BR - SS's virtually trouble free? !

(BASTARD! Report.)

Well, that's the idea, isn't it, for them to be virtually trouble free?

Left work at 5 yesterday, dark, cold, and windy. Got 20 metres down the road and realised I had a
flat rear (....).

Moved along further down the road, and stopped outside of a shop for the light to fix it by. I got
it done, but it seemed to take ages and I was frozen.

Got home, took the wheel right off (through axle) to replace the tube - I wanted a solid repair.
Sorted, put it all back together - no probs.

Got ready to leave for work this morning, and the front was flat - bastard! Upended the bike, took
the wheel off, removed the tube, replaced it, struggled to get the stiff tyre back on, went to pump
it up.....nothing! In my hurry and struggle, I'd pinched the bastard tube. Feck. Pulled it back out,
made a patch out of old tube (ran out, and couldn't find my 'spare extra emergency stash', having
recently moved and still in chaos) didn't I. Patched up, tyre on, inflated - no probs.

Out the door, pedalled twice, chain comes off - won't stay on. Feck again. Seems the rear axle isn't
quite straight, and the old mech I am using as a tensioner needed tweaking. Did that with some
struggle, as it was nearly at the limits of it's adjustment. Anyhow, I managed, and made it 2/3 of
the way to work without incident.

(Next prob no related directly to the bike).

I stopped at the ATM, got some cash, picked up a few things from the shop, and was about to get back
on the bike, when I smelt the smoke of melting plastic.....?.....Shit! Off comes the back pack,
thrown onto the deck, ripped out the melting wiring coming out of it, ripped out the 12 volt 6.6 Ah
lead acid pack, removed the rest of the molten blobs of wiring, swore like a foul mouth bastard, and
sighed <cough!>.

The wiring from batts to lamp had shorted, right up near the lamp end, and somehow, the overload
protection hadn't worked. Good job I smelt it - a few minutes and it would have turned _nasty_.

So, pretty uneventful all round - only 3 punctures, a mechanical, and an electrical fire to report.

(Thank fuck I got this shit outa the way before tomorrow (13'th)).

I put longer limit screws in the mech now, so it's fully and more easily adjustable. Managed to
rebuild the batt pack and wiring, this time there is a lot more protection - each of the 2 batteries
has a 3 amp constant 5 amp 'blow' automatically resetting special current breaker directly attached
to the positive terminal, then the main lead from there has a 10 amp in-line standard automotive
blade fuse, and the wiring/connectors are tougher.

I will get new tubes and more patches at the w/e.

Just thought I'd try to brighten all your days up with my minor misfortunes ',;~}

Shaun aRe - HTH.

 

On Thu, 12 Dec 2002 06:52:32 -0800, Shaun Rimmer wrote:

> (BASTARD! Report.)

> made a patch out of old tube (ran out, and couldn't find my 'spare extra emergency stash', having
> recently moved and still in chaos) didn't I.

There's some rule of thumb for calculating how many flats you will have on any given ride, something
like "n + 1, where n is the number of flats you have the ability/materials/tools to fix".

> The wiring from batts to lamp had shorted, right up near the lamp end, and somehow, the overload
> protection hadn't worked. Good job I smelt it
> - a few minutes and it would have turned _nasty_.

Crikey! Or does this rate a "blimey!"

gabrielle

 

<snip random havoc>

Mate you really shouldn't be getting electrical fires on bicycles. You in trouble with the
Karma Police?

Andy Chequer, exploder of Transit engines.

 

> (BASTARD! Report.)
>
> Well, that's the idea, isn't it, for them to be virtually trouble free?

Don't buy into the hype of singlespeeds and tubed tires.

> I will get new tubes and more patches at the w/e.

If you want reliable tires, go UST.

 

"Shaun Rimmer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

>
> Just thought I'd try to brighten all your days up with my minor
misfortunes
> ',;~}
>
> Shaun aRe - HTH.
>
Yeah, thanks. I feel like my day is going pretty good now

As for you, the gods are clearly trying to tell you something. I would wrap myself in bubble wrap,
take a taxi home and hide under my bed. Its not your day!

 

"Shaun Rimmer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> (BASTARD! Report.)
>
> Well, that's the idea, isn't it, for them to be virtually trouble free?
>
> Left work at 5 yesterday, dark, cold, and windy. Got 20 metres down the
road
> and realised I had a flat rear (....).

Seat to hard?

>
> Moved along further down the road, and stopped outside of a shop for the light to fix it by. I got
> it done, but it seemed to take ages and I was frozen.

Try to fix your rear outside in the winter and that can happen.

>
> Got home, took the wheel right off (through axle) to replace the tube - I wanted a solid repair.
> Sorted, put it all back together - no probs.
>
> Got ready to leave for work this morning, and the front was flat -
bastard!
> Upended the bike, took the wheel off, removed the tube, replaced it, struggled to get the stiff
> tyre back on, went to pump it up.....nothing!
In
> my hurry and struggle, I'd pinched the bastard tube. Feck. Pulled it back out, made a patch out of
> old tube (ran out, and couldn't find my 'spare extra emergency stash', having recently moved and
> still in chaos) didn't
I.
> Patched up, tyre on, inflated - no probs.

Is your homebrew ice tyres causing the flats?

<snip rest of SS trials and tribulations>

>
> Just thought I'd try to brighten all your days up with my minor
misfortunes
> ',;~}
>
> Shaun aRe - HTH.
>

Better luck tomorrow.

Mike

 

----------
In article <[email protected]>, bomba <[email protected]> wrote:

> John Harlow wrote:
>
>> But then again I seem to have uncommon experiences. My Marzocchi has been the worst crap I've
>> owned, while my RS SID has been perfect. Go figger.
>
> You misspelt 'nigger'.
>
> (I'll just apologise now)
>
you related to Trent Lott?

Paul

 

On Thu, 12 Dec 2002 14:52:32 -0000, "Shaun Rimmer" <[email protected]> wrote:

>(BASTARD! Report.)
>
>Well, that's the idea, isn't it, for them to be virtually trouble free?
>
>Left work at 5 yesterday, dark, cold, and windy. Got 20 metres down the road and realised I had a
>flat rear (....).
>
>Moved along further down the road, and stopped outside of a shop for the light to fix it by. I got
>it done, but it seemed to take ages and I was frozen.
>
>Got home, took the wheel right off (through axle) to replace the tube - I wanted a solid repair.
>Sorted, put it all back together - no probs.
>
>Got ready to leave for work this morning, and the front was flat - bastard! Upended the bike, took
>the wheel off, removed the tube, replaced it, struggled to get the stiff tyre back on, went to pump
>it up.....nothing! In my hurry and struggle, I'd pinched the bastard tube. Feck. Pulled it back
>out, made a patch out of old tube (ran out, and couldn't find my 'spare extra emergency stash',
>having recently moved and still in chaos) didn't I. Patched up, tyre on, inflated - no probs.
>
>Out the door, pedalled twice, chain comes off - won't stay on. Feck again. Seems the rear axle
>isn't quite straight, and the old mech I am using as a tensioner needed tweaking. Did that with
>some struggle, as it was nearly at the limits of it's adjustment. Anyhow, I managed, and made it
>2/3 of the way to work without incident.
>
>(Next prob no related directly to the bike).
>
>I stopped at the ATM, got some cash, picked up a few things from the shop, and was about to get
>back on the bike, when I smelt the smoke of melting plastic.....?.....Shit! Off comes the back
>pack, thrown onto the deck, ripped out the melting wiring coming out of it, ripped out the 12 volt
>6.6 Ah lead acid pack, removed the rest of the molten blobs of wiring, swore like a foul mouth
>bastard, and sighed <cough!>.
>
>The wiring from batts to lamp had shorted, right up near the lamp end, and somehow, the overload
>protection hadn't worked. Good job I smelt it - a few minutes and it would have turned _nasty_.
>
>So, pretty uneventful all round - only 3 punctures, a mechanical, and an electrical fire to report.
>
>(Thank fuck I got this shit outa the way before tomorrow (13'th)).
>
>I put longer limit screws in the mech now, so it's fully and more easily adjustable. Managed to
>rebuild the batt pack and wiring, this time there is a lot more protection - each of the 2
>batteries has a 3 amp constant 5 amp 'blow' automatically resetting special current breaker
>directly attached to the positive terminal, then the main lead from there has a 10 amp in-line
>standard automotive blade fuse, and the wiring/connectors are tougher.
>
>I will get new tubes and more patches at the w/e.
>
>Just thought I'd try to brighten all your days up with my minor misfortunes ',;~}
>
>Shaun aRe - HTH.
>
Too good to snip. You're due for some good Karma.

Bill The mind serves properly as a window glass rather than as a reflector, that is, the mind should
give an immediate view instead of an interpretation of the world.
:-]

 

gabrielle <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> On Thu, 12 Dec 2002 06:52:32 -0800, Shaun Rimmer wrote:
>
> > (BASTARD! Report.)
>
> > made a patch out of old tube (ran out, and couldn't find my 'spare extra emergency stash',
> > having recently moved and still in chaos) didn't I.
>
> There's some rule of thumb for calculating how many flats you will have on any given ride,
> something like "n + 1, where n is the number of flats you have the ability/materials/tools
> to fix".

I know what you mean, but I'm normally fine for [no] flats - the tubes were a bit old and tired
methinks, and when they were infated up to 50+ psi, they just gave way. Nothing actually pierced
them, apart from me with the tyre lever of course......

> > The wiring from batts to lamp had shorted, right up near the lamp end, and somehow, the overload
> > protection hadn't worked. Good job I smelt it
> > - a few minutes and it would have turned _nasty_.
>
> Crikey! Or does this rate a "blimey!"

At the time it rated "Shit! Fuckshit hell arrrggghhh!" as well as a few chice blasphemous phrases
that I shall not repeat here......

',;~}

Shaun aRe

 

Andy Chequer <[email protected](removethisbittosend)secretworldgovernment.org> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> <snip random havoc>
>
> Mate you really shouldn't be getting electrical fires on bicycles.

I wasn't technicall back on it though - I was just about to......

> You in trouble with the Karma Police?

Not really, but it might be their attempt to ballance things out, since I have been uncommonly
_extremely_ happy this past couple of weeks.

There's always some chick at the root of any trouble.......

> Andy Chequer, exploder of Transit engines.

You didn't wanna do that.

Shaun aRe

 

John Harlow <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> > (BASTARD! Report.)
> >
> > Well, that's the idea, isn't it, for them to be virtually trouble free?
>
> Don't buy into the hype of singlespeeds and tubed tires.

I don't buy hype _period_. What I do 'buy', is experience and common, logical 'sense'.

> > I will get new tubes and more patches at the w/e.
>
> If you want reliable tires, go UST.

Useless Shitty Tyres - no thanks.

Shaun aRe

 

Cinder Girl wrote:

>
> Yeah, thanks. I feel like my day is going pretty good now
>
> As for you, the gods are clearly trying to tell you something. I would wrap myself in bubble wrap,
> take a taxi home and hide under my bed. Its not your day!

Too true. I'd wrap my head in foil.

 

"Shaun Rimmer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> gabrielle <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news[email protected]...
> > On Thu, 12 Dec 2002 06:52:32 -0800, Shaun Rimmer wrote:
> >
> > > (BASTARD! Report.)
> >
> > > made a patch out of old tube (ran out, and couldn't find my 'spare
extra
> > > emergency stash', having recently moved and still in chaos) didn't I.
> >
> > There's some rule of thumb for calculating how many flats you will have
on
> > any given ride, something like "n + 1, where n is the number of flats
you
> > have the ability/materials/tools to fix".
>
> I know what you mean, but I'm normally fine for [no] flats - the tubes
were
> a bit old and tired methinks, and when they were infated up to 50+ psi,
they
> just gave way. Nothing actually pierced them, apart from me with the tyre lever of course......
>
> > > The wiring from batts to lamp had shorted, right up near the lamp end, and somehow, the
> > > overload protection hadn't worked. Good job I smelt
it
> > > - a few minutes and it would have turned _nasty_.
> >
> > Crikey! Or does this rate a "blimey!"
>
> At the time it rated "Shit! Fuckshit hell arrrggghhh!" as well as a few chice blasphemous phrases
> that I shall not repeat here......
>
> ',;~}
>
> Shaun aRe
>
>
>
yeah, you might offend someone.

penny

 

> > If you want reliable tires, go UST.
>
> Useless Shitty Tyres - no thanks.

Ever try 'em?

 

"bomba" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Cinder Girl wrote:
>
> >
> > Yeah, thanks. I feel like my day is going pretty good now
> >
> > As for you, the gods are clearly trying to tell you something. I would
wrap
> > myself in bubble wrap, take a taxi home and hide under my bed. Its not
your
> > day!
>
> Too true. I'd wrap my head in foil.
>

No, not safe, might attract lightning.

 

"John Harlow" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > > If you want reliable tires, go UST.
> >
> > Useless Shitty Tyres - no thanks.
>
> Ever try 'em?
>
>

I've had dealings with them. No thanks I'll pass.

Mike

 

"Michael Dart" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> "John Harlow" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > > > If you want reliable tires, go UST.
> > >
> > > Useless Shitty Tyres - no thanks.
> >
> > Ever try 'em?
> >
> >
>
> I've had dealings with them. No thanks I'll pass.
>
Interesting. What happened?

 

"John Harlow" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> "Michael Dart" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> >
> > "John Harlow" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > > > > If you want reliable tires, go UST.
> > > >
> > > > Useless Shitty Tyres - no thanks.
> > >
> > > Ever try 'em?
> > >
> > >
> >
> > I've had dealings with them. No thanks I'll pass.
> >
> Interesting. What happened?
>
>

It was right when they first came out. Both of my riding buddies got a 'team' deal on matching
Specialized S-works M4 bikes with crossmax UST wheels. Neither one could keep pressure in them with
the stock Specialized tires. I helped one replace his with some Kendas he bought at the Snowshoe
Norba race and they were a bitch to get on the rim. "They" said "Oh if you get a flat on the trail
all you have to do is pop a tube in and go." I couldn't imagine having to get one of these on or off
the rim on the trail. It took the Park shop tire lever to do the job. The other had the valve stem
come out while removing the pump. He didn't have a spare UST stem so we managed to fix it by taking
one out of a old flat tube. The other thing was the Crossmax's were crap. They wouldn't stay true
for any length of time. I saw another rider wandering the pits at Snowshoe Norba looking to get one
fixed after he tore a spoke out of the rim. He was SOL.

One of my friends gave up on the whole thing and put his King wheelset on his bike. The other bought
some IRC Serac tubeless which are working out well for him. I also have the IRC Serac (redwalls)
tubed tires and run just as low pressure in them (another supposed advantage of tubeless) and have
no pinch flat problems and excellent traction. After all that and having the Seracs I don't see the
need to go UST myself.

Mike

 

> > > I've had dealings with them. No thanks I'll pass.
> > >
> > Interesting. What happened?
> >
> >
>
> It was right when they first came out.

Yup, that's pretty common. Often times it takes a few revs to get the bugs worked out...

Glad to hear it's working out for your friend though.

All I can say in actually using them for a long while is they have increased my tire reliability
substantially. As with everything of course, YMMV.

But then again I seem to have uncommon experiences. My Marzocchi has been the worst crap I've owned,
while my RS SID has been perfect. Go figger.

 

"John Harlow" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
>
> All I can say in actually using them for a long while is they have
increased
> my tire reliability substantially. As with everything of course, YMMV.

Like I said since I found the IRC Seracs I can run low pressure, 28-34psi, and get great traction
with only a very rare pinchflat. The new UST rims that you can use regular spokes look promising
though. Esp. the DH ones. $15 tubes can be a motivation for going tubeless.

>
> But then again I seem to have uncommon experiences. My Marzocchi has been the worst crap I've
> owned, while my RS SID has been perfect. Go figger.
>

Hehehe..My experience with these has been exactly the opposite. Which Marz?

Mike