My crazy run came to an end today.

[benb]

Nope, didn't crash. I haven't had a major crash since 2011 (hit by a truck) but I have had a regular enough stream of minor MTB crashes (the kind that don't even stop the ride) that I don't even recall them all.

I had a flat today.. it has been something like 8 years. I haven't rode that much the past 5 years due to the pandemic plus being in a period of having a little kid and also a period of burnout. But we're still talking in excess of 20,000 miles on the New England moonscape of roads and our rocky/rooty trails.

So I had a flat on the rear tire of my Trek Farley, which I had set to the whopping setting of 5psi yesterday. Slow leak and I found it in the garage.

I ended up putting sealant in the tire and away I went on a ride. Maybe it was dumb that I didn't let it sit but I was overdue to refresh the sealant and it definitely didn't leak on today's ride.

I know the last flat was on my All City. I think it was in 2015. My Trek Domane that I got in 2016 has still never had a flat.

[bigbill]

Since using road tubeless starting in 2017, I have not had a flat on a ride. I've had a tire go flat overnight, but that was typically a tire worn thin and no longer able to hold pressure. I have also avoided being sprayed with sealant and for that matter, any sealant spray.

[kiwisimon]

I had my first one in years last week, snake bite from an unseen pothole.
Major PITA, thinking about going back to tubeless.

[Wakatel_Luum]

I think I've had possibly two to three flats in ten years, feeling no reason to go to tubeless at this stage.

[mattfee]

"Nobody travels on the road to success without a puncture or two."

All in on tubeless for gravel here... But still a bit nervous to use it on the road set up here... Guess I just need to make the leap and I'll be a convert too.

[StressStrain]

Originally Posted by Wakatel_Luum

I think I've had possibly two to three flats in ten years, feeling no reason to go to tubeless at this stage.

That's an amazingly low number of flats! You must be amazingly lucky or ride on the smoothest, cleanest roads.

I averaged 1 flat per 1000 miles with tubes.

Switched to tubeless and had 1 flat in 8000 miles - so I am very happy with tubeless.

[AngryScientist]

I think tires have gotten a lot better in the last 10 years or so. I definitely flat a lot less frequently than in many years passed. The roads certainly have not gotten any better.

I also believe the vast majority of beer comes in cans these days. I see a lot less glass on the road than I used to. That helps.

[lorenbike]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

I think tires have gotten a lot better in the last 10 years or so. I definitely flat a lot less frequently than in many years passed. The roads certainly have not gotten any better.

I also believe the vast majority of beer comes in cans these days. I see a lot less glass on the road than I used to. That helps.

This. Most of the flats I had on road bikes in recent years were with tubeless and then were a PITA to fix roadside, necessitating a tube to get home.

Modern tires that are at least 28mm are so much better and I think the improvements to sidewalls and lower PSIs have been more of an improvement than tubeless for road applications.

I rarely flat on my road bike or commuter bike with 28-38mm panaracer tires and regular tubes. Plus the non tubeless versions of said tires are less $$$ than the tubeless equivalents.

[MikeD]

I'm sure I've gotten fewer flats with tubeless, but have switched back to tubes on most of my bikes. The hassle factor and mess isn't worth it to me. I've had sealant spray out on my bike and kit, punctures that didn't seal unless the tire pressure dropped to about 20 psi (necessitating bailing out on the ride and limping back to the start), dried out sealant (in this hot summer and hot garage, OS regular lasts only a month or less before drying out). I know how to change a tube and don't get a whole lot of flats anyway, so it ain't worth it to me. Perhaps I'll try sealant in TPU tubes which should minimize the mess and can have the best of both worlds. Around here, I've not noticed less broken glass. IMO, more work needs to go into sealant development/formulation. It shouldn't spray out all over the place and should work a lot more consistently. It's a mystery why sometimes it works and other times doesn't. Those tests where they poke a tire with an awl don't seem to reflect reality. YMMV.

[Mark McM]

The number of flats I've experienced has also declined dramatically in the last few years, and I'm now down to 1 flat every 2 to 3 years. It's hard to say exactly what has changed - maybe tires have gotten better, maybe roads have gotten better, maybe there's less glass and bits of metal on the roads. But in my case it appears that the strongest correlation is between tire width and number of flats. Back when I rode mostly 23mm tires, I'd have multiple flats per season. Now that I'm riding tires in the 27-29mm range, I go multiple seasons per flat.

[benb]

I think it's possibly the death of 23mm tires too.

I ran 23mm tires up till 2013. Historically I always had 1 road bike with 23s and I had a 26er MTB. There were some seasons I had 2 road bikes both with 23c, and then I had a fixie for a while with bigger tires. I don't think I ever flatted on the fixie.

I am pretty sure from 2006-2012 I had zero flats on my MTB, which was 26x2.3" tubeless for that period, but was still having a few on the road per year.

In 2013 I broke my 23c equipped frame, my son was a baby and I got the Space Horse to save money knowing I didn't have time to justify another expensive/fast road bike and I have never run anything smaller than 32c on that bike.

In 2016 I got the Domane, that bike has never had smaller than 26c and still hasn't had a flat, Knock on wood. It has 28c on it now.

[reuben]

The Farley had a great run. But it's now clearly worn out, defective, and over the hill. Its days are numbered. Plus, you deserve a new bike anyway.

You may decide to keep that old clunker running, but the excuse for NBD is there if you want it.

[benb]

Originally Posted by reuben

The Farley had a great run. But it's now clearly worn out, defective, and over the hill. Its days are numbered. Plus, you deserve a new bike anyway.

You may decide to keep that old clunker running, but the excuse for NBD is there if you want it.

Haha.. my son (11yo) has just hit the height (5'3") where he can just barely ride the Farley with the dropper post down. He keeps asking me to take it for rides.

One of my friends has helpfully suggested that means it's high time I get another mountain bike.

He may be right. I would rather buy another one that fits me and let him ride my bikes than buy something like a "Adult Medium" that will just fit him for a year or two. He is going to end up on at least as big of a bike as me in a few years.

I haven't even worn the stock tires on the Farley out despite riding it on the pavement to and from the trails. The stock "Gnarwhals" are $120 but the lugs are so gigantic they are still deeper than most MTB tires after 2 years of wear. I mean they're ridiculous. It's a little confusing due to sizing differences & rim width differences but I think they probably have more volume than the tires on my last motorcycle.

[reuben]

Originally Posted by benb

Haha.. my son (11yo) has just hit the height (5'3") where he can just barely ride the Farley with the dropper post down. He keeps asking me to take it for rides.

One of my friends has helpfully suggested that means it's high time I get another mountain bike.

He may be right. I would rather buy another one that fits me and let him ride my bikes than buy something like a "Adult Medium" that will just fit him for a year or two. He is going to end up on at least as big of a bike as me in a few years.

There are few things better for a young boy than riding his dad's bike, or using something else his dad used. It could be a swinging a hammer, reading the same books, whatever. I used my dad's fantastic baseball glove for years. So perfect, so supple. They don't make them like that anymore.

My 11 year old grandson is sucking up knowledge and processing it at an almost frightening pace. I miss his younger self, but he's exploring the world in so many ways - hiking, camping, reading, writing, math... He's learning so fast I can hardly keep up!

He gets straight As in math, but currently wants to be a writer, and I have no qualms sharing books with him which require a relatively sophisticated mind to understand. He is, as they say, a sponge.

[benb]

Originally Posted by reuben

There are few things better for a young boy than riding his dad's bike, or using something else his dad used. It could be a swinging a hammer, reading the same books, whatever. I used my dad's fantastic baseball glove for years. So perfect, so supple. They don't make them like that anymore.

I have tools my grandfather gave me at the end of his life. He was a machinist and had not one but two giant workshops. One in his garage, he had several side businesses over the years like repairing engines. Then he had another outrageous one in the basement seemingly just for fixing stuff in the house. He didn't do much bike stuff but he was the kind of person who might have just made himself new parts if he couldn't find them.

That stuff is so cool. Some of this stuff is wild. Like screwdrivers and crowbars that are 75+ years old and hands have worn the edges round. (He died at 95 in 2021)

FWIW I *have* been letting my son ride the Farley but kind of only with me around. It is still big enough that I worry about him crashing it.