keep popping tubes?

dirtypuke

i have replace four tubes in the last five times i have ridden. kind of bummed i have tried thorn proof tubes that are super thick and heavy and they still pop the last one was at the valve stem. oh yeah they are presta valve tubes. i dont know what to do. maybe drill my rims and put regular tubes.?.? or tubless tires? any suggestions?

mark_kendrick

Run tubeless.. either stans or get USTs. If you go usts get some mold builder's latex 1tsp/.5cup water and put it in the tires... poor man's lightweight fix-a-flat

You'll never regret USTs.

Later,
MK

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==kendrick_mark@hotmail.com

dirtypuke

can i run no tube tires on my alex dual duty wheels or will i have to buy different rims?

Juba

There are conversion kits available, Stan's seems to be the most recognized brand at the moment.

Going back to your current set up, where are you getting the holes? Inside of the tube? Outside of the tube? Snake bite puncture? Repeated flats often point to something not right with your wheel/tire.

If the holes are being made on the outer diameter of the tube, one of the metal threads in your tire casing may be broken and bent slightly outwards, puncturing your tube. Or maybe you have a thorn/piece of glass/staple stuck in your tire that keeps puncturing your tube.

If the holes are inner diameter of the tube, you probably have a spoke nipple poking through your rim tape, which is puncturing your tube.

If you get snake bite flats (two puncture holes pretty close together, you are running tire pressure too low for your weight/riding style. What is happening is when you hit a root/curb, the tire is compressing down to the rim, pinching your tube between the obsticle and the rim. This might also explan your valve stem, if your tire pressure is too low, your tire/tube can slide forward on your rim cutting your valve stem/tube connection on the edge of the valve stem hole in your rim.

Cheers,
Juba

dirtypuke

the tire and tube moving might be whats happening but i was running 60psi?.?. i checked my tire for thorns or anything else that might be popping it and there is nothing. the tubes that the shop that i have been going to are a 26x2.00-2.125 and i questioned them if this was the right size for my tire (26x2.375) and they said that it would work just fine. how tight are you supposed to tighten the nut on the valve stem? snug? maybe i am over tightening it?

Juba

Valve stem nut is just supposed to be snugged down with your fingers. If you were cranking it down with a pair of vice grips, that would be an issue, but since you are not, I can't see how that would be a problem.

60psi is an aweful lot of tire pressure, especially for a 2.3 tire. Is there a specific reason you are running that high? What kind of riding are you doing? Most of the 2.3 tires I can think of usually have a maximum pressure of about 48psi written on their sidewall. Off road, on tires with inner tubes, most folks tend to run 35 to 45psi. The bigger lads only tend to run as high as 50psi.

The tube you listed should work with the tire width, but what kind of rim are you running? Is it a super narrow rim, that might not be compatable with a beefy 2.3 tire?

Minus the hole near your stem, are all of your puncture holes in the same place? When you install your inner tube, make sure the manufaturer lable on the tire is centered over the valve stem. That way when you get a flat, you can take your inner tube out, line it up again with the label, and check that area of your rim and tire for the potential cause of the flat.

Cheers,
Juba

createdtodestry

i was running 60 because some of the biker dudes (bmxers) i know told me to. i kind of new to the whole bike thing, i am a skateboarder and have been for the last 15 years. i thought free ride would be something fun to do once in awhile. i just went to the bike shop and bought this green tube that is suppossed to be good its made by hutchinson, the weird part about it is there is no threads on the valve stem and its got a presta valve. where the valve comes out of the tube looks to be reinforced. hopefully this helps. if i pop this tube i am going to look into tubeless setup. it kind of sucks because i just bought this bike about 2 months ago.

lumpy

Where exacty on the tube are you getting these holes? You are fixing them yourself aren't you? Or is the shop doing it?

tim

weapon

ouch - you're giving me bad flashbacks. I had the same problem eons ago - it was on a road bike though - an '87 schwinn circuit (aka pre-schwinn bankruptcy era when their bikes were some of the best readily available rides out there). The tire on that one was usually around 115psi at the start of the ride and then it would just go with no warning. Luckily, it was the rear one that had the problem (as it once went out when I was running ~45mph down the world's sharpest hill). I checked the tubes, checked the rims, changed out to several different tube types and it nothing worked. Finally, I started paying really close attention to the location of the problem and I narrowed it down to a combination of 2 things - the main problem was a very small sharp edge on the inside of the hole in the rim for the presta valve. The second part of the problem was the presta adapter for my zefal pump had gone to hell and it required too much pressure to get it off the stem. When the pump fitting was pulled off, it would pull the tube slightly into the hole for the stem -- when it slid back it to the proper position it would get nicked by the sharp edge and then it was just a matter of time before it would blow.

A small needle file, a little 1000 grit 3M wet/dry paper and some careful searching finally solved the problem. I found all and any sharp edges in the rim and deburred them with the file and followed that with a light bit of polishing with the 1000grit. Then I replaced the head on the pump and that was the last of the odd flat problems. Just to be sure, check the inside of you rims and replace the rim strip if you find any rough areas that might be pinching the tube.

nashbar.com and performancebike.com have decent rim strips.

if the holes are on the outer side of the tube, check to make sure nothing is lodged in the tire -- it could be a small splinter, metal shaving, etc. If the tire is clean and you are still getting flats on the outer area of the tube, you could always try kevlar liners:
http://www.performancebike.com/shop...ategory_ID=5412
or slime liners:
http://www.performancebike.com/shop...FTOKEN=75929236

dirtypuke

yeah when i put the new tube in yesterday i looked at the rim where the valve goes through and found a little bit of an edge so i got out the dremel tool and smoothed it out i hope that was the problem. thanks for the info guys if you have any questions i hope maybe i can help.

Banatean

Try Slime sealant.
Dan

Greg-O

try to avoid tire sealant compounds if you can.

and for dirt jumping/freeride, 60psi is a decent pressure. tell us how getting rid of that edge worked out

dirtypuke

yeah some of the heavy tubes i bought had the tire sealant in them and i think all it did was make a mess.

taking the edge off around the hole worked i think thats what the problem was. i rode about 5 miles yesterday, jumped some pretty big gaps and never got a flat. i looked at my bike this morning and it still has air in it, so thats a good sign. i cant believe i went through 4 tubes those bastards that make alex rims should be ashamed. when i bend these real good i am going to buy mavic rims.

thanks for the help guys.

mark_kendrick

Sorry,
I forgot to check for the obvious causes. I figured you were just riding hard. Nice to see you fixed it.

I still love my USTs but that wouldn't have solved your problem. I've been lucky and haven't had any rim issues.

Later,
Mark

__________________
'00 22" CAAD 3 C'dale Xlands w/Avid Discs, Xvert R, Michelins, X.0 GS and R der, x.9 9spd cogs, Yeti bars, Truvative/ISIS,
Computer Geek, Gearhead, Fisherman!!!
==kendrick_mark@hotmail.com