Bike Safety – How to Avoid a Flat Tire?
When you are biking acquiring a flat tire is no fun. It a real inconvenience, slows you down and depending on the severity can be very dangerous. If it is a full on blow out it can result in you to lose control of your bike. Here are some simple tips on how to keep a flat tire.
There is no guarantee that you will not get a flat tire but if you follow these flat tire prevention tips you can sway the odds significantly in your favor.
1. Make sure your tires are correctly inflated before each ride. Overly inflated tires will be prone to blowouts. Under inflated tires (more common) not only cause you to have to pedal harder but will be vulnerable to “pinch flats.” This is where the tube gets pinched between the tire and your rim. The recommended psi will be set on the side wall of the tire.
2. Make sure your tires aren’t worn out. Inspect your tires before each ride and check for cracks, damage to the rubber or uneven worn down knobs. Check the sidewalls for pieces of debris that may have become jammed between the sidewall of the tire and the rim.
3. As you ride look out ahead of your path and try to avoid pot holes, broken glass or obvious rough or jagged objects.
4. There are things you can do to your tire to make it more resistant to getting flats. The easiest and most good is to put a tire liner in between your tube and tire. This will provide an added protection from puncture flats. Most of these are made of rubber but a recent form, a little more expensive, is made out of Kevlar and is much tougher.
5. There is a sealant style product that can be put into the tube via the valve stem. It only works with the common Scraeder tubes. This slime product will seal up small, slow leaking punctures. The tube can still be filled with air once this product has been put in. You can also buy tubes with this sealant all ready in the tube to void the mess, if you want.
6. You can opt for a little more expensive “thorn resistant” tube. These types of tubes will give you a little more added protection vs. the traditional cheaper tube.
7. There is a company that makes a tire called the Armadillo. Your bike shop will know about it. It is designed to give better protection against flats and resist punctures. The downside is that it offers a little rougher ride.
8. You can also consider using “air free” tubes or tires. These are made of flexible rubber. There is no air so they can’t go flat. This is yet pretty new technology and there is controversy over the type of ride you get and if they can actually damage your wheels. Best bet here is to check with your local bike shop.
9. The last best point is to store your bike, when not in use, away from the roughness of the weather and if you can store it inside especially the tires that will be a great help. Exposing your tires to hot and cold and wet weather will make them age faster and ultimately be more prone to getting flats.
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About the Author
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