If my bike has a flat tire every morning, is a puncture the the only reason for it?

Question

It is really aggravating me. Every morning it has a flat tire. I went trail riding 2 weeks ago and I think something might of happened.

I just got this bike a few weeks ago too and it was pretty expensive.

What should I do about this?

Do I have to change my tire?

Answer 1

we can  all guess whats wrong with your tire or you can really locate the problem and find the right solution for it.

i sugest that you remove the tire's inner tube. inflate it then place it is a basin filled with water. locate where the bubbles are comming from. push in a toothpick in the hole to mark the area to patch. if bubbles comes from the valve you have to tighten it. and if it come from the stem of the valve because you went out running flat or half flat, you'll have a to change the stem valve or change the inner tube.

you can buy a patching kit for the inner tire. it comes with an instruction manual. or you can have it serviced and vulcanized (if you have no time to get your hands dirty).

some valve cups do have  tightening tool for your valve. if your bike doesnt have one, better get one it always comes handy when you incounter these problem.

for cuts in the stem ofthe valve may be quite difficult to do if your not a handyman. better have it serviced.

some cause of your problem is running half flat.

if your using radial spokes make sure there are no protruding parts in side of the rim. have it filed off and place an old inner tubing as a liner thus, your rim doesnt have direct contact with your tires.

when you go trailing have tools and patching kit and a portable bike pump.

enjoy your trips.

Answer 2

You need to find the reason, not wonder about it.

Take the wheel off, pull out the innertube, and pump a little air in it.    Fill a large bucket or basin with water, and rotate the tube through it, a foot or so at a time.  Watch for bubbles.  That will tell you where the leak is.  

Mark the leak, and then hold the partially inflated tube up next to the tire and rim.    If you match up the inflator stem with the hole in the rim, you can find the spot on the TIRE where the leak is.  Closely inspect the TIRE for any small bit of glass, stone, or thorn that my have poked through.    Obviously, remove any such foreign objects.   Patching or replacing the innertube without removing the cause will just result in another flat.

If you find nothing, closely inspect the leak in the tube.   If there are two small holes close together, that's known as a "snakebite", caused by underinflation.   When you hit a bump,  an underinflated tire can compress against the rim and puncture the innertube.   Make sure your tires are always inflated to the pressure marked on the tire sidewall.    You should check the pressure and inspect your tires for glass or other foreign objects before EVERY ride.    Better to find the problem in the garage than 20 miles from nowhere.

A small hole can be patched and the innertube re-used.   I generally replace the tube after two patches.    No magic number there,  eventually rubber gets old and degrades, so I assume that after two patches, the tube is probably too old to keep using.

Answer 3

change your tube tube even a top of the line tube will run you only $4

Answer 4

could b loose valve stem, loose valve or just a small pincture, try squirting windex on valve area and around tire and look for bubbles

Answer 5

Tires are never that trustworthy. It sounds like you have a slow leak. If you can find the "offender" in the tire (thorn, tack, glass, whatever), remove it and change the tube, your back in business. If you can't find the "offender", a tire and tube change will have to take place. Let's just hope that it's not a spoke or rim-strip causing the problem. That is easy to fix, but the initial aggravation factor hurts.

Answer 6

Come on, you went bike riding two weeks ago and think MAYBE something happened? You either got a puncture, or a pinch from not having enough air in the tires...if your tire is flat every morning its a cinch there's something wrong.

You are doing the right thing by checking your air pressure every morning before you ride.

Try this tire liner called "Mr Tuffy"...they work great and you'll hardly ever get a flat unless you cut the sidewall.

Answer 7

They ARE problematic!

A slow leak unrepaired in a tube may be the problem if it's merely being re-inflated without a patch.

Any irregularity in a pinched rim may rub sidewalls of the tube to cause leakage.

Depending on locations, sabatours are always possible in varying degrees.

Double tire liners, automatic tire repair foam inflations & bike security are 3 ways to reduce leaks.

Another may be simply to stay off of ruff trails.