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pinch flats

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Road Cycling
Published
7 October 2005
Last activity
10 October 2005
Original author
gds
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15
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  1. Someone please help me out in understanding the term. I have always
    thought of pinch flats as what happens when a tube is improperly seated
    in the tire ans gets "pinched" between the tire and rim wall.

    In this group lots of folks seem to refer to pinch flats as what
    happens with "too small" tires for the load being carried. Is the idea
    that the load essentially flattens the tire and thus "pinches" the tube
    between the tire and rim body?

    If this is so I have never seen that happen. Is it really a matter of
    load or insufficient inflation?

    Thanks!

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

    Quoted message said:

    Someone please help me out in understanding the term. I have always
    thought of pinch flats as what happens when a tube is improperly seated
    in the tire ans gets "pinched" between the tire and rim wall.

    This usually results in a blowout. I've never thought of this as a "pinch
    flat."

    Quoted message said:

    In this group lots of folks seem to refer to pinch flats as what
    happens with "too small" tires for the load being carried. Is the idea
    that the load essentially flattens the tire and thus "pinches" the tube
    between the tire and rim body?

    Yes. aka a "snakebite" since it frequently causes two holes, one on each
    side.

    Quoted message said:


    If this is so I have never seen that happen. Is it really a matter of
    load or insufficient inflation?

    Yes, either. The impact (such as bouncing up over a curb or hitting a big
    enough rock) can also dent your rim if it's sufficiently violent.

    RichC

  3. thanks!

  4. "Rich Clark" clip) I've never thought of this as a "pinch flat." (clip)
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    There is a little bit of overlap of teminology. The type of flat caused by
    trapping the tube in mounting is commonly called "pinching the tube." This
    can be between the bead and the rim, or between the tire iron and the rim or
    bead.

  5. Leo Lichtman said:
    Quoted message said:

    I've never thought of this as a "pinch flat."

    Quoted message said:

    There is a little bit of overlap of terminology. The type of flat
    caused by trapping the tube in mounting is commonly called "pinching
    the tube." This can be between the bead and the rim, or between the
    tire iron and the rim or bead.

    The difference is that this is not a flat but rather a tire patching
    error that doesn't occur while riding. Flat tires are those events
    that occur from riding the bicycle (or malicious activity). If you
    damage the inner tube while remounting the tire then you discover it
    immediately when you try to inflate the tire.

    The pinch flat and the snake bite (double pinch) are caused by
    compression failures the same as when bumping one's head on a flat
    solid object, like a low concrete ceiling, to causes bleeding.

    Jobst Brandt

  6. gds said:

    Someone please help me out in understanding the term. I have always
    thought of pinch flats as what happens when a tube is improperly seated
    in the tire ans gets "pinched" between the tire and rim wall.

    In this group lots of folks seem to refer to pinch flats as what
    happens with "too small" tires for the load being carried. Is the idea
    that the load essentially flattens the tire and thus "pinches" the tube
    between the tire and rim body?

    If this is so I have never seen that happen. Is it really a matter of
    load or insufficient inflation?

    Thanks!


    I think it is something like that when you hit a rock or a decent
    pothole the tire can't hold its shape and the tube gets pinched between
    the rim and the obstacle.
    Bill

  7. The couple of pinch flats I had were from a rookie mistake: not checking
    my air pressure. Walking home 3 miles taught me the wisdom of topping
    off the tires before I roll out the door. It is pinching the tire and
    tube between the street surface and the rim.

  8. I got a couple of really bad pinch flats in Holland, where the mortar
    was missing between the pavers on the bike trail, and I rode into the
    gap.

  9. Bill Baka said:
    Quoted message said:

    Someone please help me out in understanding the term. I have always
    thought of pinch flats as what happens when a tube is improperly
    seated in the tire and gets "pinched" between the tire and rim
    wall.

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    In this group lots of folks seem to refer to pinch flats as what
    happens with "too small" tires for the load being carried. Is the
    idea that the load essentially flattens the tire and thus "pinches"
    the tube between the tire and rim body?

    Quoted message said:
    Quoted message said:

    If this is so I have never seen that happen. Is it really a matter
    of load or insufficient inflation?

    Quoted message said:

    I think it is something like that when you hit a rock or a decent
    pothole the tire can't hold its shape and the tube gets pinched
    between the rim and the obstacle.

    You may have the picture right but the description may be misleading.
    The tube does not actually get pinched between rim and obstacle. It is
    pinched between the side walls of the tire, the rim being outside of
    the tire bead. Its shape is like pinching your cheek.

    Jobst Brandt

  10. Quoted message said:

    I got a couple of really bad pinch flats in Holland, where the mortar
    was missing between the pavers on the bike trail, and I rode into the
    gap.


    This reminds me... i just remembered. I dreamed last night, or this
    morning, that I was fixing a flat tire! I was about to take out my bike
    when I noticed the tire was flat. I thought, oh S***....so I set about
    fixing the flat. At first I wasn't sure I'd done a very good job, so i
    asked a friend (another cyclist who is very tech savvy) if he could take
    a look at it. He said I did it fine, but I just needed to inflate it a
    bit more. I said fine, I'd do that, and I was surprised I'd done a good job!

  11. Sat, 08 Oct 2005 16:12:40 GMT,
    <[email hidden]>,

    Quoted message said:

    Bill Baka writes:


    \szip

    Quoted message said:

    Its shape is like pinching your cheek.

    Jobst Brandt

    This is going to be a hard image for me to dispell; JB tweaking BB's
    cheek.
    --
    zk

  12. Sat, 08 Oct 2005 19:00:01 -0400,
    <[email hidden]>,

    Marlene Blanshay said:
    Quoted message said:

    I got a couple of really bad pinch flats in Holland, where the mortar
    was missing between the pavers on the bike trail, and I rode into the
    gap.


    This reminds me... i just remembered. I dreamed last night, or this
    morning, that I was fixing a flat tire! I was about to take out my bike
    when I noticed the tire was flat. I thought, oh S***....so I set about
    fixing the flat. At first I wasn't sure I'd done a very good job, so i
    asked a friend (another cyclist who is very tech savvy) if he could take
    a look at it. He said I did it fine, but I just needed to inflate it a
    bit more. I said fine, I'd do that, and I was surprised I'd done a good job!

    And the best part is that you didn't even get your hands dirty!
    --
    zk

  13. Zoot Katz said:

    Sat, 08 Oct 2005 19:00:01 -0400,
    <[email hidden]>,

    Marlene Blanshay said:
    Quoted message said:

    I got a couple of really bad pinch flats in Holland, where the mortar
    was missing between the pavers on the bike trail, and I rode into the
    gap.

    This reminds me... i just remembered. I dreamed last night, or this
    morning, that I was fixing a flat tire! I was about to take out my bike
    when I noticed the tire was flat. I thought, oh S***....so I set about
    fixing the flat. At first I wasn't sure I'd done a very good job, so i
    asked a friend (another cyclist who is very tech savvy) if he could take
    a look at it. He said I did it fine, but I just needed to inflate it a
    bit more. I said fine, I'd do that, and I was surprised I'd done a good job!

    And the best part is that you didn't even get your hands dirty!

    and the good thing is it happened before i left the house, rather than
    out on the road somewhere...

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

    Quoted message said:
    gds said:

    Someone please help me out in understanding the term. I have always
    thought of pinch flats as what happens when a tube is improperly seated
    in the tire ans gets "pinched" between the tire and rim wall.

    In this group lots of folks seem to refer to pinch flats as what
    happens with "too small" tires for the load being carried. Is the idea
    that the load essentially flattens the tire and thus "pinches" the tube
    between the tire and rim body?

    If this is so I have never seen that happen. Is it really a matter of
    load or insufficient inflation?

    Thanks!


    I think it is something like that when you hit a rock or a decent
    pothole the tire can't hold its shape and the tube gets pinched between
    the rim and the obstacle.
    Bill

    and pinch flats are one reason not to BUI

  15. Thanks again!
    I imagine that since I basically ride only road bikes and run pretty
    high pressure are the reasons for my lack of familiarity.
    But it is good to have common definitions when discussing anything!

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