Last Thursday I was on my usual route across the McKay Causeway over Lake Houston. This area is where I have most of my flats. Lately most flats have been the result of a fine silver wire sticking through the tire and into the the tube. The difficult part about this is finding the culprit. If you ride very far after the puncture the wire bends off or wears down and you cannot spot the problem. I have patched a tube thinking I had found the problem only to re-puncture the tire with the wire still stuck in the tire casing.

Now the question, where does this wire come from? My theory; the steel wire in radial tires. I see tire chunks along the road from radial tires. But how do the little pieces of wire come to be?

Do you have a theory or guess?