"Ghost" punctures

Skunk said:

I last used my bike on Friday. I went to go to work on it this morning
and the back tyre was flat. I pumped it up tonight to check it out and
it appears to be staying up. Is there an explanation for this?

1. Someone let the tyre down as a joke.

2. Slow puncture caused by tiny hole or fault at the valve where it's
bonded to tube, or something else like that. It may be slowly deflating
now.

Quoted message said:

I've
got a date with a couple of bottles of home brew tonight and didn't
wanna miss that for changing a wheel, would you risk carrying on with
it, if it stays up until the morning?

Probably wouldn't be too dangerous if you carried on with it but make sure
you have a spare tube. Personally, I would have a closer look.

~PB

Skunk said:

I last used my bike on Friday. I went to go to work on it
this morning and the back tyre was flat. I pumped it up tonight
to check it out and it appears to be staying up. Is there an
explanation for this? I've got a date with a couple of bottles
of home brew tonight and didn't wanna miss that for changing a
wheel, would you risk carrying on with it, if it stays up until
the morning?

It's either a slow puncture or a problem with the valve. Sure as eggs
is eggs it will go down again, and Murphy says it will do it at the
worst possible moment. Sometimes you can go for weeks with a tyre like
this but often it goes down a little quicker each time. I'd spend 5
minutes bunging a new tube in tonight before cracking those bottles and
put the suspect tube aside for Ron.

--
Dave...

Uh - ok.
As it's been locked up in the outhouse since friday, I can rule out the practical joke. I was guessing it might be the valve so I'll put a new tube in and leave the old one for good ole Ron.
Cheers.

Skunk said:

Uh - ok.
As it's been locked up in the outhouse since friday, I can rule out the
practical joke. I was guessing it might be the valve so I'll put a new
tube in and leave the old one for good ole Ron.
Cheers.

When you change the tube check the inside of the tyre. Sometimes thorns
can puncture a tyre but make a fairly effective seal in doing so. I
have ridden for miles on a tyre with a thorn in but the moment you spot
it and try and move it, the tyre goes flat.

Tony

On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 19:25:52 +0000, Tony Raven <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

When you change the tube check the inside of the tyre. Sometimes thorns
can puncture a tyre but make a fairly effective seal in doing so. I
have ridden for miles on a tyre with a thorn in but the moment you spot
it and try and move it, the tyre goes flat.

Tee hee. I've done that too. "Ooh, I ought to pull this out." Pssssss.
"Bugger!"

--
Dave...

Get a bicycle. You will not regret it. If you live. - Mark Twain

"Skunk" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've got a date with a couple of bottles of home brew tonight and didn't

wanna

Quoted message said:

miss that for changing a wheel, would you risk carrying on with it, if it

stays up until the morning?

Quoted message said:

--
Skunk

It won't stay up till morning after a couple of bottles of home brew, it may
not go up at all.

in message <[email hidden]>, Skunk

(') said:

I last used my bike on Friday. I went to go to work on it this morning
and the back tyre was flat. I pumped it up tonight to check it out and
it appears to be staying up. Is there an explanation for this? I've
got a date with a couple of bottles of home brew tonight and didn't
wanna miss that for changing a wheel, would you risk carrying on with
it, if it stays up until the morning?

'Slow' punctures are not that uncommon. I've currently got them on both
wheels of my 'winter training' (i.e., at this time of year, general
purpose) bike. It needs the tyres pumped up once or twice a week, but
won't let you down even on a 100Km ride. Consequently it doesn't feel
worth while to whip 'em off and patch 'em.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they
;; do it from  religious conviction."          -- Pascal

Simon Brooke said:

'Slow' punctures are not that uncommon. I've currently got them on both
wheels of my 'winter training' (i.e., at this time of year, general
purpose) bike. It needs the tyres pumped up once or twice a week, but
won't let you down even on a 100Km ride. Consequently it doesn't feel
worth while to whip 'em off and patch 'em.

Until I repleced the tube a fortnight ago I had a similar problem on
my MTB. The tyre would take a couple to days to deflate to an
unacceptable level - that was until the valve-stem came clean off the
rest of the tyre.

I may be wrong but I think my track pump is to blame, or my use of it,
perhaps. It needs a good tug to remove the pump from the tyre.

James

"James Hodson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I may be wrong but I think my track pump is to blame, or my use of it,
perhaps. It needs a good tug to remove the pump from the tyre.

A bit of spit on valve or track pump thingy seems to lubricate things well.

T

Tony W said:

A bit of spit on valve or track pump thingy seems to lubricate things well.

I shall try that, Tony.

Here comes the phlegm, do-do-do-do.
Here comes the phlegm, and I say ...

James