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Six front flats in one year

6K views 27 replies 17 participants last post by  DoubleThumper 
#1 ·
Hey Everyone!

I need some advice on how to deal with a situation I’ve never encountered. For just over a year now, I have an 18 ATAS with just over 10K miles (I bought it new).

In that time I’ve had six ... SIX ... front flat tires, I recently put Michelin Anakee Adventure and in less than 500 miles... a flat. Name the tube, I’ve probably tried it, three types of tires (can’t remember the one before) plus the stock tire.

Two dealerships have inspected the wheel several times, as well as an independent mechanic I paid and no one can find anything wrong. They have (and I have) inspected the tubes and there is no common place for where the hole/pinch happens. I check the pressure often and rarely need to fill it before a ride.

I will take it back to the dealership (again) where I bought it from this weekend to get fixed (again), but I simply can’t trust the wheel. Prior to this most recent flat, I averaged 1800 to 2000 miles and I’d get a flat.

Any thoughts? I may spring for tubeless wheels but this is ridiculous in my opinion.

Thanks in advance for any insight.

Bookem
 
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#3 ·
Hey Everyone!

I need some advice on how to deal with a situation I’ve never encountered. For just over a year now, I have an 18 ATAS with just over 10K miles (I bought it new).

In that time I’ve had six ... SIX ... front flat tires, I recently put Michelin Anakee Adventure and in less than 500 miles... a flat. Name the tube, I’ve probably tried it, three types of tires (can’t remember the one before) plus the stock tire.

Two dealerships have inspected the wheel several times, as well as an independent mechanic I paid and no one can find anything wrong. They have (and I have) inspected the tubes and there is no common place for where the hole/pinch happens. I check the pressure often and rarely need to fill it before a ride.

I will take it back to the dealership (again) where I bought it from this weekend to get fixed (again), but I simply can’t trust the wheel. Prior to this most recent flat, I averaged 1800 to 2000 miles and I’d get a flat.

Any thoughts? I may spring for tubeless wheels but this is ridiculous in my opinion.

Thanks in advance for any insight.

Bookem
So we would need to know whats happening to the tube, are they new tubes each tire? where is the air leak inside the tube against the wheel rim or out against the tire? are they an actual pinch flat where the tube is damaged against the edge of the rim and whatever you have hit with the tire. As bdalameda said above need more details but if its 3 different tires on 3 different tubes and they all look like a pinch its tire pressure. If its an actual spike hole through both tire and tube its something you are riding over. First question is it 3 tires and 3 tubes?
 
#5 ·
A: Screw tubes!

B: I used the Outex kit to get rid of the tubes, replaced the factory tyres early (only 1,100km on them), wore out a rear E07 and a Front TKC-80, my current E07+ rear is now quite worn and I'll be replacing that soon but the 2nd TKC-80 front is still good, the bike is over 20,000km. Number of punctures (front + rear) so far is zero.

C: Screw tubes!
 
#6 ·
Bdalameda, SkipD, WTF and KiwiMark,

First, thank you all for your input. To answer a few questions - Three different tires, six different tubes with each tube new and out of the box. To WTFs question, after removing the tubes and carefully lining up the tube(s) against the tire(s), there is no consistency in terms of where the tubes are being damaged. I’m pretty sure there isn’t something in the wheel itself as it’s never in the same place.

If bdalameda is right, and it is a pinched tube caused by low pressure I can somewhat understand that. The damage does look more like a pinch, and I’ve never found an indication of the tire being punctured. What bothers about that theory is:

1) After the second flat I became a bit paranoid and check the pressure at least one per week. In all seriousness, and honesty, how many of us check that often? Before this past flat, I checked just two days prior and there was no issue.

2) I’ve never had this happen, this often. I had a KLR for nine seasons, had two flats but both were the rear tire and both had obvious causes (one a sharp rock on dirt I couldn’t avoid, the other road debris). Seriously, are you guys checking your pressure every single time you get on your bike?

KiwiMark, going tubeless may very well be on the horizon.

Thanks for the input, everyone!
Bookem
 
#7 ·
I check my tire pressure when the ambient air temperature changes significantly between days of the week.

Otherwise, I check my tires on a random basis, typically tied to the distance of the moon from the earth, its rotation relative to Uranus, and the how high the tides are in the Bay of Fundy every fifth Wednesday on dates divisible by four at 03:33.
 
#11 ·
Try a different tire pressure gauge.
I have two identical ones that read 5psi different. I never thought twice about it until I installed my cheapie TPMS on my bike and my tire pressures showed 5psi low. I used another gauge that matched the TPMS, verified by a couple other gauges as well.
This may explain your pinch flats.
 
#16 ·
Just to cover all aspects; do you change your tires/tubes alone or at a shop?

If the latter, did you use the same shop for all those changes?

Was talc powder used during tube insertion?
Just a thought. Talcum powder may not be the most appropriate material for tire changing. We used rubber gloves with leather over gloves to protect the rubber gloves to reduce the risk of electrical shock. Talcum powder was used in our rubber gloves to make it easier to put the rubber gloves on. As soft as talcum powder seems to be, it caused premature abrasive wear on the rubber gloves in the long term. We switched to corn starch. There are some other compounds available as well.
 
#19 · (Edited)
The powder is sprinkled lightly inside the tire and rubbed around before installing the tube. This allows the tube a better chance to settle in a natural position when inflating. Not sure how corn starch would fare. Is this what you are recommending Bill?

One question for Bookem: is the tube damage consistently on the pavement side, the sidewall area or the rim area? If so, that will give you some useful information. If not, and the failures do look like pinch failures, consider running higher pressure by 3-5 psig front and 4-7 psig, rear conditions permitting. The extra pressure won't hurt the tire but it can change the wear characteristics. It might keep you in the pink, so to speak.

Also, test your tire pressure with 3 different pressure gauges to see if you're getting accurate readings.

Superfunk's idea is also a good one. I also use thick tubes and fill both with Ride-On tire sealant to take care of minor punctures.

 
#18 ·
Have you tried a thicker tube? The only flat I've had was on the OEM tube (a nail) and it would have happened with any tube. I use Ultra HD tubes and haven't had another puncture in 40,000 kilometres. Any loose spokes that might have the nipple poking through?
 
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#21 ·
Hey Guys,

Thank you again for all the feedback. I tried a few different gauges per phydouh’s recommendation and found discrepancies between them which may have contributed to my problems.

WeeWilly - there hasn’t been a pattern with the damage. And I have tried just about every thickness of tube from thick to ultra-thick As Superfunk suggests. I will try the higher psi and use the same gauge every time and just monitor the heck out of it.

If that doesn’t work and I get another I may seriously consider going tubeless.

Bookem
 
#25 ·
I also converted my wheels to Outex. No tubes, no air loss and if I get a puncture I can fix it in ten minutes including airing up the tire.
 
#26 ·
Just wondering,
I don't think I read of it in any of the responses but, would it be possible for the OP to simply remove the valve stem, and, using whatever kind of syringe that would or could work, INJECT some SLIME into the valve core? I have no idea if this is possible and or, how much to inject. But, if you could get say, whatever recommended amount for that size tire into that tube, I would think he's done with flats. Just a guess here.
Scott
 
#27 ·
Just wondering,
I don't think I read of it in any of the responses but, would it be possible for the OP to simply remove the valve stem, and, using whatever kind of syringe that would or could work, INJECT some SLIME into the valve core? I have no idea if this is possible and or, how much to inject. But, if you could get say, whatever recommended amount for that size tire into that tube, I would think he's done with flats. Just a guess here.
Scott
Also, be aware that there is actually a Slime for tubed tires too. Not sure how well it actually works, but when choosing, choose carefully (for "tubed" tires, like in dirt bike tires).
 
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