Tearing through Finsbury Park in beautiful weather, stopped for a bus blocking the way, start to move off, funny knock/noise from back wheel, hop off, spin wheel looking for 'something' and there's a rather impressive 'pop' tending towards a 'crack'
about half an inch of the tyre, Schwalbe Lugano, all of ooo three weeks old, has separated from the wire right next to the valve, tyre off and there's a hole in the tube big enough to put my little finger through, right up against the shoulder of the valve and next to a surprisingly rough seam, nice
tried more in hope than anything else to patch it with a venerable huge patch, paper backed no less, from the kit, carrying a spare tube but don't fancy it up against the exposed wires
patch looks good, all back together and inflate, looks good, a couple more pumps, I'm only going another mile or so to Holloway Road for a new tyre after all, and the patch lets go, arse
wheel out again, tyre off again, tube out, the new one in, press the now expired big patch betwixt tube and tyre, inflate, cross fingers, hope for the best and take it easy, cruising along with girls on mtbs and blokes on folders
can't find cyclological on Holloway Road, last seen five odd years ago, this involves three U turns on a lively Holloway Road before I set off to the next nearest place I remember, something and Mower at Tufnell Park
Gone
Onward down Kentish Town Road heading for the place near Chalk Farm when like El Dorado, bikes in front of a shop with an oik locking them up appears, one last U turn and a smiling man with a beard that stocks only Conti tyres (the man, not the beard) is firmly recommending a folding GPS4000? with a very smart pinky red tread, he rides them himself etc etc
not cheap at £29.99 but it's a seller's market
new tube for the pannier, loose with only an elastic band, and outside to yet again wheel out, tyre off, etc, them folding tyres are a bit wild until you get the hang of them
but job done and inflated yet again with mini pump and brawn, I get 80psi before it all starts getting into silly diminishing returns territory
and away
an hour late but feeling at least partly affirmed as competent
tube and Lugano stuffed into a bin at the bottom of Kentish Town, gawd knows what happened there, runnng at 110psi, 23mm if it matters, the back tyre had been 'knocking', in a minor way, the last few days although I thought it was a puncture/cut from last week right on the centre line, perhaps it was
for future reference, cyclological is apparently sill there but no big yellow sign anymore, something and Mowers (very old fashioned shop) shut up eight plus years ago apparently
anyhow, trust all well, I've had more flats in the last two months than the last ten years I suspect, third tyre on the rear now in three months, Ultra Gator chopped for acutting and asliding in the wet, Lugano died in service, three weeks of service ...
here's to a long pleasant summer, might give the Lea Valley CC club run a go this Sun if I can escape from my myriad duties
about half an inch of the tyre, Schwalbe Lugano, all of ooo three weeks old, has separated from the wire right next to the valve, tyre off and there's a hole in the tube big enough to put my little finger through, right up against the shoulder of the valve and next to a surprisingly rough seam, nice
tried more in hope than anything else to patch it with a venerable huge patch, paper backed no less, from the kit, carrying a spare tube but don't fancy it up against the exposed wires
patch looks good, all back together and inflate, looks good, a couple more pumps, I'm only going another mile or so to Holloway Road for a new tyre after all, and the patch lets go, arse
wheel out again, tyre off again, tube out, the new one in, press the now expired big patch betwixt tube and tyre, inflate, cross fingers, hope for the best and take it easy, cruising along with girls on mtbs and blokes on folders
can't find cyclological on Holloway Road, last seen five odd years ago, this involves three U turns on a lively Holloway Road before I set off to the next nearest place I remember, something and Mower at Tufnell Park
Gone
Onward down Kentish Town Road heading for the place near Chalk Farm when like El Dorado, bikes in front of a shop with an oik locking them up appears, one last U turn and a smiling man with a beard that stocks only Conti tyres (the man, not the beard) is firmly recommending a folding GPS4000? with a very smart pinky red tread, he rides them himself etc etc
not cheap at £29.99 but it's a seller's market
new tube for the pannier, loose with only an elastic band, and outside to yet again wheel out, tyre off, etc, them folding tyres are a bit wild until you get the hang of them
but job done and inflated yet again with mini pump and brawn, I get 80psi before it all starts getting into silly diminishing returns territory
and away
an hour late but feeling at least partly affirmed as competent
tube and Lugano stuffed into a bin at the bottom of Kentish Town, gawd knows what happened there, runnng at 110psi, 23mm if it matters, the back tyre had been 'knocking', in a minor way, the last few days although I thought it was a puncture/cut from last week right on the centre line, perhaps it was
for future reference, cyclological is apparently sill there but no big yellow sign anymore, something and Mowers (very old fashioned shop) shut up eight plus years ago apparently
anyhow, trust all well, I've had more flats in the last two months than the last ten years I suspect, third tyre on the rear now in three months, Ultra Gator chopped for acutting and asliding in the wet, Lugano died in service, three weeks of service ...
here's to a long pleasant summer, might give the Lea Valley CC club run a go this Sun if I can escape from my myriad duties