3 flat tires in a row??

c

i just bought a new bike - a trek 7200 (hybrid) - and i've been riding
it through NYC

got a flat one day, paid $16 to get it fixed (new tube)

rode around that day, got another flat, paid $16 to get it fixed
(there was a spike sticking out of it ... so ... bad luck?)

that was 1 week ago ... rode around every day since, got another flat
tire



always the back tire


what gives?

coincidence?

bike shop doing a bad job? maybe missing the fact that a spoke is
protruding and stabbing my tube or something?

am i a fat, fat man?

does jumping a curb kill a tube? i never had this happen on my old
7200's (i rode 2 before this one, i love the 7200)

are there more hazards on the roads in april? broken bottles leftover
from st patty's or something?

the bike shop is metro bicycles on 14th st and 1st ave - generally
good guys



if this is just coincidence it's really enough to drive me nuts

Bill Sornson

c wrote:
> i just bought a new bike - a trek 7200 (hybrid) - and i've been riding
> it through NYC
>
> got a flat one day, paid $16 to get it fixed (new tube)
>
> rode around that day, got another flat, paid $16 to get it fixed
> (there was a spike sticking out of it ... so ... bad luck?)
>
> that was 1 week ago ... rode around every day since, got another flat
> tire
>
>
>
> always the back tire
>
>
> what gives?
>
> coincidence?
>
> bike shop doing a bad job? maybe missing the fact that a spoke is
> protruding and stabbing my tube or something?
>
> am i a fat, fat man?
>
> does jumping a curb kill a tube? i never had this happen on my old
> 7200's (i rode 2 before this one, i love the 7200)
>
> are there more hazards on the roads in april? broken bottles leftover
> from st patty's or something?
>
> the bike shop is metro bicycles on 14th st and 1st ave - generally
> good guys
>
>
>
> if this is just coincidence it's really enough to drive me nuts

Dude, buy some tubes and a pump and learn how to fix your own (and others')
flats. 16 bucks a pop?!? Sheesh.

Marz

On Apr 15, 11:21*am, c <smalltalkingchic...@gmail.com> wrote:
> i just bought a new bike - a trek 7200 (hybrid) - and i've been riding
> it through NYC
>
> got a flat one day, paid $16 to get it fixed (new tube)
>
> rode around that day, got another flat, paid $16 to get it fixed
> (there was a spike sticking out of it ... so ... bad luck?)
>
> that was 1 week ago ... rode around every day since, got another flat
> tire
>
> always the back tire
>
> what gives?
>
> coincidence?
>
> bike shop doing a bad job? maybe missing the fact that a spoke is
> protruding and stabbing my tube or something?
>
> am i a fat, fat man?
>
> does jumping a curb kill a tube? i never had this happen on my old
> 7200's (i rode 2 before this one, i love the 7200)
>
> are there more hazards on the roads in april? broken bottles leftover
> from st patty's or something?
>
> the bike shop is metro bicycles on 14th st and 1st ave - generally
> good guys
>
> if this is just coincidence it's really enough to drive me nuts

You pay someone to fix a flat???? As mentioned, buy some tubes and fix
your own.

Leo Lichtman

What they all said, plus: there are bound to be times and places where
fixing a flat is way easier than pushing the bike to a shop.

c

On Apr 15, 3:50 pm, "Leo Lichtman" <l.licht...@worldnet.att.net>
wrote:
> What they all said, plus: there are bound to be times and places where
> fixing a flat is way easier than pushing the bike to a shop.

i pay because i have the $20 more easily than i have the 20-ish
minutes fixing a flat - i've fixed flats before, it's not rocket
science



the point was - ever get 3 flats in a row? what's with that? is that
normal?

think the shop is screwing up and missing something that could be
causing the flats (always the back tire) - like a spoke sticking
through the wheel or something?


doesn't it seem a little odd?

catzz66

c wrote:
> On Apr 15, 3:50 pm, "Leo Lichtman" <l.licht...@worldnet.att.net>
> wrote:
>> What they all said, plus: there are bound to be times and places where
>> fixing a flat is way easier than pushing the bike to a shop.
>
> i pay because i have the $20 more easily than i have the 20-ish
> minutes fixing a flat - i've fixed flats before, it's not rocket
> science
>
>
>
> the point was - ever get 3 flats in a row? what's with that? is that
> normal?
>
> think the shop is screwing up and missing something that could be
> causing the flats (always the back tire) - like a spoke sticking
> through the wheel or something?
>
>
> doesn't it seem a little odd?

I had a rash of random flats the last rainy season before I changed out
my tires on both bikes. It was always little slivers of rock and glass,
in different locations. The only thing you don't know is what caused
the flats. I'd want to find that out for sure if I were you.
Otherwise, we are all just guessing. I learned the hard way that it is
not enough just to fix the flat by patching the tube, changing out the
tube, etc. I left a thin little metal wire in a tire once and promptly
got another flat. Hope you figure it out.

D_Frumious_B@ndersnat.ch

<smalltalkingchicken@gmail.com> wrote:

> i pay because i have the $20 more easily than i have the 20-ish
> minutes fixing a flat - i've fixed flats before, it's not rocket
> science

To each his own, but I concur with those who say you should get a patch
kit and a frame pump and do your own. Surely the time you spend getting
the bike to the shop, filling out paperwork, waiting for their employee to
fix it, returning to pick the bike up, and whatever incidentals I've
missed, all adds up to more than "20-ish minutes."
I had four flats in ten miles of riding last fall, way out in the
middle of nowhere (Elberta, Utah). Patched the first flat, and the tube
because it had a good-sized hole in it. Started to put the thing back
together, and had the stem blow. (This was a metal Presta stem. It tore
loose where it attached to the rubber.) Replaced the tube (another thing
you should do: carry a spare), rode about five miles, had another flat.
Checked to see if it was from the same cause as the first. Nope,
completely different position on the wheel. Patched again, headed for the
nearest town. Limped into town on a slow leak, and was supremely
fortunate that there was a very good bike shop just blocks away. [Well
deserved plug: it was Downhill Cyclery in Payson, Utah.] Got there only
to find that a new tire and tube cost more money than I had on me, but
fortunately I have the number of one of my credit cards memorized and the
guy in the shop hand-entered it. Put the new rubber on, and finished the
ride.
Moral: you may not have your next flat close to a bike shop. Carry a
patch kit and pump, MINIMUM. Consider using Kevlar tires, armor strips,
and/or Slimed tubes. (You'll get a lot of debate on their relative merits
on this NG.) If you're going far afield, carry spare tube, or two, and
consider a spare tire as well. Also carry money or plastic. Were you
ever a Boy Scout? Remember the motto?

Bill

__o | Be prepared, and be careful not to do
_`\(,_ | Your good deeds when there's no one watching you.
(_)/ (_) | --Tom Lehrer

catzz66

D_Frumious_B@ndersnat.ch wrote:
>
> Also carry money or plastic.

Not a bad idea. I always carry my cell phone but not much else.

Harry Brogan

On Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:21:06 -0700 (PDT), c
<smalltalkingchicken@gmail.com> wrote:

>i just bought a new bike - a trek 7200 (hybrid) - and i've been riding
>it through NYC
>
>got a flat one day, paid $16 to get it fixed (new tube)
>
>rode around that day, got another flat, paid $16 to get it fixed
>(there was a spike sticking out of it ... so ... bad luck?)
>
>that was 1 week ago ... rode around every day since, got another flat
>tire
>
>
>
>always the back tire
>
>
>what gives?
>
>coincidence?
>
>bike shop doing a bad job? maybe missing the fact that a spoke is
>protruding and stabbing my tube or something?
>
>am i a fat, fat man?
>
>does jumping a curb kill a tube? i never had this happen on my old
>7200's (i rode 2 before this one, i love the 7200)
>
>are there more hazards on the roads in april? broken bottles leftover
>from st patty's or something?
>
>the bike shop is metro bicycles on 14th st and 1st ave - generally
>good guys
>
>
>
>if this is just coincidence it's really enough to drive me nuts


16 bucks?!?!?!?! Are you NUTZ?!?!?!?! Around here we have these
nasty little thorns we call "goatheads" They are three-prong devils
that sometimes stand like a tripod ready to pop a tube.

Everyone who rides for ANY length of time knows that they are there.
And....anyone with any common sense KNOWS how to fix a flat.

You mentioned that you "didn't have the 20 minutes" to fix it
yourself. How long did it take to walk it to the bike shop, fill out
the papers for a repair job, and then come back to get it? Or did you
wait. In either case it might have been quicker to fix it yourself
and it CERTAINLY would have been cheaper!!!!


__o | Every time I see an adult on a bicycle....
_`\(,_ | I no longer despair for the human race.
(_)/ (_) | ---H.G. Wells---

Roger Zoul

>> i pay because i have the $20 more easily than i have the 20-ish
>> minutes fixing a flat - i've fixed flats before, it's not rocket
>> science

It's not rocket science to know that if you flat on a ride and don't fix it
yourself, it's going to take a lot more than 20-ish minutes to let the bike
shop do it. Unless, of course, you're riding to the bike shop and getting a
flat once you get there. Then it might take less time to let them fix it.
Geez...

>>
>>
>>
>> the point was - ever get 3 flats in a row? what's with that? is that
>> normal?

Define normal? When shit happens is that normal? Yes, it is normal for shit
to happen. And what about extra shit? Is it normal for extra shit to happen
sometimes? Er, yep. Sometimes shit heaps up upon shit.

>>
>> think the shop is screwing up and missing something that could be
>> causing the flats (always the back tire) - like a spoke sticking
>> through the wheel or something?
>>

Well, if you think they are screwing up, remove them from the equation and
screw up yourself. Or, perhaps you'll be more motivated than they are to
make sure YOU don't flat out.

>>
>> doesn't it seem a little odd?
>

Yes, that you're willing to pay $20 for flat after flat after flat?

Bill Sornson

Harry Brogan wrote:
> On Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:21:06 -0700 (PDT), c
> <smalltalkingchicken@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> i just bought a new bike - a trek 7200 (hybrid) - and i've been
>> riding it through NYC
>>
>> got a flat one day, paid $16 to get it fixed (new tube)
>>
>> rode around that day, got another flat, paid $16 to get it fixed
>> (there was a spike sticking out of it ... so ... bad luck?)
>>
>> that was 1 week ago ... rode around every day since, got another flat
>> tire
>>
>>
>>
>> always the back tire
>>
>>
>> what gives?
>>
>> coincidence?
>>
>> bike shop doing a bad job? maybe missing the fact that a spoke is
>> protruding and stabbing my tube or something?
>>
>> am i a fat, fat man?
>>
>> does jumping a curb kill a tube? i never had this happen on my old
>> 7200's (i rode 2 before this one, i love the 7200)
>>
>> are there more hazards on the roads in april? broken bottles leftover
>> from st patty's or something?
>>
>> the bike shop is metro bicycles on 14th st and 1st ave - generally
>> good guys
>>
>>
>>
>> if this is just coincidence it's really enough to drive me nuts
>
>
> 16 bucks?!?!?!?! Are you NUTZ?!?!?!?! Around here we have these
> nasty little thorns we call "goatheads" They are three-prong devils
> that sometimes stand like a tripod ready to pop a tube.
>
> Everyone who rides for ANY length of time knows that they are there.
> And....anyone with any common sense KNOWS how to fix a flat.
>
> You mentioned that you "didn't have the 20 minutes" to fix it
> yourself. How long did it take to walk it to the bike shop, fill out
> the papers for a repair job, and then come back to get it? Or did you
> wait. In either case it might have been quicker to fix it yourself
> and it CERTAINLY would have been cheaper!!!!

I think we've been trolled.

Roger Zoul

"Bill Sornson" <askme@ask.me> wrote in message
news:48054a76$0$20189$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
> Harry Brogan wrote:
>> On Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:21:06 -0700 (PDT), c
>> <smalltalkingchicken@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> i just bought a new bike - a trek 7200 (hybrid) - and i've been
>>> riding it through NYC
>>>
>>> got a flat one day, paid $16 to get it fixed (new tube)
>>>
>>> rode around that day, got another flat, paid $16 to get it fixed
>>> (there was a spike sticking out of it ... so ... bad luck?)
>>>
>>> that was 1 week ago ... rode around every day since, got another flat
>>> tire
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> always the back tire
>>>
>>>
>>> what gives?
>>>
>>> coincidence?
>>>
>>> bike shop doing a bad job? maybe missing the fact that a spoke is
>>> protruding and stabbing my tube or something?
>>>
>>> am i a fat, fat man?
>>>
>>> does jumping a curb kill a tube? i never had this happen on my old
>>> 7200's (i rode 2 before this one, i love the 7200)
>>>
>>> are there more hazards on the roads in april? broken bottles leftover
>>> from st patty's or something?
>>>
>>> the bike shop is metro bicycles on 14th st and 1st ave - generally
>>> good guys
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> if this is just coincidence it's really enough to drive me nuts
>>
>>
>> 16 bucks?!?!?!?! Are you NUTZ?!?!?!?! Around here we have these
>> nasty little thorns we call "goatheads" They are three-prong devils
>> that sometimes stand like a tripod ready to pop a tube.
>>
>> Everyone who rides for ANY length of time knows that they are there.
>> And....anyone with any common sense KNOWS how to fix a flat.
>>
>> You mentioned that you "didn't have the 20 minutes" to fix it
>> yourself. How long did it take to walk it to the bike shop, fill out
>> the papers for a repair job, and then come back to get it? Or did you
>> wait. In either case it might have been quicker to fix it yourself
>> and it CERTAINLY would have been cheaper!!!!
>
> I think we've been trolled.

Must be so because no person can be that stupid and manage to survive a bike
ride.

Leo Lichtman

"c" wrote: i pay because i have the $20 more easily than i have the 20-ish
> minutes fixing a flat - i've fixed flats before, it's not rocket
> science
>
>
>
> the point was - ever get 3 flats in a row? what's with that? is that
> normal?
>
> think the shop is screwing up and missing something that could be
> causing the flats (always the back tire) - like a spoke sticking
> through the wheel or something?
>
>
> doesn't it seem a little odd?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I have plenty of money too, so I don't fix flats. I just have my support
crew hand me another bike.

Of course it's not rocket science. It doesn't take a rocket surgeon to
figure out what caused the flats, which you probably would have done by now
if you fixed them yourself.

All of this is offered in the spirit of good-natured joshing around. :-)

Zoot Katz

On Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:44:44 -0400, "Roger Zoul"
<rogerzoul2@hotmail.com> wrote, in part:
/
>>>
>>> think the shop is screwing up and missing something that could be
>>> causing the flats (always the back tire) - like a spoke sticking
>>> through the wheel or something?
>>>
>
>Well, if you think they are screwing up, remove them from the equation and
>screw up yourself. Or, perhaps you'll be more motivated than they are to
>make sure YOU don't flat out.
>
>>>
>>> doesn't it seem a little odd?
>>
>
>Yes, that you're willing to pay $20 for flat after flat after flat?

After three flats in three months at the end of about a year, I buy
new tires.

Three flats in one ride occurred once riding tubular tires. I had two
spares.

Now I ride clinchers and know how to stop a puncture or snake-bite
leak without a patch after I've used my two spare tubes.

The inability to fix a flat at the road side defies logic.

Not learning the source of the leak defines stupidity.
--
zk