[Soaring Vulture]

So I'm riding down a hill at about 30MPH. I turn left onto a road that goes uphill so I'm not on the brakes. I have taken this turn with no drama at least 50 times but this time I go into a skid and the bike gets way out of shape. I hit the brakes and manage to stop without falling over and see that my front tire is very low. I check and see that I have a puncture. So I change the tube and continue on my way.
Now I was very alarmed at this event. Is there a good technique for recovering from this sort of skid or are you just a victim of fate?

 

[Josh Patterson]

So I'm riding down a hill at about 30MPH. I turn left onto a road that goes uphill so I'm not on the brakes. I have taken this turn with no drama at least 50 times but this time I go into a skid and the bike gets way out of shape. I hit the brakes and manage to stop without falling over and see that my front tire is very low. I check and see that I have a puncture. So I change the tube and continue on my way.
Now I was very alarmed at this event. Is there a good technique for recovering from this sort of skid or are you just a victim of fate?

Glad to read you emerged unscathed. From your description, it sounds like your front tire began to deform due to the lack of air pressure. When you detect a flat, try to slow down while traveling in a straight line to avoid tire squirm and lessen the chance of the bead unseating from the rim. Road conditions permitting, of course.

 

[Soaring Vulture]

I understand your response. If the bike started to feel funny while I was going straight I would have slowed gently. This has, indeed, happened to me several times in the past and just resulted in me being annoyed at having to stop and fix the flat. But in this instance my first clue that I had a problem was when I was committed to a high-speed turn. I was wondering if there was anything I could do at that point.

 

[RBR_NEWS]

If straightening up isn't an option, I would shift my weight rearward and adjust my brake bias to the rear wheel. You kept the rubber-side down, so you must have been doing something right.

 

[Josh Patterson]

You kept the rubber-side down, so you must have been doing something right.

+1

 

[Soaring Vulture]

If straightening up isn't an option, I would shift my weight rearward and adjust my brake bias to the rear wheel. You kept the rubber-side down, so you must have been doing something right.

I don't quite remember. I got real busy in the middle of that turn. I was willing to hit the bushes on the side of the road but I really didn't want to flip over on my side since I tend to break body parts when I do that. I suspect I was on both brakes, which probably wasn't optimum. At least the rear brake did something.

 

[Peter P.]

Keeping the bike upright and NOT trying to continue the turn, while braking to a stop, is the best you can do. And yes; luck and fate will rule.

 

[siclmn]

Keeping the bike upright and NOT trying to continue the turn, while braking to a stop, is the best you can do. And yes; luck and fate will rule.

S

So I'm riding down a hill at about 30MPH. I turn left onto a road that goes uphill so I'm not on the brakes. I have taken this turn with no drama at least 50 times but this time I go into a skid and the bike gets way out of shape. I hit the brakes and manage to stop without falling over and see that my front tire is very low. I check and see that I have a puncture. So I change the tube and continue on my way.
Now I was very alarmed at this event. Is there a good technique for recovering from this sort of skid or are you just a victim of fate?

Keeping the bike upright and NOT trying to continue the turn, while braking to a stop, is the best you can do. And yes; luck and fate will rule.

Since going tubeless I never say the words, flat tire, any more.

 

[No Time Toulouse]

When recovering from a steer tire blowout on a car or a truck (especially on an 18-wheeler..), hitting the brakes is the LAST thing you want to do. However, since bicycles have separated front/rear brakes, my suggestion is to not use the FRONT brake at all, and be very, very careful using the rear.

 

[Lombard]

I understand your response. If the bike started to feel funny while I was going straight I would have slowed gently. This has, indeed, happened to me several times in the past and just resulted in me being annoyed at having to stop and fix the flat. But in this instance my first clue that I had a problem was when I was committed to a high-speed turn. I was wondering if there was anything I could do at that point.

Flats on the front are relatively rare for a number of reasons. You may want to re-evaluate the tires you are using that flat so easily. You may not be so lucky the next time.

 

[No Time Toulouse]

BTW, this is at least 1 instance where tubulars are SO much safer....

 

[Soaring Vulture]

Flats on the front are relatively rare for a number of reasons. You may want to re-evaluate the tires you are using that flat so easily. You may not be so lucky the next time.

I was using Vittorias, which felt great but punctured very easily. I was getting flats quite frequently. I don't recall what percentage were on the front. I switched to Continental Grand Prix and this was the first flat I had gotten in about a year.

 

[Lombard]

I was using Vittorias, which felt great but punctured very easily. I was getting flats quite frequently. I don't recall what percentage were on the front. I switched to Continental Grand Prix and this was the first flat I had gotten in about a year.

Yikes! I ride about 3,000 miles per year and get less than one flat per year - usually on the rear. Do you ride where there are a lot of road hazards?

Which Vittorias are you using, Corsas? I use the Rubino Pros and am planning on trying the Corsa Control to get a better ride, but now I'm reconsidering.

 

[Soaring Vulture]

Yikes! I ride about 3,000 miles per year and get less than one flat per year - usually on the rear. Do you ride where there are a lot of road hazards?

Which Vittorias are you using, Corsas? I use the Rubino Pros and am planning on trying the Corsa Control to get a better ride, but now I'm reconsidering.

I think I was using Corsas; I'm not sure. Anyway, I was probably getting a flat every 100 miles, which is why I changed to the Contis. I guess there's lots of junk on the road where I ride. I once had flats on both tires at the same time, which I didn't notice until after I replaced the tube in my rear tire.

 

[Kerry Irons]

When recovering from a steer tire blowout on a car or a truck (especially on an 18-wheeler..), hitting the brakes is the LAST thing you want to do. However, since bicycles have separated front/rear brakes, my suggestion is to not use the FRONT brake at all, and be very, very careful using the rear.

Really depends on how soft the front tire was. If you didn't realize it until you were turning, and the tire was just soft, then braking on the front might not be an issue. If the tire was really deflated, then braking the front would almost certainly cause a fall. All that said, the chance are you're not going to be able to spend time thinking about what to do and just give it your best shot. If you realize you have a very soft front tire, rear brake only.

 

[Tom Kunich]

So I'm riding down a hill at about 30MPH. I turn left onto a road that goes uphill so I'm not on the brakes. I have taken this turn with no drama at least 50 times but this time I go into a skid and the bike gets way out of shape. I hit the brakes and manage to stop without falling over and see that my front tire is very low. I check and see that I have a puncture. So I change the tube and continue on my way.
Now I was very alarmed at this event. Is there a good technique for recovering from this sort of skid or are you just a victim of fate?

You did recover and every instance is a new case. I find that a sudden rear wheel flat it the most difficult to catch without falling. That was why I went back to riding Gatorskins for awhile. While they don't have particularly good traction or cornering, they rarely get flats. But now there are plenty of good pretty much flat resistant tires on the market. I like the Continental 4 Seasons but they are too damned expensive. The latest Bontrager appears to be similar to the 4 Seasons but I haven't priced them. I do ride a lot of Vittoria Corsa G+ or G2 but they can wear out and not show any surface signs that they have. But I've only had one flat on them in three years. And they are the lowest rolling resistance tire of that makes much difference.

 

[duriel]

At the top of any 'big' downhill, where excess speed is anticipated, get off the saddle and kinda bunny hop to test the inflation of your tires. Especially if the prelude is kinda casual or flatish.

 

[Lombard]

I do ride a lot of Vittoria Corsa G+ or G2 but they can wear out and not show any surface signs that they have. But I've only had one flat on them in three years. And they are the lowest rolling resistance tire of that makes much difference.

I believe the Corsa Control is a version of the Corsa with a little more tread, so a little more life. I decided to try these, but haven't ridden on them yet. I've been using the Rubino Pros for a few years and they seem to be a fairly good compromise between comfort and puncture resistance, but I'm curious if I can get a little more comfort with the Corsa series as they have a higher TPI count. And as you imply, you're not paying for the Continental brand name.

 

[Tom Kunich]

I believe the Corsa Control is a version of the Corsa with a little more tread, so a little more life. I decided to try these, but haven't ridden on them yet. I've been using the Rubino Pros for a few years and they seem to be a fairly good compromise between comfort and puncture resistance, but I'm curious if I can get a little more comfort with the Corsa series as they have a higher TPI count. And as you imply, you're not paying for the Continental brand name.

There are several models of the Control. One of them is the Control Endurance and I tried that and it seemed to wear out faster than the G2, but like I said, despite the G2 appearing to have a longitudinal tread that you could expect to wear off, it does not so but the actual rubber on the tire gets very thin and you can then get a flat quite easily. The G+ I wore out I had for three years. Now, I have so many bikes that I couldn't estimate the miles on that tire, but it had to be several thousands of miles. Gatorskins tend to wear out a lot faster than that with the kind of riding I do.

 

[Lombard]

There are several models of the Control. One of them is the Control Endurance and I tried that and it seemed to wear out faster than the G2, but like I said, despite the G2 appearing to have a longitudinal tread that you could expect to wear off, it does not so but the actual rubber on the tire gets very thin and you can then get a flat quite easily. The G+ I wore out I had for three years. Now, I have so many bikes that I couldn't estimate the miles on that tire, but it had to be several thousands of miles. Gatorskins tend to wear out a lot faster than that with the kind of riding I do.

I believe the Endurance is in the Rubino series. I couldn't find it in the Corsa series - I only found the Speed, Control and the regular Corsa. The G2's are just the successor to the G1's - their "newer and improved" graphine compound.