[cyberdivachick]

So, Ok, here is a stumper for ya! My rear tire is going flat now ONCE A WEEK! The bike shop says the rim tape is fine and can't give me an answer as to why this is happening or what to change. I have changed tubes many times and even used slime. Nothing is helping. I mostly ride xc and live in Los Angeles meaning the trails are very rocky and loose. (no rain), Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Berkeley Mike]

Have you

changed your tire?

 

[KevinB]

So, Ok, here is a stumper for ya! My rear tire is going flat now ONCE A WEEK! The bike shop says the rim tape is fine and can't give me an answer as to why this is happening or what to change. I have changed tubes many times and even used slime. Nothing is helping. I mostly ride xc and live in Los Angeles meaning the trails are very rocky and loose. (no rain), Any ideas?

Have you kept track of where on the tube the punctures are occurring? If so, is there a pattern? I.e, are they all on the inside (rim side) of the tube? Or all on the outside?

FWIW, I once had a problem with frequent punctures on the inside (rim side) of the tube. The rim tape looked fine and the spoke access holes underneath the tape seemed smooth with no protruding spokes. The problems went away after switching to Velox rim tape. The original tape was made of some kind of plastic material.

 

[Digitaljs]

FWIW, I once had a problem with frequent punctures on the inside (rim side) of the tube. The rim tape looked fine and the spoke access holes underneath the tape seemed smooth with no protruding spokes. The problems went away after switching to Velox rim tape. The original tape was made of some kind of plastic material.

+1. I had the same problem. I kept getting flats on the rim side of the tube. Rim strip looked fine, but it kept happening. So, I removed the strip, used this tape someone gave me that is clear with strips of fabric running through, and haven't had a problem since. The rim strip I replaced was yellow and felt like plastic. If this is what you have in your rim, get rid of it!!

 

[cyberdivachick]

No, I haven't kept track of where the flats are happening in the tubes. Wish I did. I think I will call the bike shop tomorrow and have them actually change the rim tape, that is a good idea, thanks!

 

[connie]

Go tubeless! You don't need all the fancy UST rims or tires, with most rims you can just slice a 20" tube in half, fold it over the rim inside out, put the tire back on, put some Stan's in, inflate with an air compressor and voila, no more pinch flats, ever. I had heard it works best on bigger rims/tires (which is what's on most of my bikes), but I've been using this method with my singlespeed with Velocity rims and Racing Ralph tires, which are pretty lightweight and it's been working great. They were a bit more of a challenge to get to seal at first, but worth the effort.

Other than that, if you want to stick with using tubes, I think everyone has it covered. If you've checked the rims and tires maybe you're hitting something in the trail consistently? Weird, but tubes are a pain in the butt.