Sid's Garage

Prevent Your Bike Ride From Deflating With A Flat Tire

There's nothing worse than having to deal with a flat fire while you are out on a long bike ride. If you don't have a spare, that could be it for your ride, and if you do, you'll be taking time off the open road to change the flat. The best way to avoid either of these situations is to follow a few best practices to maintaining bicycle tires.

Bicycle RacersKeep Tires Properly Inflated


The proper inflation for your tires will depend on the bike you have. Certain bikes might require less inflation than others. In order to determine the proper pressure for you bike, look at the side wall of the tires. Usually it will include a recommended range of pounds per square inch of air. To give you an idea, road bikes typically require up to 120 psi, while mountain bikes and street bikes only need up to 50 and 80 psi, respectively.

If a tire is over- or under-inflated, you might be more susceptible to a flat, so maintaining the proper psi is important.

Kid and Dad fixing bikeWatch The Tread


You'll also want to monitor the state of the tread. If the tread is disappearing and the tire is balding, it's probably time to get a new one. Worn-down tread will be far more likely to lead to a flat, so it's important to take care of any issues before you are left stranded far from home.

Rim strips are a great product that can extend the life of a tire. This liner goes between the tire and tube and will reduce the chance of puncture flats. Riders will be given peace of mind knowing they won't have to worry about every little piece of debris on the road when they have tire liners.

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