Flat front tire
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Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 37
Likes: 6
From: Twin Cities
Flat front tire
Went out to hop on the bike and did my usual pre-ride check and found the front tire below 20 psi (manual states 30). It had sat for a week and the weather took a drop in temps from 50s/60s to 40's/50's. I know your PSI will drop a bit when it gets colder but this much seems like too much. I checked the back tire to see if it followed suit but the back tire was only down 2 psi. I pumped it back up to 30 to see if it would go down again and so far 24 hours later its still at 30. Any ideas? Could a drop in temp like that really drop the psi that much in only one tire?
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 3,293
Likes: 3,519
From: PA
Short answer ..yes. It depends on the type of rims on the bike. My guess is that this is a tubeless tire an mags. The inside rim of the mag could have some corrosion on it that when the temp dropped the metal of the mag contacted and caused a rim leak
Cruiser
Joined: Aug 2017
Posts: 188
Likes: 29
From: Idaho
All tires, of course, leak air over time to some degree. But that large of a diff between the F and R is a cause for concern. Btw, when was the last time you checked the pressures and what were they at that point? That said, I'd very carefully check the front for any possible Foreign Object Damage (a nail, broken glass, etc). Sometimes tires with FOD will leak far more whenever the tire is parked directly over the source of the leak. EDIT: also check the valve stem core and, if tubeless, the stem itself.
Last edited by FMB42; Oct 6, 2017 at 02:13 PM.
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Intermediate
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 37
Likes: 6
From: Twin Cities
Carefully inspected and did the soap test on the tire, rim and valve stem and no bubbles anywhere. The tire is still holding 30psi from yesterday. Took it for a 30 min ride mixed between windy roads and highway speeds thinking maybe if its a small enough leak it would only leak when the tire has more pressure on it. Let the tire cool down for a few hours after the ride and checked it still at 30 psi. Do I just ride it and continually check it every few hours?
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HDF Community Team
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 8,601
Likes: 4,037
From: San Diego, CA
My cast rim on the front leaks air like a sieve, the rear rim not at all after 27 years. I have to use industrial bead glue to make it seal, and it still leaks down a bit. My theory is salty ocean air hitting that rim and getting pushed in to corrode the aluminum. I guess it's a common problem if you live on the coast, and we have a lot of foggy wet conditions in my area on morning rides.
The front exhaust heat shield often has a thin layer of salt on the leading edge after a foggy ride, so I assume the warm tires condense the salt along the rim and it migrates inward.
John
The front exhaust heat shield often has a thin layer of salt on the leading edge after a foggy ride, so I assume the warm tires condense the salt along the rim and it migrates inward.
John
Last edited by John Harper; Oct 6, 2017 at 07:27 PM.
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