Bike Noob

Because I'm Always Learning Something New

What’s the Longest You’ve Gone Without a Flat?

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Not Darryl.

My friend Darryl over at Lovingthebike just had a flat tire the other day.  The remarkable thing about that is, he says it was his first flat in two years!  He thinks the last flat he had was prior to November, 2008.

I don’t have flats at the rate I used to, but I still have several each year.  My most recent one was in late December, which prompted me to buy a new set of tires (no flats on those yet – knock wood).  So I’m a lousy candidate for the long-run-between-flats club.

But maybe you’ve had a different experience.  Can you beat Darryl’s 27-month record of no flats?  Tell us about it.

And more importantly, tell us why you think you managed to go so long.  Was it dumb luck?  Are you really good at steering your bike away from grungy gorp on the road? Do you use better equipment than the rest of us?  Maybe we can all get some pointers that will help us make 2011 the Year of No Flats.

Tires Make a Difference: The Vredestein Fortezza SE

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After more than a year’s worth of riding on my Continental Gatorskins, I decided to retire them.  One tire had over 3400 miles on it, the other a little under 3,000.  They’ve been pretty good, although they’re not as puncture resistant as I would hope.

So the question was, what to replace them with?  Some years ago, a friend recommended the Vredestein Fortezza SE, a tire sold through Performance Bike.  He said the puncture resistance was good, and if the price was a determining factor, I should give them a try.  Then, my friend Torsten reviewed another Vredestein model, the Fortezza TriComp, and spoke very highly of them.  I figured I’d try the SEs out.

I was pleased to find them in an end-aisle display at the local Performance shop, with a sale price of $29.99.  Performance says the regular price on these is $49.99, but honestly, I’ve never seen them go for anything higher than $30.

The Fortezza SEs differ in two big ways from my old Gatorskins.  They come only in 23 mm width, and I had been running 25s for almost three years.  And, they inflate to a much higher suggested pressure – between 115-160 psi.  I used to inflate the Gatorskins to 100, so I was interested to see what the SEs would feel like.

I’m pretty impressed.  I inflated them to 120 psi, and they’re noticeably harder than the Gators were.  However, after 10 days worth of riding on them, I find it’s not that big a deal, unless you’re on chipseal pavement.  Then the jarring is unpleasant.  The hard ride also has a benefit in less rolling resistance.  These things make you feel like you’re gliding along the roads.  My average speed for my last six rides is a full mph higher than it had been on the Gatorskins, and two of those rides were with my wife, so I wasn’t exactly pushing it.  The grip in tight turns is good, although I have not yet ridden them in wet conditions.

I’ll be experimenting with pressures over the next few weeks, gradually increasing over 120 psi to see what I’m most comfortable with.  Now, I know some folks who know say you should really ride at slightly lower pressures.  Fred Matheny of Road Bike Rider says riding at 90 lbs won’t make you any slower, and will increase the comfort of the ride.  Jan Heine of Bicycle Quarterly is even more adamant about lower tire pressures, and maintains that for optimum performance, tires should “drop” about 15 percent when a rider is on the bike.  That drop requires lower pressures.

But for now, I’m enjoying the perception of low rolling resistance.  I’ve ridden the tires across one of the rattiest routes in the area, and they came away without any problems – not even any cuts.  Maybe that’s just because they’re new.  I’ll post an update on these tires later this year, once they’ve gotten some real miles on them.  In the meantime, I gotta admit that the blue stripe on the Fortezza SEs makes a nice match with my blue and black bike.

Patch or Replace?

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I was running late Saturday morning, and rushing a bit to get ready for my ride.  The cool morning had something to do with it.  For some reason, I have to push myself to get out the door when the weather turns cool.  I figured if I waited an hour or two longer than usual, I’d be able to ride in more moderate temperatures.

It was well after noon before I finished all the around-the-house chores I’d set for myself, and I was finally able to climb into some cycling clothes.  I filled my water bottle, grabbed my cycling computer, and went out to the garage to get the bike.

The front tire was flat.  I had ridden the day before, in late afternoon, and had no problems.  But I must have hit something on that ride, because even though I made it home all right, it was clear I was going nowhere this morning until the tire got fixed.

I pulled the tire and got the tools out of my seat bag, then headed for my personal bike repair venue — the kitchen.  I pulled the tube from the tire, but couldn’t find a puncture.  I ran my hands around the inside of the tire, and found nothing with a sharp edge.  So I pumped up the tube, filled the kitchen sink with water, and slowly rotated the tube under water to find the source of the leak.

I found it — a tiny blemish on the tube that was leaking one air bubble at a time.  I took the tube from the sink, ran a towel around it, let out all the air, and found a patch kit.

Ten minutes later, I had a patched tube (it was one of the better quality tubes I own — I have a bunch of low quality cheapies) and in short order, it was in the tire, mounted on the rim, then on the bike.  I took off for my ride about 20 minutes after discovering the flat.

Normally, I would replace the punctured tube with the spare I carry in my seat bag.  I thought about doing that this time too, but since I was at home and working in comfort, rather than outdoors miles from home, the patch seemed to make sense.

I’ve got a lot of patched tubes in the garage — some with three or even more patches.  And I’ll be spending one cold, dark, winter evening sometime soon with a little chore:

All of these tubes need to be patched.  I’ll do it, too.  Riding on patched tubes is not an issue for me.

How about you?  Are there situations where you would patch a tube rather than replace it?  Do you ride on patched tubes at all?  And do you have a favorite brand of tube?  (Seems we talk about favorite tires a lot, but no one ever mentions their tube preference — if any.)

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