Diagnosing a Flat Tire
Consider these scenarios:
1. You finally decide to dig your dusty old 10-speed out of the back of the garage, and go for a ride. You could use the exercise, and after all, it is a beautiful day. Imagining the breeze in your face, just before you mount, you look down to find both tires flat. How could that be? You haven't ridden the thing in five years--spiders have gotten more use of your bike than you have!
2. You are riding your $900 aluminum frame mountain bike with tires made to glide like a ballerina through the worst mud imaginable...along a smooth, paved road of all places. You look up to wave at a friend, and don't see what you have run over. The next thing you hear is Pssffffssshhhh!, and your front tire is as flat as Kansas. What made it flat...and can you repair it in time for your trail ride this afternoon?
Many things can deflate or flatten a bike tire. The rubber is not as thick as a car tire, and the tube that holds the air is even thinner. Before assuming anything, and before carrying your bike to a shop that charges by the hour for labor, there are ways you can diagnose the cause of your tire flat. |