Just the other day I rode a flat tyre a small way. I was a fair way from home and didn't have a kit or a spare so I thought I'd go at least a little closer. It ended up slowly deflating over about 10kms where occassionally as the graident changed I would feel the vibrations of the rim hitting the ground above the deflated tyre. Then eventually it deflated almost completely which wasn't so noticable on prefectly smooth surfaces, but vibrated right through my body on anything rough. I only took it about 1-2kms like that before walking the final 15kms.
I'm a bit worried if there may be damage to the bike. The aluminium wheels seemed to have held up well in shape and pressure on the spokes. It's still very straight with no dents. The thing I'm most worried about being a carbon fibre bike is the effect on the joints. Obviously just having the joint pressure right is highly important so it's a concern what all those vibrations shaking through the bike and right through my body had there. What are your thoughts on that and do you have any suggestions. Thanks.
Just the other day I rode a flat tyre a small way. I was a fair way from home and didn't have a kit or a spare so I thought I'd go at least a little closer. It ended up slowly deflating over about 10kms where occassionally as the graident changed I would feel the vibrations of the rim hitting the ground above the deflated tyre. Then eventually it deflated almost completely which wasn't so noticable on prefectly smooth surfaces, but vibrated right through my body on anything rough. I only took it about 1-2kms like that before walking the final 15kms. I'm a bit worried if there may be damage to the bike. The aluminium wheels seemed to have held up well in shape and pressure on the spokes. It's still very straight with no dents. The thing I'm most worried about being a carbon fibre bike is the effect on the joints. Obviously just having the joint pressure right is highly important so it's a concern what all those vibrations shaking through the bike and right through my body had there. What are your thoughts on that and do you have any suggestions. Thanks.
Riding on a flat will do nothing to your frame or fork unless you crash, and since you didn't crash, you've no worries there. Frames and forks have to be able to withstand much bigger forces than the small forces input to the frame from the vibrations you felt. What you should do is run your finger along the top and sides of the rim hook on the affected wheel to feel for gouges or burrs. Those can damage tires and cause tire beads to fail. It's likely damage was done to the tire itself such that it might not be useable anymore. If you haven't thrown out the tire, you should inspect it carefully around the bead and sidewall for damage.
These days the single greatest benefit that comes from riding tubulars imo. Can still damage the rim but if it's make it or break it and yer a half k out from the finish on a solo, it's possible to make it. The benefit is that the tire will still cover the edges of the rim so the odds of going down will be greatly reduced. In your case doubtful any damage progressed beyond the rims, but a thourough inspection along the lines of what Alienator mentioned would be needed.
