Riding flat tyre. Still safe?

[NASHIE]

Riden a few times on flats (2-3km). Maybe not if on set of $2000 wheels and new tyres, but training wheels and older tyres at 10kph so what, saves waiting around and inconveniencing others.

[daidaidai]

Caught out a few times on the commute. Two punctures - one spare tube = slow and careful ride home. Around 5 to 6 km's, near the end of my commute.
I'm still riding the same wheels no problems, straight as the day I first rode them.
Of course if it occurred early in the commute, I'd be ringing my wife or lugging the bike on the train; wouldn't feel much like riding home for three hours. I ditched the tube, but kept the tyre on each occasion. Cheers

[bychosis]

Riden a few times on flats (2-3km). Maybe not if on set of $2000 wheels and new tyres, but training wheels and older tyres at 10kph so what, saves waiting around and inconveniencing others.

Yup. If it's nearly flat, keep riding - with caution. If it's dead flat, it's time to stop and repair or walk. Sag wagon is a last resort. The worst I did was about a 3km walk, after a cautious bit of riding, to a mates place for a puncture repair rather than 10 or more km home.

Or that time I popped my rear tyre after a massive skid about 8km from home with no shoes and no money at age 14. It was a BMX sized tyre, so riding it downhill under brakes was a way to reduce the walk.

[NASHIE]

Yup. If it's nearly flat

What's this nearly flat !! is that like only flat on the bottom . The few times I've been caught out are from not fully removing object that caused puncture (glass, wire) etc and getting the second flat with no spare. Last was a rear that I rode about a 1k on. Out of the seat leaning forward, slow ride, rim and tyre fine. Haven't patched a tube for at least 30yrs. Puncture=new tube

[Philistine]

Haven't patched a tube for at least 30yrs. Puncture=new tube

My logical side says this is the way to go, but my parsimonious streak kicks in when I have to make the call on binning a tube. When I first took up cycling (a long, long time ago) I owned 2 tubes - one on each wheel - and I expected them to last the life of the bike. The idea of buying a pack of 10 tubes (plus another pack of long valve tubes for my aero wheels, and a pack of 26 inch tubes for my MTB) would have seemed the height of extravagance. I would only consider replacing a tyre when the canvas (which was a different colour in those days) was showing through the tread in a continuous line. I doubt if I averaged one puncture per year (I wasn't keeping score).

But we were happy then, even though we had nothing.

[TheWall]

I have been reading this thread since its inception and have Ben been bemused by all the to and fro.

I was further "bemused" to find I had the opportunity to test the hypothesis today with a slashed rear tyre. I rolled down Montville hill leaning on the front wheel for a couple of kilometres. And, for the record, I am 93kg.

I can confirm that further damage to the tyre ensued and the and the 2nd tube is now unusable but no damage to the rim.

What I do for science on behalf of this forum!

[NASHIE]

I have been reading this thread since its inception and have Ben been bemused by all the to and fro.

I was further "bemused" to find I had the opportunity to test the hypothesis today with a slashed rear tyre. I rolled down Montville hill leaning on the front wheel for a couple of kilometres. And, for the record, I am 93kg.

I can confirm that further damage to the tyre ensued and the and the 2nd tube is now unusable but no damage to the rim.

What I do for science on behalf of this forum!

A-You ride with flat again
B-You would walk
C-You would phone a friend
D-Swap flat to front and learn to ride one wheel wheelie

Was the tyre a bin job anyway as it was slashed ?

[Nate]

I rode something like 10-12 k's on a rear flat (backup bike - didnt have a 15mm spanner for the fixie)
super slow & careful, grass where i could

didnt even think to look at the tube, tyre was OK & rim was ok.
it was a 32/36 spoke rim, 2 speed jobbie from Cell thats been bulletproof.
Tyre was a GP4000 i think

I would not recommend you do it - but it has been done!

after that all was OK after replacing tube & pumping it up.

[uart]

I definitely don't like doing it. Always afraid that I'll either roll a tyre off the rim, or hit a bump and damage the rim.

I did make it home last week with a "slow" puncture by just stopping every km or two to pump it up. Luckily I was nearly home when it happened so I only had about 5 km to ride. I was carrying spare tubes but I figured it would be easier to just repair at home, and I only had to stop three times to add a bit more air.

That was a front puncture however, and I definitely don't recommend riding too fast like that. Even though mine was never total flat, on my last stretch I let it go a bit too far and it felt like the tyre almost rolled off the rim as I braked and took the last turn off the cycleway for home. To make matters worse, I've been riding this stupid bike I'm restoring which has the brake levers reversed (rear on right) and in the few seconds I had to brake, after noticing that I'd let it go down too far, I couldn't remember which was which. So I ended up doing most of the braking on the wrong tyre (the flat one). Grrr, I've got to get those levers swapped over.

[TheWall]

I have been reading this thread since its inception and have Ben been bemused by all the to and fro.

I was further "bemused" to find I had the opportunity to test the hypothesis today with a slashed rear tyre. I rolled down Montville hill leaning on the front wheel for a couple of kilometres. And, for the record, I am 93kg.

I can confirm that further damage to the tyre ensued and the and the 2nd tube is now unusable but no damage to the rim.

What I do for science on behalf of this forum!

A-You ride with flat again
B-You would walk
C-You would phone a friend
D-Swap flat to front and learn to ride one wheel wheelie

Was the tyre a bin job anyway as it was slashed ?

Yep. Tyre was a write-off Nashie. I was going down hill so the vast majority of the weight would have been on the front tyre. A-did that. B-did that. C-if I was further from my destination...absolutely! D-I wish I was that skilled ha ha

[djw47]

should I better get a new tube (and tyre?) instead of using the puncture patch?

You can pick up spare tubes for a couple of dollars on ebay, why bother with the hassle of a repair? I've had heaps of repair kits where the vulcanising solution goes off before I need to use it which makes them useless, a spare tube lasts for years.

[Thoglette]

You can pick up spare tubes for a couple of dollars on ebay, why bother with the hassle of a repair? I've had heaps of repair kits where the vulcanising solution goes off before I need to use it which makes them useless, a spare tube lasts for years.

<pedant>
You can slap up an opinion a couple of weeks after the thread dies, why bother with the hassle of a reading the thread?
(Nashie and Philistine had this discussion already). Or any of the other threads over the last decade or so which adequately discuss this and the relative merits of the $2 tubes.
</pedant>
<old-phart>
And why bother with the hassle of working out how to store glue properly? (I repaired a tube last night with a tube I opened at least four months ago, possibly in 2016)
</old-phart>

Finally, as someone here said: punctures are like London buses, there's never one until, suddenly, three turn up.

..but we were happy then.

[djw47]

You can pick up spare tubes for a couple of dollars on ebay, why bother with the hassle of a repair? I've had heaps of repair kits where the vulcanising solution goes off before I need to use it which makes them useless, a spare tube lasts for years.

<pedant>
You can slap up an opinion a couple of weeks after the thread dies, why bother with the hassle of a reading the thread?
(Nashie and Philistine had this discussion already). Or any of the other threads over the last decade or so which adequately discuss this and the relative merits of the $2 tubes.
</pedant>
<old-phart>
And why bother with the hassle of working out how to store glue properly? (I repaired a tube last night with a tube I opened at least four months ago, possibly in 2016)
</old-phart>

Finally, as someone here said: punctures are like London buses, there's never one until, suddenly, three turn up.

..but we were happy then.

Apologies, I didn't realise there was a time limit on contributing to threads on a message board, I've failed at the internet... Well done for being so good at both the internet and storing glue.

[bychosis]

should I better get a new tube (and tyre?) instead of using the puncture patch?

You can pick up spare tubes for a couple of dollars on ebay, why bother with the hassle of a repair? I've had heaps of repair kits where the vulcanising solution goes off before I need to use it which makes them useless, a spare tube lasts for years.

Why waste an otherwise perfectly good tube when there is a well tried and tested method of repairing? I patch mine, often several times before binning. The only time the get binned without considering a patch is if the failure is at the valve.

[human909]

Some people care about things like the environment, waste, etc, others do not, some simple care less. As can be seen by those throwing away tubes, gel packs etc on the side of the road. (Not suggesting that if you don't patch tubes you are a litterer, just pointing out there is a spectrum of care and concern.)

Why waste an otherwise perfectly good tube when there is a well tried and tested method of repairing? I patch mine, often several times before binning. The only time the get binned without considering a patch is if the failure is at the valve.

Agreed. If you don't have time, then sure swap the tube over and patch later.

[NASHIE]

Some people care about things like the environment, waste, etc, others do not, some simple care less. As can be seen by those throwing away tubes, gel packs etc on the side of the road. (Not suggesting that if you don't patch tubes you are a litterer, just pointing out there is a spectrum of care and concern.)

Why waste an otherwise perfectly good tube when there is a well tried and tested method of repairing? I patch mine, often several times before binning. The only time the get binned without considering a patch is if the failure is at the valve.

Agreed. If you don't have time, then sure swap the tube over and patch later.

Fully understand your comment, but don't think many fit into your 'lower' spectrum of care and concern, just because one replaces a new tube maybe once or twice a year. Old tubes get reused over time around the house and garden for various duties in our house. Well done if you manage to keep a spare or 2 patched and ready for use.

[Thoglette]

Well done for being so good at both the internet and storing glue.

(The secret with glue seems to be keeping the threads clean. And it helps if you keep it in a sealed container)

[djw47]

should I better get a new tube (and tyre?) instead of using the puncture patch?

You can pick up spare tubes for a couple of dollars on ebay, why bother with the hassle of a repair? I've had heaps of repair kits where the vulcanising solution goes off before I need to use it which makes them useless, a spare tube lasts for years.

Why waste an otherwise perfectly good tube when there is a well tried and tested method of repairing? I patch mine, often several times before binning. The only time the get binned without considering a patch is if the failure is at the valve.

Simple: time spent fixing something as inexpensive to replace as an inner tube is time wasted - if I convert my hourly rate of pay to the time taken to fix a tube (remove, repair, test, replace), I'm more out of pocket than the cost of a replacement tube.

[djw47]

Some people care about things like the environment, waste, etc, others do not, some simple care less. As can be seen by those throwing away tubes, gel packs etc on the side of the road. (Not suggesting that if you don't patch tubes you are a litterer, just pointing out there is a spectrum of care and concern.)

Why waste an otherwise perfectly good tube when there is a well tried and tested method of repairing? I patch mine, often several times before binning. The only time the get binned without considering a patch is if the failure is at the valve.

Agreed. If you don't have time, then sure swap the tube over and patch later.

I care about the environment but don't fool yourself that repairing tubes is environmentally friendly - the glue including all those noxious
solvents and chemicals that have to be manufactured somewhere, the patches made out of plastic/rubber, the packaging associated with all those repair kits...

[bychosis]

Simple: time spent fixing something as inexpensive to replace as an inner tube is time wasted - if I convert my hourly rate of pay to the time taken to fix a tube (remove, repair, test, replace), I'm more out of pocket than the cost of a replacement tube.

Different strokes for different folks. I actually enjoy fixing stuff. I don’t enjoy throwing away my hard earned on something that can easily be given an extended life.

Don’t count the time to remove and replace in he cost of a tube repair, you have to do that with a new tube too whacking a patch on can take less than 5min and if you do it at a convenient time by keeping a few repaired tubes on hand it ‘costs’ even less.

[ldrcycles]

Deary me there are some silly comments on this one!

Yes it is perfectly safe to ride on a flat tyre (with caution, or what used to be known as common sense). It is unlikely to cause any damage to the wheel, but the tyre and tube will have a good chance of being toast after a short distance, hence it is the absolute last resort.

On one occasion I had run out of spare tubes, and couldn't arrange a lift, so rode 14kms on a flat. Not enjoyable by any means, but faster than walking, and while the tyre and tube went in the bin (the tyre was slashed anyway) there was no damage at all to the wheel.

[human909]

Deary me there are some silly comments on this one!

Yes it is perfectly safe to ride on a flat tyre (with caution, or what used to be known as common sense). It is unlikely to cause any damage to the wheel, but the tyre and tube will have a good chance of being toast after a short distance, hence it is the absolute last resort.

Common sense isn't so common...

And yep when I've done it I've pretty much accepted that my tyre and tube might be toast afterward. But every time the tyre has survived and sometimes even the tube. (Helps not to have decent tyres.)