Sir Ridesalot writes:

On Wednesday, 6 May 2020 17:31:50 UTC-4, Radey Shouman wrote:
Sir Ridesalot writes:

On Wednesday, 6 May 2020 15:49:22 UTC-4, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 5/6/2020 3:18 PM, Joerg wrote:
On 2020-05-06 10:26, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 5/6/2020 12:55 PM, Joerg wrote:
On 2020-05-03 15:28, Roger Merriman wrote:
Joerg wrote:
On 2020-05-02 19:10, sms wrote:
On 4/30/2020 3:03 PM, Joerg wrote:
Just had a Kenda thorn-resistant tube fail. It lost pressure
suddenly
and overnight without being ridden the day before. It started to
split
along a factory seam. This seems to happen ever since they started
making them less than the usual 3mm thick towards the rim.

Does anyone know who still makes the real stuff, 3mm thick all
around?
Or maybe another good version thorn-resistant tube? I am running
700c
25mm tires with an additional tire liner in there. Might go to
28mm in
back some day.

The only time I ever lost 3mm all-around tubes was upon
violent tire
blow-outs (sidewall failure).

Your problem is not with the tubes, it's with the tires. What you
want
is Schwalbe Marathon Plus HS 440 11100766.01 700C x 25.


https://www.biketiresdirect.com/prod...0c-tire-hs-440



Fifty bucks a tire? No! I bet those don't last much past
2000mi either
and then that's too much money. If they'd last 5000mi it would be ok.

Marathons be they plus or not are famously durable, being touring
tyres I
changed out the Marathon plus Touring at 8K they had just about worn
in, ie
barely detectable wear.


Interesting, thanks. Maybe I should try them. If they last 5000mi or
more they'd be worth the high price. I've never had any tire last that
long but maybe they found the magic rubber compound.


I swapped them out since I noticed that the ride was very harsh and
that
nothing seem to penetrate the tread plenty of embedded shards etc,
Thus far
the Big Apples have done 4K with little sign of wear I’d expect to at
least
double that.

In fact, the blowouts were mostly with expensive brand name tires,
Continental Gatorskin. Never had one with Vee Rubber or Vittoria, so
far. I get between 1200mi and 2000mi out of these depending
on where I
ride. Mostly less than 1500mi but at about $15 a pop that's ok.


... But beware that
the protection layer adds some height to the tire and it may not
fit on
all road bicycles with caliper brakes.


Weight is the least of my concerns or no concern at all. I just want
stuff not to fail during rides. So all my bikes have tire liners plus
thorn-resistant tubes. The MTB has a regular tube around the tire
liner
in addition. Rides like a tank, and no flats.

On the commute bike it’s not weight after all I’m lugging kit back and
fore, but it’s a more ride quality, which is twofold 1st much less
harsh
ride particularly if loaded, 2nd bike is much more fun, on days can
even if
fully loaded have some fun.


Riding comfort and weight are the least of my concerns. I just want to
get there in time, meaning without a flat, and get a good number of
miles per dollar.

I've never been a spendthrift, but your obsession with pennies-per-mile
bike costs astounds me. I'm sympathetic to people who are terribly poor,
especially through no fault of their own. But you don't seem to be one
of them.


I am not. I simply do not like to waste money. Or to put it another way,
the savings from my last tire order went to the local Food Bank. Those
guys need that money much more urgently right now than the shareholders
of some tire manufacturer.

Coincidentally, we made a pretty large donation to our local food bank a
couple weeks ago. Also to a couple other organizations that are in need.

But I don't mind buying tires.

Maybe a month ago, I needed to replace some handlebar tape. I hadn't
remembered that the price of that stuff had gotten up to $20. To me,
that does seem a bit exorbitant.

But I paid it without complaint, instead of wrapping the bars using old
inner tubes.


--
- Frank Krygowski

I find that Renfrew brand hockey tape works really well as a handlebar
tape and looks a lot like the old school cloth tapes.

Are different brands of hockey tape very different? I once tried using
hockey tape on handlebars and found it was poor substitute for actual
cotton bar tape. Maybe I bought the ghetto brand, can't remember what
it was.

Yes, I think different brands had different qualities. the Renfrew
brand I use is made in Renfrew, Ontario, Canada and is pretty thin and
the glue doesn't leak to the outside on hot humid days. My fingers are
short which is why I like a cloth tape. The Renfrew brand hockey tape
is a heck of a lot less expensive than cloth tape and one roll or the
Renfrew hocey tape will do at least two drop handlebars. Oh and I can
get it from the store just a few blocks from me. It also comes in a
few colours other than black.

Thanks, and cheers. I'll look for it when the shops are open again.