Bicycling - Road and Mountain

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Just got a road bike. Already had 2 flats. Is being overweight a factor?

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  • m1xm0d3
    m1xm0d3 Posts: 1,576 Member
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    Archon2 wrote: »
    Any update M1 since you changed to cloth rim tape?

    Everything seems to be running proper. I've even been increasing speed in increments over the rocky patch during my commute and so far, so good which further strengthens the argument that the previous rim tape was the culprit.
  • lpherman01
    lpherman01 Posts: 212 Member
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    Archon2 wrote: »
    My rear tire is wearing out fast too and I only replaced it in March I think.

    It's all that power! At least that's what I keep telling myself.

  • Archon2
    Archon2 Posts: 462 Member
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    lpherman01 wrote: »
    Archon2 wrote: »
    My rear tire is wearing out fast too and I only replaced it in March I think.

    It's all that power! At least that's what I keep telling myself.
    Haha - thanks for the mental "tip!"

  • mdstamand
    mdstamand Posts: 169 Member
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    FWIW, when I started cycling I also bought a Motobecane that came with 23mm Conti Ultra sports. I started getting flats with only about 600 miles on the tires. I thoroughly inspected the tires to ensure that nothing was embedded in the tire to repeat the punctures. I was running approx. 100psi. The punctures weren't pinch flats but punctures. I then purchased Conti Gatorskins and increased the width from 23mm to 25mm. The tires were more comfortable and went 3000 miles before suffering a flat. I have since lost weight and gone to a different bike (a lighter carbon fiber) and I still buy Conti Gatorskins to handle the mediocre pavement I ride on here in VT. No real knowledge or insight to impart just relating my experience.
  • m1xm0d3
    m1xm0d3 Posts: 1,576 Member
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    mdstamand wrote: »
    FWIW, when I started cycling I also bought a Motobecane that came with 23mm Conti Ultra sports. I started getting flats with only about 600 miles on the tires. I thoroughly inspected the tires to ensure that nothing was embedded in the tire to repeat the punctures. I was running approx. 100psi. The punctures weren't pinch flats but punctures. I then purchased Conti Gatorskins and increased the width from 23mm to 25mm. The tires were more comfortable and went 3000 miles before suffering a flat. I have since lost weight and gone to a different bike (a lighter carbon fiber) and I still buy Conti Gatorskins to handle the mediocre pavement I ride on here in VT. No real knowledge or insight to impart just relating my experience.

    Good info. Thanks for sharing.
  • benn5150
    benn5150 Posts: 2 Member
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    I had some of those tyres, found them very poor. Get some continental gator skins. Very reliable puncture resistant tyres
  • cloggsy71
    cloggsy71 Posts: 2,208 Member
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    benn5150 wrote: »
    I had some of those tyres, found them very poor. Get some continental gator skins. Very reliable puncture resistant tyres

    Gator Skins are heavy though. Try Schwalbe One's or Schwalbe ZX's (if you can still get 'em) ;)
  • Archon2
    Archon2 Posts: 462 Member
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    Rear tube went PPHHHSSsssphsssst.t....t..... on the ride home from work. Its been a while since I had one on the old road bike. Hope this isn't the start of a trend. I thought immediately of m1xm0d3!

    Yes...the guts of my old Fuji splattered like roadkill on the side of the road. Thankfully, the old pocket rocket and a spare tube got me home...a bit late though.
    31vy3u1ivyv4.jpg
  • mkenny5
    mkenny5 Posts: 14 Member
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    I'm about 270lbs and have my tyres running at 110-120psi. I use Conti Gatorskins and rarely get a puncture (touch wood). When I have got one, it's because I've been running too low on psi or it's a pinch flat.
  • Archon2
    Archon2 Posts: 462 Member
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    Figured I'd take tire off at leisure tonight before I commute again with it tomorrow and I figured out what gave me the rear flat last week. At some point earlier in the year when I put on some new tires, I must have squished the cloth rim tape over a little bit off one of the spoke heads when muscling on the new tire, since I found a crease in the tape and an exposed spoke head where the tube punctured. Guess it isn't hard to do as they don't have much adhesive. I put some new cloth tape on (a little wider gauge too) so hopefully all will go well. So I guess that is something else to be careful of: if you take your tire and/or tube off, don't shove over a little section of rim tape or rim strip as it will doom your tube eventually!
  • blackcoffeeandcherrypie
    blackcoffeeandcherrypie Posts: 486 Member
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    Puncture resist tyres were like a godsend for me. I was getting flats every week, twice a week, sometimes on consecutive days and it was really depressing. I got two Armadillo puncture resist tyres and they are so good. I do still occasionally get flats, but now it's about 2 or 3 times a year, rather than 2 or 3 times a week!
  • Bikerchickmomma
    Bikerchickmomma Posts: 99 Member
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    The year I had 7 flats, I switched to Gatorskins with the reinforced sidewalls. I believe using them has reduced my incidence of flats. I keep my air pressure at the max or even a few lbs. over. Riding in wet conditions seem to increase the risk of flats as the crud adheres to a wet wheel. I already got a flat from hitting a sharp stone. Awareness helps. I usually wipe my tires off after a ride. That removes any crud that is stuck on my tires so as not to allow it to produce a puncture on the next ride.
  • m1xm0d3
    m1xm0d3 Posts: 1,576 Member
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    So far, so good. No flats since the velox tape was installed.
  • howie6267
    howie6267 Posts: 327 Member
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    I have been riding with weights of 275-350 and have not experienced flats. I did have a blowout this past week. The tires showed some dry rot but the culprit was probably under inflation. My pump has a built in gauge and when I checked it the pump showed 15 lbs less pressure then the tire gauge I just bought, so I"m pretty sure that is what caused my sidewall to go. Of course my bike is used and they may have been the original tires from 1998 for all I know, so they were due to be changed. I should have changed them when I bought it.

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