Today’s QT comes to us from Premium Member Michael Hormel, who engaged us in a recent email conversation about the merits of tubeless vs. clincher tires. We agreed, for our purposes, that we’ll stick with clinchers, based on the ease of use and the fact that we seldom get a flat. Michael’s tip comes from his method to prevent flats – and the results are astonishing. Here’s what he wrote:
I’ve only had one flat in the 10-15 years since I went from sew-ups to clinchers. The one was early this summer when I hit a rough spot were a culvert had been replaced and I bounced over it and got a pinch flat.
I take my time when installing tires and tubes:
- I powder my tubes and the inside of the tire.
- I make sure the tube is well-seated inside the tire and rim by pinching the tire together and wiggling it as I work around the wheel.
- I inflate to a low pressure and apply weight to the wheel by holding the skewer and rolling the tire across the floor to seat the tube.
- I let most of the air out, then reinflate.
All of this takes a little extra time but saves me a lot of time on the road.
I got this method from my father, who was a WWII Marine air core mechanic. He said they were having problems where every time a plane would land, it would blow a tire. He got the idea to inflate, deflate, reinflate to make sure the tube was seated properly. No more blow-outs after that.
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—John Marsh & The RBR Team
These are good techniques, and the same results can be obtained by working the tire and tube with your fingers to make sure the tube is “free” inside the tire and the tire is properly seated before pumping to pressure.
However essentially all of my flats are from punctures: bits of glass or wire (and sometimes nails, staples, or screws). Nothing in this method will prevent that kind of puncture. While I live in a state with a good bottle law we still see broken glass and other debris along the streets and rural roads.
Great tips but as Kerry indicated, these will help prevent failure due to poor seating of the tube/tire, but will not prevent any flats from punctures.
I think the author really means he has only had one flat in the last 10-15 years from incorrect tire/tube mounting, not punctures. Flats will eventually occur when riding a road bike on public roads. That is a certainty!
Great tips for avoiding pinch flats, but as stated will not prevent punctures. I live and ride in Boise, ID, and around here “goatheads” (seeds of the Puncturevine) are the bane of our existence. In addition to installation techniques similar to Mr. Hormel’s, and per the advice of the mechanics at my favorite LBS, I also do the following:
-Use training tires that have extra protection (Kevlar belt or similar).
-Use tubes with removable Presta valve cores. Initial cost is about twice that of a tube without removable core, but worth it.
-After installing tube and tire, and seating tube, remove valve core and inject approximately 1 oz. of Stan’s liquid into the tube. Reinstall core and inflate tube.
This technique has almost completely eliminated puncture flats for me, my wife, and kids. Can be easily done with all Schraeder valve tubes as well.