Bike tyre flat, soft or damaged?
Your answers (0)
Your answers
How quickly does the tyre lose air?
Does the tyre have an inner tube inside?
Most bikes do. A tubeless tyre has no tube: it’s sealed to the wheel, with liquid sealant inside.
Look all the way round the tyre, on both sides.
What do you see?
Did it go flat straight after hitting something, like a kerb, a pothole or a speed bump?
Has this tyre gone flat before in the last month or two?
Look all the way round the tyre.
Can you see a bulge, or a cut longer than a few millimetres?
Does the tyre have an inner tube inside?
Most bikes do. A tubeless tyre has no tube: it’s sealed to the wheel, with liquid sealant inside.
Look all the way round the tyre, on both sides.
What do you see?
Don’t ride it
Don’t ride on it, and if it’s bulging, let some air out now. If it needs replacing, you’ll need a new tyre of the same size, printed on its side (for example 700x32c or 26 x 2.0), and usually a new tube.
This is based only on your answers. Nobody has seen your bike. If you’re not sure it’s safe, don’t ride it.
- What might be wrong
A cut through to the fabric means the tyre needs replacing.
A bulge means it’s damaged inside, or isn’t sitting properly on the rim. Either can burst without warning.
- How sure we are
- One of a few causes
This fits what you’ve described, but so do other things. A Spoke will check before starting.
- What to ask for
Tyre change
It could also need: inner tube replacement.
Don’t ride it
Perished tyres split. Replace it first.
This is based only on your answers. Nobody has seen your bike. If you’re not sure it’s safe, don’t ride it.
- What might be wrong
The rubber has probably perished with age, which is common on a bike that has stood for a long time.
The tube is often perished too.
- How sure we are
- One of a few causes
This fits what you’ve described, but so do other things. A Spoke will check before starting.
- What to ask for
Tyre change
It could also need: inner tube replacement.
Don’t ride it
Walk it: riding on a flat tyre damages the tyre and wheel. Leave the object in, so the Spoke can find the hole. If it has cut the tyre itself, the tyre may need replacing too.
This is based only on your answers. Nobody has seen your bike. If you’re not sure it’s safe, don’t ride it.
- What might be wrong
Probably a puncture from what’s stuck in the tyre.
- How sure we are
- Most likely
This is the usual cause of what you’ve described.
- What to ask for
Puncture repair (patch the existing tube)
It could also need: inner tube replacement, tyre change.
Don’t ride it
Walk it: riding on a flat tyre damages the tyre and wheel. If the wheel now wobbles or the rim has a dent, say so: the Spoke will check the rim too. Keep the tyres pumped up to stop it happening again.
This is based only on your answers. Nobody has seen your bike. If you’re not sure it’s safe, don’t ride it.
- What might be wrong
Probably a “pinch flat”: hitting something squashed the tube against the rim.
It usually happens when the tyre is too soft.
- How sure we are
- Most likely
This is the usual cause of what you’ve described.
- What to ask for
Puncture repair (patch the existing tube)
It could also need: inner tube replacement.
Don’t ride it
Walk it: riding on a flat tyre damages the tyre and wheel. Ask the Spoke to look for the cause, not just the hole.
This is based only on your answers. Nobody has seen your bike. If you’re not sure it’s safe, don’t ride it.
- What might be wrong
When a tyre keeps going flat, the cause is usually still there: something sharp left in the tyre, a worn tyre, the strip inside the rim that covers the spoke holes having slipped, or a tyre run too soft.
- How sure we are
- One of a few causes
This fits what you’ve described, but so do other things. A Spoke will check before starting.
- What to ask for
Puncture repair (patch the existing tube)
It could also need: tyre change, inner tube replacement.
Don’t ride it
Walk it: riding on a flat tyre damages the tyre and wheel. If you have a spare tube that fits, ask for an inner tube replacement instead.
This is based only on your answers. Nobody has seen your bike. If you’re not sure it’s safe, don’t ride it.
- What might be wrong
Probably an ordinary puncture: the hole can be too small to see.
- How sure we are
- Most likely
This is the usual cause of what you’ve described.
- What to ask for
Puncture repair (patch the existing tube)
It could also need: inner tube replacement.
Don’t ride it
Walk it.
This is based only on your answers. Nobody has seen your bike. If you’re not sure it’s safe, don’t ride it.
- What might be wrong
Probably a hole too big for the sealant to close, dried-out sealant, or the tyre has come away from the rim.
- How sure we are
- One of a few causes
This fits what you’ve described, but so do other things. A Spoke will check before starting.
- What to ask for
Tubeless puncture repair & sealant top-up
It could also need: tyre change.
This is based only on your answers. Nobody has seen your bike. If you’re not sure it’s safe, don’t ride it.
- What might be wrong
Probably a slow puncture, or a leaking valve.
Get it fixed soon. Until then, ride only if it feels right, and stop if it gets worse. If you ride it before it’s fixed, pump it up first and check it holds. A leaking valve can’t be patched, so the tube is replaced instead.
- How sure we are
- One of a few causes
This fits what you’ve described, but so do other things. A Spoke will check before starting.
- What to ask for
Puncture repair (patch the existing tube)
It could also need: inner tube replacement.
This is based only on your answers. Nobody has seen your bike. If you’re not sure it’s safe, don’t ride it.
- What might be wrong
Probably the sealant has dried out, a small hole the sealant hasn’t closed, or the tyre losing its seal on the rim, which is likelier when it’s run soft.
Get it fixed soon. Until then, ride only if it feels right, and stop if it gets worse. If you ride it before it’s fixed, check it holds air first.
- How sure we are
- One of a few causes
This fits what you’ve described, but so do other things. A Spoke will check before starting.
- What to ask for
Tubeless puncture repair & sealant top-up
This is based only on your answers. Nobody has seen your bike. If you’re not sure it’s safe, don’t ride it.
- What might be wrong
Every tyre loses a little air over time, so this is probably just a tyre that needs pumping.
If the bike feels wrong in any other way, don’t ride it. Pump it to between the two numbers printed on the side of the tyre. If it’s soft again within a day or two, it’s a slow puncture: start again with the tyre. Riding on soft tyres causes punctures and damages wheels.
- How sure we are
- Most likely
This is the usual cause of what you’ve described.
- What it needs
Nothing to book.
This is based only on your answers. Nobody has seen your bike. If you’re not sure it’s safe, don’t ride it.
- What might be wrong
The tyre is probably worn out.
Worn tyres puncture more easily and grip less in the wet.
Get it fixed soon. Until then, ride only if it feels right, and stop if it gets worse. If you can see fabric or the tube, don’t ride it.
- How sure we are
- Most likely
This is the usual cause of what you’ve described.
- What to ask for
Tyre change
It could also need: inner tube replacement.
This is based only on your answers. Nobody has seen your bike. If you’re not sure it’s safe, don’t ride it.
- What might be wrong
Nothing obvious from here.
Can wait. Get it fixed when it suits you. If the bike feels wrong in any other way, don’t ride it. If a bulge or a cut appears, don’t ride it.
- How sure we are
- Needs a look
We can’t tell from here. Someone needs to see the bike.
- What to ask for
Diagnosis: what’s wrong and what to order
It could also need: tyre change.
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What usually causes it
- Probably an ordinary puncture: the hole can be too small to see.
- Probably a puncture from what’s stuck in the tyre.
- Probably a “pinch flat”: hitting something squashed the tube against the rim.
- The tyre is probably worn out.
- When a tyre keeps going flat, the cause is usually still there: something sharp left in the tyre, a worn tyre, the strip inside the rim that covers the spoke holes having slipped, or a tyre run too soft.
- Probably a slow puncture, or a leaking valve.
- Probably the sealant has dried out, a small hole the sealant hasn’t closed, or the tyre losing its seal on the rim, which is likelier when it’s run soft.
- Probably a hole too big for the sealant to close, dried-out sealant, or the tyre has come away from the rim.
- A cut through to the fabric means the tyre needs replacing.
- The rubber has probably perished with age, which is common on a bike that has stood for a long time.
The checker gives general information from your answers. It isn’t an inspection and doesn’t tell you a bike is safe. Nothing here limits liability the law doesn’t let us limit, including for death or personal injury caused by negligence.