Here's my deflating "sitch." I keep having front-tire flats. (About three times in the last week...) Have checked a) Mavvic Ksyrium rims; b) and corresponding Maxxus tire. Nothing discernable there (e.g., no glass or anything that the eye notices...) The flat keeps coming -- not while riding -- but (in explicably) when the bike is at "rest." (Get up in the morning, ready to do a cleansing bike commute, realize I have a flat, forced to take gas-spewing chariot in soul-killing AM traffic. It's the front tire each time. What the hell? Anyone got an idea of what might be wrong? MP
D-d-d-danger lurks behind you!
probably something in there.
probably something in there. Do you find the hole in the tube and use that in relation to where the tube was on the rim/tire to more closely inspect the rim/tire?
Running a cotton ball on the inside of your rim/tire can catch little things that you might not be able to feel with your fingers.
Tube tire correlation
I try to always line up my stem with the tire logo--that way it is easier to located the area of the tire the tube puncture is occuring. And 2nd the use of a cotton ball. Are you patching the tube or using a new one?
+1 - line up stem with logo
+1 - line up stem with logo also makes it easier to find the psi rating.
in biking, as in life
it is important to make sure you know where the hole is, and to take good care of the rim. If you fail to do so you may find yourself having to walk home late at night.
you're beautiful
my faith in fm is restored.
only checking visually?
you gotta feel for it too rather than just looking. i've gotten a ton of flats from pieces of metal wire as thin as a hair that i wouldn't have been able to see.
Check to make sure your rim
Check to make sure your rim tape is completely covering all of the spoke holes. Sometimes the rim tape can slip allowing the tire to push past the edge of a spoke hole.
.
One time I swapped my tires between my two bikes and didn't get a skinny, high pressure tire's bead to seat properly.
The tube slowly pushed the tire off of the rim and exploded hours later at 4am.
My roommates weren't happy to be startled in such a manner.
Doubt this is the case for you, though.
Thanks for the Advice
Friends: Thanks for the advice. All of it good. I am using a patched tube. (I'm cheap and I'm always patching my tubes...) The trick about lining up tire logo w/the valve is a universally smart move and -- accordingly -- one I rarely follow. Will do that from now on... Cotton ball: Had never thought about that. Good advice as well. Will do that. Kind of odd. I did run my finger on the rim and didn't "feel" anything. (Not doing the valve/logo trick means I've not pinpointed exactly where the offending protrusion might be...) Called Chris @ APB and he said that frequently there are things that a) are not seen (by the eye) and that b) don't really cause problems until the tube is inflated. My fix was to use a new (lesser) rim and I'll solve the riddle in the coming week. Thanks! MP
P.S. Driving to work in ATL is a hellish experience. And when you're driving w/the realization that you should/could be on your bike only magnifies the hellishness. Pity the commuter!
the SECOND hole in the same
the SECOND hole in the same location prompted a close examination. Couldn't see/feel it from the outside, couldn't see/feel it from the inside. The THIRD hole in the exact same location finally prompted minor tire surgery - and I extracted the lovely bit of glass that only peeked through the tire under pressure.
+1 to magnifying the hellishness. looking forward to dr's ok to get back on the bike.