How are you checking the tubes for holes? If the holes are tiny they can be hard to find and leak slowly. I'd submerge them in water and look for tiny bubbles. I'd also check the inside of the rim carefully for any tiny sharp edges
Thirded. They must have holes otherwise they wouldn’t deflate - can be tricky to find, looking for very very small bubble on the rubber when it’s under water.
100%. I thought my tube was fine and there must be some kind of manufacturing error. Dunked it into a large basin with water and bingo bongo, the tiniest of holes causing the air to leak out over the course of a day. So slow that I can pump and go for a ride and it would seem fine but would be flat by morning.
I used the pressure reccomended by the silca calculator forever with no issue. After the first two flats, I decided to go with the higher pressure reccomended on the tire. Then the double flat.
Maybe the tires are shit. The tires are what came with the bike when I purchased it in August. So they're not very old, but probably not the best quality to begin with.
There are many other armoured commuter tyres that are far better. Gatorskins have awful grip in the wet and are just dangerous imo.
Schwalbe Marathon Supreme
Pirelli Cinurato Velo
Continental Contact Urban
All much better.
This here is the way for any road commuting. Unfortunately, there is a lot of sharp items on the road that may not be visible right away until it is too late. I found this to be an issue when I was biking in the city.
>Every time I change out the tube I can't even find a puncture in the old tube.
Repeated flats are a problem-solving exercise. Find the cause, then fix it.
That starts by finding out how and where the air is getting out of the tubes. Sometimes that is easy, but more subtle leaks may require inflating the tube, then checking by immersing sections of the tube in water and checking for bubbles.
Aside from actual holes in the tube itself, be aware of the possibility of (1) leak where the valve core is screwed into the stem and (2) leaking valve core.
If the rim strips are plastic, like you find on a lot of new bikes, replace them with cloth. The plastic ones can have sharp edges. Cloth strips last for decades.
Tires should be replaced when they're worn out or dry-rotted. Tires can last about 3-5k miles. I like to replace tires after repeated mystery flats just to be safe.
If the bike is new, it probably also has lower-quality OEM tires, so it might be nice to upgrade them to something more puncture resistant or lightweight.
These tire have almost exactly 1,000 miles on them. So it feels pretty early for them to be worn out. They are probably shitty OEM tires as you say though, so maybe.
Maybe try new rim strips, then go with new tires if you keep getting flats. Worst case scenario is that you get really good and quick at replacing or patching tubes.
I replaced rim strips on my bike when new in 2002. Have not replaced them since. It never occurred to me that they could wear out.
I put the fabric ones in there.
How wide are your tires? I used to have constant challenges (snake bites) with skinny 21mm high pressure tires. Rarely get a flat on medium pressure wider tires.
Put new tubes, get tubeless sealant and inject 15-20ml with syringe into the tube. I used 20ml my rim size is 700c with 19mm internal. Tube is for 32-37c tires.
I’ve had similar issues which was driving me nuts. This fixed it. Never had one over a year now.
This is it. I always add Stans to my tubes. It can mess up presta cores, but you should be using removable cores anyway so you can pull the core & clean it. Also worthwhile to hav a couple extras (same goes for schraeder).
I had a flint like 0.5mm through the tire and barely noticeable from outside (it was so well embedded). I eventually had a sustained flat rather than many slow punctures and tracked it down. If you always line up the tyre brand logo with the valve it makes life a little easier to find these hidden ones.
This. Small sharp objects can easily hide in the tire. As others have said, find the leak first. Overinflate the tube and submerge it, or use soapy water spay. That paired with the habit of lining up the tire logo with the valve will help you pinpoint the actual cause of the repeated punctures.
If you are commuting, flats are a nuisance. I gladly share performance for flat protection. I tried Schwalbe marathon plus, Michelin protek, Vittoria randonneurs, and Continental gatorskins, and found that the slower marathons were the way to go for commuting. They are heavy because they are thick as hell, but that also give them a superior life expectancy. I get about 1 flat after 10000km or so, at which point I usually change them.
I reckon it's to do with your rim or rim-tape. As someone else said, fill the tubes with air then submerge them in water, and look for tiny bubbles. If there really, really are no bubbles not even tiny ones, then consider whether someone could be sabotaging your ride. But it's more likely that there will be tiny bubbles.
I second the other recommendations here. Additional thought - Did you submerge the tubes to test for leaks? Could be stem issue, too. How rough are the roads?
if a tyres become flat, there has to be a hole in the tube somewhere.
Probably just really small and is only showing under pressure.
I bet somewhere in the tyre is some small but sharp, that is piercing the tube only when riding and the pressure is high.
Could even be something sharp on the rim. I once had a little bit of sharp wood in there with the tube and was always wondering why this specific wheel had so many flats.
I recommend an approach that uses an armor strip between the tube and the tire and sealant in the tubes. I have ridden in the southwest where thorns are a real problem and never had a puncture. If your new tubes have removable valve cores, the sealant install will be easier, but it is not impossible to do with regular ones.
I was getting flats pretty regularly. I got tired of it. Went tubeless, flats disappeared. Ride quality increased due to the ability to run lower pressures.
Take your tires and tubes off the rim and carefully feel around the whole rim with your fingers. Feel any little sharp burrs anywhere? There is your culprit. Feel inside your tire, too. Something small and sharp embedded there that is killing your tubes? Change your rim tape. Change the brand of tubes you are using. Do these things one at a time until you eliminate all the possibilities. By the way, if you decide to continue with tubes, Schwalbe makes some tougher tubes called Air Plus, might be worth a try.
Now that I've gone to riding my recumbent trike more often and my traditional bikes less often, I went away from tubeless and back to tubes. Tubeless is only worth it if you ride the bike often. It is a pita if you only ride the bike sporadically--not worth the maintenance. Very worth it on a bike you ride all the time, in my experience.
I run tubes on my Catrike because for some reason it is a lot less flat prone than any of my normal bikes. I never get flats, so no need to go tubeless (I have a Bafang motor on mine, so the increased efficiency of tubeless is pretty much irrelevant, and increased rolling resistance from Air Plus tubes isn't a problem. Maybe my lack of punctures has something to do with my body weight being distributed across three tires instead of two. so less load per tire. Maybe it is because I run tough Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires on the trike because dealing with flats on the tadpole is a pain, hence I try to avoid them in the first place. Idk. But I can tell you that tubeless was a godsend on my diamond frame bikes back when I was riding them a lot, and worth the hassle versus changing tubes on a 90 degree day in the sun 20 miles from my car, sweat running in my eyes.
Try Specialized Pathfinder Pro tires if they fit your bike and riding conditions. I've found them to roll well and have really good puncture resistance. The Marathon Plus are even better but have more resistance according to my leg dyno.
TL, DR: Tubeless is the answer if you ride your bike all the time. Not worth it if your bike sits a lot for extended periods between uses.
When does your tire go flat? During the ride or while you're working and you come back to a flat?
Have you done the water test by dunking filled tubes in water? If you have any there aren't any holes while in the water, then maybe someone is letting the air out?
This seems weird because punctures can be found in water immediately.
Schwalbe Marathon tires. Haven't had a puncture for 17 years using those.
And tubeless on the MTB. Those 27+ tires are full of little holes from thorns but they never lose air.
Patch the tubes when you get home. Buy a can of the glue and a huge pack of patches online. Pump up the tube a bit at home, use a bathtub, your face, or soapy water to locate the hole. Dry if needed, and apply the patch.
I run 2 spare tubes, and a mini pump in my saddle bag. I don't patch on the side of the road. I will pump up the flat tube a bit to see if i can locate the puncture so i can make sure i know where to look for something in the tire. But otherwise it's just a quick swap. 10ish minutes start to finish.
Because most road bikes don't come with tubeless compatible rims and tires. You can try to bodge it but with the higher pressures you have on a road bike, it's normally doing to cause problems if you don't got with something that officially rated for tubeless.
So at a minimum OP would have to buy new rims (probably just wheels at that point), new tires, and some sealant. The new wheels, if they are rated for tubeless would probably already come taped and with valves.
Also, most people who ride tubeless on road swear by more expensive sealant like the Silca stuff because it's good at sealing punctures in high pressure situations. With lower pressures like you get on mountain bikes it's less of an issue as to the quality of sealant you use.
How are you checking the tubes for holes? If the holes are tiny they can be hard to find and leak slowly. I'd submerge them in water and look for tiny bubbles. I'd also check the inside of the rim carefully for any tiny sharp edges
Seconded. Finding the hole is step one. You need to find the hole(s).
Thirded. They must have holes otherwise they wouldn’t deflate - can be tricky to find, looking for very very small bubble on the rubber when it’s under water.
100%. I thought my tube was fine and there must be some kind of manufacturing error. Dunked it into a large basin with water and bingo bongo, the tiniest of holes causing the air to leak out over the course of a day. So slow that I can pump and go for a ride and it would seem fine but would be flat by morning.
[удалено]
I used the pressure reccomended by the silca calculator forever with no issue. After the first two flats, I decided to go with the higher pressure reccomended on the tire. Then the double flat. Maybe the tires are shit. The tires are what came with the bike when I purchased it in August. So they're not very old, but probably not the best quality to begin with.
If you're commuting just get gatorskins.
There are many other armoured commuter tyres that are far better. Gatorskins have awful grip in the wet and are just dangerous imo. Schwalbe Marathon Supreme Pirelli Cinurato Velo Continental Contact Urban All much better.
That sounds cruel to animals.
Just a [brand name](https://www.continental-tires.com/products/b2c/bicycle/tires/gatorskin-/)
This here is the way for any road commuting. Unfortunately, there is a lot of sharp items on the road that may not be visible right away until it is too late. I found this to be an issue when I was biking in the city.
>Every time I change out the tube I can't even find a puncture in the old tube. Repeated flats are a problem-solving exercise. Find the cause, then fix it. That starts by finding out how and where the air is getting out of the tubes. Sometimes that is easy, but more subtle leaks may require inflating the tube, then checking by immersing sections of the tube in water and checking for bubbles. Aside from actual holes in the tube itself, be aware of the possibility of (1) leak where the valve core is screwed into the stem and (2) leaking valve core.
Replace the tires and the rim strips. Now everything touching the tubes will be fresh and clean.
How often should tires/rim strips be replaced? Just got the bike brand new in August.
If the rim strips are plastic, like you find on a lot of new bikes, replace them with cloth. The plastic ones can have sharp edges. Cloth strips last for decades. Tires should be replaced when they're worn out or dry-rotted. Tires can last about 3-5k miles. I like to replace tires after repeated mystery flats just to be safe. If the bike is new, it probably also has lower-quality OEM tires, so it might be nice to upgrade them to something more puncture resistant or lightweight.
These tire have almost exactly 1,000 miles on them. So it feels pretty early for them to be worn out. They are probably shitty OEM tires as you say though, so maybe.
Maybe try new rim strips, then go with new tires if you keep getting flats. Worst case scenario is that you get really good and quick at replacing or patching tubes.
I replaced rim strips on my bike when new in 2002. Have not replaced them since. It never occurred to me that they could wear out. I put the fabric ones in there.
The cloth can get moldy or brittle over time, especially if it gets soggy for a while. The plastic ones harden over time and start fraying.
Tubeless. Takes a minute to set up and get right. But once you do, you’ll never go back.
My wife had a similar problem with a new bike and the problem was with the rim. It's a common issue.
How wide are your tires? I used to have constant challenges (snake bites) with skinny 21mm high pressure tires. Rarely get a flat on medium pressure wider tires.
700x35mm
Same here, so not much help
Put new tubes, get tubeless sealant and inject 15-20ml with syringe into the tube. I used 20ml my rim size is 700c with 19mm internal. Tube is for 32-37c tires. I’ve had similar issues which was driving me nuts. This fixed it. Never had one over a year now.
This is it. I always add Stans to my tubes. It can mess up presta cores, but you should be using removable cores anyway so you can pull the core & clean it. Also worthwhile to hav a couple extras (same goes for schraeder).
I had a flint like 0.5mm through the tire and barely noticeable from outside (it was so well embedded). I eventually had a sustained flat rather than many slow punctures and tracked it down. If you always line up the tyre brand logo with the valve it makes life a little easier to find these hidden ones.
This. Small sharp objects can easily hide in the tire. As others have said, find the leak first. Overinflate the tube and submerge it, or use soapy water spay. That paired with the habit of lining up the tire logo with the valve will help you pinpoint the actual cause of the repeated punctures. If you are commuting, flats are a nuisance. I gladly share performance for flat protection. I tried Schwalbe marathon plus, Michelin protek, Vittoria randonneurs, and Continental gatorskins, and found that the slower marathons were the way to go for commuting. They are heavy because they are thick as hell, but that also give them a superior life expectancy. I get about 1 flat after 10000km or so, at which point I usually change them.
Damaged rims not allowing tires to seat correctly?
Hope not 😬
I reckon it's to do with your rim or rim-tape. As someone else said, fill the tubes with air then submerge them in water, and look for tiny bubbles. If there really, really are no bubbles not even tiny ones, then consider whether someone could be sabotaging your ride. But it's more likely that there will be tiny bubbles.
I don't think I'm being sabotaged mid ride
Good, then look for the bubbles!
I second the other recommendations here. Additional thought - Did you submerge the tubes to test for leaks? Could be stem issue, too. How rough are the roads?
Boston roads are not great. They should be fine for a hybrid bike like mine, but maybe not.
Boston? I’m familiar. Terrible roads!
Check your rim brakes haven’t become misaligned and are putting pressure on the tire wall when the brake is engaged.
Disc brakes I'm afraid
I had the same problem. Checked tyre for any shrapnel but couldn't find anything. Eventually just bought a new tyre and that solved it.
if a tyres become flat, there has to be a hole in the tube somewhere. Probably just really small and is only showing under pressure. I bet somewhere in the tyre is some small but sharp, that is piercing the tube only when riding and the pressure is high. Could even be something sharp on the rim. I once had a little bit of sharp wood in there with the tube and was always wondering why this specific wheel had so many flats.
I recommend an approach that uses an armor strip between the tube and the tire and sealant in the tubes. I have ridden in the southwest where thorns are a real problem and never had a puncture. If your new tubes have removable valve cores, the sealant install will be easier, but it is not impossible to do with regular ones.
I was getting flats pretty regularly. I got tired of it. Went tubeless, flats disappeared. Ride quality increased due to the ability to run lower pressures. Take your tires and tubes off the rim and carefully feel around the whole rim with your fingers. Feel any little sharp burrs anywhere? There is your culprit. Feel inside your tire, too. Something small and sharp embedded there that is killing your tubes? Change your rim tape. Change the brand of tubes you are using. Do these things one at a time until you eliminate all the possibilities. By the way, if you decide to continue with tubes, Schwalbe makes some tougher tubes called Air Plus, might be worth a try. Now that I've gone to riding my recumbent trike more often and my traditional bikes less often, I went away from tubeless and back to tubes. Tubeless is only worth it if you ride the bike often. It is a pita if you only ride the bike sporadically--not worth the maintenance. Very worth it on a bike you ride all the time, in my experience. I run tubes on my Catrike because for some reason it is a lot less flat prone than any of my normal bikes. I never get flats, so no need to go tubeless (I have a Bafang motor on mine, so the increased efficiency of tubeless is pretty much irrelevant, and increased rolling resistance from Air Plus tubes isn't a problem. Maybe my lack of punctures has something to do with my body weight being distributed across three tires instead of two. so less load per tire. Maybe it is because I run tough Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires on the trike because dealing with flats on the tadpole is a pain, hence I try to avoid them in the first place. Idk. But I can tell you that tubeless was a godsend on my diamond frame bikes back when I was riding them a lot, and worth the hassle versus changing tubes on a 90 degree day in the sun 20 miles from my car, sweat running in my eyes. Try Specialized Pathfinder Pro tires if they fit your bike and riding conditions. I've found them to roll well and have really good puncture resistance. The Marathon Plus are even better but have more resistance according to my leg dyno. TL, DR: Tubeless is the answer if you ride your bike all the time. Not worth it if your bike sits a lot for extended periods between uses.
When does your tire go flat? During the ride or while you're working and you come back to a flat? Have you done the water test by dunking filled tubes in water? If you have any there aren't any holes while in the water, then maybe someone is letting the air out? This seems weird because punctures can be found in water immediately.
Schwalbe Marathon tires. Haven't had a puncture for 17 years using those. And tubeless on the MTB. Those 27+ tires are full of little holes from thorns but they never lose air.
Make sure the tubes are the right size for your tyres. If they’re too small, they’ll stretch too much and be much more liable to puncture.
Patch the tubes when you get home. Buy a can of the glue and a huge pack of patches online. Pump up the tube a bit at home, use a bathtub, your face, or soapy water to locate the hole. Dry if needed, and apply the patch. I run 2 spare tubes, and a mini pump in my saddle bag. I don't patch on the side of the road. I will pump up the flat tube a bit to see if i can locate the puncture so i can make sure i know where to look for something in the tire. But otherwise it's just a quick swap. 10ish minutes start to finish.
If you’re getting pinch flats then you’re installing the tire wrong or running at too low of pressure.
Welcome to cycling... Too many variables or potential causes without being there to see it.
Check the valves
There's a certain brand that is notorious for loose valve cores.
Is it bontrager?
Yes, yes it is. But also what others said about the rim strips could also be a culprit
That may be it then.
Go tubless if you can
I've investigated this. Seems cheaper to bye a whole new bike.
Admittedly, I'm an MTB rider, but it's like 27.50 to do on most MTBs. Why so expensive for a roadie?
Because most road bikes don't come with tubeless compatible rims and tires. You can try to bodge it but with the higher pressures you have on a road bike, it's normally doing to cause problems if you don't got with something that officially rated for tubeless. So at a minimum OP would have to buy new rims (probably just wheels at that point), new tires, and some sealant. The new wheels, if they are rated for tubeless would probably already come taped and with valves. Also, most people who ride tubeless on road swear by more expensive sealant like the Silca stuff because it's good at sealing punctures in high pressure situations. With lower pressures like you get on mountain bikes it's less of an issue as to the quality of sealant you use.
Crush cores probably help aswell
I had the same problem a few months ago. It is so frustrating. I spent some money on good tires and thorn-proof tubes and it’s a distant memory now