Dumb question - repeated flats

[Jamie]

My Specialized allez sport '03 model has gotten 2 flats in the past month...
and only ridden twice in that time, due to travel. I replaced the first
flat, road the bike 30 or so miles and put it in storage. Checked it today,
and it was flat as a pancake. Other tire is fine. What am I not looking
at? There does not appear to be damage to the tire?

Thanks,

jamie

[Boyd Speerschneider]

"Jamie" > wrote in
:

> My Specialized allez sport '03 model has gotten 2 flats in the past
> month... and only ridden twice in that time, due to travel. I replaced
> the first flat, road the bike 30 or so miles and put it in storage.
> Checked it today, and it was flat as a pancake. Other tire is fine.
> What am I not looking at? There does not appear to be damage to the
> tire?
>
> Thanks,
>
> jamie

I'm not sure how new you are to the sport or how much experience you have
changing tires, so don't take this the wrong way if you all ready know.
When you have a flat do the following:

1) Check the tire for cuts and embedded glass, nails, etc.
2) Check the rim making sure that the tape is still covering all of the
spoke holes.
3) Put a little air in the new tube befoe you put it on the rim.
4) Make sure that you don't "pinch" the tube.
This happens when there isn't enough air in the tube when you mount the
tire and it gets folded over on itself.
4) Make sure the bead of the tire is seated properly before you blow it up.

Hope this helps.

- Boyd S.

[Mike Kruger]

"Boyd Speerschneider" > wrote in message
...
> "Jamie" > wrote in
> :
>
> > My Specialized allez sport '03 model has gotten 2 flats in the past
> > month... What am I not looking at? There does not appear to be damage
to the
> > tire?
> >
>
> I'm not sure how new you are to the sport or how much experience you have
> changing tires, so don't take this the wrong way if you all ready know.
> When you have a flat do the following:
>
> 1) .... <snip good advice>

Mark a spot on the tire that you will remember, e.g. put nail polish on the
drive side, next to the valve. (You can use the tire markings themselves
for this, but that would require you to remove the tire AGAIN. Enough of
that.) This will mean that you will be able to exactly match the hole in
the tube to the area of the tire. Examine this area of the tire (and wheel)
in excruciating detail until the answer becomes clear.

Of course, it's also possible that you have just had a run of bad luck. I'm
a statistician, so I tried assuming that flats were purely random, but
happened, on average, every 500 miles. I then simulated a few tires this
way. There were a number of cases in which my "random" flats occurred very
close together; your two flats may not be connected at all.

[M. Barbee]

"Jamie" > wrote in message
...
> My Specialized allez sport '03 model has gotten 2 flats in the past
month...
> and only ridden twice in that time, due to travel. I replaced the first
> flat, road the bike 30 or so miles and put it in storage. Checked it
today,
> and it was flat as a pancake. Other tire is fine. What am I not looking
> at? There does not appear to be damage to the tire?
>
> Thanks,
>
> jamie
>
>
That has happened to me a few times. Apparently, I was having what is
described as a blowout. Since my bike is stored in my apartment, I heard
the sudden loud sound when my tubes blew. I had to start trying to be a
little bit more careful about keeping the tubes inside the casing. I can't
tell what type of flat you're having, but here's a couple of websites that
might help.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tires.html

and

http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/
This is a FAQ. Check out sections 8b.3, 8b.4 and 8b.5. As someone else
said, these could be completely random events, but if its something else,
those pages might help you figure it out.

[Rivermist]

Last time I had a recurring flat problem, changing the rim tape took care of
it.


"Jamie" > wrote in message
...
> My Specialized allez sport '03 model has gotten 2 flats in the past
month...
> and only ridden twice in that time, due to travel. I replaced the first
> flat, road the bike 30 or so miles and put it in storage. Checked it
today,
> and it was flat as a pancake. Other tire is fine. What am I not looking
> at? There does not appear to be damage to the tire?
>
> Thanks,
>
> jamie
>
>

[Eric Babula]

"Jamie" > wrote in
:

> My Specialized allez sport '03 model has gotten 2 flats in the past
> month... and only ridden twice in that time, due to travel. I
> replaced the first flat, road the bike 30 or so miles and put it in
> storage. Checked it today, and it was flat as a pancake. Other
> tire is fine. What am I not looking at? There does not appear to
> be damage to the tire?
>
> Thanks,
>
> jamie
>
>
>

Last time I had a recurring flat, I found that I had a very tiny piece
of glass stuck inside the rubber tire. I searched the inside and
outside of the tire repeatedly, and never found that glass! Finally, I
decided to replace the tire, rather than keep patching the tube.

After putting a new tire on, I scoured every little crack and hole of
the old tire, and finally found the scoundrel! Just a tiny little
sliver, that was inside the rubber of the tire. Never felt it by hand,
but, when the tube was pumped to pressure, and I rode on it, that must
have been enough for the glass to poke into the tube, causing the
pinhole, and the flat.

--
Smile!!

__O
_-\ <,_ Eric Babula
(_) / (_) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

[Smith]

MMMM, I had a tire that kept going flat, changed it to the front wheel to
see if it was the tire or the wheel, it still kept going flat. Examined
inside of the tire couldn't find anything. Took a cotton cleansing pad, kind
of like a flat cotton ball, and rubbed it over the inside of the tire, sure
enough a small snag from the casing of the tire. Too little to see but the
cotton snagged it, just enough to puncture a high pressure tire after fifty
miles of riding or so. Was making me nuts for awhile.
All the best,
Biff
"Eric Babula" > wrote in message
. ..
> "Jamie" > wrote in
> :
>
> > My Specialized allez sport '03 model has gotten 2 flats in the past
> > month... and only ridden twice in that time, due to travel. I
> > replaced the first flat, road the bike 30 or so miles and put it in
> > storage. Checked it today, and it was flat as a pancake. Other
> > tire is fine. What am I not looking at? There does not appear to
> > be damage to the tire?
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > jamie
> >
> >
> >
>
> Last time I had a recurring flat, I found that I had a very tiny piece
> of glass stuck inside the rubber tire. I searched the inside and
> outside of the tire repeatedly, and never found that glass! Finally, I
> decided to replace the tire, rather than keep patching the tube.
>
> After putting a new tire on, I scoured every little crack and hole of
> the old tire, and finally found the scoundrel! Just a tiny little
> sliver, that was inside the rubber of the tire. Never felt it by hand,
> but, when the tube was pumped to pressure, and I rode on it, that must
> have been enough for the glass to poke into the tube, causing the
> pinhole, and the flat.
>
> --
> Smile!!
>
> __O
> _-\ <,_ Eric Babula
> (_) / (_) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

[Rod Raisanen]

"Jamie" > wrote in message
...
> My Specialized allez sport '03 model has gotten 2 flats in the past
month...
> and only ridden twice in that time, due to travel. I replaced the first
> flat, road the bike 30 or so miles and put it in storage. Checked it
today,
> and it was flat as a pancake. Other tire is fine. What am I not looking
> at? There does not appear to be damage to the tire?
>
> Thanks,
>
> jamie
>
>

How long was it in storage. I occasionally have good tubes that will go
completely flat in a week. If the storage isn't heated they can go flat
really quick with allot of temperature change.
Rod Raisanen
Chillicothe, Ohio
The reply take out garbage

[Jay]

>Smith at wrote:
> MMMM, I had a tire that kept going flat, changed it to the front wheel to
> see if it was the tire or the wheel, it still kept going flat. Examined
> inside of the tire couldn't find anything. Took a cotton cleansing pad, kind
> of like a flat cotton ball, and rubbed it over the inside of the tire, sure
> enough a small snag from the casing of the tire. Too little to see but the
> cotton snagged it, just enough to puncture a high pressure tire after fifty
> miles of riding or so. Was making me nuts for awhile.

I add a cotton ball and a small square of emery cloth ( similar to
sandpaper) to all my patch kits and to the patch kits I give as gifts or
prizes.

[Pureheart]

In article >, Jay > wrote:
>>Smith at wrote:
>> MMMM, I had a tire that kept going flat, changed it to the front wheel to
>> see if it was the tire or the wheel, it still kept going flat. Examined
>> inside of the tire couldn't find anything. Took a cotton cleansing pad, kind
>> of like a flat cotton ball, and rubbed it over the inside of the tire, sure
>> enough a small snag from the casing of the tire. Too little to see but the
>> cotton snagged it, just enough to puncture a high pressure tire after fifty
>> miles of riding or so. Was making me nuts for awhile.
>
>I add a cotton ball and a small square of emery cloth ( similar to
>sandpaper) to all my patch kits and to the patch kits I give as gifts or
>prizes.
>

I also put a metal schrader valve cover w/ built-in valve core remover.
This is a just-in-case gizmo with which to disable cars via flattening one
or more tires should the need ever arise (drunk driver, hit and run, etc.).

I did, however, get my first ever death threat for suggesting this idea once
before, so it must be a controversial idea somehow.

Pureheart

[Eric S. Sande]

>I also put a metal schrader valve cover w/ built-in valve core remover.
>This is a just-in-case gizmo with which to disable cars via flattening one
>or more tires should the need ever arise (drunk driver, hit and run, etc.).

Assuming you are using that sort of valves.

>I did, however, get my first ever death threat for suggesting this idea
>once before, so it must be a controversial idea somehow.

It don't surprise me, somehow.

--

_______________________ALL AMIGA IN MY MIND_______________________
------------------"Buddy Holly, the Texas Elvis"------------------

[The Real Bev]

"Eric S. Sande" wrote:
>
> Somebody wrote:
> >I also put a metal schrader valve cover w/ built-in valve core remover.
> >This is a just-in-case gizmo with which to disable cars via flattening one
> >or more tires should the need ever arise (drunk driver, hit and run, etc.).
>
> Assuming you are using that sort of valves.

It's nicer than icepicking tires. Always flatten two, and choose
curbside tires if possible. If you only flatten one the jerk can put
his spare on. Not that I've ever actually done this, but I've thought
about it a lot.

> >I did, however, get my first ever death threat for suggesting this idea
> >once before, so it must be a controversial idea somehow.
>
> It don't surprise me, somehow.

Some people are just born victims.

--
Cheers,
Bev
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
"We're from the Government. We're here to help."

[Zippy the Pinhead]

Eric S. Sande" wrote:
>
> Somebody wrote:
> >I also put a metal schrader valve cover w/ built-in valve core remover.
> >This is a just-in-case gizmo with which to disable cars via flattening one
> >or more tires should the need ever arise (drunk driver, hit and run, etc.).
>
> Assuming you are using that sort of valves.

Have you ever seen Presta valves on a car?

[Bernie]

The Real Bev wrote:

>"Eric S. Sande" wrote:
>
>>Somebody wrote:
>>
>>>I also put a metal schrader valve cover w/ built-in valve core remover.
>>>This is a just-in-case gizmo with which to disable cars via flattening one
>>>or more tires should the need ever arise (drunk driver, hit and run, etc.).
>>>
>>Assuming you are using that sort of valves.
>>
>
>It's nicer than icepicking tires. Always flatten two, and choose
>curbside tires if possible. If you only flatten one the jerk can put
>his spare on. Not that I've ever actually done this, but I've thought
>about it a lot.
>
>>>I did, however, get my first ever death threat for suggesting this idea
>>>once before, so it must be a controversial idea somehow.
>>>
>>It don't surprise me, somehow.
>>
>
>Some people are just born victims.
>
IF one was consideriding such behaviour, and did not have the required
valve removal tool, a jack knife works fine. Simply cut the rubber
valve stems on the tubeless car tires. The car is disabled, damage is
very inexpensive - this is a GOOD THING if charges are pressed later...
Purely hypothetical, of course.

[The Real Bev]

Bernie wrote:
>
> The Real Bev wrote:
>
> >"Eric S. Sande" wrote:
> >
> >>Somebody wrote:
> >>
> >>>I also put a metal schrader valve cover w/ built-in valve core remover.
> >>>This is a just-in-case gizmo with which to disable cars via flattening one
> >>>or more tires should the need ever arise (drunk driver, hit and run, etc.).
> >>>
> >>Assuming you are using that sort of valves.

You don't have to actually use the schrader valve cover, you just have
to have it in your kit somewhere. I don't think that even true
gram-shavers would object to the additional weight.

> >It's nicer than icepicking tires. Always flatten two, and choose
> >curbside tires if possible. If you only flatten one the jerk can put
> >his spare on. Not that I've ever actually done this, but I've thought
> >about it a lot.
> >
> >>>I did, however, get my first ever death threat for suggesting this idea
> >>>once before, so it must be a controversial idea somehow.
> >>>
> >>It don't surprise me, somehow.
> >
> >Some people are just born victims.
> >
> IF one was consideriding such behaviour, and did not have the required
> valve removal tool, a jack knife works fine. Simply cut the rubber
> valve stems on the tubeless car tires. The car is disabled, damage is
> very inexpensive - this is a GOOD THING if charges are pressed later...
> Purely hypothetical, of course.

Oooh, vandalism :-( The nice thing about removing a valve core is that
you have caused no permanent damage, especially if you tape the cores to
the windshield where the owner can find them easily. All the guy has to
do is put the cores back and roll the tires to the nearest gas station
that has an air hose <snort>. Maybe it would be even more proper to
tape a couple of quarters next to the cores, or a couple of those Arco
tokens...

--
Cheers,
Bev
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
"Only wimps use tape backup; *real* men just upload their
important stuff on FTP, and let the rest of the world
mirror it ;)" -- Linus Torvalds

[Bernie]

The Real Bev wrote:

>Bernie wrote:
>
>>The Real Bev wrote:
>>
>>>"Eric S. Sande" wrote:
>>>
>>>>Somebody wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>I also put a metal schrader valve cover w/ built-in valve core remover.
>>>>>This is a just-in-case gizmo with which to disable cars via flattening one
>>>>>or more tires should the need ever arise (drunk driver, hit and run, etc.).
>>>>>
>>>>Assuming you are using that sort of valves.
>>>>
>
>You don't have to actually use the schrader valve cover, you just have
>to have it in your kit somewhere. I don't think that even true
>gram-shavers would object to the additional weight.
>
>>>It's nicer than icepicking tires. Always flatten two, and choose
>>>curbside tires if possible. If you only flatten one the jerk can put
>>>his spare on. Not that I've ever actually done this, but I've thought
>>>about it a lot.
>>>
>>>>>I did, however, get my first ever death threat for suggesting this idea
>>>>>once before, so it must be a controversial idea somehow.
>>>>>
>>>>It don't surprise me, somehow.
>>>>
>>>Some people are just born victims.
>>>
>>IF one was consideriding such behaviour, and did not have the required
>>valve removal tool, a jack knife works fine. Simply cut the rubber
>>valve stems on the tubeless car tires. The car is disabled, damage is
>>very inexpensive - this is a GOOD THING if charges are pressed later...
>>Purely hypothetical, of course.
>>
>
>Oooh, vandalism :-( The nice thing about removing a valve core is that
>you have caused no permanent damage, especially if you tape the cores to
>the windshield where the owner can find them easily. All the guy has to
>do is put the cores back and roll the tires to the nearest gas station
>that has an air hose <snort>. Maybe it would be even more proper to
>tape a couple of quarters next to the cores, or a couple of those Arco
>tokens...
>
I understand your :-( reference, but remember I was responding to
someone who mentioned tires and an ice pick in the same sentence...
Just trying to soften the blow, ya know!