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check your rims to make sure there aren't any little pieces of metal protruding from them. if there are, file them down. also check your rim tape. make sure none of the spokes poke through it. check your tires to make sure there isn't anything sharp in there either. pump your wheels to the correct pressure.
Next time you have the tire off feel around inside. Check to make sure there are no tiny thorns in the tire making holes as soon as you put in a new tube.
And learn to patch a tube ferchrissakes. No reason to throw away a tube with a microscopic hole.
Here's how to patch a tube. Make sure not to pinch it between the tire and the rim putting it back on.
1. Find the source of the leak.
2. Sand / roughen the rubber in an area around the leak large enough to match the size of the patch.
3. Apply the included patch cement on the sanded area.
4. WAIT 5 MINUTES. This is very boring and very important.
5. Remove the foil from the patch and place the side of the patch that was in contact with the foil over the area to be patched, and press it into place.
6. Wait a minute or two. (Removing the clear plastic over the patch is optional.)
7. Then, reinflate the tube to make sure the patch is airtight. Repeat this step if it is not.
Or swing by the Bikerowave, we've usually got a stack of tubes in need of repair you can practice on. I'll be there tomorrow if anybody wants to practice this.
You might have run into some goathead thorns,the larger part of the thorn breaks off like a bee stinger and stays in your tire.If you have been riding in the silverlake area they seem to be all over the place.
You don't even need glue most of the time anymore. Get a little package of glueless patches and they go on like pieces of tape. Find the hole. Rough up the rubber. Peel and stick. Easy
get a patch kit for a couple of bucks and repair old tubes. . I have about four tubes with two or three patches on. the better investment would be to get the GATORSKINS. I don't know if that's an option seein that they are a bit pricey but for not having to worry about flats for a while, you can't go wrong. the cheapest I've seen them is on thebikebiz.com for about 36 or 34 and change. they ship out of sacramento.
but make sure you have a decent pump that can hit the recommended psi for your tire and weight. get a floor pump with a gauge because a mini pump just isn't going to cut it. also it goes without saying that if you're putting 110psi or higher, you're gonna have to top it up at least once per week. a regular tube will lose about 10-30psi in a week and that may be enough to result in frequent flats. i used to get pinch flats every now and then because i never bothered to check my psi regularly. now i pump up before every major ride and have yet to flat.
what t funk said. basic stuff that some of us don't really pay attention to. before i knew what i was doing, i'd get pinch flats because of tire pressure.
also, make sure you know how to properly put on a new tube. never use tire levers to put your tire back on. pull it over with the palms of your hands.
are you getting flats while riding, or first thing in the morning? you could need to replace your rim tape. after a few years, the glue from the tape starts to seep out, and will rip your tubes overnight as the temperature drops and the glue expands and contracts.
if this is the case, remove the old tape, clean your rim with alcohol and replace it with fresh tape. problem solved?
If you're getting flats, it's best to figure out what is causing them. Start putting your tire and tube together the same way. The tire label facing the drive side and lined up with the vavle. This way, when you do get a flat, you'll be able to trace it back to a max of two spots on the tire. You trace it back to the spot(s) and you may find what is causing the flat. Be consistent and this would be far easier for you to solve.
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