I'm pretty sure this happens every time I repair a flat, but the tire is uneven, and I can't fix it - every time I try to adjust it, it becomes uneven in another place. I've also tried over-inflating it (I've heard that that would force the tire into the right place), but that didn't work either...
this is what I mean by "uneven." I traces around one of the seams on the tire, how it sort of dips into the rim..
any suggestions?
Inflate it half way, squish around the tire pushing it into the rim and make sure there isn't tube stuck between the tire and the rim. Inflate the rest of the way. Riding around might get it seated a little better too. If I'm running big mountain bike tires on box rims, I wouldn't really worry about it. You can't feel the unevenness, can you?
did that...I think I can feel it, but I'm going to chalk it up to me being something of a bike-hypochondriac, and the fact that I just changed my brake pads, so that made the ride feel different.
Thanks!
I just get mega paranoid about this issue specifically, because when it happened on the blue bike, it caused a few extra flats (skinny tires probably made a big difference, but logic doesn't help paranoia any....)
this is fairly common, methinks. I agree with @dwillen, although I would also suggest after inflating it halfway to let all the air out before reinflating to your desired pressure
I've had some luck with some especially bad tires by adding a dish soap water mixture to the bead after it is mounted on the rim (but not inflated) that bit of lubricant along with some elbow grease can get the bead to seat better on the rim.
that is a good idea!
I will definitely do that next time.
better question, why are you running knobby tires on your commuter?
I can't change a flat for shit. I try then cburch takes it from me when I struggle. No flats after a year of riding my single speed commuter (I put at least 3k miles on this bike) after putting the RIBMOs on it. This is not the last time I will suggest them. They suck to put on I hear but it eliminates/lessens the need to change tires often, thus eliminating/lessening the number of times this happens to you.
I have a hard time taking them off.
Had to use cable cutters after breaking a plastic tire tool trying to get this thing off my wife's front wheel a few weeks ago. Couldn't get a tire on the thing either, and ended up swapping out her front wheel for something that would take a tire. The offensive wheel was a Campagnolo Melbourne '56. I've been working on bikes for 30 years with never having felt that level of rage or frustration over removing / mounting a tire.
Have you always reused the same tire? It is possible that it is stretched and/or deformed.
I'm with cburch, toss the knobbies!
Speaking of tires, I just bought a new set of super puncture resistant (i.e. pain in the ass to install) slicks... wish me luck! 
stef, what width are your ribmos?
she has 25c folding beads on her ss and her geared road bike. they do suck to install. pain in the ass. but worth it as i was repairing her flats nearly weekly before.
from almost weekly to over a year without?! thats quite impressive, especially since theyre that skinny. you guys have pretty much sold me on the ribmos for the next pair i buy. maybe i will even try 25c...
the vittoria randonneur cross 28s i roll on now are great, but theyre wearing down way too fast (maybe i have them overinflated?? i keep them within the spec range), so the next pair isnt too far off.
Have you always reused the same tire? It is possible that it is stretched and/or deformed.
I'm not sure exactly how long I've had them on there...I've somehow managed to collect 3 or 4 sets of tires for this bike, and have been swapping them out when necessary (a year or so ago, I somehow managed to get big gashed in my tires on about 3 different occasions), so I've lost track.
Hey I didn't get flats weekly all of the time. I hadn't gotten a flat with regular tires for nearly a year, then I got a flat once a week for like 4 weeks. That is when the RIBMOs came into play. I also have made sure that my tires are inflated properly to avoid flats.
I agree also with getting rid of your knobies. You will realize how dreadful they are to ride on after you have gotten rid of them. As I type this, I realize that you are getting a new bike soon, and I don't think that it has knobbies.
Inserting foot in mouth.
Got a flat on my single speed on the way into work at negley and Baum. Couldn't tell what caused it. Didn't see glass nor did I nail a pothole. D'oh!
I also second the RIBMOs, They last a long time and I've had very few flats (most of those I can attribute to not keeping them inflated properly and pinch flatting). They are not cheap, but I think they are worth it if you ride every day.
FWIW I find it much easier to change flats using the Crank Brothers Speed Lever and this technique for installing the tire: inflate the tube a little bit, like a sausage, then insert it in the tire. Then put the tire on the wheel. I never get the dreaded blowout through the tire bead anymore since I started doing it this way.
quizbot, sounds like a time when a $10 flat fix at your local bike shop is totally worth it.
woke up to another flat today. totally lame. No clue where these are coming from, as there's nothing in the tire or on the rim, yet there's a perfect little puncture hole in the tube (on the rim side, from an are in between two spokes)
is you rim tape in good shape and modestly covering the nipples? is there a sharp metal burr on the rim?
yeah, it's new tape, and there's nothing sharp anywhere near it. Yesterday, I even moved the tape over and dusted under it, in case a pebble or something somehow got lodged underneath it.
One winter I was the FreeRide flat tire king. I had expensive flat resistant tires and teflon protective strips. I kept getting flats.
Turns out that I had a crack in my rim. I had looked at the rim. I wasn't an issue - until I used my brakes.
you sometimes have to be very careful not to move the rim band when putting your tube and tire back on. it is for that reason that i've been using cloth rim tape for the last however-many years.
I went to kraynick's today to radially true my front wheel because I was noticing that the front of my bike would wobble up and down. Spent a while getting it pretty nice, put it back on the bike, and noticed that 99% of the problem was probably the tire, which has this dipped in section. I think it's the tire itself because I am normally very careful about inflating part way, deflating, wiggling, and re-inflating. Maybe I will get a ribmo to replace it.
well, I think that all my inflating/deflating (many many times) yesterday caused a leak in the new tube, right around the valve. Gonna patch both, check the tire/wheel again, re-inflate more carefully this time, and wake up with enough time to walk to work in the morning.
So the part of the rim tape that overlaps a little where it meets seems a little pointy. Is there anything I can do there?
quick update - I tried the soap thing, and I think it worked pretty well! There's just one little section that's uneven on one side, and I'm hoping that I can ride that out, so to speak.
Thanks for suggestions, everyone. I feel silly for making a thread that was basically me complaining about flats.
Hopefully the tire will still be full in the morning!
It's not silly and others benefit from such questions!
What is pointy, the rim tape? Is it the plastic kind? You could melt/burn the corner with a flame... but that could also make it harder and pointier if you don't do it right. The better approach would be to just throw a piece of electrical tape over the potential problem area. If you really wanted to, you could use electrical tape for the entire wheel but seeing as that isn't what it is made for, you are better off buying new tape if the old is worn.
When I was new to bicycling, my new (used) bike kept having flats. After the third one I took it to the LBS. A sharp edge where the spoke is inserted through the top wall, and old rim tape combined to cause that problem and that wheel has never been flat since.
It's new tape. it's just the corners on the end of the tape that fee sharp to me.
I used to have the entire inside of my rim covered in electrical tape. The guys at thick must have taken it off and put the new stuff on, probably when I got it tuned up recently.
Well, just heard all the air rush out of my tire from the living room.
There's gotta be something up with the tire or the wheel. This is ridiculously frustrating.
I'll drink one to that.
gah!!! I think that next time I'm in town, I'm going to donate a few tubes to the cause! 
You probably could have bought a new wheel and tire by now for as much hassle as it's giving you.
What pressure are you inflating the tires to? Perhaps you can find a certain point, below which it won't blow out... I have one wheel that is deformed and won't take anything above 72psi LOL
about 60...
Where is it getting a hole, is it near the valve again?
There's a little something you have to do with the valve, would be simple to demonstrate, rather complicated to describe:
When you get a new or patched tube back in, and the tire back on, both sides, inflate the tire to a low pressure, like 5 psi. Then push the valve into the rim, like you're trying to make it disappear, but dont' push it all the way in. What you need to do is to make sure the round, thicker base of the valve is on top of both beads inside the tire, and NOT pinched between the tire bead and the rim. When it feels like it is free, let it pop back out and start pumping more air into the tire. Every few pumps look at the bead and see if it is seating, and just keep pumping until you are up to the pressure you want. If the valve base was getting pinched between the bead and rim, it would also cause the bead seating problem you were describing at first. Also as you pump, gently tug the valve out, wiggle it a little if that helps, and make sure it is tight against the inside of the rim. If the valve base is not all the way against the rim it can cause little "aneurism" blowouts. See if that helps.
This can be maddenning.
60 in a wider mountain bike tire sounds really high to me... I think most that are wider than two inches max out at maybe 50?
Try keeping it at 40 next time and see what happens. If you think they are too mushy at that pressure than you need to get a narrower road-friendly tire.
Also, take a look at this and consider if your pressure is reasonable. http://sheldonbrown.com/tires.html#width
the first puncture was maybe 6-8 inches away from the valve, the second was right next to it. I haven't checked out this third one yet.
So before I walk to work on my bum foot, I'm gonna check for glass and stuff, put one of the patched tubes back in, and try inflating it slightly less.
I would laugh a lot later if this many of my multiple flats were simply caused by overinflation.
It seems I can't patch properly either.
The tube that went last night went right on the patch, and it was clearly from being put on improperly (it was one of those things where I wondered it I should rip the patch off and start over when I looked at it, but thought it would be okay).
I put on the other patched tube (the patch being near the valve), and that one blew, though the hole in the tube was so near the valve that I wasn't even sure it would work in the first place.
Gonna put in a brand new tube and pedal to work as fast as I can, so that if it flats again, I might still be able to make it where I need to be (there's no busing this hour..).
"It seems I can't patch properly either."
If it makes you feel any better, the first time I tried to patch a tube I discovered that the bike shop sold me an empty tube of glue with my patch kit! 
I would never attempt to rip off a patch once it is set, it's not just an adhesive but a chemical bond; trying to remove the first patch is only likely to create a bigger hole. If the first patch doesn't hold, I'd say the tube is shot... but then, there's really only one way to find out, right?
If you washed your hands first (to remove oil) and made sure to slightly sand the area where the hole is, then my thinking is that the hole isn't repairable... no fault on your part.
Best of luck with this morning's commute!!!
I keep a pen in my tool on my bike. In the event of a flat, I mark where the stem is on the tire, along with a directional arrow. Then when I discover the leak, I can very carefully check the corresponding spot on the tire and rim for offending items. I also keep a safety pin in the patch kit for prying out small bits of glass or metal imbedded in the tire.
That being said, I also usually use the spare tube I carry and fix the tube when I get home, but all of the tire and rim checking is still necessary.
yeah, after I take the tube out of the tire, I usually lay the tire on the wheel so I can keep track of where the valve was, and check for glass/pebbles/etc.
So I made it to and from work today.
What I got out of the past few days was this:
1. Flat number 1 was probably some freak accident
2. Flat number 2 (valve) was probably due to pulling on the valve when the pump was hooked up to it, or something similar. Possibly just a bad tube
3. Flat 3 was from me being impatient and frustrated and improperly patching flat 1
4. Flat 4 from when flat 2 (valve) Patched that one up, but since it was so close to the valve, it really didn't help at all.
5. soapy water on the tire helps it move into its proper place more easily
6. I'm definitely overinflating my tires.
I'm exhausted, but glad this is over with, so I'm gonna just peace out and hope for no more flats!
Piggybacking on a current thread, but still on-topic: so I apparently still can't put a tire on properly.
Both rim and tire are less than two years old, and the tube is one of these gel-filled flatless types. It was miserable to get off, and I gave up last night trying to get it on; 12 hours later my hands still feel weak.
Just how DO you get that tire on when it just won't go on?
(The reason it was off was to replace a spoke.)
I generally end up using a tire lever and pray I don't eff up the tube. there are strategies of warming and stretching the tire which I've never (bought into) tried. but I have cried over many a tight tire and the blisters it leaves me with afterwards.
tire levers? I always have trouble getting tires back on as well, but I usually get them on with tire levers....
@Stu, try going around the tire and pressing the sidewalls and, more specifically, the bead, into the center of the rim. That will give as much "slack" as possible to slip the remaining section of tire over the sidewall of the rim.
If you use tire levers, I'd try not to take them past the point where they are perpendicular with the plane of the rim. I've changed hundreds of motorcycle tires by hand and taking the tire lever past perpendicular was what often led to the tube being pinched/punctured by the lever.
If it's really tough, sitting the tire out in the sun or heating it up with a hair dryer always worked well for making motorcycle tires more pliable. It won't stretch the tire bead, and it is no substitute for making sure the bead is fully seated in the rim, but it will help a little, and the same should be true with bike tires. Hope this helps.
A little soapy water (suggested earlier for a slightly different purpose) helps the bead slip over the rim on that last little bit. There's also a tool out there specifically for getting tires on. I think you can get one at Kraynick's, or at least use the one Gerry has.
I got a flat yesterday... it turns out the shop (who will remain nameless assuming they make it right) didn't put any rim tape on the wheel I bought. Somehow it made it over a month like that!
O_o hate those rim tape eating gremlins
I had a miserable experience with my first tire of the set. For the second, I left it marinade marinate in the sun for a few hours and I also coated one end in baby powder to keep the rubber from sticking to the rim. It went on in about ten minutes tops! Which, was a huge improvement after the first one took me some forty minutes!
*edit for html-scratch... well, if it was supported by WordPress at least. Thanks dmtroyer! 
mmmm, italian dressing marinade or more thai soy sauce marinade?
I was seriously considering olive oil for a while. LOL
Wearing your cycling gloves (I never ride without them) also helps with rolling that last bit of tire over the rim with your palm.
Baby powder.
I don't know what to make of the rim tape saga. The shop was skeptical (as was I, honestly) that I could have made it 1 mile much less ~150 without rim tape, but they fixed it for free anyways so no problem.
I dismounted the tire in my workshop and checked again and found no sign of rim tape there, so I don't have any other explanation. I pumped up the tire for the first time in a month on Sunday, rode ~15 miles, and on monday it was flat. The hole is exactly aligned with the valve stem and exactly 1" away (too far to be caused by the valve hole).
FWIW, my tire (vittoria randonneur) seems to go on/off this rim (Mavic A319) WAY easier than the Salsa Delgado I used to have, which always left me swearing profusely. Maybe that's my imagination too, or maybe there's some subtle difference?
I have delgados and bought a pair of randonneurs and promptly sold them because I could not get them on. rim diameters can vary by mms even for standard sizes such as 700c
" rim diameters can vary by mms even for standard sizes such as 700c"
That's been my experience.
It's important to note that the bead seat diameter is not the same as the overall diameter.
From Sheldon: "The rim's diameter will generally be 6-8 mm larger than the Bead Seat Diameter, depending on how high the rim flanges stick up above the bottom of the rim channel."
I dismounted the tire in my workshop and checked again and found no sign of rim tape there, so I don't have any other explanation.
Eaten by the heretofore undiscovered rim tapeworm.
(Granted, this explanation is not quite as plausible as "the bike shop forgot it" explanation. Unless you hear slithering and chomping near your other tire.)
Rim tape... it's kind of like underwear?
Kinda looks like cburch...
*edit to add link* If you haven't seen that episode of South Park, it is HIGHLY recommended!
Stu:
The fault lies not in the tire nor the tired nor the tirerer, but with the (gel filled) tube. The liquid is basically non-compressible, so I've found one needs to make sure every bit of air is out of the tube, and sometimes some of the gel (pull the valve first), in order to get the tire on over the tube.
Even a small volume of allegedly compressible air in a tube paired with a tight fitting tire can be troublesome and problematic.
If all protruding spokes and all pointy and sharp bits have been dulled, rim tape is essentially non-essential.
I have cried over many a tight tire
That was me tonight, too! And not for the first time! I find bike maintenance soothing when it goes well and totally enraging when it doesn't.
I had the bright idea to try and change slick tires for knobbies tonight and whether it's the cold or whatever, I just did not get anywhere. This is definitely not the first time and I feel like I should just get new rims at this point since they appear to be the common denominator in all this.
What are your slick tires? The ones with the kevlar belts (randonneur, ribmo, etc) are a pain to get off the rim (and even harder to get back on). haha - stupid me I sold the bike with the mavic rim I mentioned a few posts above so now I'm back to no fun. 
That is definitely one thing I miss about having my only bike be a MTB. You never have a problem with those tires; usually you don't even need a lever.
Hang in there Ian. I am always near tears and with at least 2 tire levers before I can get randonneurs on, but to me it is worth the humiliation for the lack of flats! Just take some breaks and work on while you are also cooking or something.
Usually I find it's only the first time that I put on a new tire that is really frustrating. Once the bead is initially mounted it seems to get easier.
However, I've considered purchasing one of these which is certainly cheaper than new rims.
It takes me forever to change ribmos also. I developed a huge nasty blister on my left thumb that was annoying for a week after I changed the tires last.
It definitely does the job, although I'm not convinced it won't break given the amount of force that is being applied to a fairly insignificant piece of plastic.
My thumbs and palms are happy. 
I was seriously considering taking the Tires class at Free Ride this past Sunday and I'm glad I didn't make a fool of myself... if you folks have fits with changing flats, I'd be tangled up in tube, crying and in the fetal position in the corner!
<---- has never changed a tire JaySherman5000 wrote:2) brute force is not always the best answer.I broke (literally broke) a motorcycle tire bead learning this. Not only is it not the best answer, if you're resorting to brute force you're doing it wrong, and are about to waste a lot of money. And to add another tip about tire changing: what you need when you're pushing the last bit of bead onto the rim is as much slack as possible, and you can gain a little bit more of it by laying the wheel in your lap and pushing the portion of the tire already mounted into your abdomen. This forces the bead into the deepest part of the rim giving you just enough to work with on the stubborn side. It's important to compress the tire into the rim a few inches to the side of the valve stem (so the bead doesn't just get caught up on the valve and go nowhere), and to roll the last of the bead onto the rim 180° from where you are pushing in the tire. I've done 4 (or 5?) roadside tire changes with this method using at most 2 plastic tire levers, on 32c Vittoria Randonneurs, 28c Serfas Secas, and some other commuter tire. I also use patched tubes - as long as they pass the blown-up-inner-tube-test they should hold when inflated within the confines of a tire.
Jacob McCrea wrote: Also, as far as bad ideas go, using grease to get the tire onto the rim is a pretty bad one. Soapy water is the best because it won’t contaminate your braking surface.What's so bad about grease on the rim? If anything, it'll quiet those squeaky brakes! FWIW, on Tuesday evening I mounted a pair of 700x28 folding bead RiBMos on a set of Mavic 319 rims on my touring bike. The tires went on surprisingly easily, considering Amazon reviews warned of destroying an average of 3 tubes per tire mounted. As @Lizzimac can attest, it was all finesse with almost no struggle. The last few inches of bead were difficult, but I just used my thumbs and a tire lever to gradually move the bead inch-wise over the sidewall of the rim. Of course, YMMV.
JaySherman5000 wrote:What’s so bad about grease on the rim? If anything, it’ll quiet those squeaky brakes!I assume that this is humor... But for anyone reading this, oil/grease on brake pads will *cause* squeaky brakes, not prevent it. Variation of tire/wheel size is a weird thing... I have a set of 700c tires that will actually fall off one rim I have. Obviously, that particular (off label) wheel is an ideal match for Ribmos.
