Finding Bike Tire Slow Leak [The Easy Guide]

When you are riding with a slow leak, it can be frustrating because most of the time you don’t even know you have a slow leak and finding bike tire slow leak can be difficult.

Now that you know you have a slow leak, you want to find out where the microscopic piece of nail is lodged inside of your bicycle. Great, how do you find it?

In this post, will teach you how to find a slow leak. You will also learn why bike tires get slow leaks. And finally, you will learn if it is OK to keep a tire that has a small puncture as opposed to replacing the tire.

What is a bike tire slow leak?

There are plenty of times when you have been riding and you go over a patch of ground with a broken beer bottle on the ground. You hear an audible pop, and your tires are flat within 5 seconds.

A slow leak is when you are unlucky and you happen to go over something so very small that the tire and the tube get pierced.

It gets a small puncture, and there isn’t much to tell you that you have a slow leak except that your tire will be flat when you come back to it the next day (or if you’re on a tour – 30 miles later when you’re descending mount Tam.

You won’t hear a hiss or anything.

Finding Bike Tire Slow Leak

Doing this is simple.

First take one lip of the rim off of your tire and pull the tube out of the rim.

Second, blow the tube up so that it holds its shape firm without being encased in the tire or rim. If you want to learn how to fully deflate all types of valves, read this guide here.

Third, run your hands around the tube until you feel a very thin stream of air coming from the tube into your hands. You found the leak!

Now, match the tube back to where it would be along the tire and you can pretty easily locate where the cause of the slow leak is inside of the tire.

Typically it is a small thorn or shard of glass still lodged in the tire.

Your next step is two part. First, you will wonder: Can I use a tire that has a small hole inside of it? The answer is yes. Your second question is Should I patch the tube or replace the entire tube?

Why does my bike tire have a slow leak?

Your bike tire can get a slow leak for a variety of reasons. They can be caused by running over small burrs in the ground, to thorns that are shaped in odd ways.

The last slow leak that I had was a small piece of glass in my tire. It hurt a lot once I ran my thumb across it, so be careful when looking for what will cause a slow leak.

Is it OK if there is a small puncture in my tire?

Yes, it is ok if there is a small puncture in your tire. As long as the small puncture is not large enough for your inner tube to begin squeezing through then you do not need to replace the tire.

If you do see the innertube from the outside of the tire looking in, it is time to replace the tire.

Conclusion: Finding bike tire slow leak

When finding a bike tire slow leak, it is important (to wear gloves) and do the process slowly. You can typically miss what caused the slow leak he first time around because the offending article is so small that you have to pay careful attention to find it.

When finding the leak, be sure to remove it from the tire, and patch the tube where the leak has pierced the tire and gone through the tube. You typically do not have to replace the tire after finding the slow leak in the bike.