Almost Ready to give up Commuting - Options?

[Theophanc_yahoo]

Hi All - I want to continue to ride but need some options...

I have been commuting to work (occasionally) for about 10 years on a Trek = 1200 Road Bike fitting
with a rear Rack. The ride is 16 mile One-Way which= takes +/- hour.

The first few years I had (1) Flat, the past couple weeks I have had 5!! - = all from road glass
which I never saw coming.

After the first two I replaced the tubes with those "Thorn Resistant" - It = took a bigger piece of
glass but they gave out. The final try was "Slime" = which sealed somewhat but did not hold air.
Both of these are EXTREMELY Ha= rd for me to replace and make me late for work (Boo hoo)

Option 1: I have a mountain style Bike but it is heavy and would probably add 10-15 m= inutes to my
ride. Grin and bear it?

Option 2: Get a different style bike that has bigger tires - Hybird?

Other Options.... Stone wheels -

_theophan

 

[Archer]

In article <E0%[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> Hi All - I want to continue to ride but need some options...
>
> I have been commuting to work (occasionally) for about 10 years on a Trek 1200 Road Bike fitting
> with a rear Rack. The ride is 16 mile One-Way which takes +/- hour.
>
> The first few years I had (1) Flat, the past couple weeks I have had 5!! - all from road glass
> which I never saw coming.
>
> After the first two I replaced the tubes with those "Thorn Resistant" - It took a bigger piece of
> glass but they gave out. The final try was "Slime" which sealed somewhat but did not hold air.
> Both of these are EXTREMELY Hard for me to replace and make me late for work (Boo hoo)
>
> Option 1: I have a mountain style Bike but it is heavy and would probably add 10-15 minutes to my
> ride. Grin and bear it?
>
> Option 2: Get a different style bike that has bigger tires - Hybird?
>
> Other Options.... Stone wheels -

Solid tires? They do exist.

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

 

[Scott Lee]

"theophanc_yahoo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:E0%[email protected]... Hi All - I want to continue to ride but need some
options...

I have been commuting to work (occasionally) for about 10 years on a Trek 1200 Road Bike fitting
with a rear Rack. The ride is 16 mile One-Way which takes +/- hour.

The first few years I had (1) Flat, the past couple weeks I have had 5!! - all from road glass which
I never saw coming.

After the first two I replaced the tubes with those "Thorn Resistant" - It took a bigger piece of
glass but they gave out. The final try was "Slime" which sealed somewhat but did not hold air. Both
of these are EXTREMELY Hard for me to replace and make me late for work (Boo hoo)

Option 1: I have a mountain style Bike but it is heavy and would probably add 10-15 minutes to my
ride. Grin and bear it?

Option 2: Get a different style bike that has bigger tires - Hybird?

Other Options.... Stone wheels -

_theophan

Kevlar liners work well for me.

 

[Matthew]

"theophanc_yahoo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:E0%[email protected]...
>Hi All - I want to continue to ride but need some options...
>
>I have been commuting to work (occasionally) for about 10 years on a Trek
1200 Road Bike >itting with a rear Rack. The ride is 16 mile One-Way which takes +/- hour.
>
>The first few years I had (1) Flat, the past couple weeks I have had 5!! -
all from road glass >which I never saw coming.
>
>After the first two I replaced the tubes with those "Thorn Resistant" - It
took a bigger piece of >glass but they gave out. The final try was "Slime" which sealed somewhat
but did not hold air. >both of these are EXTREMELY Hard for me to replace and make me late for
work (Boo hoo)
>
>Option 1: I have a mountain style Bike but it is heavy and would probably add 10-15
minutes to my ride. >Grin and bear it?
>
>Option 2: Get a different style bike that has bigger tires - Hybird?
>
>Other Options.... Stone wheels -

More options, in no particular order:

Option 3: Don't run over glass. It could be that you need an eye exam? Option 4: Try tire liners.
Option 5: Try puncture resistant tires with kevlar belts.

Matthew

 

[David Horwitt]

theophanc_yahoo wrote:
> Hi All - I want to continue to ride but need some options...
>
> I have been commuting to work (occasionally) for about 10 years on a Trek 1200 Road Bike fitting
> with a rear Rack. The ride is 16 mile One-Way which takes +/- hour.
>
> The first few years I had (1) Flat, the past couple weeks I have had 5!! - all from road glass
> which I never saw coming.
>
> After the first two I replaced the tubes with those "Thorn Resistant" - It took a bigger piece of
> glass but they gave out. The final try was "Slime" which sealed somewhat but did not hold air.
> Both of these are EXTREMELY Hard for me to replace and make me late for work (Boo hoo)
>
> Option 1: I have a mountain style Bike but it is heavy and would probably add 10-15 minutes to my
> ride. Grin and bear it?
>
> Option 2: Get a different style bike that has bigger tires - Hybird?
>
> Other Options.... Stone wheels -
>
> _theophan

1) Tire liners, eg. Mr. Tuffy
2) Continental Top Touring 2000 tires.

This combination has worked for me, decreasing flats on my commute from ~1/2 weeks to /7
months (YMMV).

David Horwitt

 

[David L. Johnso]

On Thu, 11 Dec 2003 14:18:12 +0000, theophanc_yahoo wrote:

> Hi All - I want to continue to ride but need some options...
>
> I have been commuting to work (occasionally) for about 10 years on a Trek 1200 Road Bike fitting
> with a rear Rack. The ride is 16 mile One-Way which takes +/- hour.
>
> The first few years I had (1) Flat, the past couple weeks I have had 5!! - all from road glass
> which I never saw coming.
>
> After the first two I replaced the tubes with those "Thorn Resistant" - It took a bigger piece of
> glass but they gave out. The final try was "Slime" which sealed somewhat but did not hold air.
> Both of these are EXTREMELY Hard for me to replace and make me late for work (Boo hoo)

I would not think that thicker tubes or slime would have any effect against glass. Glass tends to be
sitting on the road in big chunks, sharp enough to go through anything. It's like birth control,
avoidance is the best method.

A sacrifice to the tire gods would help.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | It is a scientifically proven fact that a mid life crisis can _`\(,_ | only be cured by
something racy and Italian. Bianchis and (_)/ (_) | Colnagos are a lot cheaper than Maserattis
and Ferraris. -- Glenn Davies

 

[Paul Southworth]

In article <E0%[email protected]>,
theophanc_yahoo <[email protected]> wrote:
>Hi All - I want to continue to ride but need some options...
>
>I have been commuting to work (occasionally) for about 10 years on a Trek = 1200 Road Bike fitting
>with a rear Rack. The ride is 16 mile One-Way which= takes +/- hour.
>
>The first few years I had (1) Flat, the past couple weeks I have had 5!! - = all from road glass
>which I never saw coming.
>
>After the first two I replaced the tubes with those "Thorn Resistant" - It = took a bigger piece of
>glass but they gave out. The final try was "Slime" = which sealed somewhat but did not hold air.
>Both of these are EXTREMELY Ha= rd for me to replace and make me late for work (Boo hoo)
>
>Option 1: I have a mountain style Bike but it is heavy and would probably add 10-15 m= inutes to my
>ride. Grin and bear it?

That would work fine. It would not slow you down that much if you put smooth tires on it. I would
add tire liners if you continue to have flats.

>Option 2: Get a different style bike that has bigger tires - Hybird?

Also fine.

Option 3: Keep your trek and use heavier tires with tire liners if necessary, normal tubes. Use the
biggest tire possible (probably 700x28).

--Paul

 

[Rick Warner]

theophanc yahoo <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<E0%[email protected]>...
> Hi All - I want to continue to ride but need some options...
>
> I have been commuting to work (occasionally) for about 10 years on a Trek 1200 Road Bike fitting
> with a rear Rack. The ride is 16 mile One-Way which takes +/- hour.
>
> The first few years I had (1) Flat, the past couple weeks I have had 5!! - all from road glass
> which I never saw coming.
>
> After the first two I replaced the tubes with those "Thorn Resistant" - It took a bigger piece of
> glass but they gave out. The final try was "Slime" which sealed somewhat but did not hold air.
> Both of these are EXTREMELY Ha rd for me to replace and make me late for work (Boo hoo)
>
> Option 1: I have a mountain style Bike but it is heavy and would probably add 10-15 m inutes to my
> ride. Grin and bear it?
>
> Option 2: Get a different style bike that has bigger tires - Hybird?
>
> Other Options.... Stone wheels -
>
> theophan

Some have suggested kevlar liners; as an alternative to those try tires with a built in
kevlar/aramid belt. I run Vittoria Rubino's on a couple of bikes and had one 19.5 month stretch with
almost 8000 miles between flats. Kevlar helps a lot with the glass; its achille heel are small thin
thorns that can pass between the strands in the weave.

- rick

 

[Don DeMair]

"David L. Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Thu, 11 Dec 2003 14:18:12 +0000, theophanc_yahoo wrote:
>
> > Hi All - I want to continue to ride but need some options...
> >
> > I have been commuting to work (occasionally) for about 10 years on a
Trek
> > 1200 Road Bike fitting with a rear Rack. The ride is 16 mile One-Way which takes +/- hour.
> >
> > The first few years I had (1) Flat, the past couple weeks I have had
5!! -
> > all from road glass which I never saw coming.
> >
> > After the first two I replaced the tubes with those "Thorn Resistant" -
It
> > took a bigger piece of glass but they gave out. The final try was
"Slime"
> > which sealed somewhat but did not hold air. Both of these are EXTREMELY Hard for me to replace
> > and make me late for work (Boo hoo)
>
> I would not think that thicker tubes or slime would have any effect against glass. Glass tends to
> be sitting on the road in big chunks, sharp enough to go through anything. It's like birth
> control, avoidance is the best method.
>

My experience differs. The glass around here gets ground into sand-like particles that are almost
impossible to see. Usually they live in with the gravel that collects on the side of the road. I say
it's almost impossible to see it, but when the sun reflects off of it just right, it's amazing how
much glass I've run over wthout getting a flat.

Sooner or later, one of these small particles of glass gets picked up by the tire. It might stay
there a long time before causing a flat. It depends on it's size, how much rubber is left on the
tire and how thick the tubes are. I'm assuming that there are times when the glass falls out and
doesn't cause a flat since there are many times that I get a flat without an obvious cause. That is
to say, the glass must have fallen out AFTER causing the flat.

There is a tread pattern in my cummuting/touring tires. My next set of tires will be slicks (if I
can find them in the right size). I have found too many small particles of glass and metal embedded
in the treads just waiting to reach the tube.

Ride on, thicker is better, Don

 

[Steve Sr .]

On Thu, 11 Dec 2003 07:57:12 -0800, David Horwitt
<[email protected]> wrote:

>theophanc_yahoo wrote:
>> Hi All - I want to continue to ride but need some options...
>>
>> I have been commuting to work (occasionally) for about 10 years on a Trek 1200 Road Bike fitting
>> with a rear Rack. The ride is 16 mile One-Way which takes +/- hour.
>>
>> The first few years I had (1) Flat, the past couple weeks I have had 5!! - all from road glass
>> which I never saw coming.
>>
>> After the first two I replaced the tubes with those "Thorn Resistant" - It took a bigger piece of
>> glass but they gave out. The final try was "Slime" which sealed somewhat but did not hold air.
>> Both of these are EXTREMELY Hard for me to replace and make me late for work (Boo hoo)
>>
>> Option 1: I have a mountain style Bike but it is heavy and would probably add 10-15 minutes to my
>> ride. Grin and bear it?
>>
>> Option 2: Get a different style bike that has bigger tires - Hybird?
>>
>> Other Options.... Stone wheels -
>>
>> _theophan
>
>1) Tire liners, eg. Mr. Tuffy
>2) Continental Top Touring 2000 tires.
>
>This combination has worked for me, decreasing flats on my commute from ~1/2 weeks to /7
>months (YMMV).
>
>David Horwitt

I'll second that. I have a set of Conti TT 2000 tires on my commuter bike. 9000+ miles 0 flats!

Steve

 

[David L. Johnso]

On Thu, 11 Dec 2003 23:12:44 +0000, Don DeMair wrote:

> My experience differs. The glass around here gets ground into sand-like particles that are almost
> impossible to see.

Those particles are as harmless as the sand from whence they came.

We are not talking about evil Morgul blades that inexorably migrate towards the heart, or in this
case, the tube. Without a mechanism to move inward, they will sit on the surface or slightly inside,
then fall out. It is the big pieces that get imbedded, especially in wet weather, that are pushed in
towards the tube by their size. Maybe after they do their work they are small, once you see them,
but something real pushed them in past the casing.

> Sooner or later, one of these small particles of glass gets picked up by the tire. It might stay
> there a long time before causing a flat.

I don't believe this.

> depends on it's size, how much rubber is left on the tire and how thick the tubes are. I'm
> assuming that there are times when the glass falls out and doesn't cause a flat since there are
> many times that I get a flat without an obvious cause. That is to say, the glass must have fallen
> out AFTER causing the flat.

Or it never was picked up and embedded to begin with. It might still be on the road, waiting for
the next guy.

> Ride on, thicker is better,

Mine are thinner, and I do not get more flats than anyone else.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win you're _`\(,_ | still a rat. --Lilly
Tomlin (_)/ (_) |

 

[Dennis P. Harri]

On Thu, 11 Dec 2003 14:18:12 GMT in rec.bicycles.misc,
theophanc_yahoo <[email protected]> wrote:

> Option 2: Get a different style bike that has bigger tires - Hybird?
>
get a nice light mountain bike. put on cross tires with an inverse tread that can be inflated to
relatively high pressure.

add a rear rack and rack trunk to stash lunch, groceries, etc., and you'll have a great coummuter
bike with bulletproof tires.

 

[Ron Abramson]

On Thu, 11 Dec 2003 09:22:39 -0600, Scott Lee wrote:

>
> "theophanc_yahoo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:E0%[email protected]... Hi All - I want to continue to ride but need
> some options...
>
> I have been commuting to work (occasionally) for about 10 years on a Trek 1200 Road Bike fitting
> with a rear Rack. The ride is 16 mile One-Way which takes +/- hour.
>
> The first few years I had (1) Flat, the past couple weeks I have had 5!! - all from road glass
> which I never saw coming.
>
> After the first two I replaced the tubes with those "Thorn Resistant" - It took a bigger piece of
> glass but they gave out. The final try was "Slime" which sealed somewhat but did not hold air.
> Both of these are EXTREMELY Hard for me to replace and make me late for work (Boo hoo)
>
> Option 1: I have a mountain style Bike but it is heavy and would probably add 10-15 minutes to my
> ride. Grin and bear it?
>
> Option 2: Get a different style bike that has bigger tires - Hybird?
>
> Other Options.... Stone wheels -
>
> _theophan
>
> Kevlar liners work well for me.

Years ago I used to use little accessories you could buy that bolted on to the brake mountings and
held a piece of leather shoelace material (or light plastic tubing, in later versions) so that it
rubbed lightly across the tread, knocking off burrs, shards and thorns before they could dig in.

Every LBS had them back then, but I haven't noticed them in the shops lately. They were very
effective (I thought), but a bit noisy and kludgy looking, and I stopped using them. I find I do
fine these days simply with well inflated slicks, but then again the roads I travel on are
pretty clean.

 

[Robb_monn]

> 1) Tire liners, eg. Mr. Tuffy
> 2) Continental Top Touring 2000 tires.
>

With the same combo I've had one flat since 1999, and that was a very large bit of a thick Jack
Daniels bottle that could have flattened a car tire.

 

[Lorenzo L. Love]

Ron Abramson wrote:

> On Thu, 11 Dec 2003 09:22:39 -0600, Scott Lee wrote:
>
>
>>"theophanc_yahoo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>news:E0%[email protected]... Hi All - I want to continue to ride but need
>>some options...
>>
>>I have been commuting to work (occasionally) for about 10 years on a Trek 1200 Road Bike fitting
>>with a rear Rack. The ride is 16 mile One-Way which takes +/- hour.
>>
>>The first few years I had (1) Flat, the past couple weeks I have had 5!! - all from road glass
>>which I never saw coming.
>>
>>After the first two I replaced the tubes with those "Thorn Resistant" - It took a bigger piece of
>>glass but they gave out. The final try was "Slime" which sealed somewhat but did not hold air.
>>Both of these are EXTREMELY Hard for me to replace and make me late for work (Boo hoo)
>>
>>Option 1: I have a mountain style Bike but it is heavy and would probably add 10-15 minutes to my
>>ride. Grin and bear it?
>>
>>Option 2: Get a different style bike that has bigger tires - Hybird?
>>
>>Other Options.... Stone wheels -
>>
>>_theophan
>>
>>Kevlar liners work well for me.
>
>
> Years ago I used to use little accessories you could buy that bolted on to the brake mountings and
> held a piece of leather shoelace material (or light plastic tubing, in later versions) so that it
> rubbed lightly across the tread, knocking off burrs, shards and thorns before they could dig in.
>
> Every LBS had them back then, but I haven't noticed them in the shops lately. They were very
> effective (I thought), but a bit noisy and kludgy looking, and I stopped using them. I find I do
> fine these days simply with well inflated slicks, but then again the roads I travel on are
> pretty clean.
>

Tire Savers. I think the knobby tire fad did away with them. They would catch on the tire lugs and
get torn off. Not terribly effective but can help knock off long things like nails before puncturing
the tire. You can make one easy enough. A loop of wire that is bent to the tires profile and mounted
so it just barely brushes the tire's surface. If you ride through big pieces of broken glass they
might be worth it.

Lorenzo L. Love http://home.thegrid.net/~lllove

"Americans are broad-minded people. They'll accept the fact that a person can be an alcoholic, a
dope fiend, a wife beater, and even a newspaperman, but if a man doesn't drive there's something
wrong with him." Art Buchwald

 

[Don DeMair]

"David L. Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Thu, 11 Dec 2003 23:12:44 +0000, Don DeMair wrote:
>
> > My experience differs. The glass around here gets ground into sand-like particles that are
> > almost impossible to see.
>
> Those particles are as harmless as the sand from whence they came.
>
> We are not talking about evil Morgul blades that inexorably migrate towards the heart, or in this
> case, the tube. Without a mechanism to move inward, they will sit on the surface or slightly
> inside, then fall out. It is the big pieces that get imbedded, especially in wet weather, that are
> pushed in towards the tube by their size. Maybe after they do their work they are small, once you
> see them, but something real pushed them in past the casing.
>
> > Sooner or later, one of these small particles of glass gets picked up by the tire. It might stay
> > there a long time before causing a flat.
>
> I don't believe this.
>
> > depends on it's size, how much rubber is left on the tire and how thick the tubes are. I'm
> > assuming that there are times when the glass falls
out
> > and doesn't cause a flat since there are many times that I get a flat without an obvious cause.
> > That is to say, the glass must have fallen
out
> > AFTER causing the flat.
>
> Or it never was picked up and embedded to begin with. It might still be on the road, waiting for
> the next guy.
>
> > Ride on, thicker is better,
>
> Mine are thinner, and I do not get more flats than anyone else.
>
> --
>
> David L. Johnson
>
> __o | The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win you're _`\(,_ | still a rat. --
> Lilly Tomlin (_)/ (_) |
>
>

Maybe I need to think about this a bit more. You raise some very reasonable counter-points. I have 2
bikes (relevant to this discussion). My commuter/tourer with thick tires and tubes and my sport bike
with thinner tires and tubes. I get more flats on my sport bike per mile ridden, but not so many
that it may not be pure coincidence. And it's hard to really compare because I tend to ride them on
different roads and different conditions.

Thanks for your comments, Don

 

[Mike Kruger]

"David Horwitt" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> 1) Tire liners, eg. Mr. Tuffy
> 2) Continental Top Touring 2000 tires.
>
> This combination has worked for me, decreasing flats on my commute from
~1/2 weeks to
> /7 months (YMMV).
>
I switched to this combination 2500 miles ago and have had no flats on this bike so far. So, that
makes 4 of us, at least.

The ride's harsher, though.

 

[David L. Johnso]

On Fri, 12 Dec 2003 14:38:43 +0000, Ron Abramson wrote:

> Years ago I used to use little accessories you could buy that bolted on to the brake mountings and
> held a piece of leather shoelace material (or light plastic tubing, in later versions) so that it
> rubbed lightly across the tread, knocking off burrs, shards and thorns before they could dig in.
>
I showed up, ~4 years ago, at a local shop riding tubulars. The guy at the counter, without prompt,
said I had to have these things "tire savers". I bought a pair, and used them until the wire
(basically a spoke) that actually did the scraping was worn through. Did it help? Marginally. But it
also spread gunk all over the bike, and me. i don't bother with them (nor with tubulars) any longer.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | It is a scientifically proven fact that a mid life crisis can _`\(,_ | only be cured by
something racy and Italian. Bianchis and (_)/ (_) | Colnagos are a lot cheaper than Maserattis
and Ferraris. -- Glenn Davies

 

[Jym Dyer]

>> 1) Tire liners, eg. Mr. Tuffy
>> 2) Continental Top Touring 2000 tires.
> I switched to this combination 2500 miles ago and have had not flats on this bike so far. So, that
> makes 4 of us, at least.

=v= I'm a 5th, I guess. I use this combo, but I did get one flat from a particularly nasty roofing
nail that'd been hiding, pointy-side up, in a pothole. <_Jym_

 

[bbense+rec bicy]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In article <[email protected]>, David L. Johnson <[email protected]> wrote:
>On Fri, 12 Dec 2003 14:38:43 +0000, Ron Abramson wrote:
>
>> Years ago I used to use little accessories you could buy that bolted on to the brake mountings
>> and held a piece of leather shoelace material (or light plastic tubing, in later versions) so
>> that it rubbed lightly across the tread, knocking off burrs, shards and thorns before they could
>> dig in.
>>
>I showed up, ~4 years ago, at a local shop riding tubulars. The guy at the counter, without
>prompt, said I had to have these things "tire savers". I bought a pair, and used them until the
>wire (basically a spoke) that actually did the scraping was worn through. Did it help? Marginally.
>But it also spread gunk all over the bike, and me. i don't bother with them (nor with tubulars)
>any longer.
>

_ You can accomplish the same thing with a glove. I have no idea whether this really "saved" any
flats or not, but at least in the 70's every tubular rider learned to slightly rub the tire with a
gloved hand after riding through something suspicious. It definitely got a lot of loose grit off the
tire. Since I road tubulars for years and don't remember more than a few flats, it must have been
doing something. Most of this riding was in NH and CO where thorns aren't that much of a problem.

_ Booker C. Bense

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