The dreaded slow leak
We’ve all felt it; going over a bump or through a corner and feeling that unmistakable bit of slop in the handling that sends your heart straight to your feet. Hoping you’re wrong, you bounce the tire as you roll along, confirming you’ve got a puncture.
But it’s not really flat – not yet, at least. Just softening. The question is, do you stop or do you try to keep going and hope its a slow enough leak to finish the ride? Barring that, can you at least get to a comfortable spot to change the tire, such as the little café near the turnaround point. Everyone who has ever changed a tire knows that changing a tire with a coffee at hand is a civilized way to go about such things.
Or, hypothetically, you realize that you’ve forgotten to bring the little tool that removes your valve extender and valve core, making it impossible to change your tire. Which means you are now committed to a race against your slow leak to get home.
Forget the contre la montre; the real race of truth is the race against the escape of air in your tire as you speed home at full gas in an attempt to avoid a long wobbly walk of shame in cycling shoes.
Spoiler alert: I made it home. Hypothetically.
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Had to drop a buddy of mine on an out and back a couple summers ago, climbing out of some Indian ruins, to make it back to the car in time to outrun a flattening front tire. Felt bad but would have felt worse having to duck walk in.
Don't remember if I bought beers out of remorse or not.
Hopefully you have not torned that FMB, with plenty of treadlife left, off that rim. Give that tub 50ml of orangeseal and get that FMB back on the road. I recently got a tread slash on Vitt tub and the tire made one rotation of air loss, then orangeseal choked out a 4mm hole. Rode 60k home and kissed my tub. I have used all the different white latex sealants and orange is the new white. FYI: I tape an extra presta valve to the valve tool.
Few things will have me say adult words in my outside voice like a good tub going soft. Too bad there's not a pill for that.
I hesitate to make a comment one way other the other for fear that my luck will change. I may have already said too much...
I too ride tubs... what to do when they wear down? Run it until the canvas shows, handling starts to get dangerous and a high risk of puncture or tear it off and throw a new one on?
I'm at that point now and by not making the decision (budgetatus vs conserative logic) I am making the decsion to run the gauntlet...
I wish I knew the answer.
In my younger more foolish days I ran clinchers and have ridden home a couple of times with a flat no problem....well, no major problem. Just make sure you take the tube out, don't go any faster than your grandmother can walk and forget about cornering!
Couple years ago around this time I punctured a nice, low mileage tubular that sealant “almost” fixed. Just a persistent slow leak, and the plug of latex would occasionally give out, usually resealing itself enough to keep riding. Being cheap and lazy I resolved to finish out the season before replacing it. Careful monitoring of pressure and a few ccs of sealant now and then got maybe another 1,000 Km out of it, until rapid deflation on a twisty descent. The tubular didn’t quite roll off, just squished to one side so the edge of the rim made contact with the pavement. Luckily it was the rear. The sound of a carbon rim riding directly on asphalt is pretty much the sound of money being sucked into the void.
@frank
Every time I have an incident, I am pushed closer to tubs. In fact, N+1 will be achieved this fall and it will likely be an 11 spd cassette, meaning not compatible with my current rig, and I may upgrade to the proper, pure set of wheels.
I ride clinchers with friends who ride tubs. Nothing more irritating when they put in the sealant, pump up, we get going only for the sealant to give way again repeated three times in one ride...
@Jay
Shhhhh! They will hear you!
@mauibike
I'm intrigued! Are you putting that in post-puncture or are you putting it in the tire prophylactically?