[Closed] Long travel Hardtail, pinch flat city - what can I do?

ride lighter

heavier tyre/tube will slow bike but may tame rear end, esp if you lower pressure?

Shoulda got steel 😛

I'd rather not run more than 38psi as it's bouncy enough as is.

You might not want to but if you don't want to add weight...

Adding weight alternatives - heavier tyres (with some sort of antisnakebike design), heavier tubes

or finally learn to ride more smoothly (not one I've ever really mastered but...)

DH tubes (cheap option) or go tubeless with a double ply sidewall tyre. What rims are you running? Some claim to have a more rounded sidewall profile over the top to help stop snakebites.

Tubeless is the answer

don't know, im running single ply 2.35 maxxis at 25psi at the moment, never pinch flatted this setup (touch wood)

DH tubes are supposed to be a waste of time, but have you tried the old talc in the tyre trick yet? A combination of this and a dual ply High Roller on the back (plus stupidly low pressure) let me do this during the Mega qualifier last year:

[img] [/img]

Without pinch flatting!

Dont bother with a dh tube, either run 2ply tires or run higher pressures.

I run 40psi with singleply high rollers or 30 with dual ply

I went from 2-3 pinch punctures a day to precisely none after shifting to DH tubes on a holiday earlier in the year. I may have mastered riding smoother and lighter at the same time as I fitted the tubes though so I'm not claiiming this is completely conclusive. 🙂

Looks like Maxxis may be the answer (and a side order of talc!)

ps: ride smoother - I can barely ride these days 😆

Tubeless on the back sorted out the same problem for me, I'm crap at riding too 🙂

thisisnotaspoon - Where are you riding with those pressures??
In the peaks I'd be getting front pinch flats with that pressure! I run 40psi on the rear on my ht but only weigh 11 stone so am not the heaviest.

40psi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do they have any grip at all at that pressure? Mine felt rubbish in the corners untill I droped them to 27.5, and feel even better at 25 (started at 35 and droped 2.5 each ride untill they felt right)

Ride lighter! If I can get away with SPC 2.35's and 25psi in the Peaks, I can't imagine what youd have to be riding on to pinchflat at 40psi!

I'm running 28 psi and pinch flatted last night riding up some steps .

Over rough ground get out of the saddle.

Easy.

Double-ply rear tyre with fast-rolling tread pattern IME.

Grip is fine on 2.35 high rollers. I'm probably not the lightest on the HT as I ride a DH bike and full sus xc a lot but am definitely not the heaviest!

I can't imaging how you dno't get punctures at that pressure. I suppose speed might have something to do with it.

40psi - ugh.

never run more than 30 on a mtb - so so wrong to go high. have tried it - makes the bile ping around every where.

Running high rollers (DH, double ply), front and back, if front goes it is just unlucky or my own fault for hitting something.

Back does occasionally go at places like Ae or Whinlatter where some of the big slate rocks slash and beat your tyres to bits. Usually run mine at about 35psi.

I had exactly the same problem, yet haven't had a single puncture since going tubeless. Can't recommend it enough, but in my opinion it might only worth it if you ride at least once a week - to keep the sealant moving and pressure checked.

Think this prooves the variety of readings from different pumps!

I have Maxxis Freeride tubes pumped to 25-30psi in single-ply Nevegals on my Crush. They very rarely pinch flat when I'm bimbling around in the UK, and they only went twice on a week in Morzine this summer!

tubeless

Tubeless!

I used to pinch flat all the time - at least once per ride. Since I went ghetto tubeless a few months ago not a single puncture/burp/incident. And I can run the tyres at around 20-25 psi. Running really hard tyres completely spoils biking for me.

Hmm, going to go dual ply and walk up the hills I think!

edit... maybe tubeless...

argh!

BlingBling - Member
Over rough ground get out of the saddle.
Easy.

you never pinch flat when out of the saddle?

Really???

Try the talc-covered tube first - it's all I bother with for most of my bikes but seems to make a big difference.

Also the dreaded question, what tyres are you running at the moment? I found Kendas dreadful, paper-thin sidewalls. Maxxis are noticeably better for very little weight penalty.

2 ply tires or tubeless. Dh tubes in single ply tires will only add weight and give a tiny bit more pinch flat protection. A 2 ply high roller or similar with a regular tube will be very hard to pinch flat. Dh tube + 2 ply tire = virtually impossible to pinch.

I run 130mm forks on my hardtail and I don't get pinch flats, lifting the back wheel now and again helps. Pressures are about 35psi in the front and 40psi in the back, weighing in at about 9.75st with camel back etc.

Kev

not using a pump gauge, little oxford digital thingymabob, which i know is accurate as I checked it against the one at the petrol station, an old skool mechanical pressure guage and it agreees with the footpump in the shed!

SteveH,
Could be speed, but doubt it, I'm not going that much faster than you that I'd be airborne so much longer as to make a difference to the number of flats I get.

120psi in the road bike
60psi in the BMX
25-27.5psi in the summer tires (2.35 maxxis SPC)
30-35psi in the winter tires (2.1 swampthings)

you never pinch flat when out of the saddle?

Really???

No. I bend my knees

[i]ride lighter[/i]

Ha! It's obvious that you shouldn't blat into small rock gardens - pre-jump/bunny them. But the trails that give trouble are continuous rock gardens or strewn with loose, sharp rocks and no amount of "going light" is going to work

IMO - Tubeless with decent volume tyres at a decent pressure to avoid burps.

Go light man!

[img] [/img]

I was sorta thinking the opposite notaspoon, faster = greater impact speeds = more likely to flat. I don't spend much time going light, well not conciously anyway, as I'm used to racing the DH bike and not worrying about that too much.

Last time I went to 35 on the HT I flatted on the first ride so have gone back up. It gets a bit bouncy but thats what 36's on my PA are for 🙂

"alloy jump frame with 130mm bombers"
I'm guessing here but is the frame on the small side and the fork a little on the tall side for it? Are you also running a short stem?

That combination could be chucking all your weight a lot more onto the rear (unsuspended) wheel more than a more balanced bike?

You could try trying to make the bike a little more balanced in terms of bringing your weight forward but I guess that would defeat the point of the bike

How bigger tyres are you running? Something like a 2.5" High Roller/Minion or 2.25" Advantage make you have to stretch a standard inner tube to fit the tyre loads, making the tube thickness a lot thinner. Not full on DH tubes, but something a little thicker, like the mid weight Maxxis Freeride tubes (some on CRC), helped out me with running 2.25" Advantages as they seem to inflate to the tyre size
Avoid continental 2.5" or bontrager 2.35" ones though, far worse than something like a 2.2" specialized tube. Those 2.1" Raliegh ones off of merlin are way thicker than any of them though (though not as thick as a maxxis freeride one)

Else as above(Apart from all the 'light' riders saying 40psiisneverneededbyanyoneever..), tubeless, dual ply, DH tubes

DH tubes sorted me right out, I'd go tubeless if the rims wasn't dinged to buggery.

james, reckon you've got my bike situation spot on - I've been using bonty 2.3-2.5 tubes but will give some of the raleigh ones a try. cheers!