Flats
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Joined: Apr 2021
Posts: 50
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From: Kings Mountain, NC
Flats
Most of my flats, all but one, have been in the rear and most have been nails or screws.
Why in the rear? Well if the nail or screw is laying on it's side, how does it poke up into the tire? I'm real sure that it happens when the front rolls over the nail, it flips it point up and the rear gets it before it can fall back down.
Look at pictures of bikes in the old days. Pretty sure that was the reason for that mud flap on the front fender being as low or close to the ground as they were. Knock those nails back down where they can't puncture the tire.
With that theory in mind and having been in the generator business, I stuck a strong magnet salvaged from a generator exciter to the frame. Didn't have a flat for several years but pulled nails, screws and other metal off the magnet at oil changes. Then, had a flat and found that the magnet was gone, probably raked off by a speed bump.
A bonus with the magnet was that it easily tripped traffic lights that had the sensing coil such as left lane turns that usually don't run unless it senses a vehicle waiting to turn.
Strangest thing I've ever had in a tire causing a flat was a tweezer i the side wall. Have no idea how that happened. I carry an air compressor. Got home but was stopping every 50 miles to air the tire up. Glad to have a tire pressure monitor system.
Now hunting another magnet.
Why in the rear? Well if the nail or screw is laying on it's side, how does it poke up into the tire? I'm real sure that it happens when the front rolls over the nail, it flips it point up and the rear gets it before it can fall back down.
Look at pictures of bikes in the old days. Pretty sure that was the reason for that mud flap on the front fender being as low or close to the ground as they were. Knock those nails back down where they can't puncture the tire.
With that theory in mind and having been in the generator business, I stuck a strong magnet salvaged from a generator exciter to the frame. Didn't have a flat for several years but pulled nails, screws and other metal off the magnet at oil changes. Then, had a flat and found that the magnet was gone, probably raked off by a speed bump.
A bonus with the magnet was that it easily tripped traffic lights that had the sensing coil such as left lane turns that usually don't run unless it senses a vehicle waiting to turn.
Strangest thing I've ever had in a tire causing a flat was a tweezer i the side wall. Have no idea how that happened. I carry an air compressor. Got home but was stopping every 50 miles to air the tire up. Glad to have a tire pressure monitor system.
Now hunting another magnet.
Road Warrior
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,709
Likes: 3,511
From: Wake Forest, NC
I agree with the theory that the front tire kicks the nail up and it punctures the rear. Double axle trailers that me and friends have, its almost always the rear axle that gets a flat compared to front.
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