Flats while touring

[froze]

I don't think Schwalbe tires can be beat either, and they have an excellent range of touring tires depending on what you think you need.

[bobbys beard]

It sounds like you’re more than prepared for a long tour. You’ve plenty of answers to the other questions, but the more the merrier.

First question: On average, how many flats do you get while on a single tour?

In America, I patched a lot. The shoulders on busier roads are often covered in metal and glass etc. On the  southern tier, I sometimes had to patch several times a day due to the thorns.

Second question:  How many tubes do you carry with you if you are using tubed tires and not tubeless?

One or two usually.

Third question:  How many spare tires do you carry?

I’ve never carried a spare tyre and can’t think of a scenario where it might be necessary if you’re riding on pavement the whole way. The tyre boot will patch any tears. In all my years of riding, I’ve only had to use a tyre boot once. I met a guy on the northeast coast who fixed a tear in his tyre with a folded 1 dollar bill. I rode with him for 30 miles or so and it held up fine.


Fourth question:  Do you patch your flats or replace the tube or both?

Always patch. I don’t like to waste.

Fifth question:  Do you do anything to the tire to beef up the flat protection built into the tire like use flat liners, and or a thorn resistant tube, and or sealants?  Again only tube type tires not tubeless.

I’d advise against tubes with sealant in them if you’re going anywhere hot. I got my bike serviced to make sure I was prepared for the desert sections on the southern tier. The guy replaced my tubes with sealant ones, saying I would thank him for it... got my first flat between Del Rio and Langtry. It was crazy hot and no traffic had passed for hours. The sealant had thinned due to the heat and spat out of the hole in the tube, making it very hard to get a patch to stick properly.

[staehpj1]

I’d advise against tubes with sealant in them if you’re going anywhere hot. I got my bike serviced to make sure I was prepared for the desert sections on the southern tier. The guy replaced my tubes with sealant ones, saying I would thank him for it... got my first flat between Del Rio and Langtry. It was crazy hot and no traffic had passed for hours. The sealant had thinned due to the heat and spat out of the hole in the tube, making it very hard to get a patch to stick properly.

I'll second that.  Sealant works great with tubeless setups.  Tubes with sealant were a huge fail for me when I tried them.  We tried them on the Trans America and threw them away replacing them with regular tubes.

[LouMelini]

1. How many flats: my wife and I have had 4 flats in the last 6,000 miles (12,000 when counting both of our miles)- both of mine occurred in a campground on the gravel road (thorn)
    I use schwable marathon supreme and Julie is on Continental gatorskins.

2. I carry 4 spare tubes for the 2 of use in case we run into a patch of thorns or other road debris.

3. We carry a spare tire, used it on two separate occasions due to a badly cut tire and a broken tire bead

4. We replace, patch at the end of the day

5. Tires seem to do well, no need to use added protection- We carry Park Tool tire boot, used it once .

[John Nettles]

Ivmelini,
You might consider changing your "name" as you may start to get a ton of spam email due to your email address being shown.  Plus of you ever change internet service providers your implied email would be wrong.

Tailwinds, John

[LouMelini]

Thanks John;  I've wondered about that when I got a rash of spam email earlier this year.
Lou

[froze]

LOL!!  I thought you did that as a forum name joke!  I was laughing when I saw it, but now I realize it's your real email.

[hikerjer]

1.  On two  2000+ mile tours  and a number of shorter ones, I've never had a flat using Schwalbe Marathons.. Sounds too good to be true, but that's the way it is.

2. I carry two extra tubes.

3. I've never carried a spare tire.

4. Replace a flat tube with the spare and then repair the flat in the evening or as soon as convenient.

5. Never have done anything to enhance the strength of the tire.  They seem to hold up just fine as is.

[froze]

I had Marathon Greenguard (27") on my last touring/commuter bike, I had around 2,000 miles on the tires and not one flat, heck, not even a cut.  But those Greenguard tires were bit too heavy due to the robust flat protection, they may have been an overkill, so the when my Kenda Drumlins wear out I'll try the Supremes to lessen the rotating weight, plus they're the 3rd fastest rolling touring tire tested, but they were lighter than the top 2. 

I'll probably add a Panaracer FlatAway liner to at least the back tire, they're very light weight and work extremely well, far better than plastic liners.

[LouMelini]

John Nettles and Froze:  Thanks for the prompt. I procrastinated doing it for too long.

[John Nettles]

...so the when my Kenda Drumlins wear out I'll try the Supremes to lessen the rotating weight, plus they're the 3rd fastest rolling touring tire tested, but they were lighter than the top 2.

+1 on the Supremes.  I use the Supremes on my road touring bike and really enjoy them.  I would much rather spend an extra 30 minutes a couple of times changing a flat over 2500 miles than expending extra energy pushing the heavier but more flat resistant tires.

Tailwinds, John

[LouMelini]

John: my exact reasoning for using the Schwable Supreme. I use the 35C as I can't find the 32C. I can buy through Quality Bike Parts due to my volunteer position at a non-profit bike shop, but QBP doesn't stock the 32C. That is why Julie rides Continental Gatorskins in the 32C size so that her wheel set-up is a little lighter than mine.  When we did the TransAm with one flat, on a very hot day on a steep descent.

[Inge]

Does anyone know for how long after a package of Tear-Aid is opened/ / or if getting a roll - it is still okay to use. I heard something of about 2 years.

Would be great to hear experiences on this for that would help me decide whether to gett a roll or a package (12"x 3").

[staehpj1]

Does anyone know for how long after a package of Tear-Aid is opened/ / or if getting a roll - it is still okay to use. I heard something of about 2 years.

Would be great to hear experiences on this for that would help me decide whether to gett a roll or a package (12"x 3").

I don't have an answer, but can we expand the question to also include the life expectancy of other glue-less patch systems opened and unopened?

Since I have taken to riding my mountain bike with tubeless tires most of the time these days I seldom patch tires.  With the pandemic I may not tour for a while.  So my patch kit stock that has already been sitting around for quite a while is likely to be getting less and less trustworthy.  If I were to buy into a glue-less system I am wondering if the unopened or even opened packages will be reliable long term sitting in the shop or in the bike's saddle wedges.

[John Nettles]

Does anyone know for how long after a package of Tear-Aid is opened/ / or if getting a roll - it is still okay to use. I heard something of about 2 years.

My roll is probably about 5 years old and it has been kept in an office closet.  They are still good.  I only have the little ~ 1"x1" patches and I still use them to patch tubes, thermarests, holes in tent floor, holes in panniers, etc. They are extremely sticky so it may gum up on the scissors when cutting so I would go with the actual size patch.  I have layered multiple patches across a bigger hole on a pannier an it is fine.

Tailwinds, John