Good Samaritans

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nigelb

New Member
Cycling home yesterday evening, I had a flat.

Gob-smacked, first in over a year's commuting, and this bike is less than 2 weeks old!

Turned out that the rim "tape" was a rubber band, and had broken, the rim has something akin to a suspended ceiling inside, keeping the inner tube clear of the spokes, however at least one of the edges of the holes through this ceiling to get to the spokes was slightly rough ...

Anyway, one guy stopped with a pump, chatted to calm me down (I was cross, new bike etc), helped me refit the tape as best we could, and only left when I was sorted :-)

Another guy stopped a bit later, and I got even more air in the tyre, and made it the rest of the way home.

Both times, while stopped, several others slowed and checked that we had everything we needed, everyone ok etc!

So, this is a big big "thank you" to the friendly commuters along Madingley Road yesterday evening (and I now have a pump in my bag!).

As for the rim, I've put narrow masking tape, then insulating tape, round, should protect it for the moment, and will raise with the shop - at the very least I'm looking for a new rim tape and inner tube, but I suspect they should really swap the rim for a nice smooth one (and check the front one out too!). I thought one of the advantages of buying new was everything would be sorted, as it is I find my hands tied, not wanting to do anything to invalidate warranties, but still needing to cycle to work!

Nige
 
Location
EDINBURGH
A lot of rims are like that, the shop should be capable of deburing the holes for you and fitting good rim tape. They should do the other one for you at the same time.
 
I had a funny experience when taking some foreign teens up a Welsh mountain a few years ago. As we turned down to come off the mountain I stopped to help a guy coming the other way who'd punctured and as we stood there every so often a rider would appear coming down the trail. Every single one of them slowed to check we were ok.

Afterwards one of the lads asked, puzzled: 'Do you know all those people?'

Cyclists is wicked.
 
I guess without having to sit in traffic, we have all the time in the world to help out :biggrin:


My old bike had rubber tape, replaced it with a sticky backed material (material as in clothing type, not metals/rubbers/etc) of some kind. No idea what the newer bike has... guess I should check as the rubber tends to crack up after a while too.
 

gaz

Cycle Camera TV
Location
South Croydon
I always slow and ask if cyclists are alright. Most of the time i'm not even carrying a pump or anything remotely usefull. A spare set of hands can never go a miss when trying to fit a tyre.
 
This is a common problem and I've had it twice, both times with Bianchis (have Bianchi a particular problem I wonder?) Double-wall rims have the advantage of greater strength and rigidity, but some of the cheaper ones don't have proper eyelets in the outer skin (for the spokes to pass through), just drilled holes which may be rough-edged with burrs. And if the rim tape is too thin or narrow, or the wrong sort, it won't properly cover these holes. Result: p*nctures!

You can (as I did) wind plastic insulating tape around the rim as a makeshift, sufficient layers to properly protect the inner, but bear in mind that this will raise the middle channel of the rim: if you have tight-fit tyres it will make it more difficult to fit and remove them. Best is to fit the proper width and stiffness of rim tape in the first place: take the wheel to a decent LBS and they should advise you.

Of course, some of the really top-notch rims, so I've heard, have no holes in the outer skin at all! Instead you have to push in all the nipples via the valve hole, and then manoeuvre them with a magnet to the correct hole in the inner skin. Must make wheel building and spoke replacement a nightmare, but at least you don't need a rim tape.

And good to hear of Good Samaritan cyclists around! My attempts to help a 'cyclist in distress' have not always come out well, mind...:wacko:
 

Tinuts

Wham Bam Helmet Cam
Location
London, UK.
mickle said:
Cyclists is wicked.

Shouldn't that be "Cyclists is wicked, innit?" or is that just a London thing?:ohmy:
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
gaz said:
I always slow and ask if cyclists are alright. Most of the time i'm not even carrying a pump or anything remotely usefull. A spare set of hands can never go a miss when trying to fit a tyre.

I quite often stop but with a sense of will I actually be able to do anything - maybe lend them a tool. Yesterday I was dropping off one child to guides and immediately opposite was a lady with her bike upside down and a small child standing beside her. Although I had absolutely no tools or pump etc I went over to see if she was ok.

Turned out the chain had come off and she had already put it back on but was trying to work out which cog it should be on. I was actually able to help... I was so pleased with myself:biggrin:
 
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