Riding the trail near Sandy River last weekend. Got a flat 6 miles in. Used his fancy Park Tool levers. Snapped two of them trying to get a tight bead off my rim. Ended up using a seized stick and my bare hands. Has anyone else found those plastic levers useless for tubeless tires?
I was coming down Flagstaff Road, hit a sharp rock and felt the rear go flat instantly. Pulled over, got my patch kit out, and realized I had no tire levers because they fell out of the pouch somewhere on the ride. Had to use a stick and a hex wrench to get the tire off. Took 45 minutes and I cut my thumb. Now I keep the levers zipped inside a separate bag inside my saddle pack. Anyone else learn the hard way that your patch kit gear shifts around?
Bought this sleek aluminum pump from a big box store thinking it'd last forever. After three flats in two weeks I realized the gauge was off by 15 psi and the head seal was garbage. Anyone else had luck with those basic steel pumps that cost half as much?
I was 10 miles from the nearest gas station on a gravel road and my sidewall got cut by a sharp rock. My buddy handed me a Park Tool TB-2 boot patch and I figured it was just a waste of space in my kit. Has anyone else had one of these hold up for more than 20 miles after the first repair?
Spent way too long yesterday trying to get a tire bead to seat on my old mountain bike rim out in my driveway. Seriously it took like 45 minutes of wrestling and cussing before I remembered I had a compressor instead of just my hand pump. Soon as I hit it with 80 psi it popped right on like it was nothing. Anybody else waste time fighting with a bead before realizing you just need more air pressure?
Last Sunday by the creek trail I got a goathead thorn in my rear tire and had it fixed in 12 minutes flat with just a patch kit and a tire lever. Has anyone else had that moment where everything just clicks after struggling forever?
I was out on the Greenway trail last Saturday and got a rear flat, pulled out my patch kit, but the valve stem was seized up so bad I couldn't even get the air out at first. After wrestling with it for what felt like forever plus a trip to the gas station for a replacement tool, I finally swapped the tube 45 minutes later than I should have. Has anyone else had a valve stem situation that turned a 10 minute fix into a full afternoon project?
Back in 2019 I was riding the C&O Canal trail near Harpers Ferry and got a nasty snakebite flat about 15 miles from the nearest town. I had one patch but no glue cause it dried out in my kit. Some old timer rolled up on a beat up touring bike and showed me how to fold a dollar bill between the tube and tire to limp it the rest of the way. It actually held air for like 8 miles before I got to a gas station. Now I always carry a spare tube and a couple actual patches but man I miss when solutions were that simple. Anyone else got a roadside hack that saved a ride?
Bought this fancy patch kit at REI last month. Had all these glues and tools. Used it on the trail near Boulder Creek. Patch blew off after 5 miles. Shoulda just spent the $8 on a good tube. Anyone else get burned by those all in one kits?
Tried using a CO2 cartridge on a trail near Boulder and the seal failed halfway through, left me stranded with a flat for 20 minutes. My old Zefal frame pump takes longer but has never let me down in 4 years of riding. Has anyone else had a CO2 regulator crap out mid-use like that?
I was reading on BikeRadar last week that tire boot patches (the kind you stick on the inside of a sidewall tear) can actually fail after about 50 miles because of flexing. But I've also heard guys swear by them for getting home from a trail ride. So which is better for a serious gash on a mountain bike trail like the one at Blue Mountain - a standard tube patch on the tube itself or a boot patch on the tire? I'm torn lol. Anybody had one fail on them?
I was out on the Greenway Trail near the river when tire #50 went flat. It made me realize I had been cheaping out on rim tape for months. How many flats do you all usually hit before you decide to change your setup?
I flatted on the canal path last Saturday, about 8 miles from my car. Had both a patch kit and a spare tube in my bag, but I decided to patch the hole instead of swapping the tube. The rubber cement was almost dried out so it took me 15 minutes to get a good seal. Anyone else prefer patching on a long ride or do you just swap and go?
I used to get flats about once a week riding the trails near Tucson, Arizona. Those little goathead thorns would punch right through my tubes no matter what I did. Three months ago I finally converted my old mountain bike to tubeless with some Stan's sealant. I've hit the same patch of thorns twice since then and both times the sealant just bubbled and sealed up on the spot. Anyone else have a before and after moment like that with a tire change?
I got a flat on my rear tire about 8 miles into a ride near the Keystone Trail, so I pull out my spare tube and realize the valve core is seized solid from old sealant gunk. It took me almost an hour of fiddling with a tiny tool and some cussing to finally get it loose enough to swap, and by then the sun was going down. Has anyone else had a valve core fight them like that, or am I just unlucky with the buildup?
I stopped into River City Bicycles last month after a blowout on the Springwater Corridor, and the mechanic there, a guy named Dave, watched me patch my tube. He said I wasn't roughing up the rubber enough around the hole before applying the glue, just a quick scrape with the cap. After he showed me his method of really sanding it down with a piece of sandpaper, I got 40 miles out of that repair without any leak. Has anyone else gotten a tip from a shop that changed how they fix a flat on the trail?
Was in the shop yesterday and this old guy came in with a classic 3-speed cruiser. He saw my jar of glue and patches and said i was doing it wrong. Said he's been using the sticky string plugs for 40 years and never had a failure. I always thought plugs were just a roadside temporary fix but he showed me his bike he did 2000 miles on a plug. Made me wonder if im overthinking this whole thing. Has anyone else switched from patches to plugs for a permanent fix?