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Post by oldroadietehachapi on Apr 22, 2023 19:59:42 GMT
What a nice spring day for a ride said I. On such a day, I certainly must have a nice long bike ride. While riding along I thought, what's making that noise? Why is the rear wheel jumping about, oh dear, it is now hard to pedal. Rats, a flat. What a gigantic screw said I. I soon comprehend the screw is buried deep into the tire bead; I cannot get the screw out or remove the tire without a nut driver. What a fine spring day to walk (my bike) the three miles home thought I.
Note, it is much more fun to ride a bike than walk one.
Cheers Jim
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Post by triitout on Apr 23, 2023 0:34:24 GMT
They say bad things come in three's. Yours is the third so you did me a favor as I feared the third would be during my season opener triathlon tomorrow morning. I hope I haven't gone and jinked myself now.  Last week I had the mother of all giant forks destroy an almost new car tire. Two days later I picked up a nail 5 miles into my ride that's got yours beat and destroyed that tire as well. Luckily, the Mrs came to the rescue. Now all I need is the rain to be gone an hour earlier than forecast and forget about my flat tire fears.  |
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Post by brianbutler on Apr 23, 2023 1:16:06 GMT
For flat protection I am considering installing a set of these tires I saw on my way to South Carolina last week.
Brian
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Post by triitout on Apr 23, 2023 1:23:21 GMT
For flat protection I am considering installing a set of these tires I saw on my way to South Carolina last week.
Brian
Perfect idea Brian! I knew those narrow Viscount chain stays might be a problem down the road.  Any ideas how to do a cold reset and jam'em in?  |
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Post by oldroadietehachapi on Apr 23, 2023 4:42:00 GMT
They say bad things come in three's. Yours is the third so you did me a favor as I feared the third would be during my season opener triathlon tomorrow morning. I hope I haven't gone and jinked myself now. Last week I had the mother of all giant forks destroy an almost new car tire. Two days later I picked up a nail 5 miles into my ride that's got yours beat and destroyed that tire as well. Luckily, the Mrs came to the rescue. Now all I need is the rain to be gone an hour earlier than forecast and forget about my flat tire fears. So glad I could help! I predict a most excellent excellent triathlon.
Enjoy! Jim
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Post by triitout on Apr 23, 2023 20:40:11 GMT
They say bad things come in three's. Yours is the third so you did me a favor as I feared the third would be during my season opener triathlon tomorrow morning. I hope I haven't gone and jinked myself now. Last week I had the mother of all giant forks destroy an almost new car tire. Two days later I picked up a nail 5 miles into my ride that's got yours beat and destroyed that tire as well. Luckily, the Mrs came to the rescue. Now all I need is the rain to be gone an hour earlier than forecast and forget about my flat tire fears. So glad I could help! I predict a most excellent excellent triathlon.
Enjoy! Jim
Thank you Jim! No flat! Just a massive deluge of rain and chilly temps to go along with the park loop road that's overdue for repaving. Happy to report I made it through the rain (to quote Barry Manilow). No PR today but most importantly no crashes. Had to go long sleeve so the lucky Viscount jersey will wait for June racing. I'm at the top of the age group (69) so I consider 2nd place only 17 seconds back from a bottom of the age group guy (64, turning 65 this year....how unfair!) a success. Sorry to hijack your thread Jim but I'm playing with house money at this point and I do get a bit carried away to still be in the game. |
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Post by wheelson on Apr 23, 2023 21:57:20 GMT
I might’ve mentioned this before, but one alternative to Jim’s less than fun experience is something I’ve been experimenting with - airless tires. I’ve reached a couple of conclusions.
My best use is on the bike I take to the North Carolina Outer Banks (paved roads). In this situation, instant use (no pump), no fixing flats in 90F temps with motor homes and semi’s whizzing by. Size: 700x40’s, good stability.
Second situation is on a 10 mile round trip, mostly gravel rail trail commute from home to the bike shop I contract with. Same tires, same freedom from flats when I have to get to work or home.
Third situation is a longer rail trail / towpath trip (multi-day?). Very tempting, due to lack of flats and no need to carry pump, spare tubes and tire, and killing your schedule fixing flats. But . . .
I have mentioned the pro’s, now the con’s: airless tires simulate a fixed pressure as in fully inflated, great for paved roads but not so great for gravel trails where one might want to run at a decreased pressure to up the comfort level. This might also be concerning as to type of bike frame materials, as my Cannondale is inherently stiffer than my steel framed bikes. Additional bike stiffness tends to aggravate my shoulder pain. Tannus airless sizes are somewhat limited as to both width and diameter, with inner rim width being critical. Also, no old rims without a hook for the bead can be used. Cost is about 90USD each installed at our shop.
To close, I’ll use ‘em on my steel-framed road touring bike, my commuter, and my “quick out” bike. I’ll pass on stiffed framed aluminum Cannondale and long gravel rides. Oh, and for a front or rear wheel driven e-bike, I’d consider them a must.
Best,
John “wheelson”
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Jem
Viscount
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Posts: 3,390 
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Post by Jem on Apr 24, 2023 6:40:54 GMT
I might’ve mentioned this before, but one alternative to Jim’s less than fun experience is something I’ve been experimenting with - airless tires. I’ve reached a couple of conclusions. My best use is on the bike I take to the North Carolina Outer Banks (paved roads). In this situation, instant use (no pump), no fixing flats in 90F temps with motor homes and semi’s whizzing by. Size: 700x40’s, good stability. Second situation is on a 10 mile round trip, mostly gravel rail trail commute from home to the bike shop I contract with. Same tires, same freedom from flats when I have to get to work or home. Third situation is a longer rail trail / towpath trip (multi-day?). Very tempting, due to lack of flats and no need to carry pump, spare tubes and tire, and killing your schedule fixing flats. But . . . I have mentioned the pro’s, now the con’s: airless tires simulate a fixed pressure as in fully inflated, great for paved roads but not so great for gravel trails where one might want to run at a decreased pressure to up the comfort level. This might also be concerning as to type of bike frame materials, as my Cannondale is inherently stiffer than my steel framed bikes. Additional bike stiffness tends to aggravate my shoulder pain. Tannus airless sizes are somewhat limited as to both width and diameter, with inner rim width being critical. Also, no old rims without a hook for the bead can be used. Cost is about 90USD each installed at our shop. To close, I’ll use ‘em on my steel-framed road touring bike, my commuter, and my “quick out” bike. I’ll pass on stiffed framed aluminum Cannondale and long gravel rides. Oh, and for a front or rear wheel driven e-bike, I’d consider them a must. Best, John “wheelson” Thanks for info there John - I am interested in setting up a bike like that. |
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Post by oldroadietehachapi on Apr 24, 2023 14:03:40 GMT
I think John has a great idea with the use of airless tires; especially for an eBike. My eBike is clumsy to move about and the thought of fixing a flat along the road (on the heavy little puppy) seems so difficult that it is limiting my using it. Inspired by John, I have ordered this set of airless tires. If I like them, I may install them on other bikes.
Cheers Jim
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Post by wheelson on Apr 24, 2023 19:22:06 GMT
I think they’re a great move for you, Jim. I have a set that I can rotate between my Cannondale and my Nashbar (steel) tourer. It’s nice to hop on a bike after it’s not been used and go for a short ride virtually with no worries.
I’m sure you’ve gone through the “qualification” procedure, but for those who might be curious: Step 1 is to measure the inside width of the rim. This will determine the allowed width of the tire. This is not as easy as one might think as these tires are tailored to a narrow range of rim width. For example, 700x40’s need a 19-21mm rim ID where the 700x23’s need a 13-15mm. Step 3 is the proper selection of color coded flat pins that are loaded into tiny tunnels around the seating area of the tire. They clip in across the inner rim bead.There is a range with a tight tolerance width, all color coded. Step 3: pick a very warm day as some stretch is involved in mounting. At the shop we lay them in the front south facing windows. Sounds complicated, but really not too bad. I probably went into too much detail but I can see where ordering online might complicate things. There’s probably some YouTube videos available.
Best,
John “wheelson”
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Post by oldroadietehachapi on Apr 25, 2023 0:09:34 GMT
You are so right about matching rim width to the tire. My rim width is 18mm; the Tannus tire guide gives me a range from 700-25 to 700-32, with the 700-28s I bought being right in the middle. I would like 700-32s, but find they are too fat to fit through my brake calipers without loosening the brake cable. Tannus sells complete wheelsets with the tires already mounted; which seem to be very reasonably priced ($280-$399).
Cheers Jim
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Post by oldroadietehachapi on Apr 25, 2023 4:03:02 GMT
They say bad things come in three's. Yours is the third so you did me a favor as I feared the third would be during my season opener triathlon tomorrow morning. I hope I haven't gone and jinked myself now. Last week I had the mother of all giant forks destroy an almost new car tire. Two days later I picked up a nail 5 miles into my ride that's got yours beat and destroyed that tire as well. Luckily, the Mrs came to the rescue. Now all I need is the rain to be gone an hour earlier than forecast and forget about my flat tire fears. So how went the triathlon? |
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Post by brianbutler on Apr 25, 2023 17:39:41 GMT
What is meant by "inner rim width", the width occupied by the tire or the width of the rim tape channel? I think it is the latter since I saw numbers like 18mm, but wanted to make sure in case I want to buy these tires.
Brian
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Post by oldroadietehachapi on Apr 25, 2023 18:37:10 GMT
What is meant by "inner rim width", the width occupied by the tire or the width of the rim tape channel? I think it is the latter since I saw numbers like 18mm, but wanted to make sure in case I want to buy these tires. Brian Good question! This is explained on the tire sizes portion of the Tannus Website.
Cheers Jim
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Post by triitout on Apr 25, 2023 18:48:31 GMT
They say bad things come in three's. Yours is the third so you did me a favor as I feared the third would be during my season opener triathlon tomorrow morning. I hope I haven't gone and jinked myself now. Last week I had the mother of all giant forks destroy an almost new car tire. Two days later I picked up a nail 5 miles into my ride that's got yours beat and destroyed that tire as well. Luckily, the Mrs came to the rescue. Now all I need is the rain to be gone an hour earlier than forecast and forget about my flat tire fears. So how went the triathlon? Thanks for indulging me Jim! You missed my race review which is posted 4/23, 4:40 PM. 2/7 age group, 72/229 overall. I'm happy! I just played it safe on the bike with all the rain and potholes and still just missed the fastest age group bike split by 5 seconds. Viscount steel training, Trek carbon racing has been a good formula. Two more summer sprints and then Ironman 70.3 Jones Beach, NY in September. I've got some work to do for the big one as it gets late early to quote the great Yogi Berra.. It's been 9 years since I ran a half marathon so that will be interesting. They're closing a major highway (Wantagh Pkwy) for the 56 mile bike so that'll be great to ride in the company of 3,800 participants. There's no drafting allowed in triathlons but something tells me it will be rampant with that size race. I'll take whatever illegal help I might inadvertently get.  |
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Last week I had the mother of all giant forks destroy an almost new car tire. Two days later I picked up a nail 5 miles into my ride that's got yours beat and destroyed that tire as well. Luckily, the Mrs came to the rescue. Now all I need is the rain to be gone an hour earlier than forecast and forget about my flat tire fears. 
Any ideas how to do a cold reset and jam'em in?
