Overtraining was defective pump

Hi,

Some time ago I mentioned I feared I suffered from overtraining syndrome.
Today I found out my specialized floor pump only inflated my tires to 2 bar,
whilst 7 bar was shown on the meter. I never checked the tire manually,
since I trusted the pump....

Boy, what a difference: I managed to get an average of 31.8 km/h in spite of
0 degree Celcius temperature.

Greets, Derk

On Mon, 20 Dec 2004 18:49:17 +0100, Derk
wrote:

Hi,

Some time ago I mentioned I feared I suffered from overtraining syndrome.
Today I found out my specialized floor pump only inflated my tires to 2 bar,
whilst 7 bar was shown on the meter. I never checked the tire manually,
since I trusted the pump....

Boy, what a difference: I managed to get an average of 31.8 km/h in spite of
0 degree Celcius temperature.

Greets, Derk

Dear Derk,

I'm surprised that you didn't notice dreadful cornering
problems with 30 psi instead of 100 psi.

The sidewalls would have sagged and wobbled under your
weight, and the contact patches would have tripled in size,
which make quite a difference in turning.

I occasionally find this out the hard way with slow leaks
from thorns.

If the faintly different feel of a softer and softer rear
tire hitting road cracks doesn't penetrate my daydreams on
the five miles of gentle curves into town, I'm liable to wet
my pants when I reach the first right-angle turn in the park
at 20 mph, lean over, and find that I'm riding a soggy blimp
that wants to sail over into curb.

When I approach the park now, I take a quick glance back
down at my rear tire to see if it's bulging from a slow
leak.

Carl Fogel

Derk wrote:
Hi,

Some time ago I mentioned I feared I suffered from overtraining syndrome.
Today I found out my specialized floor pump only inflated my tires to 2 bar,
whilst 7 bar was shown on the meter. I never checked the tire manually,
since I trusted the pump....

Boy, what a difference: I managed to get an average of 31.8 km/h in spite of
0 degree Celcius temperature.

Greets, Derk


Now I can't take you serious any more
2 bar... yeah right.

Lou
--
Posted by news://news.nb.nu

wrote:
On Mon, 20 Dec 2004 18:49:17 +0100, Derk
wrote:

Hi,

Some time ago I mentioned I feared I suffered from overtraining
syndrome.
Today I found out my specialized floor pump only inflated my tires
to 2 bar,
whilst 7 bar was shown on the meter. I never checked the tire
manually,
since I trusted the pump....

Boy, what a difference: I managed to get an average of 31.8 km/h in
spite of
0 degree Celcius temperature.

Greets, Derk

Dear Derk,

I'm surprised that you didn't notice dreadful cornering
problems with 30 psi instead of 100 psi.

The sidewalls would have sagged and wobbled under your
weight, and the contact patches would have tripled in size,
which make quite a difference in turning.

I occasionally find this out the hard way with slow leaks
from thorns.

If the faintly different feel of a softer and softer rear
tire hitting road cracks doesn't penetrate my daydreams on
the five miles of gentle curves into town, I'm liable to wet
my pants when I reach the first right-angle turn in the park
at 20 mph, lean over, and find that I'm riding a soggy blimp
that wants to sail over into curb.

When I approach the park now, I take a quick glance back
down at my rear tire to see if it's bulging from a slow
leak.

Carl Fogel

I always rode MUCH, MUCH faster after hitting 7 bars on "bar row" in
Anchorage.
Happy Holidays, John "-)

"Lou Holtman" wrote in message
...
Derk wrote:
Hi,

Some time ago I mentioned I feared I suffered from overtraining
syndrome.
Today I found out my specialized floor pump only inflated my tires to 2
bar,
whilst 7 bar was shown on the meter. I never checked the tire manually,
since I trusted the pump....

Boy, what a difference: I managed to get an average of 31.8 km/h in
spite of
0 degree Celcius temperature.

Greets, Derk


Now I can't take you serious any more
2 bar... yeah right.

How is that at all unbelievable?

My road bike has a slow leak in the front that takes about a week to drop
60psi down from 130. During that time, I ride it to class each day, and the
gradual softening effect is completely transparent to me. When it gets down
to about 30 or 20psi, I notice it and stop being lazy and pump it back up to
130. The first ride after pumping it back up is like a new experience for
me. This has been going on for about 2 months now, and it's still a little
surprising each time. I'm 135lbs, and 700x23.

BTW, Derk, I wouldn't have that problem with my Specialized floor pump,
because the area of the piston is probably about 1in^2. Why? Because I am
literally leaning on the piston superman-style at the very end of pumping up
my road tires to 130 31.8kmh at 0C is something I definitely wouldn't be
able to do!

Phil, Squid-in-Training

"Phil, Squid-in-Training" wrote in
message m...

"Lou Holtman" wrote in message
...
Derk wrote:
Hi,

Some time ago I mentioned I feared I suffered from overtraining
syndrome.
Today I found out my specialized floor pump only inflated my tires to
2
bar,
whilst 7 bar was shown on the meter. I never checked the tire
manually,
since I trusted the pump....

Boy, what a difference: I managed to get an average of 31.8 km/h in
spite of
0 degree Celcius temperature.

Greets, Derk


Now I can't take you serious any more
2 bar... yeah right.

How is that at all unbelievable?

Because cornering with 2 bar in a 23 mm road tire is awful and any
experience rider, like Derk, should notice that, specially when you are
doing 31 km/hr average. The difference with 7 bar is huge. When you hit a
(minor) hole with 2 bar you almost certain you get a snakebite flat.


My road bike has a slow leak in the front that takes about a week to drop
60psi down from 130. During that time, I ride it to class each day, and
the
gradual softening effect is completely transparent to me. When it gets
down
to about 30 or 20psi, I notice it and stop being lazy and pump it back up
to
130. The first ride after pumping it back up is like a new experience for
me. This has been going on for about 2 months now, and it's still a
little
surprising each time. I'm 135lbs, and 700x23.

That's another thing I don't understand. Why don't you pop on a new inner
tube or patch the thing? I ride with latex inner tubes and have to pump my
tire before EVERY ride. When I forget to do that, after the first corner I
notice (they drop to 4 bar overnight) and return home to pump the tire up.

Lou

Lou Holtman wrote:

Now I can't take you serious any more
2 bar... yeah right.
I couldn't believe it myslef either. I have been riding my old winterbike
for some time now and I always ride through a polder during this period:
very long straight roads, no bumps or potholes, cycling tracks. I noticed
a few times when jumping over a branch that I hit the ground very hard, but
I never had flats. It was just plain stupid to trust a pump and never check
the pressure myself.

Personally, I'm surprised that resistance on the road is that much greater.
I use 25 mm tires in the winter btw.

Something else: my dealer isn't able to get me a new meter for my 6 years
old Specialized pump. I bought a SKS Rennkompressor in the mean time, but I
would also repair the Specialized if I could find the meter somewhere not
too expensive.

Greets, Derk

On Tue, 21 Dec 2004 09:40:39 +0100, Derk
wrote:


Something else: my dealer isn't able to get me a new meter for my 6 years
old Specialized pump. I bought a SKS Rennkompressor in the mean time, but I
would also repair the Specialized if I could find the meter somewhere not
too expensive.

Greets, Derk

Hi, if the gauge has a standard sized fitting, you should be able to
replace it with any gauge of the same size and specs. Even if isn't,
you may be able to get a reducer bushing of some sort. Take the pump
to a hardware store.

For everyone, it is a good idea to compare your pumps gauge to a
quality, seperate one. There are often differences and it is nice to
be able to compensate for them.

I use a Topeak Joe Blow Sport and I have a Topeak Smarthead Digital
Gauge. I like the Gauge so much that when I found them on sale at
Campmor, I bought 3 of them for Christmas gifts.
http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/st...tId=3037307 2


Life is Good!
Jeff

In article ,
says...

Hi,
Some time ago I mentioned I feared I suffered from overtraining syndrome.
Today I found out my specialized floor pump only inflated my tires to 2 bar,
whilst 7 bar was shown on the meter. I never checked the tire manually,
since I trusted the pump....
Boy, what a difference: I managed to get an average of 31.8 km/h in spite of
0 degree Celcius temperature.

That is a huge difference in tire pressure. I don't see how you did not get
pinch flats all the time.
------------
Alex

Alex Rodriguez wrote:

That is a huge difference in tire pressure. I don't see how you did not
get pinch flats all the time.
I agree. I'm amazed also. Maybe it was 2.5 bar or so, but I was amazed when
I inflated the tire at the LBS with their pump.
I never had a flat tire during the last 6 months or so.

Greets, Derk