Are you keeping it at a high pressure?....

Are you using baby powder? Use lots of baby powder. Also keep the tire PSI up.

Change your rim tape

+1 on the baby powder.

However, don't use an entire container of baby powder per tube/tire, like my buddy does. That sh*t is like glitter. It goes everywhere!

Put on enough tho. I put 2-3 tablespoons into the bottom of the tire. I then rotate the tire so the pile of powder slides all the way around. Then I hold the tire at 45degrees and to it again so it coats the inside of the sidewall. Repeat for the other side.

The next step is important. Tip out the remaining pile of baby powder than hasn't stuck to the inside of the tire.

For the tube, put the new tube in a Ziploc bag that has baby powder in it. Shake it like coating chicken. Remove the tube carefully and shake off the excess. Put the tube and tire on the bike. With a damp cloth, wipe the excess off the outside of the tire.

There you have it. Easy Peasy.

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

What is the purpose of this?

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http://www.jt10000.com/

I have had the same trainer tire for 10 years, only "flat" was when I snapped a valve stem. Never used baby powder, but what is the reason behind using it? How does it prevent flats? No guess it helps on install, but flat protection?

Patrick,

What sort of wattage are you working at? I've been using a Computrainer for 20+ years, leave the tension on the tire for 6 months at a time, use old road tires instead of trainer tires and only have had a couple of flats and they were probably due to sketchy patches in all that time. Now most of my time was below 300 watts and now days most of it's more like 250 watts so if you're cranking out 350+ watts perhaps that's a component of the problem.If not, then there is a physical wheel or tire problem.

Hugh

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Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

Get a Kickr.

Haha, just kidding. Good joke me. (no but seriously)

I'd definitely double check the rim tape as mentioned above.

hey if H20Fool can spam the Kickr posts, you can do the same here

I also once had a "trainer wheel" that started getting flats, no matter what I did -- talc, rim tape, pressure, feel for burrs, etc. I got so pissed one day that I taco'd it -- like John Daly with his golf club.

I'm wondering the same thing. Fresh baby smell to cover up crop dusting?

It acts as a dry lubricant between the tire and tube. It prevents the tube from bunching and then pinching and it also helps alleviate rubbing against the tire which will eventually thin out and break the tube.

Trust me, between powder and proper pressure you'll be good to go :)

I had this same issue in the fall and I corrected it by doing the following:

1. Clean internal and external sides of tire with rubbing alcohol. While doing so check for anything that may be protruding from the sidewall or tire.
2. Clean the roller with rubbing alcohol to ensure it's clean and gunk free
3. Replace your rim tape and perhaps add an additional layer of electrical tape (extra tape was unnecessary in my case)
4. Inflate the tire to 90PSI (assuming you're not a Clydesdale)
5. Set up the flywheel between 1.80 ~ 2.1
6. Ride the hell out of that thing!!

For me my rim tape had bunched to one side and completely left my spokes free to poke the tubes and blown them out. I find keeping the surfaces clean since then results in less slippage as well. For the record I'm using the Conti Indoor Training Tire.

Best of luck resolving this issue! I know how frustrating it is to mess with the rhythm of a workout due to flats.

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"Train so you have no regrets @ the finish line"

I've used the same old wheel on the trainer for 8 years, bought my trainer in 2007. I've never had a flat. Either I'm not riding near hard enough or y'all doing something wrong.

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The secret of a long life is you try not to shorten it.
-Nobody

I find it extremely hard to believe that once a tube is installed it will rub against the tire. Have never seen such a thing.

I can see it making proper installation easier, but preventing rubbing that will eventually wear out the tube? No way.

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http://www.jt10000.com/

Happened to me one season, flats on trainer and off.

It was rim tape that was sliding to the side.

I figured it out halfway through the Chesapeakeman bike.

Not a good day, but I made it.

The purpose of the baby powder is to reduce friction between tube and tire, and tube and rim tape.

When installing a tube, without baby powder, the tube ends up with tension in it and it creeps over time and that tension can contribute to flats. The baby powder friction reducer also means when installing the tube, the tube slides into place easier and pinch flats as you install the tire, are reduced.

It also makes your tubes smell pretty :-)

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

Not really, no. There's no need for powder in bike tires.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/talcum.html

Thanks again, Jobst Brandt.

As you ride, the tube and tire flex as they go round (as they compress against the ground). The baby powder helps reduce the friction between tube and tire during the flexing, reducing heat build up (which can prematurely age the tube, leading to earlier failure) and reduces rubbing of the tube as well. Have you ever changed a tire and there are mysterious little black balls/grains/grit? That's from the rubbing of the tire and tube interface over time.

Baby powder will not help with snapping valves however.

You do realize that by bragging about your 10 year trainer tire with no flats, that you have annoyed the tire gods and you will flat soon? Have a spare tire handy! Once, I foolishly stated out loud, that in 20 years of racing I'd never flatted in a race. Yup, you guessed it, in my very next race, headed for a better placing than ever before, I flatted. I also had a 700C bike and somehow had a 650C inner tube with me. FARK! Rookie mistake :-)

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

While we all bow to the late Sheldon Brown, I have found over the past 40 years of riding to school, triathlon, cycling centuries and daily commuting to work, that with my N=1 sample set, I get less tube problems by using baby powder. Your mileage (and Sheldon's) may vary.

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

By your logic, I have never had a threesome with two hot 20 year olds since 1984....Fingers crossed the Gods will shine down on me again....

Never noticed black balls and grit, but honestly not many flats. I will try baby powder anyway. Why not.

It's not MY logic. Logic is just logic. anyone can use it, but hardly anyone does (much to my frustration)

But, if there is a threesome going with a couple of hot 20 year old GIRLS (one needs to be specific when it comes to threesomes, because a 'devils 3-way' ain't as much fun as the regular kind ;-) ), then I'm hoping that (non-existent) God shines down on me too.

Baby powdered tubes and tires smells just like 20 year old hot girls in latex, so it's sure to be good.

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

Nice. Final chuckle for the night. Thanks man!

Half my working life is spent writing specifications. I have learned that it pays to be specific up front, rather than try to wiggle out of a problem later.

sleep well dude

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

LOL

Saw this thread a few days ago and passed on reading it...not trainer season. Well fast forward to yesterday and I am inside due to forest fire smoke in the area (Clear day, so they say, but no sun due to smoke). Rode a trainer for the first time in years (I am always on rollers in winter) and ran on the treadmill. 1/2 hour of each.

Woke up this morning and drove to clinic to jump on and repeat this morning. Clip in and start pedaling to zero resistance, What the hell. Check the tire and the damn thing is flat.

So now I read the thread and see that there is a "tire God" I have been ignoring. I guess he just got even with me. Of course at work with no flat repair so the trainer ride is dumped and I run on the dreadmill.

1 final issue. I am at 49hours for June. So I need to drive home, fix the tire, and come back to get to 50 hours for the month.