Entertaining way to destroy a rear tyre?

[Zog The Undeniable]

I'm going to rebuild the rear wheel on my touring bike. The tyre - a
Schwalbe City Jet - will not be reused as it has zero cornering grip in
the wet and has nearly caused me to crash three times this winter. For
this reason, I would feel guilty about offering it to anyone else.

Therefore, I thought of giving it the cycle equivalent of a Viking
funeral. One idea is to get up some speed and then slide down the local
20% hill with the rear wheel locked, although this might mean a short
walk home if my ability to ride on the rim is lacking (don't worry, the
rim is also headed for the trash). Or I could blow it off the rim using
Jobst's rim heating test, but this would be misdirecting my ire towards
the tube rather than the tyre. Repeated broadslides would be reasonably
entertaining, but might damage the frame, will make me a laughing stock
among the local BMX kids and carry too much risk of twisting my knees
out of joint.

Any other ideas? Marks will be awarded for scientific value and spectacle.

 

[JeffWills]

Zog The Undeniable undeniably wrote:

>
> Any other ideas? Marks will be awarded for scientific value and
spectacle.

I recall seeing video from bike messenger competition, seeing who could
lay down the longest skid. The winner locked up his rear wheel and then
leaned forward over the handlebars, skidding in the "I'm the king of
the world!" posture. He skidded a couple hundred feet, IIRC.

Jeff

 

[Jim Smith]

Zog The Undeniable <[email protected]> writes:

> I'm going to rebuild the rear wheel on my touring bike. The tyre - a
> Schwalbe City Jet - will not be reused as it has zero cornering grip
> in the wet and has nearly caused me to crash three times this winter.
> For this reason, I would feel guilty about offering it to anyone else.
>
> Therefore, I thought of giving it the cycle equivalent of a Viking
> funeral. One idea is to get up some speed and then slide down the
> local 20% hill with the rear wheel locked, although this might mean a
> short walk home if my ability to ride on the rim is lacking (don't
> worry, the rim is also headed for the trash). Or I could blow it off
> the rim using Jobst's rim heating test, but this would be misdirecting
> my ire towards the tube rather than the tyre. Repeated broadslides
> would be reasonably entertaining, but might damage the frame, will
> make me a laughing stock among the local BMX kids and carry too much
> risk of twisting my knees out of joint.
>
> Any other ideas? Marks will be awarded for scientific value and spectacle.

How about just taking the tube out and continuing to ride normaly?
You could give us either assurances or proscriptions regarding riding
on flats. Not much spectacle value, though. I say to remove the tube
rather than deflate in order to avoid the annoying "thunk thunk
thunk," puffs of talc, and shouts of "hey, you have a flat!" which
otherwise results.

 

[41]

Zog The Undeniable wrote:
> I'm going to rebuild the rear wheel on my touring bike. The tyre -
a
> Schwalbe City Jet - will not be reused as it has zero cornering grip
in
> the wet and has nearly caused me to crash three times this winter.
For
> th is reason, I would feel guilty about offering it to anyone else.
>
> Therefore, I thought of giving it the cycle equivalent of a Viking
> funeral.
>
> Any other ideas? Marks will be awarded for scientific value and
spectacle.

Some time ago there were threads here arguing about what happens to a
worn rim upon blowout. How worn is the rim? If not worn, feel like
sanding it down in one or two places? Then try pumping up to failure.
Wear ear protection, eye protection, do behind a barrier, alert dept.
of Fatherland Security, post pics of results.e

 

[[email protected]]

Please try using rope instead of a tube with air inside it.

Thanks - can't wait to hear how it works out.

dkl

 

[Michael Dart]

Zog The Undeniable wrote:
> I'm going to rebuild the rear wheel on my touring bike. The tyre - a
> Schwalbe City Jet - will not be reused as it has zero cornering grip
> in the wet and has nearly caused me to crash three times this winter.
> For this reason, I would feel guilty about offering it to anyone else.
>
> Therefore, I thought of giving it the cycle equivalent of a Viking
> funeral. One idea is to get up some speed and then slide down the
> local 20% hill with the rear wheel locked, although this might mean a
> short
> walk home if my ability to ride on the rim is lacking (don't worry,
> the rim is also headed for the trash). Or I could blow it off the
> rim using Jobst's rim heating test, but this would be misdirecting my
> ire towards the tube rather than the tyre. Repeated broadslides
> would be reasonably entertaining, but might damage the frame, will
> make me a laughing stock among the local BMX kids and carry too much
> risk of twisting my knees
> out of joint.
>
> Any other ideas? Marks will be awarded for scientific value and
> spectacle.

I saw a video on the net where a trials rider drops about 6 feet to a wall
and blows his tire and shatters his rim. He was able to make the landing
and step off the bike. That was very entertaining.

Mike

 

[Werehatrack]

On Mon, 09 May 2005 20:30:34 +0100, Zog The Undeniable
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Any other ideas? Marks will be awarded for scientific value and spectacle.

Mount four wheel-driven generators on the rear of the bike, with their
contact spool teeth dremeled to sharp points, and then go for a
well-lit evening ride? With a little perseverance, you might even fit
6 of them on.

Take the wheel off, mount it to a free-standing support of some sort,
duct-tape roman candles to it and light 'em up? Fill the tire with
propane first, of course.

Chop the tire into segments suitable for use as emergency boots and
pass them out to friends?


--
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[Werehatrack]

On Mon, 09 May 2005 16:08:07 -0500, Jim Smith <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Zog The Undeniable <[email protected]> writes:
>
>> I'm going to rebuild the rear wheel on my touring bike. The tyre - a
>> Schwalbe City Jet - will not be reused as it has zero cornering grip
>> in the wet and has nearly caused me to crash three times this winter.
>> For this reason, I would feel guilty about offering it to anyone else.
>>
>> Therefore, I thought of giving it the cycle equivalent of a Viking
>> funeral. One idea is to get up some speed and then slide down the
>> local 20% hill with the rear wheel locked, although this might mean a
>> short walk home if my ability to ride on the rim is lacking (don't
>> worry, the rim is also headed for the trash). Or I could blow it off
>> the rim using Jobst's rim heating test, but this would be misdirecting
>> my ire towards the tube rather than the tyre. Repeated broadslides
>> would be reasonably entertaining, but might damage the frame, will
>> make me a laughing stock among the local BMX kids and carry too much
>> risk of twisting my knees out of joint.
>>
>> Any other ideas? Marks will be awarded for scientific value and spectacle.
>
>How about just taking the tube out and continuing to ride normaly?
>You could give us either assurances or proscriptions regarding riding
>on flats. Not much spectacle value, though. I say to remove the tube
>rather than deflate in order to avoid the annoying "thunk thunk
>thunk," puffs of talc, and shouts of "hey, you have a flat!" which
>otherwise results.

Better yet: Remove the tube, stick the nozzle of a can of expanding
foam sealant ("Great Stuff" or the local equivalent) into the valve
hole with the hole at 12 o-clock, and fill it with that. Allow a
little setting time and ride. It'd be an interesting experiment in
DIY foam-fill.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
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[RonSonic]

On Mon, 09 May 2005 20:30:34 +0100, Zog The Undeniable <[email protected]>
wrote:

>I'm going to rebuild the rear wheel on my touring bike. The tyre - a
>Schwalbe City Jet - will not be reused as it has zero cornering grip in
>the wet and has nearly caused me to crash three times this winter. For
>this reason, I would feel guilty about offering it to anyone else.
>
>Therefore, I thought of giving it the cycle equivalent of a Viking
>funeral. One idea is to get up some speed and then slide down the local
>20% hill with the rear wheel locked, although this might mean a short
>walk home if my ability to ride on the rim is lacking (don't worry, the
>rim is also headed for the trash). Or I could blow it off the rim using
>Jobst's rim heating test, but this would be misdirecting my ire towards
>the tube rather than the tyre. Repeated broadslides would be reasonably
>entertaining, but might damage the frame, will make me a laughing stock
>among the local BMX kids and carry too much risk of twisting my knees
>out of joint.
>
>Any other ideas? Marks will be awarded for scientific value and spectacle.

Punch numerous small holes in tire. Install tire on rim with cloth strip between
tube and tire. Need not be perfectly aligned, just in there. Install wheel on
bike. Saturate tire and internal strip/wick with clean burning, environmentally
friendly naptha. Ignite. Ride like a futhermucker. Don't stop for nuthin'.

Ron

 

[Phil, Squid-in-Training]

Zog The Undeniable wrote:
> I'm going to rebuild the rear wheel on my touring bike. The tyre - a
> Schwalbe City Jet - will not be reused as it has zero cornering grip
> in the wet and has nearly caused me to crash three times this winter.
> For this reason, I would feel guilty about offering it to anyone else.
>
> Therefore, I thought of giving it the cycle equivalent of a Viking
> funeral. One idea is to get up some speed and then slide down the
> local 20% hill with the rear wheel locked, although this might mean a
> short walk home if my ability to ride on the rim is lacking (don't worry,
> the rim is also headed for the trash). Or I could blow it off the
> rim using Jobst's rim heating test, but this would be misdirecting my
> ire towards the tube rather than the tyre. Repeated broadslides
> would be reasonably entertaining, but might damage the frame, will
> make me a laughing stock among the local BMX kids and carry too much
> risk of twisting my knees out of joint.
>
> Any other ideas? Marks will be awarded for scientific value and
> spectacle.

Take off the tire and ride on the rim... ride one block and see if you can
still feel your butt. I was forced to do this when my tire blew and I rode
over to the bike shop because I was getting a new rim in anyways. Beware
though... I'm pretty sure that riding on rims is illegal everywhere.

For all of you "aluminum is harsh" people, this is the obvious test of what
makes a harsh ride! The tire absorbs the really high frequency stuff.
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

 

[Peter]

Phil, Squid-in-Training wrote:

> Take off the tire and ride on the rim... ride one block and see if you can
> still feel your butt. I was forced to do this when my tire blew and I rode
> over to the bike shop because I was getting a new rim in anyways. Beware
> though... I'm pretty sure that riding on rims is illegal everywhere.

Never tried riding on the bare rim, but I have ridden with just the
deflated tire on the rim for a few miles (took the tube out to eliminate
the bump from the valve stem). Surprisingly there was no evident damage
to either the tire or the rim.
>
> For all of you "aluminum is harsh" people, this is the obvious test of what
> makes a harsh ride! The tire absorbs the really high frequency stuff.

Agreed. It certainly dwarfs any differences caused by frame materials
or geometry.

 

[chalo colina]

Phil, Squid-in-Training wrote:
>
> Take off the tire and ride on the rim... ride one block and see
> if you can still feel your butt. I was forced to do this when
> my tire blew and I rode over to the bike shop because I was
> getting a new rim in anyways. Beware though... I'm pretty sure
> that riding on rims is illegal everywhere.
>
> For all of you "aluminum is harsh" people, this is the obvious
> test of what makes a harsh ride! The tire absorbs the really
> high frequency stuff.

I have been on a "rim ride" with 40 or so other deviants, some of whom
were ridng *two* bare rims. The noise of roughly 50 bare wheels
rolling on pavement was colossal!

Being somewhat injury-averse, I opted to sport my bare rim on the rear
of my bike. For a sacrificial wheel, I used a dumpstered 27" unit with
a steel rim, which I carefully trued and tensioned for its glorious
suicide mission. This I mounted to an allegedly "smooth-riding"
traditional lugged steel bike. Within a quarter mile, I had lost all
communication with my butt, my bike's sprung cruiser saddle
notwithstanding. So much for the "magical" ride of a steel frame.

Some 3 or 4 miles later at the local bar that served as our
destination, my rim had developed a serious flutter and was threatening
to saw at my bike's widely spaced chainstays with its razor-sharp
serrated edge. Some other riders on sportier equipment (most of the
attendees were cycle messengers) had suffered more pronounced wheel
failures than I had, and concluded their rides by stomping their
critically injured wheels out of their misery.

If there is a moral to the story, it might be this: "Life is short.
And difficult. And stupid. This is why we drink."

Chalo Colina

 

[Greg Berchin]

On Mon, 09 May 2005 20:30:34 +0100, Zog The Undeniable
<[email protected]> wrote:

>>Any other ideas? Marks will be awarded for scientific value and spectacle.

Skids are child's play. If you really want to test your mettle,
do burnouts. Bikers and hot-rodders have burnout competitions all
the time, why not cyclists?

Greg

 

[Mark Hickey]

Zog The Undeniable <[email protected]> wrote:

>Any other ideas? Marks will be awarded for scientific value and spectacle.

Pump the tire up to its maximum pressure or beyond. Truing the wheel
would be a good idea too.

Find a rod that'll fit snugly through the axle (in place of the quick
release skewer, assuming the hub is set up for QRs), about 4-5"
(10-13cm) long.

Secure it in the highest-speed drill you can find, and spin the wheel
up to its terminal (excellent choice of words) velocity. Then, while
continuing to apply maximum power with the drill, push the wheel off
the rod with a wrench or other "fork-like instrument".

The centrifugal force should keep the wheel upright, and the
acceleration when the tire hits the road should be spectacular (and
should include some level of a burnout). I have no idea how far the
wheel will travel, so I'd suggest NOT trying this on a neighborhood
street (unless you really don't like your neighbors).

Pedestrian cordless drills should get you around 1000 rpm (if they
have the power to turn the wheel that fast), which would be about
80mph (~130km/h) wheel speed. Many drills will turn 2000 or more
rpms. Better yet, air drills go WAY above that and have lots of
torque. The limitation will be in the drill motor's torque, but if
you really CAN get a bicycle wheel turning at 200mph, the results
should be fun to watch.

OTOH, the wheel could fly apart - killing everyone in the vicinity. I
dunno... never tried it. ;-)

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

 

[Neil Brooks]

"chalo colina" <[email protected]> wrote:

>I have been on a "rim ride" with 40 or so other deviants, some of whom
>were ridng *two* bare rims. The noise of roughly 50 bare wheels
>rolling on pavement was colossal!
>
>Being somewhat injury-averse, I opted to sport my bare rim on the rear
>of my bike. For a sacrificial wheel, I used a dumpstered 27" unit with
>a steel rim, which I carefully trued and tensioned for its glorious
>suicide mission. This I mounted to an allegedly "smooth-riding"
>traditional lugged steel bike. Within a quarter mile, I had lost all
>communication with my butt, my bike's sprung cruiser saddle
>notwithstanding. So much for the "magical" ride of a steel frame.
>
>Some 3 or 4 miles later at the local bar that served as our
>destination, my rim had developed a serious flutter and was threatening
>to saw at my bike's widely spaced chainstays with its razor-sharp
>serrated edge. Some other riders on sportier equipment (most of the
>attendees were cycle messengers) had suffered more pronounced wheel
>failures than I had, and concluded their rides by stomping their
>critically injured wheels out of their misery.
>
>If there is a moral to the story, it might be this: "Life is short.
>And difficult. And stupid. This is why we drink."

Chalo, I just love reading your stuff.

How're you're wrists holding up, btw?

[off for that first morning shot of Cuervo now....]

 

[[email protected]]

Mark Hickey wrote:
>
> Find a rod that'll fit snugly through the axle (in place of the quick
> release skewer, assuming the hub is set up for QRs), about 4-5"
> (10-13cm) long.
>
> Secure it in the highest-speed drill you can find, and spin the wheel
> up to its terminal (excellent choice of words) velocity. Then, while
> continuing to apply maximum power with the drill, push the wheel off
> the rod with a wrench or other "fork-like instrument".
>

How about a bench grinder? You'd have to make some sort of shaft
extension, but it would be interesting to see a bike wheel get up to
8000 rpm. Face shields would be a good thing to have.

 

[dkahn400]

[email protected] wrote:

> How about a bench grinder? You'd have to make some sort of shaft
> extension, but it would be interesting to see a bike wheel get up
> to 8000 rpm. Face shields would be a good thing to have.

A medieval suit of armour might be even better.

--
Dave...

 

[Zog The Undeniable]

chalo colina wrote:

> I have been on a "rim ride" with 40 or so other deviants, some of whom
> were ridng *two* bare rims. The noise of roughly 50 bare wheels
> rolling on pavement was colossal!

<snip>

> If there is a moral to the story, it might be this: "Life is short.
> And difficult. And stupid. This is why we drink."

Fantastic. Good to see that you know some equally wacko riders ;-)

 

[Werehatrack]

On Tue, 10 May 2005 08:53:10 -0500, Greg Berchin
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Mon, 09 May 2005 20:30:34 +0100, Zog The Undeniable
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>>Any other ideas? Marks will be awarded for scientific value and spectacle.
>
>Skids are child's play. If you really want to test your mettle,
>do burnouts. Bikers and hot-rodders have burnout competitions all
>the time, why not cyclists?

The technique is well-known, to those who know it well; you lean so
far forward over the bars that you're just short of lifting the rear
wheel, ride the front brake and pedal like hell.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[Werehatrack]

On 10 May 2005 09:45:04 -0700, [email protected] wrote:

>
>Mark Hickey wrote:
>>
>> Find a rod that'll fit snugly through the axle (in place of the quick
>> release skewer, assuming the hub is set up for QRs), about 4-5"
>> (10-13cm) long.
>>
>> Secure it in the highest-speed drill you can find, and spin the wheel
>> up to its terminal (excellent choice of words) velocity. Then, while
>> continuing to apply maximum power with the drill, push the wheel off
>> the rod with a wrench or other "fork-like instrument".
>>
>
>How about a bench grinder? You'd have to make some sort of shaft
>extension, but it would be interesting to see a bike wheel get up to
>8000 rpm. Face shields would be a good thing to have.

You have a bench grinder with a wheel rated for more than 3650 rpm?
That's quite a piece of equipment! Most are rated for 1900 rpm or
less.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.