Why Can't They Make a Bicycle Tire That Holds Air?

Maybe you should try Nitrogen, it will at least run cooler.

I have the same problem and getting the wheels up to pressure has become part of my exercise routine.

Oh, they can; you just wouldn't want to pay that kind of price. Try some "tire slime", it won't completly stop it, but it should help.

Compared to what I see some people pay for bikes, how expensive could they be?

One thing you might try: Next time you replace the inner-tube, don't throw the old one away. Cut out the valve, and slice the old tube along the inside. Once you have checked for any nasties (cactus needles especially cholla are bad here), wrap it around the new tube. The old tube can act as a buffer, and hopefully keep you from getting the tire flat blues!

They could, but first would have to make the wheel inflexible, so too heavy to pedal; and then make the bead so tight you cannot change it yourself.

Slime for leaks. Solid inserts when slime won't work.

And pumping is good exercise.

i always tried to keep 110psi in my road bike tires. They always tested 5, 10, sometimes 15 low. I blamed the stem. Then i actually quit checking them with a gage. i just check them by how much they squat. i swear i'd let that pressure out in the process of testing and connecting the compressor. It cut my tire leakage and messing around time, down to a tenth of what it was.

I measure entirely by feel. Then when I hook up the air pump I see that they've dropped from 50 psi to 25.

you using your bicycle wrong. youre tighten locknut so much and inner tube is rub on the rim and make air go out. after youre pump with air, turn lose the locknut and no more problem!!!

Volume. Your car tyres also leak but you do not notice the slight drop in pressure.

If you are using racing tyres then you will find that the small puff of air when just disconnecting the guage can drop your pressure measurably.

I will resist the temptation to comment on the "nitrogen" debate mentioned by another poster.

Are you aleady using thorn resistant tubes? i see the Texas address.

I'm not getting flats, just losing air. I ride entirely on the street.

Whatever you do, don't give up on the tube and air.

I rode an Austro Daimlier 10 speed everywhere for three years, till it was stolen, and I got an Opel Kadett. -

There was some kind of cactus like thing that gave constant flats, and I bought rubber solid tube substitute thinking it would be a good thing.

I discovered that there was apparently a serious flaw in the solid rubber on the rim when making a sharp turn.

My front wheel warped and I went down hard on the tarmac arriving for work.

My suspicion was that the sizing and expansion and contraction, along with point flex, caused the complete bicycle wheel failure, whereas a flat would not have distorted so dramatically the rim.

Now I typically put 90 pounds of pressure in the tires of my bicycle tires for the 10 speed, and think my clunker is calling for 55.

There is a lot of bead, and higher pressure so no surprise additional air is called for. I've got a really powerful hand powered pump.

Bottom line, I tried a thing other than air in the tube, and it really hurt. P.S. Opel Kadett is a funny story too.

The volume of air in a road bike tire is so small that a significant amount is lost each time you check the pressure. The light weight (thin wall) tubes also are more prone to leak. Use thorn proof tubes or just a bit, an ounce or so, of tyre slime to coat the inside and the leakage through the tube will be reduced. The slime will gum up and ruin your pressure gauge though if it blows back into the piston type gauge.

On the use of alternative gasses to fill the tires, I filled my sagging bicycle tires with oxygen at 45 PSIG one time when I was a kid. I noticed that as I rode down the hot road, the bike seemed to get easier and easier to pedal, so I went faster and faster. I got about half a mile from home and the rear tire blew out with a huge explosion which tore the tire from the wire bead. While I was walking the bike back home, the front tire blew out with the same problem. It was too hot to touch and smoked for a while.

When my father found out that I had filled my tires from his oxyacetylene torch, he suggested that I use a mix of oxygen and acetylene next time for a bigger bang!