India is right that it could be just a run of bad luck.
What I suggest is that people always mount their tires on the rim with
either the center of the label or some other identifying mark on the tire at
the stem hole. Then when you get a flat, you can take out the tube and
inflate it to find out where the air is coming out. Then match up the stem
of the tube with that identifying mark on the tire and then go around the
tire to that spot to see what might be causing the flat. Or if the hole is
on the inside of the tube, go to that spot on the rim to look for a burr, or
the rim strip may have moved and the tube is being cut by the edge of a
spoke hole. So give this a try when you change the tube and maybe you will
find out what is causing all of the flats. Little wires that work their way
into tires are really hard to find, so it helps to know where to look.
If you still want to talk to Roger, just call the store and ask for him.
Thanks,
John Rider
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
,__o The Bike Safety Guy
_-\_<, Bike Safety Education and Training,
(*)/'(*) Tour Planning and Consulting
League Cycling Instructor / LCI Seminar Coach
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of India Viola
Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 2:33 PM
To: Dipesh Navsaria
Cc: Bikies ListServe
Subject: Re: [Bikies] Repeated flats
Dipesh,
It is likely that there is
a) Something poking from the outside still embedded in the tire. Or perhaps
multiple things (shards of glass, bits of metal, etc) that have been causing
flats one by one over time.
b) A burr on the rim, a problem with your rim tape, etc going on inside the
wheel
or
c) Chronic underinflation of your tires which would cause one of 2 things:
1) a pinch flat, which would be obvious because it would appear as a snake
bite 2) shifting around of tube causing the valve stem to tear or rim tape,
etc. resulting in abrasions from the rim to cause a flat in the tube.
I teach flat fixes as part of my job. I have to remind people to find the
cause of the flat before replacing or patching their tubes. And even then
there are a bunch of ways to introduce a flat while repairing one. It is
disheartening but true that one of the most common times to get a flat is
just after fixing a flat.
It is not impossible that all this has been a run of bad luck. Tubes don't
come with any guarantee of puncture-resistance, and if your son rides on
streets that have lots of debris this may be the unfortunate cause of the
flats.
Good luck.
-india
On Wed, Apr 24, 2013 at 2:23 PM, Dipesh Navsaria <[email protected]>
wrote:
Good afternoon. Wondering if folx had any advice on a situation of
repeating flats on my 10-year-old son's bicycle. We bought a new Trek 7.1
for him last year (outgrew previous bike). About a week or two after
purchase, he had a flat on the rear tire. We took it back to Budget, the
mechanics looked it over and replaced the tube. Another week.another flat.
This happened four times last fall, all in the space of about 2-2.5 months.
Keep in mind he was riding it about 10 miles once a week, maybe a shorter
distance on the weekend once, but certainly nothing major. The third/fourth
time, I pointed out how frequently it was happening -- they looked over the
wheel and all, but didn't see anything obvious. I'm trying to remember if
they changed out the tyre itself -- I think they did. A couple of times
they found a small piece of metal or the like that got embedded in there.
Today, after the winter, we were getting ready to go to school. He hasn't
ridden this bike all winter until the last week or two, both times just a
few blocks. Guess what? Rear tyre, flat. (i.e. you pump it up and you can
hear hissing.)
Each time, the Budget mechanics (who have always done right by me on the
many other things I've brought them -- virtually never had a problem) have
chalked it up to a run of bad luck. Still: we never had a flat on his bike
previously (granted, they were kid "mountain bikes" with thicker tires, but
these aren't exactly racing slicks), and it's always the rear wheel. He
doesn't ride his bike particularly "rough", and if there's roadside debris
he's biking through.I'm usually with him and biking through the same stuff,
without any issues.
I'm considering contacting the owner (anyone have an e-mail address for
Roger Charly?) this time, but before I do -- any thoughts about what could
be causing this? Five flats with only 1-2 weeks of effective cycling since
the previous flat, all on the same wheel? That sounds statistically
improbable. And I'm getting sick of this.
Would appreciate any advice or thoughts. Thanks!
Peace and Prosperity,
Dipesh
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