - if
the hole's got a sharp edge, it can make a thin cut in the rubber
around the valve "stem".

"hemyd" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm getting paranoid in my old age. Not finding any reason for the flat,

and

Quoted message said:

not wanting to go riding on the new tube without knowing what caused the
flat, I went to the bike shop where I bought the bike to buy a thorn
resistant tube. The very expert fellow there checked out the puncture,
followed it to the position on the tyre, then found a cut in the thread.
Inside that was a sliver of glass, having penetrated but just below the
inside surface of the tyre, all ready to cause the next puncture. Got an
expert repair and off I went to work. I got a bit cheesed off last night
finding that flat and needing the bike the following morning.....

Henry.

The shop is Bicycle Recycle in Moorabbin, a family business. Although I am
far from expert, I'm developing a respect for them...

Isn't it funny how things become blindingly obvious AFTER you ask someone
else for help.
Oh well....you get that.

Marty