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Road bike rim - 700c rim - rim ID 15mm - rim OD 22mm - rim bead 3mm - new Continental Gatorskin tires - Continental Race 28 700c tubes 20-622 > 25-630 -- 700 x 20c > 700 x 25c
I ride about six miles and I get a hole in the tube near the valve stem. I checked the rim and the tire for sharp spots or objects. The spokes are all tight. The bike rim tape looks OK, it is tight and smooth.
Any ideas why I keep getting holes in the tubes?
New tubes and tyres rules out the possibility of a sharp thing embedded in the rubber.
Look closely at the hole and figure out what side its on.
| Hole location | Likely causes | Remedy |
|---|---|---|
| The same side as the valve | Spoke/nipple poking through rim tape Rim tape moved off spoke-hole |
Remove tape and file point smooth Slide rimtape back into place, or replace. |
| Outer rolling surface | Sharp thing embedded in tyre | Invert tyre and look in that quadrant. Use a bright light and a pick |
| Small twin holes about 10mm apart | Snake bite - riding at too low pressure | Increase tyre's air pressure |
| Ragged flappy exploded look | Hernia - tyre has a large hole/cut, tube pokes out | Install boot inside the tyre, and buy a new tyre soon. |
| Within 10mm of valve | Sharp edges in rim | Deburr rim's valve hole |
| Single cut on "side" | Pinched tube during installation | Work on your technique |
| Seams in tube peel apart | Perished rubber, old age, poor storage | Replace tube |
There is also a possibility of tube having a manufacturing defect too.
Aside - some technique here can help too. Always put the tyre on in the same place, with the logo at the valve stem, and correctly matching any rotation markers. This helps a lot with isolating the area causing the puncture, gives you less tyre to search.
