Why do my tires go flat



Iron Man

New Member
Sep 19, 2005
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Hey all

I just used a co2 bulb to pump a tire after i changed the punctured tube on the road. I noticed by the end of the day that the tire had gone flat again. there is no puncture because i pumped it with air, and it's holding the pressure.

does any one know why this is?
 
You probably still have a glass fragment in the tyre. Remove and check the tyre from the inside. Another new tube. :rolleyes:

Another explanation, ice in the valve from the Co2 inflator, was it a wet or humid morning?
 
co2 molcules are smaller than the pores in the tube so you will have to reinflate it with air when you get home every time you have a flat fixed with co2
 
keybladex said:
co2 molcules are smaller than the pores in the tube so you will have to reinflate it with air when you get home every time you have a flat fixed with co2
thats what i thought, but CO2 has a larger molecular mass and denisty than air. Can this be right?
 
co2 molcules are smaller than the pores in the tube so you will have to reinflate it with air when you get home every time you have a flat fixed with co2
That is what the support/techs told me when I asked that question. Bicycling magazines say the same. Air eventually leaks out of the pores as well; which is why you need to check air pressure every so often; I believe CO2 just does it at a faster rate.
 
graphixgeek said:
That is what the support/techs told me when I asked that question. Bicycling magazines say the same. Air eventually leaks out of the pores as well; which is why you need to check air pressure every so often; I believe CO2 just does it at a faster rate.

Not in one friggin' day...
 
gclark8 said:
You probably still have a glass fragment in the tyre. Remove and check the tyre from the inside. Another new tube. :rolleyes:

Another explanation, ice in the valve from the Co2 inflator, was it a wet or humid morning?
===========================================================
REPAIR the tube. Don't be yet another WASTEFUL North American!!:mad:
 
Have this problem myself when using Co2. I've never had it leak all the way down, but mine will lose a good 20 lbs overnight. Nowadays I just let all the air out when I get home, and re-inflate to pressure with my floor pump.


The Co2 is an emergency fix.
 
I 2nd the motion! ;) CO2 is a total emergency fix. One needs to replace the CO2 air immediately when possible with normal air from your compressor or floor pump.

Also check to make sure your rim strips are not compromised. It could be a sharp spoke nipple poking your inner tube that is causing the leak. Also check to see that you got all the junk out of the tire that orginally caused the flat. :)

Wino Ryder said:
Have this problem myself when using Co2. I've never had it leak all the way down, but mine will lose a good 20 lbs overnight. Nowadays I just let all the air out when I get home, and re-inflate to pressure with my floor pump.


The Co2 is an emergency fix.
 
Xsmoker said:
Not in one friggin' day...

Yup, it will. It doesn't leak through the pores, it actually diffuses through the rubber.

OP should deflate and pump up when he gets home and then he'll either be fine or find the hidden thorn.
 
Iron Man said:
thats what i thought, but CO2 has a larger molecular mass and denisty than air. Can this be right?
Yup. I had a techie type explain to me that the CO2 in your tire is trying to equalize it's concentration with the atmosphere and migrates through the inner tube. I don't pretend to understand the mechanism of how this happens, but I can see that it's obviously true because tires inflated with CO2 do lose presssure relatively quickly compared to tires inflated with air.

On the other hand, once I make it home I've got a floor pump waiting so what's the big deal?