Constant flats. Help me Chainlink, you're my only hope!!

Please excuse the corny title, I'm just completely frustrated at this point.

I have had a total of 6 flats on my bicycle since building it last year. Since then I've changed tube brand, added thicker/wider rimtape, adjusted seat placement, and even replaced a cheepy tire with a Thickslick. Still running into the flat tire headache. The flats all seem to be pinch flats. Every time I inspect the tube, tire, and rim there is never any left over debris; stones, glass or otherwise. Everything looks great and appears to be in perfect working order.

I think the problem is that my rim is just too sharp. Not the spoke end area, but the actual rim. It completely destroys tire lever while replacing tubes. I've had a few shops replace my tube just to be sure that it isn't user error, only to come up with the same issue. So, here's my question: is it possible to have my rim filed down so that I can actually ride my bike without constantly getting flats? I've tried everything else I can think of.

I have two other bikes I can ride, but this is the one I really want to be on. It's my baby. I miss it. Any shop or fix suggestions are much appreciated. I was considering checking out Heritage since I've heard so many good things.

The bike is the white one in my profile, so if I can avoid having to change the rim I'd be ecstatic.

Thanks in advance.

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Permalink Reply by Amanda on June 10, 2014 at 2:55pm
I'm so hoping that I don't have the change the rim. Just changed my latest flat. If it happens again, I'm definitely taking it into a shop to see if the rim truly needs replacement.

I'm a very careful rider. I don't ever ride over curbs. Since I build my bicycles I do try to take every precaution in taking care of them.
Permalink Reply by Gecko on June 10, 2014 at 3:09pm

Didn't see this mentioned yet: what brand of rim and/or wheel?  I ask because certain brands and even certain models of certain brands are known to be troublesome when installing/removing tires.

Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on June 10, 2014 at 4:43pm

There's a lot of possibles variable that make this sort of thing hard to diagnose over the internet without pictures and more information....

First off, pinch flats generally ook like snakebites, with two holes side by side where the tube was *pinched, so I don't think I'm totally convinced you're actually getting pinch flats. Secondly, are you keeping track of the location of the flats are occurring in relation to the wheel and tire? That's a key piece of information needed to track down the source of the trouble.

The thick rim tape you installed could be working against you here, increasing the likelihood of pinch flats by making the tires harder to mount and giving the tube less space. Be sure to use rim tape that matches the width of your rim, otherwise the bead of your tire might not seat in the right spot on the rim.

And, in general, don't use levers to install a tire. That could be leading to bunching up of the tube, or pinching the tube with the levers.

Permalink Reply by Amanda on June 11, 2014 at 3:47am
This time it was a tiny pun sized hole directly opposite the valve. I use rim tape that is the exact size of the rim. I'm hoping it has just been a string of bad luck that has run its course. Fingers crossed. Thanks for all the advice.



KevinM said:

There's a lot of possibles variable that make this sort of thing hard to diagnose over the internet without pictures and more information....

First off, pinch flats generally ook like snakebites, with two holes side by side where the tube was *pinched, so I don't think I'm totally convinced you're actually getting pinch flats. Secondly, are you keeping track of the location of the flats are occurring in relation to the wheel and tire? That's a key piece of information needed to track down the source of the trouble.

The thick rim tape you installed could be working against you here, increasing the likelihood of pinch flats by making the tires harder to mount and giving the tube less space. Be sure to use rim tape that matches the width of your rim, otherwise the bead of your tire might not seat in the right spot on the rim.

And, in general, don't use levers to install a tire. That could be leading to bunching up of the tube, or pinching the tube with the levers.

Permalink Reply by Crazy David 84 Furlongs on June 11, 2014 at 4:46am

Opps.  I used the wrong term.   (and 5 to 10 pounds don't make a Clydesdale....)   The term for a woman bicyclist is apparently an "Athena".    Its a class of cyclists starting at 200 lbs... and thus hard on the equipment.  I am NOT asking you whether you are, simply noting that if you were, if would explain some of the pinch flat issues.   That being said, the latest hole you described doesn't sound like a pinch flta.

Amanda said:

I would say most of the time. I only carry 5-10 extra pounds including myself. I have a crate and rack on the back of my bike. So Clydesdale I suppose?




Crazy David 84 Furlongs said:

Let me ask an "impolitic" question.  Are you a Clydesdale, a Super-Clydesdale or a Pachyderm?    Those of us in the Clydesdale (and up) category tend to see a lot more pinch flats.  (And this is net weight, so if you carry 25 gallons of water with you everyday, even if you are a super feather weight, you enter the realm of the Clydesdales. 

Permalink Reply by Ifi Susana on June 11, 2014 at 4:53am


Weird- I am Lady Cldyesdale (or Athena if you will) and I very rarely have issues with flat tires. But I have a steel frame and a carbon frame... When I first got my new (purple!) rims for my fixed I had about 7 pinched tubes just trying to change the tubes. Turns out I took off the tape on the rims off (because I am an idiot) so every time I pumped air it would pinch. Also since I have deep rims I now use tubes with longer valves so they inflated properly. It might be a good idea to take the bike in...
Crazy David 84 Furlongs said:

Let me ask an "impolitic" question.  Are you a Clydesdale, a Super-Clydesdale or a Pachyderm?    Those of us in the Clydesdale (and up) category tend to see a lot more pinch flats.  (And this is net weight, so if you carry 25 gallons of water with you everyday, even if you are a super feather weight, you enter the realm of the Clydesdales. 

Permalink Reply by Ifi Susana on June 11, 2014 at 5:05am


P.S. for the Athena class it is over 145 lbs...
Crazy David 84 Furlongs said:

Opps.  I used the wrong term.   (and 5 to 10 pounds don't make a Clydesdale....)   The term for a woman bicyclist is apparently an "Athena".    Its a class of cyclists starting at 200 lbs... and thus hard on the equipment.  I am NOT asking you whether you are, simply noting that if you were, if would explain some of the pinch flat issues.   That being said, the latest hole you described doesn't sound like a pinch flta.

Amanda said:

I would say most of the time. I only carry 5-10 extra pounds including myself. I have a crate and rack on the back of my bike. So Clydesdale I suppose?




Crazy David 84 Furlongs said:

Let me ask an "impolitic" question.  Are you a Clydesdale, a Super-Clydesdale or a Pachyderm?    Those of us in the Clydesdale (and up) category tend to see a lot more pinch flats.  (And this is net weight, so if you carry 25 gallons of water with you everyday, even if you are a super feather weight, you enter the realm of the Clydesdales. 

Permalink Reply by Tominator on June 11, 2014 at 8:30am

One trick to try: after seating tire, pump it up a little and roll it; pump it up a little more and roll the wheel, and so on. It can help eliminate pinch flats that can occur from when you put the tire on the rim. Only after doing that a few times do you fully pump the tire. This might be crazy but I've never gotten a pinch flat and I use tools to get my tire on.

Permalink Reply by Amanda on June 11, 2014 at 9:51am
I definitely took the time to roll the tire back and forth on this fix. Hopefully it proves successful. I used tire levers again this time too, but I was so careful I'd really be shocked if I damaged the tube. It was holding air when I checked this morning, but the true test will be when I get a chance to test ride it later this week.



Tominator said:

One trick to try: after seating tire, pump it up a little and roll it; pump it up a little more and roll the wheel, and so on. It can help eliminate pinch flats that can occur from when you put the tire on the rim. Only after doing that a few times do you fully pump the tire. This might be crazy but I've never gotten a pinch flat and I use tools to get my tire on.

Permalink Reply by XndeX on June 11, 2014 at 11:57am

I recently had issues just changing out tubes on a rear rim.
I was changing the tube out cause it was a 32 mm valve and I needed a 48 mm.
So I do the normal thing (or so I thought) I put a little air in the tube to get it in the tire then I started putting it on.
1st bead going on the rim no issue.
2nd bead last 5 inches or so was real tight as usual and I used a tire lever to force it on.
thought nothing of it and started pumping the tube.
No air was going in it was coming right out.
Took the tube and tire off and it had 3 huge slits in the same area as where I was using the tire lever.
I didn't realize this till I had a 2nd tube fail in the same manner.
So I used the tire lever on the outside of the rim and tried a different method and forced the tire on like they do when you get a car tire changed. This actually worked a lot better and it held air.
So try something different and see if that helps too!

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on June 11, 2014 at 2:14pm

You are not getting pinch flats if there is only one hole, you are getting a puncture or damaging the tube when you install it or inflate it.  

I very much doubt you have any issues with the rim, it sounds like you are pinching it when you put the tire on.  DO NOT use levers to put it on, it is almost impossible to not get the tube caught in some manner.  Even if you do not puncture it then you put a blemish in it that will eventually rupture.

If you have an issue getting the tire on the last little bit get a bead jack. (Although I suggest purchasing it at your local bike shop...)

Permalink Reply by Gecko on June 11, 2014 at 3:06pm

I'll second DUG's suggestion about NOT using levers to put the tire on, and using a bead jack on really stubborn ones.  You should ONLY EVER use levers to take the tire OFF.  If you use them to put the tire ON, the risk of damage to the tube is too high.

You may just have a set of rims that are particularly shallow in the spoke beds, and thicker rim tape can actually make it worse.  Conversely, deeper cross sections allow the rest of the bead to sink in futher toward the center of the rim, giving you much more to work with when you come to a tight spot.  It's hard to explain over the internet, but that's one way of getting nearly any tire on and off without levers (as long as it's not a mountain bike tubeless tire, don't even get me started!).

I still don't understand what part of your rim is "too sharp".  You mean the top of the sidewall?  It's possible, but it would most likely mess up the bead of the tire, not puncture the tube.  Do you have some weird rims or something?  You still haven't told us what brand/model they are.

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