I had a new hand made wheel from Spa cycles. It lasted all of two weeks until I hit a pot hole and totalled it.
Tales from today's commute....
- Thread starter martint235
- Start date
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I had a new hand made wheel from Spa cycles. It lasted all of two weeks until I hit a pot hole and totalled it.
Thorn Sherpa
Veteran
- Location
- Doncaster
Sickening that, I was shocked I hadn't bent the rim or took a spoke out. I've been running slightly lower pressure in the tyres which has more than likely saved the wheel.
Yep, it was a bitter pill to swallow. I could have chased it up with the local council but I just couldn't be bothered.
Thorn Sherpa
Veteran
- Location
- Doncaster
Don't think I'll be chasing my easy to fix puncture up with the council either to be fair! Ah well I enjoyed jogging the last mile to work anyway 😂
biking_fox
Legendary Member
- Location
- Manchester
Penultimate ride today - enjoyable. Fortunately it wa sa work do yesterday so I avoided having to cycle in the biblical all day long deluge. Lots of evidence of the high water levels still around, but the actual ride was fine, on the colder side. Felt out of shape though! (will be worse by Jan.
Another utterly miserable abortion of a ride this morning.
Having spent most of last night buggering about with the Fuji the penny finally dropped that yesterday’s multiple punctures were the result of a failed tyre sidewall; the resultant split apparently allowing the tube to prolapse through the tyre and get pinched as the affected area compressed under the load of rotating into contact with the ground.
While on the face of it this could have been resolved as I have a spare tyre, I also discovered a load of corrosion on the steel spoke eyelets in the rim (evidently from washing them in the past to try and minimise the misery of changing a tube when everything's filthy). As such the rim’s been left out for a day or two in an effort to dry it out thoroughly meaning I needed alternative transport today.
The Routier was pushed into service and prepped last night for departure. I decided to take the most direct route this morning after another appalling night’s “sleep” and a non-trivial amount of rain falling in the area.
The journey was unpleasant enough in the cold, wet rain; still seemingly near dark despite dawn having passed an hour or more previously and devoid of the luxury of pannier bags so lugging everything necessary on my back in an unfamiliarly heavy and bulky rucksack.
It became infinitely worse thanks to yet another f*cking puncture on the bypass. Cold, dampness, apathy and proximity to work meant I pushed it the rest of the way; allowing me time to witness the pitiful reflection of humanity that is the cycle path – festooned with discarded clothes, sleeping bags, bottles of piss, empty security boxes for expensive spirits from the local supermarket and the broken glass I suspect was responsible for this latest infuriating event.
“Thankfully” I think I’ve transferred all the necessary measures into today’s stop-gap rucksack to repair the tube, although I’m struggling to muster the botheration to fix a fourth puncture in a little over 24hrs and feel like slinging the thing out in the rain and walking home tbh.
Absolutely, utterly sick of everything and everyone today – I’d love nothing more than to crawl into a warm, dark hole and shut the world out until spring
Having spent most of last night buggering about with the Fuji the penny finally dropped that yesterday’s multiple punctures were the result of a failed tyre sidewall; the resultant split apparently allowing the tube to prolapse through the tyre and get pinched as the affected area compressed under the load of rotating into contact with the ground.
While on the face of it this could have been resolved as I have a spare tyre, I also discovered a load of corrosion on the steel spoke eyelets in the rim (evidently from washing them in the past to try and minimise the misery of changing a tube when everything's filthy). As such the rim’s been left out for a day or two in an effort to dry it out thoroughly meaning I needed alternative transport today.
The Routier was pushed into service and prepped last night for departure. I decided to take the most direct route this morning after another appalling night’s “sleep” and a non-trivial amount of rain falling in the area.
The journey was unpleasant enough in the cold, wet rain; still seemingly near dark despite dawn having passed an hour or more previously and devoid of the luxury of pannier bags so lugging everything necessary on my back in an unfamiliarly heavy and bulky rucksack.
It became infinitely worse thanks to yet another f*cking puncture on the bypass. Cold, dampness, apathy and proximity to work meant I pushed it the rest of the way; allowing me time to witness the pitiful reflection of humanity that is the cycle path – festooned with discarded clothes, sleeping bags, bottles of piss, empty security boxes for expensive spirits from the local supermarket and the broken glass I suspect was responsible for this latest infuriating event.
“Thankfully” I think I’ve transferred all the necessary measures into today’s stop-gap rucksack to repair the tube, although I’m struggling to muster the botheration to fix a fourth puncture in a little over 24hrs and feel like slinging the thing out in the rain and walking home tbh.
Absolutely, utterly sick of everything and everyone today – I’d love nothing more than to crawl into a warm, dark hole and shut the world out until spring
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cyberknight
As long as I breathe, I attack.
- Location
- Land of confusion
Stuck my head out the door just before 4 am and saw it was hammering it down so sod that , I got soaked coming back yesterday and mrs ck had already said she didn't need the car today.
Another utterly miserable abortion of a ride this morning.
Having spent most of last night buggering about with the Fuji the penny finally dropped that yesterday’s multiple punctures were the result of a failed tyre sidewall; the resultant split apparently allowing the tube to prolapse through the tyre and get pinched as the affected area compressed under the load of rotating into contact with the ground.
While on the face of it this could have been resolved as I have a spare tyre, I also discovered a load of corrosion on they steel spoke eyelets in the rim (evidently from washing them in the past to try and minimise the misery of changing a tyre on a filthy rim). As such the rim’s been left out for a day or two in an effort to dry it out thoroughly meaning I needed alternative transport today.
The Routier was pushed into service and prepped last night for departure. I decided to take the most direct route this morning after another appalling night’s “sleep” and a non-trivial amount of rain falling in the area.
The journey was unpleasant enough in the cold, wet rain; still seemingly near dark despite dawn having passed an hour or more previously and devoid of the luxury of pannier bags so lugging everything necessary on my back in an unfamiliarly heavy and bulky rucksack.
It became infinitely worse thanks to yet another f*cking puncture on the bypass. Cold, dampness, apathy and proximity to work meant I pushed it the rest of the way; allowing me time to witness the pitiful reflection of humanity that is the cycle path – festooned with discarded clothes, sleeping bags, bottles of piss, empty security boxes for expensive spirits from the local supermarket and the broken glass I suspect was responsible for this latest infuriating event.
“Thankfully” I think I’ve transferred all the necessary measures into today’s stop-gap rucksack to repair the tube, although I’m struggling to muster the botheration to fix a fourth puncture in a little over 24hrs and feel like slinging the thing out in the rain and walking home tbh.
Absolutely, utterly sick of everything and everyone today – I’d love nothing more than to crawl into a warm, dark hole and shut the world out until spring
Get thi'ssen some decent tyres and punctures will become a distant memory.
Not as straightforward as simply "better" though, is it? Greater protection brings more mass, worse ride quality, potentially greater difficulty in tyre removal & refitting and greater cost...
Plus, everything has its limits and yesterday's tightfistedness notwithstanding the litany of punctures I've suffered over the past month have all been the result of relatively large pieces of glass working their way into the tyre. Most of the tyres I run have some degree of puncture protection, however I'm not sure if anything would resist the 4-5mm long piece of beer bottle I've just pulled out of today's victim.
Each to their own. You need to weigh up the pros/cons for thi'ssen.
For me, the heavier tyre weight, any perceived increase in rolling resistant etc of a puncture-resistant tyre is a small price to pay to avoid the heartache and pain of roadside repairs, especially this time of year.
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Indeed. Riding the mean streets of South East London I need a tyre that offers better puncture protection then most. Durano Plus. Heavier and harsher ride then say Rubino Pro's of which I have on my non commute bike, but the pay off makes up for it with very rare deflations.
spen666
Legendary Member
Isn't that just normal weather in Manchester
Yup, although I'm already a fair way down the puncture-resistance route and I'm certainly not running lightweight racing rubber. Likewise I have no desire to go down the Marathon Plus route..
Until earlier in the year I'd managed about (IIRC) 1.8k miles with zero punctures; all the legit punctures I've had in the past month or so have been thanks to the streets being increasingly littered with broken glass.
Same. I've got Durano Plus fitted now.
Previous commuters were Rubino Pro's, which turned out a poor choice, due to the number of flats.
