Bad storage = flat tyre?

[srw]

I got my Trek folding bike (it's a 20" Dahon, rebadged) out of the car last night and discovered the rear tyre was very soggy. I pumped it up last night and it's still just as firm this morning - which is why I'm online and not frantically changing the tube!

I may be in for a nasty surprise later, but all I can think is that I managed to store the bike with pressure on the tyre from the side - either when it was in the garage last week or in the car boot last night - and this somehow forced air out of the tyre. I think I may have had this once before with the same bike. Has anyone else had the same sort of thing?

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

I think it's more likely that the tube has a very slow puncture or leaking valve rather than being how the tyre was stored.

I've had similar with one of my bikes; the tyre was soft when I came back from a couple of weeks away and when I checked it turned out to be the tiniest of pinholes in the tube that had probably been there for ages without me noticing because it lost pressure so slowly.

 

[I like Skol]

X2 The only way a tyre will lose air in storage is due to time or a leak. There is nothing you can do to cause the air to leak out otherwise. I am sure you will find a tiny puncture or the valve is leaking. Time to get out the bowl of water with a drip of washing liquid. Make sure you check the tyre for any small objects still in the rubber.

 

[srw]

The best part of 24 hours later, the tyre is still rock hard. I'll update you all over the next few days.