Interesting flat tire experience

[parco]

I just got back from a ride. While riding I looked away from the road for just a second and when I looked back down I saw that I was about to run over a paper bag. The bag was small and flat and I didn't think I needed to try to avoid running over it. As I did BAM, my back tire blew. When I pulled over the tire was practically cut in half crosswise. I laid my bike down and I went over to look at the bag. It was still flat and not ripped or anything. I looked inside and there was the broken blade of a putty knife. I can't really see how the blade cut my tire if it didn't cut the bag. I cannot figure out how it happened. I had no way to fix my tire and I had to call my wife to come and get me. No more running over things in the road.

[sw3759]

99 times out of a hundred it would have been an empty bag..at least you didnt crash.just plain bad luck.strangest flat i ever had was on the wind trainer.how many people get a flat while riding the trainer :confused:

[Jaq]

Ride tubulars. Problem solved. ;)

[oldpotatoe]

Ride tubulars. Problem solved. ;)

Huzza!!!

[Dead Man]

99 times out of a hundred it would have been an empty bag..at least you didnt crash.just plain bad luck.strangest flat i ever had was on the wind trainer.how many people get a flat while riding the trainer :confused:

I actually did once... On TUBULARS no less.

SYN

[Cicli]

Ride tubulars. Problem solved. ;)

Not solved but harder to fix. Awesome. I am too lazy for tubulars.

[unterhausen]

Ride tubulars. Problem solved. ;)

I have no idea how that would help.

I ran over a beer can one time -- on purpose. It turns out that's a bad idea. Fortunately, I wasn't going very fast because it stuck to my tire rather tenaciously. No flat, but if it had made it up to my fork I'm not sure what would have happened. Nothing good, I'm sure of that

[Jaq]

I have no idea how that would help.

I ran over a beer can one time -- on purpose. It turns out that's a bad idea. Fortunately, I wasn't going very fast because it stuck to my tire rather tenaciously. No flat, but if it had made it up to my fork I'm not sure what would have happened. Nothing good, I'm sure of that

Oh, well, tubulars would've helped in that sitch because it's a self-contained tire, too. So the new sew up goes on and you ride home.

But losing a clincher to something like a putty knife is unforseeable. On my clincher bike, I carry a piece 2" by 4" piece of sidewall from and old tire in case I ever blow out a sidewall, but in this case, even that probably wouldn't have helped.

[Tony]

I just got back from a ride. While riding I looked away from the road for just a second and when I looked back down I saw that I was about to run over a paper bag. The bag was small and flat and I didn't think I needed to try to avoid running over it. As I did BAM, my back tire blew. When I pulled over the tire was practically cut in half crosswise. I laid my bike down and I went over to look at the bag. It was still flat and not ripped or anything. I looked inside and there was the broken blade of a putty knife. I can't really see how the blade cut my tire if it didn't cut the bag. I cannot figure out how it happened. I had no way to fix my tire and I had to call my wife to come and get me. No more running over things in the road.

Strange. Clearly it had nothing to do with the bag, something else close by cut your tire.

[JAllen]

That is rather unusual. My life boringly consists of drab and sigh inducing flats... the usual suspects.

[oldpotatoe]

I have no idea how that would help.

I ran over a beer can one time -- on purpose. It turns out that's a bad idea. Fortunately, I wasn't going very fast because it stuck to my tire rather tenaciously. No flat, but if it had made it up to my fork I'm not sure what would have happened. Nothing good, I'm sure of that

Cuz ya got a spare (tubular)tire? I suppose you could carry a rolled up clincher if ya cut the one but...don't think anybody does that.

[josephr]

That is rather unusual. My life boringly consists of drab and sigh inducing flats... the usual suspects.

funny!...you're really missing out on those kewl flat tire experiences. I really doubt I'll ever be able to one-up 'paper bag with snapped putty knife blade."

[unterhausen]

Cuz ya got a spare (tubular)tire? I suppose you could carry a rolled up clincher if ya cut the one but...don't think anybody does that.

doh. I haven't been carrying a spare clincher this year, but I usually do. One snowy 200k, we got about 5 miles from the end and someone had an unfixable tire issue. The victim said, "I guess my ride is over, I don't have a spare." However, the other 5 of us standing around did have a spare, so he finished. With clinchers, if a boot doesn't fix it, then a length of duct tape will.

A while back, I had a double flat on something I didn't see. I even went back to see what it was and get it off of the road, but I couldn't find anything. Maybe it got thrown into the weeds.

[Bostic]

When riding the tandem bike my wife and I bring a spare 700x25 GP4 Seasons tire. A couple of years ago we were up in Reno cruising down Mt. Rose highway, made a left to a side road and hit a piece of plastic from road construction that sliced the rear tire to a non-repairable state. I had to call my brother in law to come pick us up in his pick up truck.

[carpediemracing]

I just got back from a ride. While riding I looked away from the road for just a second and when I looked back down I saw that I was about to run over a paper bag. The bag was small and flat and I didn't think I needed to try to avoid running over it. As I did BAM, my back tire blew. When I pulled over the tire was practically cut in half crosswise. I laid my bike down and I went over to look at the bag. It was still flat and not ripped or anything. I looked inside and there was the broken blade of a putty knife. I can't really see how the blade cut my tire if it didn't cut the bag. I cannot figure out how it happened. I had no way to fix my tire and I had to call my wife to come and get me. No more running over things in the road.

It might have been an urban myth but I've avoided bags/boxes etc since I started riding because someone told me there might be a brick/etc in what looks otherwise harmless.

I was doing a ride in the winter with a group (college cycling team, we were doing some TTT drills), happened to be rolling a bit ahead. Saw a large clear garbage bag on the side of the road, like 2 feet high, 2 feet wide, maybe 2 feet deep. It was hard to see the outline exactly because it was in a shady part of the (very wide) shoulder. I thought it would be funny to run into it just for kicks. I decided against it just because if it got caught in my derailleur it would be a pain to clear out.

I rode by the thing, slowly, and realized it was a BLOCK OF ICE. Like absolutely solid, immensely heavy, block of ice. I waved the others around it, we left it as we couldn't move it.

So moral of the story is I don't ride over things in the road. That's the low risk thing, unless I have to run it over to avoid getting hit by a car/etc.