BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Meh, it happens. I had 2 flats within 20 feet one day. Both on the rear wheel. First happened around a bend at ~18mph and the second happened after I replaced the first tube, on the second pedal stroke forward. AFTER clearing out the item that caused the puncture I had something totally different in the tube. I then tore a valve off at home that night. I don't count that as I drove off to buy a box of tubes.

Are these all on the new wheel?

I had three flats in a week once that ended up being a sharp burr that managed to escape the cushy protection of my rim tape.

I also blew out a few tubes from over-inflating the tire after changing wheels... my old combo could handle 80psi but the new rim didn't like anything above 70psi.

First two were front wheel, today's was the new back wheel. at lunch today I will get a chance to take a look at the tube and tire and try and figure out what happened. That is after I go out and buy some new tubes a floor pump and tire levers since I forgot to repack my tire levers and frame pump in backpack after changing the flat yesterday.

I usually wrap a couple layers of black electrical tape under the rim tape but was out. Ill be rater upset if it was my new wheel that turns out to be the cause of my flat today.

yeah, if the same wheel is flatting frequently there could be something else going on... tire, rim, rim tape, etc.

check to make sure a spoke hasn't been tighted too far, thus contacting the tube.

Also if triangle bikes is open you could just push the bike there at lunch for air etc.

I wish Marko alas I work in carnegie besides if im gonna keep riding in it makes sense to keep some basics (tube patchkit pump and the like) here in my cubicle.

i thought about the spoke but it is a really deep double walled rim. I cant see a spoke poking out that much. still I will give it a look when I change the tube at lunch.

@dbacklover: Check to see if the tube punctures are in a consistent location, and check the rim strip/tape to be sure it's not only barely covering a spoke hole.

(I had a series of mysterious punctures on a brevet once, wherein it would flat only after hard cornering at speed. Turned out to be that my rim strip was squirming over under load *just enough* to expose a rough-edged spoke hole.)

I had a cracked rim once and the first sign was a series of inexplicable flats.

Thanks for the good advice, gonna put these two rims under a freaking microscope, just got a new tire and two slime tubes.

I will not be stopped. these past few weeks that I have been riding into work have been the best weeks I have had all year. I guess it makes sense that more I ride in gerneral the more likely something like this is to happen.

Attaboy!

Are you riding from Penn Hills to Carnegie?

That is a helluva ride. (I'm guessing you are mixed-moding it.)

UPDATE - make that 4 flats in 3 days, came back from lunch to find front tire flat as well. just dug shard of metal of tire.

Yes mixed mode. take bus from penn hills to east liberty. bike from there to town, (across ft pitt bridge) get another bus to top of noblestown, then ride in to work. in evening I ride to west busway idlewood station. get off at hatch, ride from hatch to town and take bus home (by them im pretty well whooped and ready for a long quiet bus ride home.

If the tire is slit, like it would be by a shard of metal, just removing the piece of metal may not be enough. I've had the next tube work into the slit, eventually getting cut by it. I've started putting a patch over the slit also.

is there a shoulder along your commute riddled with metal shards?

I like the idea of patching the tire. as to the shoulders, I have no idea, one section is by an on going construction so I could be picking it up there, but I could also be picking it up anywhere else.