Flats

Today I flatted while out with the kids.  I think this is the 4th flat I've gotten on a Nihola since moving to Norway.  I got one flat in Denmark.  All 5 of these have been on the front tires.  The Denmark flat was a piece of glass I believe.  In Norway, once it was either rock or glass (can't recall), twice it was bits of sharp rocks, and this time the tube failed on a seam away from the road surface.  I wonder if it was a pinch; I was driving on a rocky path with both kids on board.  But it was on a seam, and I didn't notice any rim impact, very suspicious.

Anyway, fixing a front flat on a Nihola is about as easy as fixing a flat can be, as long as you have something to hold up the front of the trike.  In this case, it was a running bike.

Using a convenient running bike under the nose of the Nihola.

The tube can just be pulled out for most patching.

Don't know why the fronts appear so much more flat-happy than the rear, but now the score is 5-0 with fronts in the lead.  The four times that something came through the tire surface, it was small and sharp, and had probably been digging for hours.  Possibly the tires gather more sharp objects from the less-traveled sides of bike paths, but I am confident that at least 2/5 of the flats had nothing at all to do with pavement, while another 2/5 were definitely on-pavement events.  Also the reduced per-tire weight in front should help puncture resistance.  My best guess is that smaller tires generate higher forces on whatever they roll over, for the same reason that they ride rougher over bumps, thereby increasing the odds of a puncture.

Both Niholas are fitted with Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires.