mystery flat

[scrooge]

On Monday I decided to brave the cold and took out my bike on the New Michelin Pro Race 2s. They worked great, as far as I could tell. However, after I parked the bike overnight, I noticed Tuesday morning that my front tire had gone flat (this was not so during the ride). I couldn't find any cuts or anything, so I pumped it up to see if it would still hold air--24 hours later its still full. What's the deal? My wife claims she didn't let the air out, so is this going to go flat once I ride and put some pressure on it? Could this be a fluke? Presumably I should change the tube...?

By the way, how many of you folks patch your old tubes? I haven't been, but have been getting so many flats lately that always getting new tubes is getting expensive...


:banana: :banana: (those are for Sandy) :banana: :banana:

[SoCalSteve]

most likely around the valve stem area.

Change the tube.

This kind of flat cannot be patched.

Good luck!

Steve

[Sandy]

Did you for any reason (flat or something) use CO2 cartridges to fill the tire? If so, then the tire will lose a lot of the gas overnight and appear flat in the morning. It could drop from well over 100 psi to 60psi in just one day.


Thanks for helping to keep the :banana: :banana: alive. They apprediate it, and so do I.


Full of hot air,


Sandy

[Bruce K]

Gremlins.

Call the witch doctor!

:banana: :banana:

BK

[Kevan]

Maybe you forgot to tighten the presta valve knobby-do-hicky.

Bicycles and their tires aren't haunted because the ghost's bedsheets get caught in the spokes.

[palincss]

By the way, how many of you folks patch your old tubes? I haven't been, but have been getting so many flats lately that always getting new tubes is getting expensive...



I certainly patch tubes, even ultralight tubes, which are a bit more difficult to patch than standard weight (because it's so easy to grind through the tube when you're sandpapering it). The things that will force me to discard a tube are:

1. Tear at the base of the valve stem (which is what I think you have)
2. A huge long tear (generally happens when you catch the tube under the bead so the tire doesn't seat properly, and the tire blows off)
3. There are so many patches on the tube you don't have room between adjacent patches to fix the flat.

[Ken Robb]

eeyooo Steve--all that extra rotating mass!!

[palincss]

eeyooo Steve--all that extra rotating mass!!

That's funny - those people who live out in goathead country use those extra-thick thornproof tubes, and somehow they still seem to be able to ride. How much is the weight of even 20 patches? (I think 20's the most patches I've ever had on a tube -- and at the time, it wasn't just natcheral cheapness, I wasn't making much $ and tubes were pretty expensive.)

[Ken Robb]

I've patched quite a few myself but now I buy a bunch of tubes on sale for less than $3.00 each so it's not worth patching them anymore. The exception would be if I got a second flat on a ride since I only carry one spare tube.

I don't want to jinx myself but since I have been riding Ruffy-tuffy, UltraGatorskins, and Paselas I haven't had a flat in more than a year.

[spiderman]

if so,
they can leak if cracked/worn...
...i've also had a couple leaks
traced back to a valve stem
that is slightly bent
and touches the side of the extender
causing a leak.