Do you know as soon as you are riding on a flat? Today I did a 55km ride and at some point I got a puncture on my rear tyre. The problem is that I do not know if I kept on driving for a while on it and damaged the tyre or the rim, although the rim does not look damaged when I look at it from the outside. For some reason, which might be because I thought that I was pedalling more than I should, I looked at the tyre and saw that I got a flat, which at such point, stopped immediately. This is my first puncture and I am going to my bike shop to repair it this time around, and then buy a repair kit, since today I was lucky that I stopped at a common place from where they could pick my up, and I am not going to risk getting stranded in the middle of nowhere some time in the future.

My question is, if you do not look at the tyre and you get a flat, do you realise that you have a flat? Or you may end up driving for some kilometres before you take notice? Especially if you are tired after a long ride?
My question is, if you do not look at the tyre and you get a flat, do you realise that you have a flat? 


Typically I can catch well before the rim starts bottoming out without looking. If the bike ever feels "off" I will give a quick check by it plopping my self down on the saddle.  If the tire is going down this will usually bottom out the rim which I know shouldn't be happening. At this point I start visually checking things.  If the bike feels a bit soft (I.e., we have lost some pressure but not enough to bottom out the rim) I will give it a quick visual by looking at the tire bulge when I bounce on the saddle.  Finally if the bike feels solid I know it's my imagination and continue riding.


  Or you may end up driving for some kilometres before you take notice? Especially if you are tired after a long ride?


After a while these checks become second nature and you start doing them without thinking even when tired.