Riding on 5 PSI in Rear Tyre

Hello, all; thought I'd make a small thread so you can all flame me about how stupid I was to overlook something like this.

The Issue:
My bike has been really squirrelly lately in terms of handling (no, really); but I put it down to my front tyre needing a replacement due to putting nearly 10k miles on it. I also thought that my breaks were sticking/tight as my bike was becoming a real nightmare to push around.

So yesterday was the last straw, I was fed up of muscling my bike around and absolutely crapping my pants if I happened to hit a groove in the road. I checked over my tyres this morning; front tyre is fine, will probably need replacing in the next 500 miles or so. However, upon inspecting the rear tyre I found that I had been riding on 5 PSI!

I'm an absolute tool for not checking this sooner, I've been riding like this for a week; bear in mind that I commute 80 miles of mixed motorway and city roads every day! I'm dumbfounded that I haven't had an accident yet and astonished that I didn't even notice this until now.

My Concern:
If I've been riding on such low pressure (practically nothing); will this have damaged the inside of the tyre? From the outside it looks fine and ever since pumping it back up today, it rides like a dream. But I don't want to take another risk if there is hidden damage on the inside. What do you guys think I should do?

My Experience:

• Straight line riding is fine, anything else is a no go!
• Filtering was close to impossible with the handling!
• Hit a groove in the road then prayer and hold on for dear life
• Bike became very hard to push around
• Surprisingly, cornering felt okay; but somewhat on the heavy side. Whereas usually, the bike just tips into corners easily

Apart from that, take this as a word of caution and a friendly reminder to my fellow riders - keep on top of your maintenance and your basic checks! Most importantly, ride safe!

When I picked up a puncture on the way into work I didnt notice till 4 pm, the tyre had obviously overheated on the ride in as the rubber was all melty and shredded. I replaced it because of the obvious damage, Id say if you can see anything wrong it should be ok.

Originally Posted by Corny Gizmo

When I picked up a puncture on the way into work I didnt notice till 4 pm, the tyre had obviously overheated on the ride in as the rubber was all melty and shredded. I replaced it because of the obvious damage, Id say if you can see anything wrong it should be ok.

Hmm, well it wasn't a puncture that deflated my tyre; I put it down to the big decrease in temperature over the last month. Although, it doesn't look anything like you described your tyre; it seems okay from the outside.

I'm just concerned because I've been riding on it for a week, so close to 400 miles or so. Maybe I'll take it off and have a look at it - better safe than sorry

[Biker Biggles]

Temperature wouldnt account for that loss of pressure.You might find it loses a bit over time and because it happened so slowly you didnt notice the handling issues until it got so bad you couldnt ride it.Personally Id be inclined to replace it because I wouldnt have confidence in it but it will probably be fine.

[Red Herring]

As has been said it wouldn't have lost that much pressure on it's own, have a really good look round from a small nail or similar, if you don't find anything then pump it up a bit higher than normal, around 50psi, and run a soapy sponge around the tyre. It's coming out somewhere and better to know where rather than just keep pumping it up.

Unless there is obvious damage to the sidewalls I'd be inclined to say don't automatically replace it unless it's well worn, in which case it's not going to be worth repairing the puncture anyhow. They can have a check inside when it's being fixed. I've ridden quite a long way on a completely flat tyre (like over 100 miles home) so provided it stays on the rim it's surprising what you can get away with.

As for missing it for so long, don't worry about it. Sometimes it's easy to miss the obvious, and I doubt you'll do it again!

Originally Posted by Biker Biggles

Temperature wouldnt account for that loss of pressure.You might find it loses a bit over time and because it happened so slowly you didnt notice the handling issues until it got so bad you couldnt ride it.Personally Id be inclined to replace it because I wouldnt have confidence in it but it will probably be fine.

Originally Posted by Red Herring

As has been said it wouldn't have lost that much pressure on it's own, have a really good look round from a small nail or similar, if you don't find anything then pump it up a bit higher than normal, around 50psi, and run a soapy sponge around the tyre. It's coming out somewhere and better to know where rather than just keep pumping it up.

Unless there is obvious damage to the sidewalls I'd be inclined to say don't automatically replace it unless it's well worn, in which case it's not going to be worth repairing the puncture anyhow. They can have a check inside when it's being fixed. I've ridden quite a long way on a completely flat tyre (like over 100 miles home) so provided it stays on the rim it's surprising what you can get away with.

As for missing it for so long, don't worry about it. Sometimes it's easy to miss the obvious, and I doubt you'll do it again!

Hmm. Now that you mention it, I thought I heard escaping air a few weeks back whilst pulling off the motorway. I couldn't see anything in the tyre and presumed it must have been a noise coming from a lorry that I was just passing. Perhaps I gained a slow puncture and overlooked it.. I'll have a thorough look at the tyre later on.

If it is indeed a puncture, I'll just replace both tyres. With the motorway miles I'm doing it won't be long until I square the rear off anyway

Yeah, like I said; no apparent damage to the tyre from the outside. Although I will give it one more look over to make sure. Thanks for the feedback guys, I'll report back later to tell you of my findings

[squirrel_hunter]

Things like this can happen.

There is a vicious rumour that one particular rider thought his bike felt heavy as he went round a round about but assumed it was due to the front tyre that needed replacing. So the rider proceeded to join the M4 from Swindon in the general direction of Cardiff. The rider may or may not have been travelling in excess of 120mph at points. I understand the rider stopped off at Magor services to partake of the facilities and did notice the steam coming off of the rear tyre as it was a wet day. It wasn't until he returned to the bike slightly lighter to discover the bike was also lighter owing to the fact the rear tyre had no air in it.

The rider now knows to recognise when the handling feels a bit off to check, as well as taking more notice of tyre pressures. But in my defence it was quite some years ago now...

[Bibio]

i've had a valve core come loose 3 times. i now carry a valve core tool.

[Fen Tiger]

This reminds us how good modern tubeless tyres are for safety in this respect. Not the same experience when you get a puncture with a tubed old school tyre! Had a BSA A7 some years ago and got a rear wheel puncture at 35 mph. It was a struggle to bring it to a safe stop even from that speed. Tubeless radial tyres are a huge advantage.

[Fen Tiger]

Originally Posted by Bibio

i've had a valve core come loose 3 times. i now carry a valve core tool.

Me too.

Anyone else in the habit of wetting the valve with some spit to see if it is leaking? Works well for me!