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Do You Road Bike?

DucatiHoney said:
Hey you guys... I keep having this slooooow leak in my rear tire. I've changed the tube 16 bazillion times and every time I go out to the garage, the tire's a little low. I pump it up, go out riding, and 10 minutes from home I'm on the side of the road in the weeds changing another tube. I've felt all OVER the inside of the rubber. That tire has been seriously violated and I can't find a thing.

So I'm throwing in the towel. My dreams of being stingy and running on it till it was ground down to nothing have been dashed against the rocks of reality.

Do I need to get two matching or can I cheap out and just get one? Also, I'm running 25 mm tires right now I guess. I was told that given my size I could run 23 and save some weight (like 0.000002 lbs. probably :rolleyes) without changing my rims. I really don't like changing tires though and would like something a tad more heavy-duty that doesn't weigh much more. Recommendations?
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one more thing you might wanna check . If you've gone through that many tubes , it's either something small in the tire ..... OR ..... if your running a standard wheel / rim with a rim strip on the inside , you might check to make sure the rim tape/ strip has not moved over just enough to expose the spoke eyelet hole behind it . :nerd
 
Although I know nothing about this rim tape stuff, I did check it. The fabric seems intact and no metal stuff is showing through. I'll run my finger along it and see if I can feel something. Whatever is happening is really, really small, so it probably isn't totally visible. Thanks for the heads up. :thumbup
 
I say stick with the 25s. The performance gain you get from the 23s is minimal (unless you like to race crits), and you'll lose a bit of the cushy ride the 25s give (for the record, I use both types, but my long distance bike always sports 25s). I've been digging Continental GP4000 (and GP3000 before that) for many years now. Pretty good puncture protection. People also vouch for Michelin Krylion (or something like that). Maxxis Re-Fuse (stupid name) is what I put on my fixed gear bikes (been through 3 rear tires, close to 5000 miles, only one flat.

Flat repair tip that helps you find those pesky puncture gremlins. Always mount the tire so the sidewall label is next to the valve hole (helps you match tube/tire puncture locations). BUT ALSO, when removing a tube after a puncture, LEAVE the valve in, pump up the tub, essentially inflating the tube outside the tire. Find the hole in the tube, then match it up to the relative location on the tire. :thumbup
 
eshutter said:
I say stick with the 25s. The performance gain you get from the 23s is minimal (unless you like to race crits), and you'll lose a bit of the cushy ride the 25s give (for the record, I use both types, but my long distance bike always sports 25s). I've been digging Continental GP4000 (and GP3000 before that) for many years now. Pretty good puncture protection. People also vouch for Michelin Krylion (or something like that). Maxxis Re-Fuse (stupid name) is what I put on my fixed gear bikes (been through 3 rear tires, close to 5000 miles, only one flat.
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Yeah, I've been using the Michelin Krylion Carbons. Picked em up at Performance for like $39 or so a tire. It's a slightly rougher ride than the Specialized S-Works tires I was on for a while, but they're also $15 or so dollars cheaper.

Flat repair tip that helps you find those pesky puncture gremlins. Always mount the tire so the sidewall label is next to the valve hole (helps you match tube/tire puncture locations). BUT ALSO, when removing a tube after a puncture, LEAVE the valve in, pump up the tub, essentially inflating the tube outside the tire. Find the hole in the tube, then match it up to the relative location on the tire. :thumbup
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DH, if you don't get to it this weekend, we'll go through it next time I swing by to work on my bike. Some soapy water on the tube should reveal where the hole is pretty quickly.
 
57cm Cinelli Frame with Dura Ace goodies for sale

57cm Cinelli Aliante Pro. 56.5cm top tube Kenisis Aero fork. Dura ace headset, crankset, bottom bracket and rear derailleur. $400 and I will do the finish build with your parts.
 

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eshutter said:
Flat repair tip that helps you find those pesky puncture gremlins. Always mount the tire so the sidewall label is next to the valve hole (helps you match tube/tire puncture locations). BUT ALSO, when removing a tube after a puncture, LEAVE the valve in, pump up the tub, essentially inflating the tube outside the tire. Find the hole in the tube, then match it up to the relative location on the tire. :thumbup
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Bingo. Sometimes the piece of crap in the tire is so small that you can't see or feel it. I have had some luck finding them by pinching the tire to flex the tread. That opens up the tiny cut so you can see the miniscule particle of glass in there.
If I can't find a slow leak in the tube I take it off the wheel, put in some air, and slowly pass it by my face. If I can't hear the faint hiss I can feel the air escaping.

I prefer 23mm tires but I weigh 140 lbs so I can run 23s at 100 psi and not pinch flat. I used to run my tires at 110 or even 120 but I found some data that shows that rolling resistance is higher at the higher pressures (depending on body weight). And the comfort is a lot better at the lower pressure too.

I use Michelin Race 2s on my race wheels and Performance Forte tires on my training wheels. The Specialized Mondo whatevers were nice too but the 23mm ones are much wider than normal 23mm tires and wouldn't fit between the chainstays on one of my bikes.
 
ericm said:
Bingo. Sometimes the piece of crap in the tire is so small that you can't see or feel it. I have had some luck finding them by pinching the tire to flex the tread. That opens up the tiny cut so you can see the miniscule particle of glass in there.
If I can't find a slow leak in the tube I take it off the wheel, put in some air, and slowly pass it by my face. If I can't hear the faint hiss I can feel the air escaping.

I prefer 23mm tires but I weigh 140 lbs so I can run 23s at 100 psi and not pinch flat. I used to run my tires at 110 or even 120 but I found some data that shows that rolling resistance is higher at the higher pressures (depending on body weight). And the comfort is a lot better at the lower pressure too.

I use Michelin Race 2s on my race wheels and Performance Forte tires on my training wheels. The Specialized Mondo whatevers were nice too but the 23mm ones are much wider than normal 23mm tires and wouldn't fit between the chainstays on one of my bikes.
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I'll try to track down my next flat with a bit more precision using the techniques you guys have listed. I kept the old tire, but I gave up on finding the flat and just bought a single, tougher rear at Performance. I tried it out yesterday and went through some pretty gnarly stuff without a hitch. (knock on wood.) I stuck with the 25's even though I'm weighing in at a beefy 110 lbs. I like knowing that I have a little more surface area on the pavement. I'm not fast enough to know the difference. :)
 
I had a good ride. No back tire issues at all. :thumbup
 
DucatiHoney said:
I had a good ride. No back tire issues at all. :thumbup
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I road bike commute to work thruough rough industrial areas with a lot of glass, nails, and stiff pieses of tire. I use to get 20-30 flats a year and then I switched to Specialized Armodillo Commuter tires with a band of kevlar armor bead to bead. What a life saver. They are wire bead and they are not as smooth rollers as racing tires, but the amount of flats I avoid is great. Plus, on road rides when people get flats with racing tires, I'm still rolling.
 
I picked up another bike and I want to start wrenching on my own.

Some of the work I'm already planning to do:

- install/remove cassettes.
- install/remove cranksets and bottom brackets.

Beyond basic tools I already have to work on my motorcycle, what specific bike tools should I start looking for?

Any recommendations on a basic work stand for the bikes?

Thanks!

-ak-
 
metric hexes, 2-8
spoke wrenches
torque wrench (esp. if you're fastening carbon parts)
truing stand (I'm particularly anal about wheel maintenance)
chain breaker
cable/housing cutter

workstand: I've liked my Ultimate workstand for many years. If I ever have to replace it, I'd probably go for a Park PRS-20

Edit: If you're planning on removing cassette, you'll need the splined adapter to remove the cassette lockring, a chainwhip. If you're bottom bracket is a recessed kind (inside the frame shell, not outboard cups), then you'll probably need a crank puller to faciliate removal of your crankset as well.
 
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If it matters, one bike has campy and the other shimano.
I know they're incompatible.
Does that mean some tools are incompatible (wrt to bottom bracket/crank tools). Do I need a crank puller?
 
eshutter said:
metric hexes, 2-8
spoke wrenches
torque wrench (esp. if you're fastening carbon parts)
truing stand (I'm particularly anal about wheel maintenance)
chain breaker
cable/housing cutter

workstand: I've liked my Ultimate workstand for many years. If I ever have to replace it, I'd probably go for a Park PRS-20

Edit: If you're planning on removing cassette, you'll need the splined adapter to remove the cassette lockring, a chainwhip. If you're bottom bracket is a recessed kind (inside the frame shell, not outboard cups), then you'll probably need a crank puller to faciliate removal of your crankset as well.
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Thanks for the link to Park Tool. Looks like they have a bunch of tool kits that would have what I'm looking for. And it does looks like I need both campy-only and shimano-only tools (from what I could tell for bottom bracket and cassette lock ring tools) . Damn.

-ak-
 
Actually, correction. You WON'T need a crank puller if your older style BB has splined spindles. If they're square taper (nearly all older cartridge Campy BBs are), you will benefit from having the crank puller.

Buy the tools specific to your new system. See if you can borrow the ones specific to the old. Or take your rig to a coop bike shop (e.g. Missing Link in Berkeley) that has community wrenching space.
 
Keep checking out Performance Bikes. They very often have great deals on mechanic's kits ranging from the most basic of sets to full on professional. I started with a middle of the road kit which was really a great starting point and then found myself adding to it every time I needed something I didn't have. Worked out really well for me.

I will say one tool that's really important to buy a good one. (and will not come with a kit) If you have one of the new external bottom brackets, the removal tool that looks like a socket and attaches to a normal ratchet wrench, .... is a far better tool than the crescent shaped BB removal wrench. :thumbup
 
I'd go with Saris, or better yet, Thule. Yakima racks are so not user-friendly. You have to go through a lot of motions just to secure and release your bike.
 
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