A bad bike commuting day

It could have been much worse. My bike could have been stolen or I
could have had an accident. So I'm relatively grateful but still not
happy. First, the day before, someone stole my mirror. I didn't
realize how much I used it until it wasn't there. Biking in Manhattan
requires full awareness of what is going on around you.

Then, biking in I get a flat going up the 59th Street Bridge. That's
why I was struggling more than usual. Raining of course. Slow leak so
I shoot it from the CO2 cartidge and by noon it was flat again. I had
the LBS fix it. That was the rear tire.

Going home I'm in a big hurry. I have to take a cat to the vet and
like ten other things. I leave work a bit early and start to fly out
of the city. How quick will I make it home? Hmm. The computer isn't
working. Drat. Seemed like a record pace though. Until I get a flat in
the front tire going up the, yes, 59th Street Bridge.

No more CO2. But I still have a spare tube. It's back to the old pump.
I just could not get that damn tire back onto the rim. Those last 10
inches just would not go over the rim. Finally I get it. (Any
suggestions for that part greatly appreciated).

Oh well, I go to Florida for a long weekend. I'll bike some down
there. Nice flat Florida.

Someone said to me that rain causes stuff to stick to your tires and
thus you get more flats in the rain. Could be.

dgk Wrote:
It could have been much worse. My bike could have been stolen or I
could have had an accident. So I'm relatively grateful but still not
happy. First, the day before, someone stole my mirror. I didn't
realize how much I used it until it wasn't there. Biking in Manhattan
requires full awareness of what is going on around you.

Then, biking in I get a flat going up the 59th Street Bridge. That's
why I was struggling more than usual. Raining of course. Slow leak so
I shoot it from the CO2 cartidge and by noon it was flat again. I had
the LBS fix it. That was the rear tire.

Going home I'm in a big hurry. I have to take a cat to the vet and
like ten other things. I leave work a bit early and start to fly out
of the city. How quick will I make it home? Hmm. The computer isn't
working. Drat. Seemed like a record pace though. Until I get a flat in
the front tire going up the, yes, 59th Street Bridge.

No more CO2. But I still have a spare tube. It's back to the old pump.
I just could not get that damn tire back onto the rim. Those last 10
inches just would not go over the rim. Finally I get it. (Any
suggestions for that part greatly appreciated).

Oh well, I go to Florida for a long weekend. I'll bike some down
there. Nice flat Florida.

Someone said to me that rain causes stuff to stick to your tires and
thus you get more flats in the rain. Could be.
Well, I'll probably get shot for saying this but I've had to resort to
two hefty long-handled screw drivers in times past to mount a stubborn
tire. Other times I've been able to roll the tire on the rim bare
handed. As far as wetness goes it could make stuff cling to the tire. I
know I've picked up small pieces of gravel and grit with a damp tire.
For me glass, staples, and crushed stone are the flat makers. Oh, and
whenever I'm in the southwest I have to deal with goatheads. Nasty
things.


--
bentbrian

II don't know the technique you use to get the tire onto the rim, or
what size tires you have. Some people are strong enough to manually
wiggle skinny 23c tires onto rims by hand, but I often need to pry the
last few inches of tire onto the rim using a pair of sturdy tire
levers. I run the risk of pinching the tube but generally I don't.
It helps to to get the tire bead down into the center of the rim to get
a few more millimeters clearance on the other side.
And some tire levers are pretty flimsy. They either bend or break.
Those blue Park brand tire levers are crap IMHO.

"I just could not get that damn tire back onto the rim. Those last 10
inches just would not go over the rim. Finally I get it. (Any
suggestions for that part greatly appreciated)."

wrote:
II don't know the technique you use to get the tire onto the rim, or
what size tires you have. Some people are strong enough to manually
wiggle skinny 23c tires onto rims by hand, but I often need to pry
the
last few inches of tire onto the rim using a pair of sturdy tire
levers. I run the risk of pinching the tube but generally I don't.
It helps to to get the tire bead down into the center of the rim to
get
a few more millimeters clearance on the other side.
And some tire levers are pretty flimsy. They either bend or break.
Those blue Park brand tire levers are crap IMHO.

"I just could not get that damn tire back onto the rim. Those last 10
inches just would not go over the rim. Finally I get it. (Any
suggestions for that part greatly appreciated)."

I don't have particularly strong fingers but am always able to roll the
tire back onto the rim without tire irons (including skinny high
performance tires). It is hard to articulate in print the technique
involved but easy to demonstrate. Almost all "wrenches" at your LBS can
show you and it will only take them a minute. When learning the
technique many years ago I practiced it until it became quite easy and
now -no problem.

On 6 Jan 2005 08:42:55 -0800, "gds" wrote:


wrote:
II don't know the technique you use to get the tire onto the rim, or
what size tires you have. Some people are strong enough to manually
wiggle skinny 23c tires onto rims by hand, but I often need to pry
the
last few inches of tire onto the rim using a pair of sturdy tire
levers. I run the risk of pinching the tube but generally I don't.
It helps to to get the tire bead down into the center of the rim to
get
a few more millimeters clearance on the other side.
And some tire levers are pretty flimsy. They either bend or break.
Those blue Park brand tire levers are crap IMHO.

"I just could not get that damn tire back onto the rim. Those last 10
inches just would not go over the rim. Finally I get it. (Any
suggestions for that part greatly appreciated)."

I don't have particularly strong fingers but am always able to roll the
tire back onto the rim without tire irons (including skinny high
performance tires). It is hard to articulate in print the technique
involved but easy to demonstrate. Almost all "wrenches" at your LBS can
show you and it will only take them a minute. When learning the
technique many years ago I practiced it until it became quite easy and
now -no problem.

I sort of push the top of the tire (where the tire hits the road)
back, hoping to stretch it a bit and trick the bead into climbing over
the rim. It finally did work but it was cold and wet and my fingers
were not happy afterwards.

Actually when someone shows you the technique you'll find that the main
force is applied by the palm and it saves those cold, wet fingers a lot
of misery.

Actually when someone shows you the technique you'll find that the main
force is applied by the palm and it saves those cold, wet fingers a lot
of misery.

On Thu, 06 Jan 2005 09:05:02 -0500, dgk wrote:

Someone said to me that rain causes stuff to stick to your tires and
thus you get more flats in the rain. Could be.

I usually get more flats in the rain because I can't see the crap on the
road as well.

Mounted some fresh rubber a few weeks ago, and went for a very wet ride. I
hit, shattered, and got flatted by half a 40oz beer bottle. Very loud. LOL
fortunately the tire only got punctured not gashed.

About hard to mount tires: I think it also has to do with the brand of
tire, some just seem "tighter" than the rest. My newer wider Hutchinson
28s are much tighter than my old Nashbar 25s, go figure. I find the black
tire levers usually sold on your LBS's counter marked "England" are pretty
strong, the Taiwanese ones are brittle. There's also that round yellow
funny looking one--forget the name--it works great too.

wrote:

II don't know the technique you use to get the tire onto the rim, or
what size tires you have. Some people are strong enough to manually
wiggle skinny 23c tires onto rims by hand, but I often need to pry
the last few inches of tire onto the rim using a pair of sturdy tire
levers. I run the risk of pinching the tube but generally I don't.
It helps to to get the tire bead down into the center of the rim to
get a few more millimeters clearance on the other side.
And some tire levers are pretty flimsy. They either bend or break.
Those blue Park brand tire levers are crap IMHO.

"I just could not get that damn tire back onto the rim. Those last 10
inches just would not go over the rim. Finally I get it. (Any
suggestions for that part greatly appreciated)."

While there are some tire/rim combinations that make mounting extremely
difficult, bare hands work fine for me almost all the time. It's usually not
about strength, but technique.

Matt O.

maxo wrote:

About hard to mount tires: I think it also has to do with the brand of
tire, some just seem "tighter" than the rest. My newer wider
Hutchinson 28s are much tighter than my old Nashbar 25s, go figure. I
find the black tire levers usually sold on your LBS's counter marked
"England" are pretty strong, the Taiwanese ones are brittle. There's
also that round yellow funny looking one--forget the name--it works
great too.

Different tires do mount more and less easily. So I'm reluctant to change when
I find one that works, and when switching tires it's something I ask about.
This way I completely avoid the whole tire lever issue. I don't carry them.

The only tires I've had extreme difficulty with were Continental Avenue slicks
for my mountain bike. The beads were so bulky they wouldn't squish down into
the rim bed, aside from the bead diameter being too tight. I could never get
them on/off in less than half an hour, without sturdy tire levers and drawing
some blood. After the second or third flat at I said "screw it," and sold them
over the internet. It's a shame, because even at 1.75" and 65 PSI they were as
fast as any skinny road tire. Continental themselves have even said the Avenue
is their fastest tire, including all the skinny road racing tires they sell.

FWIW I've been really happy with Vittorias lately. Among other things they're
easy to get on and off. They're expensive, but reasonable if you know where to
shop.

Matt O.