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rbent Forum
https://rbentonline.org/YaBB.pl General Category >> Technical >> Flat tire woes https://rbentonline.org/YaBB.pl?num=1208963662 Message started by jman on Apr 23rd, 2008, 10:14am |
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Title: Flat tire woes Post by jman on Apr 23rd, 2008, 10:14am Hey gang, I tell you, out of abt 3 years of riding, this last month has without a doubt been the worst for me getting flats. I literally have used up an entire tube patch kit >:( . I'm sure glad I practiced changing tubes at home where the conditions were at least under control. :) just like my fav. book on Urban riding suggested. I run Primo's on my Tango a Primo Racers on the rear with a tuff tire liner in it. Yesterday about 40 yards after I came out from under the TRE rail underpass southbound on Industrial, my back tire acted like the brakes were on so I stopped immediately to see what was up. Flat tire is what was up :-X After a quick inspection, I found and slowly removed a very long skinny nail (maybe from a nail gun originally ). It put not one but 2 holes, one in and one out in the tube. I used my spare tube instead of trying to fix on the edge of hwy 157 :) . Two roadies flew buy while I was pumping up the spare and didn't even ask if I needed any help. I didn't but it's the thought that counts ;) to me. Guess even with all the precautions we take sometimes "stuff" happens. One thing I won't be doing again unless absolutely necessary is ride on the right side of the wide white road stripe. I'm sticking to where tires go all the time and I should be able to avoid some flats. Livin and learning only 3 years of riding since I was a kid. So a lesson learned. Is there any riding technique more seasoned riders here have learned that may help me avoid more of these roadside flat repairs? For instance, would you keep a spare with 2 patches this close together? I pressure tested under low pressure under water and it passed the no bubbles test. |
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Title: Re: Flat tire woes Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Apr 23rd, 2008, 3:39pm jman wrote:
Don't let it bother you, Joe -- attribute it to the fact that they probably weren't carrying your size spare tube with 'em, anyway... ;) Besides, the "common wisdom" is that, if the rider by the side of the road is head down, working on the repair, he/she probably has everything needed -- but if they're standing there looking hopeless trying to make eye contact, they probably need help. Quote:
'Tis true -- don't stray too far to the right of the white line if you can avoid it, it's trashy over there! I haven't had a whole lotta experience with patched tubes, but all but one I've used one patch on have good life left. If you're patching ON a patch, well.... :o |
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Title: Re: Flat tire woes Post by jman on Apr 23rd, 2008, 6:34pm Actually the patches are side by side, so the tube is designated as "last tube in my bag for emergencies only " :D While I like the looks of the Skinwall, I guess after I have had 3 road flats in one month, I'm thinking about upgrading to Schwalbe - Marathon Plus` front and rear, just not sure about weather to get 1.75 or 1.35's and wondering if anyone reading this has experience with either the brand and/or width's. It's plain to mw that I am putting a lot more road miles on this year than my last 2 years. |
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Title: Re: Flat tire woes Post by evblazer on Apr 23rd, 2008, 7:28pm I rode marathon plus tires on my xtracycle in the 32mm width. They had to be the biggest 32mm tires made. They are a little heavy but didn't slow me down too much. I took a roofing nail in a tire and rode it over 50 miles before I noticed the tire was running low, and finding out what that annoying click was. I wore them down to the blue layer before replacing them in around 3500 miles I think and replaced them without hesitation. They carried me (over 300 at the time) a 75 lbs bike and 100 lbs of dog food and assorted items many time without fail. I was going to get them for my giro 26 but the one place that had the 1.35 (everybicycletire.com) at the time charged my credit card and told me weeks later they couldn't get them and gave me a gift card I could use in the future. errr. The 1.75 are too big for my giro with fenders so right now I'm using some vredstien touring tires and hoping for the best. |
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Title: Re: Flat tire woes Post by jman on Apr 24th, 2008, 10:20am Thanks Mark for the good review. It's funny in a way,because while going through some old email from a bike reflector, there was a review of the Primo's talking about how they had a good rolling resistance but prone to flats by design. I guess everything on a bike has some trade off, this for that. I think I will be upgrading to the Marathon Plus shortly on the bent. |
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Title: Re: Flat tire woes Post by evblazer on Apr 24th, 2008, 11:21am I think I read similar comments on the comets. Oddly though for the last 400 miles I rode on them I didn't have any flats even riding my commute which often times is littered with glass, though oddly due to all the construction has been pretty clean lately. I had gotten the regular comets since they were the only 26" slick I had heard of that my LBS had (bluebonnet) and I didn't want to ride on my OEM kwests that got all torn up after about 300 miles. FYI: I switched to the vredstiens because I had ordered a folder as a just in case for 200k+ rides and it seemed pretty nice. I like reflective sidewalls which is why I ordered it over some other tires so I ordered two more to replace the comets and am hoping for the best. Just be aware of the big downside of marathon plus which you probably already saw. Depending on your rim they can be either tough to get on to an epic wrestling knuckle splitting event. |
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Title: Re: Flat tire woes Post by Bud_Bent on Apr 24th, 2008, 11:25am I've had good luck with the Kevlar Comets, but not the regular Comets. |
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Title: Re: Flat tire woes Post by aikigreg on Apr 24th, 2008, 12:35pm Same here. Regular primos are very flat prone. I'm reserving judgement for the kevlars. The marathon plus that I rode on all last winter still looked brand new when I took it off the wheel, but it's heavy and slow! |
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Title: Re: Flat tire woes Post by Kwijybow on Apr 24th, 2008, 1:49pm As a counter example I've had pretty good luck with regular comets in 20" and 26" sizes, very few flats and they wore like iron. The only place I wasn't all that pleased was their wet weather performance. Take Care, Nelson. |
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Title: Re: Flat tire woes Post by jman on Apr 24th, 2008, 7:19pm aikigreg wrote:
What size Plus is that if I may ask and if it is a 559 would you sell?, The Primo Racer on my rear is a 1.35 a tad skinny for my purposes. It is fast but at a trade off in slixk muddy wooden bridge I am at war with >:( I've busted my buns twice on that stinker in RLP and it takes forever to clean all the mud off my clothes,body and shoes and bent ;D so skinny fast aint where it's at if you don't want to bust your a@s on da wood when it's wet |
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Title: Re: Flat tire woes Post by aikigreg on Apr 25th, 2008, 9:41am Sorry Joe - it was a 700c! |
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Title: Re: Flat tire woes Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Apr 25th, 2008, 11:11am I've put 1.35" Kojaks on Terrie's bike -- we'll see how they last! |
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Title: Re: Flat tire woes Post by jman on Apr 25th, 2008, 5:32pm aikigreg wrote:
That's ok, there's no real rush, it's not like I'm entering a certury race or anything soon :D. That one wooden bridge is the only place I can predict I will bust my buns on when it is wet. Just have to learn my limitations. Today I figured that spot would still be a bit of a problem, so just to compare the different tires I have on hand, I switched to my 65psi Kenda Kwest tires and did the same ride. Wow, what a difference, it felt like I was pedaling through mush the whole time and the fat tires tended to make the bent bounce more. All things being equal, my avg speed dropped almost 2mph! on the ride and made going up the few hilly areas I go through more of a pain. Needless to say I took the Kendas's off and remounted the Primo's.(I'm getting very proficient at tire changing ;D ) I would rather deal with the occasional slick spot and keep my faster times (oh vanity what can I say ) :D |
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Title: Re: Flat tire woes Post by jman on Apr 25th, 2008, 5:36pm FlyingLaZBoy wrote:
Sounds like we have a true tire test under way. I am going to keep the Primo Racer 1.35 on the rear of the Tango as well, so we'll see what happens. I'm not saying I'm paranoid or anything, but I have not one but two spare tubes for the front and rear in my bag on the Tango. :) |
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