Flat City

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
Since I got my road bike in October, I did not flat through 600 or 700 miles and now I flatted 3 times in my past two rides. One left me 5 miles from my house on a lunchtime ride and I rode back on the flat tire. WTF!!!!!

Any suggestions on road tires for all around use?
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Funny, I got a flat yesterday. Probably first flat in 2500-3000 miles on those tires. This happens to me every winter it seems. I start flatting and then realize it's time to swap tires. Also, the winter often leaves the road pock-marked with potholes. Yesterday I slammed a pothole and thought to myself, "Boy, this is going to get me eventually." 10 seconds later the rear wheel was drifting. Crap.

This set of tires was Kenda Kaliente, which I have nothing but good things to say about. Highly recommended.

I've also had good things to say about the Michelin set I have, the name of which I do not remember.

A lot of people like the Conti Grand Prix 3000s, but I've had nothing but torn sidewalls with them. My first set was great, but after that it was sidewall after sidewall until I had enough.

If you go review hunting on RBR, that's something to keep note of. Sacrifice the few extra grams for better sidewall strength, IMO.
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
GP 4 seasons with vectran.

They will ride better than your stock tires too.
 

BiknBen

Well-Known Member
Welcome to the world of Winter road riding. :rofl: This is why many roadies hit the trails in the colder months.

Potholes are obvious but also consider the debris that has come out of them. The gravel and other bits can cause flats. Once it snows, the road crews through out sand and salt. Heavy snow and ice breaks tree branches. The shoulders are littered with debris this time of year.

Do yourself a favor and ride a little bit to the left. Get closer to traffic. traffic provides a natural sweeping action and cleans the road. The further from traffic you are, the more debris you will encouter.

Consider purchasing a tire for winter riding. If you bought the bike over the summer, the tread may be running thin. Get a pair of cheapo's with new tread to use until spring. There are also high quality tires that add additional layers of flat protection.

OTOH, there may be something else going on. Pull the tire and tube off that rim. Ensure that the rim strip is covering all the spoke holes. Check the inside and outside of the tire for embedded stuff that is causing multiple flats.
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
Welcome to the world of Winter road riding. :rofl: This is why many roadies hit the trails in the colder months.

Potholes are obvious but also consider the debris that has come out of them. The gravel and other bits can cause flats. Once it snows, the road crews through out sand and salt. Heavy snow and ice breaks tree branches. The shoulders are littered with debris this time of year.

Do yourself a favor and ride a little bit to the left. Get closer to traffic. traffic provides a natural sweeping action and cleans the road. The further from traffic you are, the more debris you will encouter.

Consider purchasing a tire for winter riding. If you bought the bike over the summer, the tread may be running thin. Get a pair of cheapo's with new tread to use until spring. There are also high quality tires that add additional layers of flat protection.

OTOH, there may be something else going on. Pull the tire and tube off that rim. Ensure that the rim strip is covering all the spoke holes. Check the inside and outside of the tire for embedded stuff that is causing multiple flats.


I have started to move further to the left, some roads are especially bad with the debris and ice. I check the rim and it looked good and J just check it a few min ago, he put the tire on he suggested above. I can't believe how much light it was when I held the too.

I have heard what you said about the roadies moving to mtb. Isn't everyone out there just trying to get out as much as possible, no matter what the ride is?
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
OK, how about this...

Anyone with a soul rides on the road when the trails are shit like this.
 

anrothar

entirely thrilled
trails aren't too bad in northwest. mahlon is pretty well snowcovered right now.


another consideration for winter flats is the fact that the drunks aren't rolling their windows all the way down before tossing their bottle, therefor the bottles don't go as far and break on the side of the road(more frequently than in summer). since there's loads of sand and salt on the ground, the broken glass becomes disquised.


myabe you also haven't been paying homage to the flat tire gods?
 

hardtale70

She's Gone From Suck to Blow
Shop Keep
I've been seeing alot of road flats from the rim strip lately. It seems that both the cheap and fancy one piece rubberized strips become razorblades somewhere below 35 degrees and slice the tube on the inside.
 

BiknBen

Well-Known Member
...It seems that both the cheap and fancy one piece rubberized strips become razorblades somewhere below 35 degrees and slice the tube on the inside.

Highly doubtful.

I prefer Velox rim tape. It's a reinforced cloth with adhesive. Much more likely to stay in place with the adhesive.
 

pixychick

JORBA: Ringwood
JORBA.ORG
You probably have a piece of glass in your tire or a compromised rim strip. It is even more important to research the cause of a flat on the road than ATB, cause you could be 50 miles from home. Good reason to carry emergency patches too. If the hole is on the outside, it may be glass or object embedded in tire. If it is on the inside it could be a spoke or rim strip problem.

My first long ride on the road, I had 5 flats from bad rim strip. It was my first hands on session of tire changing by myself. :getsome:
 

Wobbegong

Well-Known Member
I like my Conti 4 season tires, Jdog mentioned them earlier in this thread. They keep good traction in severe cold. Conti says its a special compound that resists hardening in the cold. Dare I say this and jinx myself, I havent had a flat with them yet, been using them since early summer 2007.. Now I've done it!!
 

pixychick

JORBA: Ringwood
JORBA.ORG
yes It was a plastic strip that was bad for me, and on two occasions, multiple flats, but that was 5 and 8 years ago. Replaced it with standard cloth tape, and it worked fine, no flats in ... wow.

.... this brings me to the question ... my wheels are 9 years old. Do I need new wheels/rims? What is the life expectancy of a road wheel of someone small who brakes a lot and rides hilly terrain and in winter?
 

dualfisted

Member
Riding roads angers the mtb Gods!!!!!

I flat almost every time I ride my mtb on the road in this state, I've never seen anything like it. What little shoulder we have here is strewn with glass from jackass drunks tossing their bottles. If I'm flatting with knobbies, I know you roadies gots to have some issues, although, sometimes I think knobs are worse than slicks for flatting on roads, whatever there. I recommend never riding on asphalt in NJ, problem solved.
 
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