Od guestion about fixing flats

[olddots]

I can now replace tubes in about 7 minutes but still have to allow 30-45 minutes for the associated temple tantrum to go away enough to start riding again .How much would it cost to have a professional mechanical chase car follow me on rides ? Probably about 50 bucks per mile = bummer . My wife is a runner and constanly messes up her body , I just beat the bike up so there has to be a trade off here somewhere .

[TexasProgresive]

1. A question from be about your flats

In all the riding I did in the past, thousands of miles I think I only got a couple of flats. Since I started riding the end of may I have rolled about 600 miles on 3 different bikes. 80% of those on the new bike. My route has rough spots but thankfully no glass or other sharp object, if you don't count snake fangs. Just kidding, the only 2 snakes I've see were non-poisonous, a couch whip that doubled back on himself to get away from that scary contraption and a rat snake that I first took for a new crack in the pavement.

So after boring you with all of that, what causes your punctures?

Oh and a bit of advise about tantrums; I know you like to speed along on your imagined 13 pound bike but you might take the flat fixing as a time for reflection, breath deep and take in your surroundings. There might be something interesting to see or hear or smell. And yes I should take the same advice myself.

[jberryhill]

15. "you might take the flat fixing as a time for reflection"

Yep.

The idea, after all, was to get outside.

I haven't had a flat in ages since going with Gatorskins, and have been kind of missing the random opportunity to relax and fix a flat.

[PoliticAverse]

2. How often do you get flats? What size/type of tires are you using?

Last edited Fri Aug 7, 2015, 09:08 PM - Edit history (1)

Perhaps you need some equipment/technology upgrade such as Slime and/or a CO2 pump.

[tikka]

3. Not a great fan of slime

Tire liners like Mr. Tuffy are a better flat prevention option than Slime since it doesn't always plug the holes.

[Novara]

4. it depends where you ride

When I lived near the Sacramento area there were goathead thorns on the trails this time of year and they were unavoidable and murder on your tires.

[img][/img]

These little bastards laughed at tuffy liners.

[olddots]

5. those little buggers are all over L.A.

The KHS 750 bargin bike is really nice even though it falls apart from O.C.D. miles = 30 hours a week at who knows what average speed .Kenda 23s came stock and they are almost shot so a tire upgrade to something less racy will help . So far what I have learned is light and fast equal spindly and subject to more maintanence .So if I won the lottery and built my dream bike I would need three of them so two could be getting fixed all the time .
I had afeeling this bike thing would become an obsession but as far as obsessions go it could be worse . I feel alot of the after market wheels and stuff are bullshit but my audio background made me a cynic .4000 bucks for a wheel set and a 400 dollar helmet ? really ?????

[w0nderer]

11. hmmm

in south fla, we got plenty of those (wild tobacco/goatheads)

liners and decent tires deal with them

slime stops any patching you can do, once it leaks out..you can't patch on road..sometimes at all
(not to mention you piss the mechanic in Local bike store the EEEEFFFFFFFFF off) (i used to automatically charge $10 cleaning fee for slime)

best liner is .....not tuffy
it's rhino dillo..that's from 7 years in a bike store
(same 7 years commuting 1 hour to and from store 6 days a week 52 weeks a year ...vacation..in a bike store..stop smoking!)
rhino dillo + conti touring plus (700 35's) == 2 flats in 7 years (had to replace the tires every 4k miles back and 7 k miles front though)

if smaller then go gator skin
or schwalb

[Novara]

13. I'm not sure which brand my liners are

I call them "tuffy" but they may be something different. Anyway, good "urban" tires help as well. They're harder to get on and off the rim but combined with liners, they resist a lot of stuff.

[w0nderer]

16. getting them on and on is more of a manufacturere thing

the size of tires (or rims ) is a standard..but a standard with some 'wiggle room'



and yes good tires+good liners+good pressure (keep pressure up)

[Novara]

17. These are pretty stiff all along the part of the tire that hits the road surface

And the tire beads are a bit stiffer too. But they're good at resisting punctures. If you can't find gatorskins for every size wheel, try Vittoria "urban" tires.

[w0nderer]

18. both are great

i normally run (since i'm 700 x 35) conti touring plus or schwalbe marathon plus
and keep a few steel tire levers around for them
if your LBS says they don't have them, call em liars and point out J&B has them for customer price $5 (if even)

[happyslug]

6. Carry two spares wheels with tires, change would be about 30 seconds.

One wheel for the front, one wheel for the rear. You could install a wheel holder on the the front and rear racks, if you have such racks on your bike. You could get one for the front rack and one for the rear and you are set:



The Alternative is to buy a Cycle Tote bicycle trailer and just put them in the trailer in place of the dog:





https://cycletote.com/

You could also put the spare wheel and tire on your back in a back pack:



http://www.bikerumor.com/2014/07/14/forget-wheel-bags-check-out-the-new-enve-wheel-backpack/

[Kennah]

7. What tires are you using? Have you considered Marathons or GatorSkins?

For 700Cs, most cyclists I know argue back and forth between Marathons and GatorSkins. One rider I know, who runs 650Cs, uses Kendas.

[w0nderer]

12. exactly

good tires + good liners + check pressure

[frylock]

8. Go tubeless

[Thor_MN]

9. How often do you check the pressure in the tires before riding?

Early this year I was getting a lot of flats. I realized I was being lazy and just feel the tire and saying "good enough". If you ride with too little pressure in your tires, and especially if you are carrying some extra weight (like me), you will get more flats.

I went to putting the pump (with gauge) on the tires every time and found that I had been riding with up to 30% less pressure than recommended. No flats since. Added benefit is less rolling resistance on properly inflated tires.

[olddots]

10. bike came with Kendas I should have changed them immediately like the seat

Tape and break pads .Going to go with a harder compound thicker casing . I figured how bad could they be ? They may be a good race tire for roads in perfect condition bit around jere the roads are trashed and the trees with the mini spikes are everywhere .

[jberryhill]

14. Continental Gatorskins

You didn't mention what sort of riding you are doing - road, trail, etc..

I can't say enough good things about Continental Gatorskin hardshell tires. I've got about 700 miles on the pair I decided to "try" a while back, and I ride on every and any surface.

[olddots]

19. Changed tires = no flats in 70 hours .

Soft compound race tires are just plain dopey unless you have a parts vehicle following you .

this bicyle thing is live & learn but sure beats a stinky gym .