Ever had a flat????

[Jer]

While riding????

[music man]

The closest I ever came to it was one day I got a nail in my back tire while out riding and it made my tire leak down fast enough that I had a flat about 5 minutes after I got home, but haven't had the pleasure of being stranded because of one yet.


Later

[Jer]

I'm curious about peoples experience of being on the bike and moving when a tire loses air.

I've been reading that the correct course of action is to brake firmly with the wheel that is ok.

Which makes sense.

I'm curious to know how bad it is for this to happen.

[Jenny]

I'm curious how you know that's what the problem is when you're riding.

[alanmcorcoran]

There's flats and there's flats. There is not a one size fits all solution to every situation.

Most of the time you will hear or feel the air going out of the tire. It will feel funny and will probably be making a noise. With those, you'll probably instinctively slow down. Keep the bike moving straight and get off the road.

Occasionally, it's "Bam" and then "Oh $hit!" If a blowout happens to the front tire at full speed, it's probably going to be dicey.

If the wheel is still rotating, you can probably brake normally etc. If the tire or rim gets stuck in the fork, you could get pitched onto your face.

Assuming you don't have some sort of freak catastrophe, your bet bet is to keep the bike traveling as straight as possible while slowing down gently.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Jenny

I'm curious how you know that's what the problem is when you're riding.

Well initially you probably don't.

You will, after some time in the seat, get to know your "baby" and learn what the normal sound and feel is. It is an excellent habit to slowly stop for an inspection when you notice ANYTHING out of the ordinary.

This coming from a person who rode for over a mile AFTER hearing a loud POP and didn't crash only out of luck !! :skull:

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Jer

While riding????

More than once. Luckily never a blow out though. The first indication for me always was: What the hell? This thing steers like crap.

[Water Warrior 2]

Just a word to the wise concerning tubes. If you have noticed, the valve stem is threaded and there is a nut holding it in position. The nut is only supposed to be slightly snug, no more than that. I managed my first flat by tightening the valve stem nut a turn or two and pulled the stem enough to weaken the rubber where the stem is joined. Luckily I had just stopped for a smoke and coke with friends and we all got to watch the front end hiss and go flat. That is a lucky flat.

[Sarris]

Years ago, I had a blowout on the rear of my Norton Commando doing about 65 mph. The tire hung up in the swing arm, locking up the wheel, putting me into a sideway skid. I got the skid under control, but by the time I finally got stopped I had burned through the tire/tube and had ground about 3/4" off the back rim in a shower of sparks. I ruined both the rim and my shorts.

This fiasco was caused by a 20d finish nail in the edge of the sidewall where it meets the tread. I didn't check the before I rode, and I still don't do it as often as I should. It pays to check and listen for the hiss.

Remember that tube tires can blow out, but typically mags w/ tubeless tire usually just deflate.

O_o O_o

[alanmcorcoran]

I've not had the pleasure of a blowout on a motorcycle, mainly owing to having travelled less than 1000 miles on one. I have had numerous blowouts on bicycles, mopeds (drove one exclusively for three years when I had no driver license) and cars (former taxi driver.) #1 cause of blowouts for me was poverty, specifically driving on crap tires. Worn tread, belts showing through, cracked sidewalls, bulges, you name it. #2 was driving into, over or through something I shouldn't have. It's embarassing, but, yes, I have driven over those spikes you aren't supposed to drive over. Dumbest thing I ever did was drive into the "former" entrance to my neighborhood gas station. They had remodelled the thing one weekend and removed an apron that had been there for 15 years. I hit the place where the apron was supposed to be (it was now like a 9 inch curb) at about 20 miles an hour and blew out both of my front tires and effed the rim up pretty good too.

When driving the cab, where the rule was "drive it until the next thing breaks", I almost got used to the old "BAM, whump, whump, whump" sound that signified a blowout. It was almost always a front tire and quite a few were at speed. Fortunately, if you just keep your wits about you, it's not that hard to control a 4 wheeled vehicle with a flat.

I had one face plant on the bicycle and one "high side" on the moped. On the bike you can generally feel, see or hear the air going out and blowouts are rare. The moped I just kept on driving with old tires because I not only couldn't afford them, I had no idea where to even get one.

There are lots of other reasons not to ride on bad tires, and I can give you personal examples of most of them. Now that I can afford it, I am a fanatic about having nice tires on all my vehicles. I won't let my kids drive on bad ones and if I notice bad ones on someone else's vehicle I won't go anywhere in their car. Bald tires plus rain equals big trouble.