Sooo many flats....upgrade tires and tubes?

I ride Aliso Woods 99.9% and about 30 miles a week, 3-4 days.

I average 7 flats per week, 1-2 per ride. It's those dang sheephead thorn pieces of crap.

I run 38-40 psi, normal rims, and like to ride hard.

230 pounds, 6'2" almost klyde status.

Some of my tubes have 25 patches on them, and my sons new bike gets a flat once a week as well.

I have thought about tubeless, but I know nothing about it. I read through the sticky,but I still don't really understand it.

I don't have rims made for tubeless. What would you all do?

 

You can get inner tubes with sealant in them. Slime Tubes, et al.

You can probably set your wheels up tubeless. Some tire/rim combos are finicky to set the bead with a floor pump; a compressor is nice for the them. Removing the presta valve core can help with air flow if using a pump. Look up the Stan's video on tubeless set up; pretty sure it's on the Stan's site. There are other how-to vids online as well, including converting non-tubeless rims.

Worth doing, and not difficult once you've done it.

 

You have two options:

1. Tubeless conversion kit - these sometimes work, sometimes not depending on your rims. I'd do some research to see how successful people are with the applications. Stans is the most popular. It can be difficult to mount tires on these I have found. The kit is $30 for two wheels - there's a ton of Youtube videos to walk you through the installation.

2. Tubeless ready wheelset + tubeless tires. Basically, you put the tube on the rim, add a few ounces of the fluid of your choice (I use Stans just because its sold everywhere) and hit it with a compressor. Sometimes you can get them to mount with a hand pump - sometimes not. When you get a puncture, the latex fluid sprays out and seals the hole. You need to chance the fluid every few months since it dries up. If you get a puncture that the latex can't seal - you can put in a regular tube.

If you don't mind spending the extra dough, I'd get a tubeless wheelset. Don't waste your money on the Slime tubes - they don't work.

Benefits of running tubeless - less flats, running lower pressures, better traction, less weight overall
Downsides: more limited tire choices, tires are more expensive, air leaks out faster so you'll need to add air every ride

 

Old fashioned way is to add a Kevlar strip .. adds weight but I haven't noticed much difference.. did that after getting two flats w/in 1 mile of each other on different tires... goat heads... can get strip at local bike shop.. no flats since...thinking of going tubeless as well but too much hassle/ expense...

 

I'm similar in size to you, ride with tubes @ 32-35psi, and rarely have flats. Your flats seem like a ton.
caveat- I rarely ride Aliso.
Are you sure it's thorns? Have you checked you wheels? Is the tape covering the spoke heads? Is there a broken nipple allowing a spoke to cause issues?
that volume of flats is really high.

 

I haven't tried tire liners, but I've heard great things about them from real people that use them. It sounds like a good option if you're reluctant on going tubeless. They're rather affordable too.

 

I use tuffy liners - and have been for several months - no flats so far.
As for the "extra weight"? Negligible/unnoticible, well to me anyway
I'm currently somewhere between 245/250 so also 'team clyde'
Think I paid about $18 for pack of two strips, I'd recommend them, at that price cheaper and easier (and less messier?) than going tubeless
IMHO of course... and needless to say YMMV...

 

Agreed ... OP you need to take a really close look at your rims, tape etc... something seems odd...that said sheepheads are out but they are not usually center of trail are you riding off trail?

 

Holy Moly, Batman! That seems like way too many... I ride a lot of the local trails, as well as in the mountains, and I haven't had 7 flats in the last 12 months and 3,000 miles. Are you sure there isn't something else going on?

I've also thought about going tubeless, but I've run the slime tubes forever, and they have been very good to me. If they stop working for some reason, I'll try tubeless...

 

I can vouch for the tire liners. I use them on my fixed gear and haven't gotten a flat in years.

 

I've had great luck with slime tubes and tuffy strips. I run tubeless now, (And I love it,) but Slime/Mr. Tuffy is a good combo if you run tubes.

 

It does seem like there are a few options out there before going tubeless. What brand of tube are you buying, so I know what to avoid. :lol:

 

Not to be a smart-a$$, but when you change/patch your tubes do you run your fingers on the inside of the tire to make sure the offending thorn is not still stuck inside? Just getting 3 or 4 flats a year got me to convert to Stans. Nice to go through a set of tires with no flats ever.

 

I can't remember the last time I got a flat at Aliso but then again its been a while since I rode there. Since your kid got a flat too are you sure you are not picking up the thorns somewhere else around your neighborhood, backyard, front yard? I remember a while back I'd screw around on horse trails in Lemon Heights and everything would be fine and dandy until I went for a real ride up in the hills and push those thorns deeper.

If I was flatting that much the first thing I would do is go 27.5. Apparently it will solve all your issues.

In truth, I would replace your tires if you know you have run through thorns. Its tough to remove all the thorns so make sure you using a key or tool and pushing out the thorns that are broken off in the tire. I'd also check your route into the park. Mix up your route into the park and see if that helps. Seven flats a week with that many patches is ridiculous and would make me ride somewhere else. It doesn't sound like you are pinch flatting where I would say you need to learn to downside obstacles and try to flow better. When changing the flat, keep track of where the thorn is in relation to your tire so you can remove the thorn if the head has broken off.

Sorry for sounding like a dad but who the frick rolls around with 25 patches on his tubes?

 

Before going tubeless, I used one of those tire liner strips. They definitely do work. Upon replacement of the tire I found countless debris sticking through the tread, but never flatted as a result of the liner.

I personally would not recommend tubeless conversion. The tubeless ready rims generally have tighter beads in addition to bead retention 'ramps' to prevent burping. I'm sure there are plenty of opinions on this matter.

 

I do remove the thorns each time by rubbing the inside of the tires. The tubes I use are the cheapo ones from performance. 4 tubes for the price of 3. I do stay on the trails, but I turn every bump/burm/hole/etc into a feature and hit it.
My tires are bald.
Ill try the Kevlar liners with some new badass tires.(now to research good tires)

The flats are usually apparent after I am home an hour, so not usually on the trail.

Thanks for all the help. Rick and roll.

 

kevlar strips are the lightest as far as strips go. they work well,could be your cheapest/ easiest option. considering your weight the benefits of lower pressures with tubeless may not work ,especially if you do jumps

 

Going tubeless isn't just "fill and forget." It requires monitoring and maintenance. On the other hand, your flats will be virtually eliminated. I like Stan's fluid and Stan's generic valve stems with removable cores. I dislike their rim strips, preferring to use Gorilla tape.

 

If you get so many flats with tube, I think it is worth the hassle to go tubeless.
I converted more than 3 years ago, practically no flats.
Watch the YouTube while doing it really help. It was messy in the beginning, not anymore now, clean and fast if you know what you're doing.
Tips, if you are using brand new tire, mostly comes folded, install it with tube for a day, to help shape the the tire from folded to perfectly round, then convert.

One time I clean my tires and realized I had no more sealant left to refill, so I put in a tube. A couple of rides later I got flat. I converted again the next day.

 

I'm using a mr. tuffy liner plus slime inside the tubes, since 4 months ago, its really easy to put the slime and just get the liner size for you tires and getthe 24oz. slime bottle at walmart less than 10 bucks and you only need 4 -5 oz per tire, so its good for your bike and your kiddo as well, one day I rodeover a small bush of those goatheads or something like that and my friends bike were flat and mine kept on rolling, we stoped to change the tubes, i just pumped more air in to them, since they're were too many (30+ in each tires) I lost some psi, but i waz ae to get back to the truck and came to pick up my 2 friends, I forgot to take a before and after the thorn cleaning process but i got 1 pic with the last 30 thorns, and also heres a video on you tube on how to put slime on your tires. hope it helps, in my case i dont care if its a more heavy this set up (10oz more on each tire since im heavy 230lbs) it works nice for me.


Watch "Put Slime Sealant in a Presta Valve Tube" on YouTube
Put Slime Sealant in a Presta Valve Tube: http://youtu.be/Nx_f1qfT_6A

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