About Punctures and Flats You Need to Know

Punctures and flats are the facts of cycling life for the cyclists. Punctures and flats make the cyclists feel disappointed when enjoying cycling outside. With the punctures or flats, the cyclists can't keep on riding and have to get the tyres fixed. Just like what is said in the Murphy's Law, "Everything that can go wrong, will---at the worse possible moment." Yes, everything that can do wrong, will at the worse possible moment, and tires are no exception. But you can do something to prevent the punctures and flats to prolong the utility time of the wheels. Here is the advice for you to reduce the risks of punctures and flats.



Choose your tires

Do you want to ride with the fastest, lightest wheels, or do you want to ride with the tyres that can avoid flats? In fact, if you want to ride fast, the broken grass, glassphalt or other objects that are sharp will easily pierce through the wheels. The malleable tires are less likely to be pierced. The first strategy is using an endurable tire.

To avoid puncture and flats, you can choose the puncture-resistant tyres. With the dense puncture-resistant layer, this wheel can help to stop sharp objects penetrating through the tube. Although the tyres can't make you ride in the fastest speed, it reduces the possibility of punctures and flats.

Pump your wheels up

The tyre pressure is the critical factor to avoiding punctures and plats, so you should always make sure that you are riding your bike with the suitable tyre pressure. The reason for pinch plats is that the tyre which is under-inflation sudden hit a pothole or a bump. To reduce the risks of pinch flats, ensure that your wheels are inflated with the proper pressure. Over-inflation may not lead to flats but blow out the tube in rare case.



Here are some tips for you to pump your tyres up:

Road tyres should run between 100 to 140 psi.

Mountain bike wheels should run between 30 to 50 psi.

Urban and casual bike tyres should run between 60 to 80 psi.

But the pressure of the tyres changes with the width of the tyres---the greater the width, the less pressure should be inflated in the inner tube. You can use the tyre pump to check the pressure of the bikes.

Because most of your weight goes on the rear tyre, so the pressure of the back wheel should be higher than the front.

Check your wheels

It is a simple requirement but many cyclists would forget to do this. To check up your wheels regularly to find out the embedded glass and other sharp objects. You must examine your bike tyre if you have ridden on the road with substantial debris. These small sharp objects will not make your tyre leak at once, but they can eventually pierce through the tyre and finally lead to punctures. Use your tool to remove the small sharp objects before your next ride.

You just need to spend some time having a look to see whether there is anything sharp lodged in the wheels. As well as checking the pressure every time before you ride to ensure that whether the tyres s are under-inflation or not. It should be an essential work for every ride.



Check the routines and look ahead

When cycling on the roads, remember to look ahead to find whether there are broken glass or something sharp on the roads. In this way, you can escape the sharp objects. Look ahead means looking at the roads ahead of you, rather than just keep your eyes in front of your front wheel. Looking ahead makes it possible for you to react to the broken glass or something like that.

If you are riding with a group, looking ahead can also make you have time to indicate your group members. It can not only keep your group safer, but also help to save time in riding. If you are going to ride with your family and to check the routes before your family riding, check out the sharp objects. It can prevent your family from punctures and flats and save your time.

Sealants and tapes

The tube sealant can help you to fix an existing flat wheel or to prevent future flats. The sealants can seal punctures up to certain size by going inside the tire and inner tube. Besides, you can use the puncture resistant tape and strip. The tape can be put between the wheel and the inner tube to add an added layer to protect the tires.

Weather

Many punctures have something in common---they happened in wet weather. It is not a coincidence. Much broken glass, debris and other sharp objects exist on the road after the rainfall, so riding in wet weather would be more likely to get your tyre flat. But I don't mean you can' go out in wet weather.



Don't ride in the gutter

When cycling, avoid riding in the gutter. The gutter may be a potential place to puncture your tyres because there may be a lot of broken glass and other sharp objects. To avoid other places like the gutter where has many glass and flint.

Refit tubes and wheels

If the punctures and flats happen and your tyre or tube is not available, you need to replace the tube or wheel. Be more careful to avoid the next flats. Pay more attention when replacing the new inner tube.

Thinking about getting tubeless wheels

Tubeless technology has been existing for years. The tubeless wheels have great resistance to punctures. With the tubeless tyres, the pinch flats would not happen. Whether to use the tubeless tyres depends on you.

Punctures and flats can't be 100% prevented, but what you can do is to try your best to reduce the risks of punctures and flats. Follow the suggestion, and know more about the flats, you may never need to fix your tyres because of the punctures and flats.