Being a nine-to-fiver I have come to, somewhat unnaturally, appreciate the arrival of Friday. This Friday, however, is not up to snuff. I got a flat tire on my bike and had to walk it the rest of the way to work in the rain this morning. And, this is my second flat tire this week.
Could there be some kind of flat phenomenon happening in Toronto? Check out the BikingToronto blog today.
I too had originally thought today’s flat was due to a faulty tube installed Wednesday at The Bike Clinic. But, after walking all the way to the clinic in the hot, hot sun (we really do need more bike shops downtown), Vinnie kindly showed me the puncture through my knobby, but very decrepit tire. He gave me a good deal on the new tire.
All of this trouble could be avoided, of course, if I knew how to fix my own damn flat tire. So, this fall I will be taking the Wenches with Wrenches bicycle repair workshop.
The BikingToronto blog solicited advice on how to avoid flats and a very helpful and knowledgable chap named Vic (who has his own blog here) obliged with some great pointers.
Here are a few:
- Pump up to your tires’ maximum pressure. If the presure is too low, you risk getting “pinch flats” or “snakebites”. Those often look like two little holes right next to each other.
- After you fix your flat, inspect the tire to make sure there’s no debris still stuck in the tire.
- Avoid riding in the gutters where the flat-causing garbage accumulates and the pavement is jumping out at you to cause pinch-flats.
- Consider getting a set of stronger kevlar-belted tires. They won’t totally prevent flats, but will often prevent debris from working its way through and you can pick it out during your regular tire inspections.
I also noticed a company called Air Free bicycle tires online, but I don’t know anyone who has tried them.
6 comments
As a bicycle mechanic, I would love to start a troupe of people who were on-call for bike repairs. We could be the CBA: Canadian Bicycling Association. Hand out road maps. Dash out with patch kits. Make people smile. That kind of stuff. 1-800-FIX-BIKE: a national network.
Freaky I had the same thing twice this week what is up? had the tiniest rock throught the tire..wasnt up for the rain today though so I bused stclair to sheppard which is my ride.
It might be worth replacing worn tires if the concentration of flats increases suspiciously. My source: There are free bike tires all over the city if you go for a walk on garbage night and are willing to salvage usable parts from discarded bikes before the scrap dealers pick them up. Often the bikes are rusted and the parts worthless but the tires are quite new.
Some otherwise unexplained flats may be caused by a metal spur on the wheel at the point where the inner tube nozzle pokes through — sometimes it will strain and tear the rubber near the join and leave you with a slow (or rapid) leak.
On-call bike repair – now we’re talking! I had secretly hoped that Vinnie would take pity on me and valiently ride to my workplace just to fix my tube. Hah! Of course, I knew this would never happen as he would have to close shop. And you can’t run a business by riding around fixing girls tubes…ew that sounds bad…anyway, I think this idea definitely warrants further investigation.
Perhaps once I’ve got my skills up we can discuss further? I think we’d need at least four people to cover the city.
Also, thanks for the used tired tip. I was wondering how bikes in Toronto were recycled…I’ve never seen a bike out with the garbage, but maybe I’m just not quick enough or not in the right ‘hoods.
Years ago, we used to use a product called the tyre saver. It was very simple and consisted of a wire loop secured to another wire with two pieces of plastic tubing. It rested rested on the tire and knocked off the majority of debris before they penetrated . Several companies, including TA, Pelissier and Carlton made these in a number of designs for both bikes with and without fenders. Does anyone know if these neat devices can still be bought?
A couple of years ago I sought bicycle tires that would not go flat. A search of the internet revealed a company based in Florida called Airfree Tires. As it turned out this company sold tires made by another company in Denver, Colorado. Neither company ever shipped my tires although I had to charge payment on my Visa card up front. I finally got my money back from Visa after about a year of persistant efforts. I just found another company located in England called Green Tyre that makes an interesting looking bicycle tire that never needs air. I am considering them as an alternative.