Flat Tire

jimmysnukastyle

New Member
My rear tire goes flat when my bike sits around and then I pump it up and ride two hours at chimney rock and all's well??? I just put on new tires - Maxis something or other.
 

ytc100

New Member
Tube has no hole in it? You can pass the tube through a bucket or sink filled with water to see really slow leaks...
 

jimmysnukastyle

New Member
why would it maintain pressure for two hours of riding though if I have a slow leak in my tube? Doesn't make any sense to me. Thanks for that insight on finding slow leaks.
 

ytc100

New Member
If the leak is slow enough you can easily ride on it for two hours. It's happened to me a few times.
 

pinkshirtphotos

Active Member
my front tube on my xcamdhwhatever bike has a slow front leak air will drop from 40 to 20 pounds over night not to bad. i usually run my tires at 15-35 so i have no problem with that.
 

anrothar

entirely thrilled
alot of times with a slow leak, when you pump it up, it tends to hold for a few hours. probably something to do with the pressure of the hole against the tire.
 

jimmysnukastyle

New Member
so I can possibly live with this situation if I don't feel like spending money tomorrow - will get worse I suppose...

I have a pump.
 

ArmyOfNone

Well-Known Member
Take the tube out pump it up and see if you can find where the hole is. Throw a patch or some duck tape on it. Swing by the shop and pick up a tube when you can.
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
You make me Thorny!

These slow leaks are formed by thorns. By nature these thorns want to stay stuck in the tire/tube but they also make a pin hole in the tube. The thorns don't come out so they actully plug up the hole they have created. A little air gets by but not enough to create a fast leak.

If you take the tire off the rim and turn it inside out (if it is a kevlar bead) you will find a ton of enbedded thorns. You can't really avoid these but if you run some slime tubes you can actully get 100's of tiny holes and the tube won't loose any pressure.


I rode in Molokai Hawaii where the thorns are literlly over an inch long. I used slime tubes and when I got home to NJ I pulled over 100 thorns out of my tires yet I never lost any pressure.

The bummer about slime tubes is that they are heavy and if you get a pinch flat it is a f'n mess.


j-
 

jimmysnukastyle

New Member
Got It

Got It - I'll take everything apart and check things out. Question: If I find a bunch of thorns that are pluggins holes should I leave them and let them do their job?
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
Got It - I'll take everything apart and check things out. Question: If I find a bunch of thorns that are pluggins holes should I leave them and let them do their job?

Yeah.. Sort of.

If you are just pumping it up before each ride than do nothing.

If you are going to patch all the holes or replace the tube you should get rid of all the thorns.

j-
 

Sircrashalot

New Member
I recently had a mystery tube like that. WOuld hold air for weeks, then go flat overnight. Sometimes it would go flat in a day, sometimes just get a bit soft. I killed it dead at Diablo :rofl:
 
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