Sixth Time Is the ... Something.

[rowyn]

This has been the summer of tire problems for my bike.

It started in the spring, actually, when the back tire went flat. I took it to the shop to get it fixed, only to have the tire go flat again two days later. I brought it back to the shop, where Rick pulled a tiny fragment of glass from the outer tire out as the culprit and replaced it for free, given the timing. He also sold me a set of inserts to protect the tire from going flat. Rick assured me there was no need to replace the tire, just the inner tube. Inwardly, I resolved that if I got another flat that summer I'd find out how to change my own bloody tire, because getting it to the bike shop when I don't own a car was way too annoying.

A couple of months later, I ran over a car key lying on the side of the road. My front tire kicked it into the chain, where it whipped around several times and ripped a few holes in the back tire's inner tube. The tire deflated instantly. I had no money on me. I started walking the bike home, and got less than a block when a kindly woman who lived in the neighborhood offered me and my bike a ride home. <3 Lut went to Wal-Mart a few days later and picked up a "self-repairing" bike inner tube, which contained the same kind of goop that fix-a-flat uses to patch holes in car tires, and a normal patch kit that came with the tire-tools one needs to get a bike tire off the wheel. I watched a couple of Youtube videos on changing bike tires, and replaced my dead tire with the self-repairing one. I rode around on it for 30 minutes and it seemed fine.

An hour later, the self-repairing tire had completely deflated.

...

I pulled it out again: it had several holes in the same section (not the same area that my last tire had been destroyed in.

I patched up the first flat tire with the patch kit, and put it in.

On my next trip to Wal-Mart, I bought a manual bike pump, exchanged the self-repairing tire for another one, and a regular inner tube. I made a point of bringing the pump, patch kit, and one of the spare tubes with me when I went biking from then on. (I didn't keep it on the bike because I didn't think the temperature changes in the garage would be good for the uninflated tube.)

On August 19, I ran over another key. I remember the date because I tweeted about it:

Rear Bike Tire: "Broken key! My archnemesis! We meet again!"
Broken Key: *impale*
Tire: "...and you ... win ... again." *dies*

It went vertically into the tire. Like a knife stabbing at its heart.

Do not misplace your keys. Those things are KILLERS.

But I had my tire repair kit with me! I walked the bike into the shade of a gas station, took off the tire, replaced the tube, re-inflated, and biked home feeling like a CHAMPION. I had the knowledge, the tools, and the parts, and used them all successfully! \o/

Which brings me to today, when I heard the loud bang of my rear tire blowing out as I was on my way home from the library.

This was not a puncture or even an innertube shredding. It was the tire itself tearing along a three-inch section where the tire meets the wheel. I carry a spare inner tube. It is not really feasible to carry an entire spare tire on a bike.

(Lut: "What are you going to do? Carry a spare bike on your bike?"
Me: "Maybe I could get one of those collapsible bikes ... ")

The moral of the story: You are never prepared ENOUGH. I walked the bike the three miles to home. At least it didn't happen on Sunday when I was eleven miles from home.

Which reminds me: I should make that car reservation for this weekend. At least I was planning to rent a car this weekend anyway.

Comments

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Egads. o_o That's a lot of tire problems for your poor bike!

[rowyn]

I have had more tire trouble in the last five months than in my entire life prior. I can't actually remember EVER having a flat tire on a bicycle prior to this year. I probably had one at some point in my childhood.

STILL.

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Maybe you should make an offering to the Madonna del Ghisallo :)

[jordangreywolf.livejournal.com]

I was wondering! Not that I've used a bicycle myself in ages, but once upon a time, I used to bike EVERYWHERE, and if I ever had a leak problem, it was just a slow leak at worst (never had a blow-out or such). But maybe I was just lucky. I don't know what kind of tire you're using right now, but maybe there's some more rugged "off-road" type of tire you can get for your bike, next time you get tires? What with all the key-caltrops you keep encountering, it seems like it would be warranted.

[the-gneech.livejournal.com]

What deranged lunatic is going around strewing broken keys right and left???

-TG

[rowyn]

Someone shelling out for a lot of replacement keys, I imagine. c.c

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure I would have just ridden home on the flat tire. I hear that's bad for the wheel though.

[alltoseek.livejournal.com]

Yes, very bad. Pretty much destroy the wheel. True for cars as well.

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

Well, I rode around on basically flat tires for a while when I was a kid, since my tires had slow leaks and I was lazy about filling them. I didn't notice anything in particular happening as a result.

[rowyn]

"Basically flat" and "incapable of holding any air at all" are actually a lot more distinct than you'd think. I've ridden on tires that had <10 PSI (when they should have 65 PSI) and the only thing I noticed was that it was a little slower and felt like it took more work to pedal. Trying to ride on a totally flat tire is not significantly easier than walking, by contrast.

[alltoseek.livejournal.com]

Kids' bikes are designed to be sturdier, more resistant to damage. Well, they're provided to kids! :-)

And ditto what rowyn said about "really low pressure" vs "shredded tube/tire that is holding zero air".

If you were lazy, you would have stopped riding at all on completely flat tires vs simply putting more air in. If it was more work to pump air than to ride on it, you just had low pressure.

It's the same with cars - often ppl drive on tires with lower pressure than optimal, but that is a very different experience than trying to drive on a tire that is holding no air at all.

[alltoseek.livejournal.com]

The tire shredding itself along the wheel is concerning. Either the tire was poorly manufactured (if you got it at Walmart would not be surprised) or the wheel itself has a problem - also not surprising if keys and things keep clanging about in it. The wheel itself may be out of true, the spokes may be damaged, any number of problems. Also, hate to say this, but prying the tire off the wheel with the tire tools may have caused a problem.

Am proud that you can do that tho - I can too, but I hate it, such a pain. So I usually go to the pros.

Anyway, to sum up, I recommend having a reputable bike shop look the whole thing over - make sure the wheels are true and in good shape and all that. Check for any other lurking damage the keys may have done to cables and gears and chains and whatnot too.

Also talk to them about sturdy tires and tubes that may resist puncturing. If you have keys or glass (or nails or any number of big hard things) going through the tire and puncturing the tube, you probably do need to replace the tire as well as the tube. If it's a little thing like a thorn the tire may not be enough damaged to need a new one.

In Phoenix I was constantly getting flat tires because of all the thorns and prickly plant bits strewn about. I ended up with tubes filled with that green goo stuff - that may be the "self-repairing" tube you were talking about, I don't know. A lot has probably changed in last couple of decades.

Your bike is likely designed for relatively light-weight tires for riding on the road; these help you go faster with less effort. But considering all the things you keep encountering, you may want more of a mountain-bike type tire, which may or may not fit on your bike. Also you may want improved fenders. This is why I recommend going to a really good bike store which can help you figure out something more sustainable.

Good luck to you! and hey, I guess all those years of flat-free cycling have caught up to you ;-)

[rowyn]

Yeah, the tires had a goopy white substance. It was not adequate to the task of patching over the rents either time.

The tire is definitely getting replaced this time. I'll ask Rick at the bike shop if he can tell why it died.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

Perhaps I am glad that I cannot bike anymore. I avoid this particular doom!

[jordangreywolf.livejournal.com]

UNRELATED: I stumbled across an interesting short story relevant to some of my pondering about tropes regarding superheroes vs. supervillains, evil Empires vs. heroic Rebellions, etc. Warning: Some foul language. (I shared this on Google+, but I'm not sure if you still check that.)

( Link: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/gregory_07_13_reprint/ )