Hey all, relatively new rider here looking for advice. Had maybe one flat in my first six months of riding, but I’ve gotten four in the last month alone — the most recent one literally the ride after I fixed the last. Started taking it to the shop but just did my first self-repair on the last one. Oh and when i say riding, biking is just my main method of transport I don’t go on rides or anything – this makes flats even more inconvenient since I’m usually on a time crunch.
I think we can all agree a flat every week or two isn’t sustainable. So what’s the deal — do I need new tires? Is this just the reality of city biking? Or somewhere in between? Last time i went to the shop they recommended not putting any big money into the bike but it honestly rides well when the tires have air haha. Appreciate any tips and attached pics of the tire and the hole that caused this flat
by muddycleats92
8 Comments
Are you airing up your tires regularly? Running pressures that are too low has more risk of flats.
Have you felt the inside of the tire when fixing the flat/are the flats always in the same part of the tire? You may have some kind of debris stuck in the rubber thats the cause of the repeat flats.
Do you have pictures of the punctures in the tubes? That could give you hints about cause. Or your bike looks pretty vintage, are you running the old tubes that came w the bike?
This happened to me recently. 4 tube replacements in one month. On my last tube replacement, I decided to check the outside of the tire for glass and such in the small punctures as I checked the inside before and found nothing. Found a small but sharp piece of glass that was in the spot that the holes in my tubes were found. Pretty much any kinda bump on the road would cause the shard to puncture the tube. Took a pair of tweezerz and took it out along with any other shards around the tire. So far im on week three of no flat back tire so I think that was it.
I would look for a new set of tires with proper puncture protection. There are several good options out there like the Schwalbe Marathon Plus or Continental GP 5000 S TR.
Or run tubeless.
There aren’t a ton of tire options in 27″, but you should be able to find some much more durable tires like Schwalbe Marathons out there.
when you fix the flat, are you checking to make sure that you removed whatever caused it? If you run over a thorn or a piece of wire and don’t remove it from the tire, it’ll just pop the next tube too.
My suggestion is tire liners. [https://www.performancebike.com/tire-liners-tube-accessories-tires-tubes/c16558](https://www.performancebike.com/tire-liners-tube-accessories-tires-tubes/c16558)They’re not 100% effective but nothing outside of solid rubber tires is.
Guaranteed you have something stuck in your tire that is sharp enough to re puncture new inner tubes. You ride enough, you’ll figure out that at least half of punctures are from debris such as thorns or pieces of wire, tiny sliver of glass that get embedded in the tire. When repairing flats, I usually spend most of my time checking and triple checking the casing to make sure I dont run into this problem
Couple things, if you are picking up glass (what that looks like), ride in a different area. There is a bunch of small pieces you can’t see that keep picking up. Hitting the same glass debris field again and again is common. Avoid trash cans and dumpsters. Garbage trucks often drop small bits of trash…glass as they go along. Second a nicer tire or tire liner will help considerably. Those are really cheap and you don’t get your moneys worth with those cheap ones a couple more dollars on a tire goes a long way.