An ounce of prevention is worth 100 psi of cure when it comes to your tires and their lifespan. Unfortunately, flats are part of riding and bound to happen to every cyclist at some point—but there are precautions you can take to reduce their likelihood.
Here are nine expert tips to prevent a flat tire from slowing you down on your next ride.
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Use Talcum Powder
Liberally dusting a new inner tube with talcum powder before installation reduces chafing on the tube’s rubber surface. This keeps the tire and tube from sticking to each other and lessens friction that can possibly wear a hole in the tube.
“I have always had a quart-sized zip-lock bag with the talc in it and simply dropped the tube in and given it a good shaking,” says Matt Eames, a World Cup downhill mechanic for Giant Bicycles. “It seems to keep the mess to a minimum as well as not wasting unnecessary talc.”
Watch Your PSI
Keeping your tires inflated within the correct psi range will help keep flats at bay, specifically what’s known as a “pinch flat.” A pinch flat occurs when the tire compresses and pinches the tube against the wheel rim. It’s often caused by an under-inflated tire or a hard impact against an obstacle, like a curb, manhole cover, or pothole. You can identify a pinch flat by the two, side-by-side holes it creates in the tube.
The recommended psi range for your tires will be printed on their sidewall. That’s a good starting pointing. Otherwise, check out our guide for getting your psi dialed in.
Get Sturdier Tires
Not all tires are created equal. If you find yourself the victim of frequent puncture flats, perhaps due to debris-laden roads, try using a more durable tire such as Continental Gatorskin or Schwalbe Marathon Plus.
Go Tubeless
It can be a bit more expensive than some other options, and it depends on your bike and rims, but buying a tubeless conversion kit or switching to Universal System Tubeless (UST) tires altogether can be very effective ways to bring down your number of flats and improve a bike’s overall control. With no tubes, pinch flats become a non-issue, and less air pressure is required to inflate your tire, allowing for better shock absorption on rough terrain. The sealant used in tubeless tires will also prevent flats from minor punctures.
If you can’t bring yourself to get rid of your tubes, you can still try using tire sealant. When looking for a sealant, be sure to check if the inner tube requires a certain type, and how long it lasts before it needs to be replaced. Tires and tubes can be purchased with sealant already in them—Slime brand products are marketed this way—but are more expensive and are typically heavier than those without it.
Add Extra Protection
Both rim strips and tire liners guard the sides of the tube from its neighbors, the rim and the tire. As the name implies, rim strips protect the tube from the holes in the rim, and the ends of the spokes. These are as simple as a rubber strip or a cloth tape and fit inside the rim bed. Tire liners are similar to rim strips in their function but protect from objects attempting to penetrate from the outside. Both are inexpensive to purchase, making them cheap insurance against flats.
Eames says you should pay close attention to the overlap of the liner when it is installed; otherwise, it can prove ineffective and may cause more flats than it prevents. “Take care during installation that the liner stays center relative to the tire’s tread,” he says. “You can end up with a really protected sidewall and little help under the tread.”
Replace Your Tires Regularly
While it’s tempting to get the most mileage that you can out of your tires, pushing the limits of their lifespan will inevitably end in a flat. Mileage can range from 1,000 to 5,000 miles and varies by tire type. Even if you don’t track your mileage, you should replace a tire if it has dry rot or if the threads are visible.
4 Flat Tire Fixes
Stop and Look
This might be an obvious tip, but many don’t take the time to do it. If you think you’ve ridden over a patch of glass, grit, or any other sharp objects that litter the road, just stop and inspect your tires for foreign objects. If you see anything embedded in the tire, gently pry it out. If you have a handkerchief, bandana, or glove, use it to protect your hand while you gently spin the wheel, and see if anything gets caught on the cloth.
This step can prevent an embedded object from causing a puncture later if it hasn’t already pierced the tire’s casing. It’s good practice to inspect your tires after each ride, too.
Go Old School
They’re harder to find as their popularity has dropped off, but tire wipers are still a great way to prevent punctures (though they only work on tires with minimal tread). Tire wipers attach to your rim brakes or fenders and consist of a rubber-coated metal bar that lightly rubs the tire as it rotates to wipe away debris before it has a chance to puncture the tire.
Keep Your Tubes in Good Shape
That spare tube in your saddlebag could be a lifesaver on a long ride, but wouldn’t it be a bummer if you changed a flat, only to discover that the tube was no longer good? Make sure your bike’s inner tubes are in good shape when you need them by avoiding these common mistakes.
Don’t store in a saddlebag too long
Maybe you’ve been fortunate enough to evade flat tires for a while. If that’s the case, the spares in your saddlebag might need to be replaced. Storing tubes inside a saddlebag for long periods of time can lead to weakness or cracks where the tubes are folded. The tubes can also be damaged by jostling against other items in the bag. Unpack your tubes occasionally to prevent them from cracking or splitting. If in doubt, inflate them to look for leaks.
Don’t store without valve caps
This is especially important for Presta-style valves, which are particularly pointy. Make sure the valve is capped when you fold up the tube for storage so the valve doesn’t poke a hole into the tube.
Don’t use rubber bands to keep bundled
Over time, rubber bands could react with the rubber of the tube and cause a hole to form. The rubber band could even fuse to the tube and create a tear when you try to separate them. It’s best to keep your tubes in their original cardboard box or in a plastic bag.
Don’t store near a heat source
Heat degrades the rubber, making it brittle and less elastic. If you have tubes you’re not planning to use for a while, keep them away from direct sunlight and especially from a heater.
When she’s not out riding her mountain bike, Jessica is an editor for Popular Mechanics. She was previously an editor for Bicycling magazine.
