Can pinch flats be avoided? Need Help!

[rumplefester]

Was out riding today and ended up stranded about 5 miles from nowhere. This is my second front tire pinch flat in 3 months. What the heck am I doing wrong?

I usually ride in pretty rocky areas and generally run 20lbs. That's not too low is it?

How do you guys that ride in rocky areas avoid pinch flats? Is that even possible?

Later...

[Brian]

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=357275

[Neil Claydon]

Good tip.

I have found that lot's of talcum powder or French chalk helps as well.

Neil.

[DRayzor]

Your running a good tyre pressure, have you replaced your standard tubes with heavy duty ? They really make a difference. Other than that there are some super heavy duty tubes on the market around 6mm thick.

[Staxrider]

Michelin foam bib?

[rumplefester]

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=357275

Brian, thanks for the link. Will have to try that one.

I have found that lot's of talcum powder or French chalk helps as well.

I use talcum powder, didn't work this time. I have also used it for my mountain bike for years. Haven't had a pinch flat for a long time.

Your running a good tyre pressure, have you replaced your standard tubes with heavy duty ? They really make a difference. Other than that there are some super heavy duty tubes on the market around 6mm thick.

I will try a heavy duty this time. Bought one today. Damn! They are heavy!

Thanks for the input guys!

Later...

[richard15]

Was out riding today and ended up stranded about 5 miles from nowhere. This is my second front tire pinch flat in 3 months. What the heck am I doing wrong?

I usually ride in pretty rocky areas and generally run 20lbs. That's not too low is it?

How do you guys that ride in rocky areas avoid pinch flats? Is that even possible?

Later...

Never hurts to carry a spare tube,small tire irons, bicycle pump.

[mjlang]

The heavy-duty tubes will help you significantly. I run 15 lbs front and back and don't normally have too many issues. We race with Tire Balls and never have a problem. I use the tube liner with an extra heavy duty tube in the rear but never the front. Talcum power... I don't know if it works but its cheap insurance just in case it does help.

[obrianmcc]

Check your rim strips....20 lbs is more than enough. I run 14 lbs when I know the ride is going to be rocky, never had a flat?

[doggerdan1]

I ran my front tire with heavy duty tube at 10-12 lbs all winter and spring in some pretty damn rocky stuff and never had a flat. I think the heavy duty tube is key.

[Thumpin n Bumpin]

I've found that 90% of the time a pinch flat is the result of a poor install. If that's the case, it will happen shortly after the tire change and often be very close to the valve stem, but not always. 20lbs of air is very high for offroad. If you are getting pinch flats from rocks with 20lbs of air, I'm very surprised you aren't bending rims.

Front wheel, back wheel and where on the tube and when?

Good Luck!

[lazy232]

Before pushing the second bead on, I like to add a little air to the tube and massage any kinks out.

[3BeeJay3]

If you are running a rimlock, you can get a pinch flat by hitting a square edged rock at the exact spot on the tire where the rim lock is, even with higher air pressures.

I took a day long off-road course with a multi time Canadian Hare scrambles/Enduro Champ. He showed us many of his tricks he learned over the years.

-He doesn't use rim locks for the reason above. Instead he uses a hammer and cold chisel to put grooves 1" apart on the bead seat on both side of the rim all the way around. The grooves are angled to force the tire bead into the side of the rim on acceleration. He also mentioned that some pros use set screws in the side of the rim.

- to make tire changes easier, he takes an air sander and removes about 3mm of material from the outer edge of the rim on the disk brake side.

- he has also used the foam bib in the past with good results, it's just takes a bit of learning to change tires with it.

BJ