Can't Call Triple A on a Bike Commute, I Bet

Ziactrice wrote:
I have a six and a half mile one-way commute. I'm up to about four
miles in pretty good condition, so I'll probably be ready in another
week or two. My only real concern (okay, beyond getting swiped,
cornered, or just run off the road by the car-drivers) is what to do
about fixing a flat?

I haven't even changed a tube yet. Is there a basic, beginner-level kit
I should order, and/or a website to show me how so I can practice
first? I don't want to have to admit to work I'm late because I
couldn't fix my own tire. I know flats should be rare occurences, but
if I don't have the know-how and the tools, Murphy might get me.


Besides the advice on what to carry others have provided, make sure to
have good, quality tires on the bike - not lightweight ones, rugged
ones that will repel most of the stuff that can do you in. I do 8K+
miles a year, much of it on the commute, a lot of it through some real
debris fields. I am averaging a (one) flat per year on the commute,
and the most recent was because I did not check the tires frequently
enough and wore through to to the threads. I use Continental Top
Touring 2000's (now discontinued) and Panaracer Pasela TG tires. The
former resists flats better and lasts longer (6-7K for a rear tire) but
both are good tires.

- rick

"Ziactrice" wrote in news:1145474376.081587.161650
@i40g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

I have a six and a half mile one-way commute. I'm up to about four
miles in pretty good condition, so I'll probably be ready in another
week or two. My only real concern (okay, beyond getting swiped,
cornered, or just run off the road by the car-drivers) is what to do
about fixing a flat?

I haven't even changed a tube yet. Is there a basic, beginner-level kit
I should order, and/or a website to show me how so I can practice
first? I don't want to have to admit to work I'm late because I
couldn't fix my own tire. I know flats should be rare occurences, but
if I don't have the know-how and the tools, Murphy might get me.

Zia


-------------------------------------------------------------------

I carry a spare tube; it saved me once:
I had to fix a flat in the dark and did not see that the bead was not
seated proprerly; pumping the tire up resulted in one very loud bang.
A spare tube is also handy when you don't have time to patch the tube or
when it is raining. Pull out the bad tube check the tire for whatever
caused the flat, put in the spare tube and fix the flat tube at home.

Rich

"Dane Buson" wrote

3 good tire levers (not Zefal - they're terrible)
1 spare tube that has the same stem and size as your bike tire
1 patch kit - glueless is okay for psi 60 or so, glued elsewise [2]
1 pump or CO2 inflator plus a couple cartidges


I'd add a little packet of Wet Wipes so you can clean your hands afterwards,
or just hoard a couple of those sachets from a fast-food place.

landotter wrote:
I carry a patch kit wrapped with duct tape and two levers and a mini
pump. Every six years I break a valve stem and walk home in my cleats
cursing all the way.


Why no spare tube?

Ziactrice wrote:
I have a six and a half mile one-way commute. I'm up to about four
miles in pretty good condition, so I'll probably be ready in another
week or two. My only real concern (okay, beyond getting swiped,
cornered, or just run off the road by the car-drivers) is what to do
about fixing a flat?

I haven't even changed a tube yet. Is there a basic, beginner-level kit
I should order, and/or a website to show me how so I can practice
first? I don't want to have to admit to work I'm late because I
couldn't fix my own tire. I know flats should be rare occurences, but
if I don't have the know-how and the tools, Murphy might get me.

Zia


I do not change flats, just have no interest in doing
that. The one time I got a flat on the ride into work --
the circuitous 15-mile ride in, not the 1.3 mile direct
route -- I walked perhaps a quarter-mile to a bus stop,
waited about 5 minutes for the bus (a fortunately short
wait) and plopped the bike on the bus rack, and bussed in.
So if you ride along a bus route, there is that option.

Scott

Peter Cole wrote:
landotter wrote:
I carry a patch kit wrapped with duct tape and two levers and a mini
pump. Every six years I break a valve stem and walk home in my cleats
cursing all the way.


Why no spare tube?

I've broken 2 valve stems in close to twenty years of "real" cycling.
Not worth the weight to carry a tube. I don't carry spare spokes
either. If I'm really really far from home, and I break another valve
stem ten miles from home, five years from now, I'll call a buddy and
buy him a six pack to pick me up.

It's much faster to just leave the wheel in the bike, Pull out the 4"
of tube you need to patch, fix, and jump back on the road. No greasy
fingers. Replacing a tube roadside, unless you've put a 2" gash in it
or broken the valve stem, is a bit antiquated.

Peter Cole wrote:
landotter wrote:
I carry a patch kit wrapped with duct tape and two levers and a mini
pump. Every six years I break a valve stem and walk home in my cleats
cursing all the way.


Why no spare tube?

I've broken 2 valve stems in close to twenty years of "real" cycling.
Not worth the weight to carry a tube. I don't carry spare spokes
either. If I'm really really far from home, and I break another valve
stem ten miles from home, five years from now, I'll call a buddy and
buy him a six pack to pick me up.

It's much faster to just leave the wheel in the bike, Pull out the 4"
of tube you need to patch, fix, and jump back on the road. No greasy
fingers. Replacing a tube roadside, unless you've put a 2" gash in it
or broken the valve stem, is a bit antiquated.

The buses here in south of Houston don't yet have bike racks, but that
is an option as well.

For now, I think I'm going to go with the advice I've gotten - get some
good tire levers, a tube, and practice removing, re-installing.
Especially the back wheel.

Thank you all for helping me with this; I know it's basic, but one has
to start with such things.

Zia

"POHB" wrote in message
...

I'd add a little packet of Wet Wipes so you can clean your hands
afterwards, or just hoard a couple of those sachets from a fast-food
place.

A pair of latex gloves so you don't get dirty in the first place.

landotter wrote:
Peter Cole wrote:
landotter wrote:
I carry a patch kit wrapped with duct tape and two levers and a mini
pump. Every six years I break a valve stem and walk home in my cleats
cursing all the way.

Why no spare tube?

I've broken 2 valve stems in close to twenty years of "real" cycling.
Not worth the weight to carry a tube. I don't carry spare spokes
either. If I'm really really far from home, and I break another valve
stem ten miles from home, five years from now, I'll call a buddy and
buy him a six pack to pick me up.

It's much faster to just leave the wheel in the bike, Pull out the 4"
of tube you need to patch, fix, and jump back on the road. No greasy
fingers. Replacing a tube roadside, unless you've put a 2" gash in it
or broken the valve stem, is a bit antiquated.


Well, YMMV. I find swapping a tube to be much faster than patching,
particularly in cold, dark or wet conditions (especially all 3!). If the
weather is pleasant, taking a break to patch a tube roadside isn't bad,
but as Jobst so often points out, you should let glue cure for the most
reliable patches.

I've never had much luck finding a leak from the outside then pulling
that section of tube out without removing the wheel. I also find it much
easier to get the bead off/on with the tire off the bike. The dirt I get
on my hands isn't so much chain grease as brake/rim dust -- you don't
have to handle a chain much, but usually you have to wrestle a bit with
rim & tire.

I've had a lot of stem failures in the last couple of years, many on
this NG have reported the same thing -- seems to have been a production
problem. Besides those failures, sometimes I get small leaks that are
hard to find. I had one like that today. It was windy, and even with the
whole tube removed and over-inflated I couldn't feel or hear the leak,
so I just put in the spare.