What's new

To ride or not to ride?

m o b

Speeding Up
Jun 22, 2008
341
23
Yesterday it happened again: After displaying my wonderful bicycling handling skills to a group of older shopping bike riders, by overtaking them on the pedestrian walk, jumping down to streel level and bunny-hopping over the kerbstone to the pedestrian walk on the other side of the road.....
Well, the bunny-hop went wrong and my rear wheel made full and loud contact with the kerbstone resulting in a flat tire.

As I was only commuting I had no spare tire, pump, repair kit, tools ect. with me. So what to do? As usual I rode about 2 km to the office with a flat rear and then back 4 km home in the evening on the flat rear again.

So what do you do? Riding your bike even with flat tires for shorter distances, or leaving it where it is and collect it later?

I rode home with flar rear wheels, flat front wheels, on clinchers and tubulars, in the dark and in the rain. The best is a flat rear tobular, the worse is a flat front clincher in the rain and dark according to my experience. How high is the risk to permanently damage the rim?
 
As long as you aren't grinding the rim on the pavement , you're fine. And try to avoid any sharp bumps as that would flatten the rim. (If it's alloy). If it's carbon and you hit sharp bumps you can cause internal delamination. Other than that - ride it, I say! You're speed, braking and manouverability is reduced - but you're still going faster than walking. Tubulars are much better for this condition than clincher becuase the tire is glued directly to the rim and even with no air will provide at least some protection and cushion to the rim. Clinchers will oftentimes collapse to the point of allowing direct rim / pave contact.
 
I'm a bit of a wuss and never ride on a flat tire. a few minutes shaved off a trip isn't worth a new rim to me. i agree in most cases the rim will be fine as long as the pavement is smooth enough, but I don't trust myself to be able to steer clear of all potential debris.

maybe now is a good time to start carrying a spare tube and pump with you on your commute. I always have a flat repair kit with me. it's saved me some long walks and I've also used it to help bail out other riders with flats in the past. not sure I would have stopped to help a rider who'd just bunny hopped half an obstacle, though. too familliar and painful an exterience for me.
 
If all else fails, I walk my bike. If too far or no time I call somebody to come and get me. (wifey) I'd be prepared to chain it up somewhere, run, and come back later if that was an option. Crappy very old mamachari? Ride it to death...
 
To be honest I ride it. But with clinchers you need to throw the tire away as you have seriously weakened the side walls and this can be very dangerous when you reinflate the tire back to full preasure.
 
I've had to call my wife twice to come and get me.

1) I was 20km away from home on an 80km ride and had 2 punctures that took all my spares. I had a repair kit but I had to be back home to work within 45 minutes. I couldn't afford another blow out and miss work. My wife came and got me and I got to work just in time.
2) Huge crash. Lost a lot of skin but the bike was OK.... Until I got on it to ride... BANG! Not wanting to bleed all over the place while putting in a spare (plus an ambulance was coming for one of the other guys...and the police just rolled up as well...) I didn't want to hang around fixing my tyre with the cops sitting there as well... My wife came and picked up 2 wounded soldiers...
 
Thanks for all the good advice and comments. I normally carry a repair kit on longer trips but commuting is just in the grey zone. Too much trouble for only 4 km back and forth to work. Yesterday another flat tire - this time at my daughters bike. No choice, she had to rode back from the ice cream shop home.

I think I never ever called my wife to pick me up. Hm, thinking it over, maybe I did but I just want to forget it. But certainly I wouldn't call my wife if I am 3 km away from home and have a flat tire. This is explicitely excluded in our mutual service level agreement. I would call me wife if, for example I crash 2.000 lightyears from home, fall into a gorge with my left arm trapped in a rgap in a rock and I need her to bring the hacksaw so that I could saw off my arm to get out.

I never had problems with the tires after riding them flat. I guess they could be damaged but short distances doesn't cause massive problems. But the tube is almost every time gone: when I lift off the tire from the rim, normally it is enlonged and there is slack in the area of the valve. Also the bump riding over the valve becomes noticeable bigger when riding longer.
Did anyone made similar experiences?
 
BTW - I find the Tufo MTB 'goo' to be quite good at sealing just about anything short of IED's .. for that - obviously one needs a Hasselfhoff approved repair kit.

Mob - are you referring to the dreaded 'Coyote Date' which sometimes occurs when one is well past the self imposed pint limits and finds oneself in an awkward position and thus must extract 'with prejudice' ? Therein requiring a full 10 step 'drop' onto a kerb puncturing both wheels , breaking a collarbone AND falling into said gorge.
 
Depends on time

I would walk 4 km unless I had time constraints, then of coarse I would ride.
Put some patches and a presta valve adapter in your b
ar end in some tinfoil so it doesnt bounce around, assuming you can remove your tire without levers. I have found this possible with many tires just make sure the bead of the tire is out of the groove and just like installing a tubular start at the top of the tire hands together and stretch the tire of the rim.

Just an idea!
 
@Pro - you know, you just hit on something... it would be really convenient to have a bar-end tire repair kit. I've been looking for a good place to stash my sealant and just thought - wow, that would be cool. A combination bar-end and sealant container - or just as easy, hold a few patches and valve adapter.
 
I will take my royalties in a set of Lightweight wheels....
Not 'ultra-lightweight''?

20110724-120742-SOCCIN11-james.jpg
 
Adios

Want some sour cream with your taco?
Thats when you give it a good whack in the right direction, I have fixed worse! (Alloy)
the continental tyre looks great though!
 
Pro race, the presta valve adapter is a great idea, especially in Japan, where you can knock on any door and find a standard bicycle pump in the genkan.

You can tape a few patches under your saddle.

As for tyre levers, quick release skewers are a good alternative.

I once rode about 100 km (from the Koge tunnel to the top of Fujimi Toge in the Tokyo~Itoigawa race) on a flat front tubular. The descents were dodgy, the climbs manageable. Similar thing in the Giro de Hotaka for about 50km. And the Cosmic Carbone wheels still going strong!

Andy

www.jyonnobitime.com/time
 
I don't actually carry levers around with me. I find it quite easy to remove tyres without levers, and actually feel safer that way.
 
Ouch! When you push the envelope sometimes you get a papercut! There are those who dare - and others that just stand around and watch.

Not 'ultra-lightweight''?
 
I've started making a habit of carrying a folded up bike bag inside my backpack, so if I get myself into late-night trouble that I can't fix where I am and am too far from home to walk, I can just wrap the whole thing up and grab a train or hail a cab.

Of course, this doesn't apply in places where there are neither cabs nor trains.
 
I've started making a habit of carrying a folded up bike bag inside my backpack, so if I get myself into late-night trouble that I can't fix where I am and am too far from home to walk, I can just wrap the whole thing up and grab a train or hail a cab.

Of course, this doesn't apply in places where there are neither cabs nor trains.

this is a good point. :thumbsup:
 
Back
Top Bottom