We see a bunch of broken, bent, taco'd, and twisted bike wheels at Wheelgirl. But Customer Mike wins the prize for the best flat tire story of late. Like others before him, he visited the Wheelgirl bike shop inquiring about a new set of hand-built wheels. Why? Because the guy was out for a ride and ran over a giant nail that pierced completely through his rear tire, inner tube, and alloy 700c rear rim.
The nail exited the rim in a pretty straight line almost in alignment with the spokes.This is what makes this nail-induced flat noteworthy. It is hard to get a nail to go straight through your rim. Most people pick up nails that are angled. Mike did get knocked off his ride from the sudden loss of tire pressure, but he avoided all injury. The story has a happy ending: We built him up with a nice new wheel set of Shimano Ultegra hubs on black Mavic Open Pro Rims. Ride on Customer Mike.
Photos taken by Wheelgirl. Check out the alignment of the nail in the first photo.
