Prevention is better than cure when it comes to your tyres and their lifespan. Unfortunately, flat tyres are part of riding and bound to happen to every cyclist at some point—but there are precautions you can take to reduce their likelihood.

Here are nine expert tips to prevent a flat tyre from slowing you down on your next ride.

Use Baby Powder

Liberally dusting a new inner tube with baby powder before installation reduces chafing on the tube’s rubber surface. This keeps the tyre and tube from sticking to each other and lessens friction that can possibly wear a hole in the tube.

“I have always had a quart-sized zip-lock bag with the powder in it and simply dropped the tube in and given it a good shaking,” says Matt Eames, a World Cup downhill mechanic for Giant Bicycles. “It seems to keep the mess to a minimum as well as not wasting unnecessary powder.”

Watch Your PSI

Keeping your tyres inflated within the correct psi range will help keep flat tyres at bay, specifically what’s known as a “pinch flat.” A pinch flat occurs when the tyre compresses and pinches the tube against the wheel rim. It’s often caused by an under-inflated tyre or a hard impact against an obstacle, like a curb, manhole cover, or pothole. You can identify a pinch flat by the two, side-by-side holes it creates in the tube.

The recommended psi range for your tyres will be printed on their sidewall. That’s a good starting point.

Get Sturdier Tyres

Not all tyres are created equal. If you find yourself the victim of frequent puncture flats, perhaps due to debris-laden roads, try using a more durable tyre such as Continental Gatorskin or Schwalbe Durano Plus.

Go Tubeless

It can be a bit more expensive than some other options, and it depends on your bike and rims, but buying a tubeless conversion kit or switching to Universal System Tubeless (UST) tyres altogether can be very effective ways to bring down your number of flats and improve a bike’s overall control.

With no tubes, pinch flats become a non-issue, and less air pressure is required to inflate your tyre, allowing for better shock absorption on rough terrain. The sealant used in tubeless tyres will also prevent flats from minor punctures.

If you can’t bring yourself to get rid of your tubes, you can still try using tyre sealant. When looking for a sealant, be sure to check if the inner tube requires a certain type, and how long it lasts before it needs to be replaced.

Tyres and tubes can be purchased with sealant already in them, but are more expensive and are typically heavier than those without it.

Add Extra Protection

Both rim strips and tyre liners guard the sides of the tube from its neighbours, the rim and the tyre. As the name implies, rim strips protect the tube from the holes in the rim and the ends of the spokes. These are as simple as a rubber strip or a cloth tape and fit inside the rim bed.

Tyre liners are similar to rim strips in their function, but protect from objects attempting to penetrate from the outside. Both are inexpensive to purchase, making them a cheap insurance against flats.

Eames says you should pay close attention to the overlap of the liner when it is installed; otherwise, it can prove ineffective and may cause more flats than it prevents. “Take care during installation that the liner stays centered relative to the tyre’s tread,” he says. “You can end up with a really protected sidewall and little help under the tread.”

Replace Your Tyres Regularly

While it’s tempting to get the most mileage that you can out of your tyres, pushing the limits of their lifespan will inevitably end in a flat. Mileage can range from 1,600 to 8,000 km and varies by tyre type. Even if you don’t track your mileage, you should replace a tyre if it has dry rot or if the threads are visible.

Stop and Look

This might be an obvious tip, but many don’t take the time to do it. If you think you’ve ridden over a patch of glass, thorns or any other sharp objects that litter the road, just stop and inspect your tyres for foreign objects.

If you see anything embedded in the tyre, gently pry it out. If you have a handkerchief, bandana, or glove, use it to protect your hand while you gently spin the wheel, and see if anything gets caught on the cloth.

This step can prevent an embedded object from causing a puncture later if it hasn’t already pierced the tyre’s casing. It’s good practice to inspect your tyres after each ride, too.

Tips to Keep Your Tubes in Good Shape

That spare tube in your saddlebag could be a lifesaver on a long ride, but wouldn’t it be a bummer if you changed a flat, only to discover that the tube was no longer good? Make sure your bike’s inner tubes are in good shape when you need them by avoiding these common mistakes.

Don’t store in a saddlebag too long

Maybe you’ve been fortunate enough to evade flat tyres for a while. If that’s the case, the spares in your saddlebag might need to be replaced. Storing tubes inside a saddlebag for long periods of time can lead to weakness or cracks where the tubes are folded. The tubes can also be damaged by jostling against other items in the bag. Unpack your tubes occasionally to prevent them from cracking or splitting. If in doubt, inflate them to look for leaks.

Don’t store without valve caps

This is especially important for Presta-style valves, which are particularly pointy. Make sure the valve is capped when you fold up the tube for storage so the valve doesn’t poke a hole into the tube.

Don’t use rubber bands to keep bundled

Over time, rubber bands could react with the rubber of the tube and cause a hole to form. The rubber band could even fuse to the tube and create a tear when you try to separate them. It’s best to keep your tubes in their original cardboard box or in a plastic bag.

Don’t store near a heat source

Heat degrades the rubber, making it brittle and less elastic. If you have tubes you’re not planning to use for a while, keep them away from direct sunlight and especially from a heater.

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