First flat while on the road

Nice day today in Southern New England: lower 50's by noon, so it was time for a longer ride than
I've been doing outside. I figured out a route which was mostly a loop, with just a little bit of
repeating a section, so I could see something different. It was also my first ride of the year
with just cycling shorts, though I did take along some tights in case I needed them to keep my
knees warm.

The weather-guessers were predicting a sea breeze to kick in during the afternoon, so I planned my
route so that I should be going with the wind most of the way, and especially for the final 8 miles
or so, but it didn't work out that way: it clouded up, and that prevented the sea breeze from
developing, so the final northbound stretch was a part crosswind and part headwind all the way. The
ocean temperature is still in the upper 30's, so along the coast it was quite a bit cooler than even
a mile inland, and my fingers were a little cold, but nothing severe.

I did find that I won't be doing parts of that route on a weekend again unless it's an early morning
ride. Part of the route was along a section of 4-lane limited access road where a local LBS runs the
summer TT series, and it's quite nice riding on Monday nights when there's not much traffic. A nice
Saturday afternoon is a very different story. The on- and off-ramps have sections of rumble strips
near them, which can be quite rough with 120psi tires, and many of them are very beat up, with broken-
up concrete, asphalt patches, etc. Most of the road is in quite good shape, so I spent a lot of time
on my aero bars working on my TT form and my cadence. However, the Saturday traffic prevented me
from moving over into the lane to avoid the bad sections, and I hit a couple of the rougher ones
rather too fast, causing my first on-the-road flat. It's probably a pinch flat, though I haven't
bothered to fix that tube yet, so I don't know for sure.

I was off the highway onto a city street before I noticed the front tire getting soft, so I rode
with my weight way back for a block or two until I found a parking lot where I tried pumping it up
to see if it would get me home. Half a mile later, it was obvious I was going to have to stop every
five minutes or so to get it home, so I pulled over again and swapped out the tube with my spare,
and finished up the last 10 miles or so of the ride with only 60psi in the tire, which is about the
max I could get out my mini pump with the energy I was willing to expend. I just kept my weight back
a bit more than usual, and took it slower over rough pavement sections.

I definitely need to get a mini-pump with a higher pressure capability (easier to get to high
pressure, that is). From what I've read here, I may look into a Topeak Road Morph, but other
suggestions are welcome as well.

Overall a very nice day to ride, with lots of motorcycyles out, and a few other cyclists as well. I
think I want to get some leg warmers though. When the sun went behind the clouds, my knees started
complaining a bit about the cold, but I was almost home by then, and finished with just over 29
miles in at a 16.1 mph moving average. This also ended up being my longest solo ride ever, so that
was kind of cool, too.

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

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

 

>Nice day today in Southern New England: lower 50's by noon, so it was time for a longer ride than
>I've been doing outside.

Great!!

I got out in 42F temp yesterday for 20 miles, and it was really invigorating.

Sounds like you had a good time - sorry about the flat, but at least you got in OK.

http://members.aol.com/foxcondorsrvtns (Colorado rental condo)

http://members.aol.com/dnvrfox (Family Web Page)

 

> Overall a very nice day to ride, with lots of motorcycyles out, and a few other cyclists as well.
> I think I want to get some leg warmers though. When the sun went behind the clouds, my knees
> started complaining a bit about the cold, but I was almost home by then, and finished with just
> over 29 miles in at a 16.1 mph moving average. This also ended up being my longest solo ride ever,
> so that was kind of cool, too.
>

I'd say that was a good ride, even with the flat. Just out of couriostiy,
16.1 mph average speed is somewhat faster than what I've been able to achieve in my area so I was
wondering how many stops did you have during this ride? My area puts me with a few stop signs and
street lights so that may explain my slower average speed (around 15.5 mph) but I ride mainly
solo and don't have anybody to compare to.

Dan.

 

> I definitely need to get a mini-pump with a higher pressure capability (easier to get to high
> pressure, that is). From what I've read here, I may look into a Topeak Road Morph, but other
> suggestions are welcome as well.

Dave:

Most minipumps are either made for mountain bikes (where you need large volumes of low pressure, and
are impossible to get above maybe 50psi with) or make claims they'll hit 120psi but you either can't
muscle them that far or they blow a seal first.

I've found two true "mini" pumps that will do the job, the ubiquitous Blackburn AirStik (their part#
AS-1) and the TREK mini road pump (part
#88287). The Topeak will work as well, but is considerably larger than the
other two.

At our shop, the acid test when a rep brings in a new pump with claims of high pressure, is very
simple. I inflate a road bike tire with a floor pump to 120psi and *then* attach the minipump to it
and try to put more air into
it. On many, it's simply an impossible task. You can't get enough force on the handle to get that
sort of air pressure. On others, the seal literally fail on the first attempt to air it up. And
yes, this is after momentarily depressing the valve to make sure it isn't sticking.

But there's also the question of why a minipump at all? Most frames have room for a full-length
pump, and the longer ones are a whole lot better at keeping dogs at bay as well (ever swung a
minipump at a dog? Don't!).

Aside from the flat, sounds like you had a very nice ride!

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

"David Kerber" <[email protected]_ids.net> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Nice day today in Southern New England: lower 50's by noon, so it was time for a longer ride than
> I've been doing outside. I figured out a route which was mostly a loop, with just a little bit of
> repeating a section, so I could see something different. It was also my first ride of the year
> with just cycling shorts, though I did take along some tights in case I needed them to keep my
> knees warm.
>
> The weather-guessers were predicting a sea breeze to kick in during the afternoon, so I planned my
> route so that I should be going with the wind most of the way, and especially for the final 8
> miles or so, but it didn't work out that way: it clouded up, and that prevented the sea breeze
> from developing, so the final northbound stretch was a part crosswind and part headwind all the
> way. The ocean temperature is still in the upper 30's, so along the coast it was quite a bit
> cooler than even a mile inland, and my fingers were a little cold, but nothing severe.
>
> I did find that I won't be doing parts of that route on a weekend again unless it's an early
> morning ride. Part of the route was along a section of 4-lane limited access road where a local
> LBS runs the summer TT series, and it's quite nice riding on Monday nights when there's not much
> traffic. A nice Saturday afternoon is a very different story. The on- and off-ramps have sections
> of rumble strips near them, which can be quite rough with 120psi tires, and many of them are very
> beat up, with broken-up concrete, asphalt patches, etc. Most of the road is in quite good shape,
> so I spent a lot of time on my aero bars working on my TT form and my cadence. However, the
> Saturday traffic prevented me from moving over into the lane to avoid the bad sections, and I hit
> a couple of the rougher ones rather too fast, causing my first on-the-road flat. It's probably a
> pinch flat, though I haven't bothered to fix that tube yet, so I don't know for sure.
>
> I was off the highway onto a city street before I noticed the front tire getting soft, so I rode
> with my weight way back for a block or two until I found a parking lot where I tried pumping it up
> to see if it would get me home. Half a mile later, it was obvious I was going to have to stop
> every five minutes or so to get it home, so I pulled over again and swapped out the tube with my
> spare, and finished up the last 10 miles or so of the ride with only 60psi in the tire, which is
> about the max I could get out my mini pump with the energy I was willing to expend. I just kept my
> weight back a bit more than usual, and took it slower over rough pavement sections.
>
> I definitely need to get a mini-pump with a higher pressure capability (easier to get to high
> pressure, that is). From what I've read here, I may look into a Topeak Road Morph, but other
> suggestions are welcome as well.
>
> Overall a very nice day to ride, with lots of motorcycyles out, and a few other cyclists as well.
> I think I want to get some leg warmers though. When the sun went behind the clouds, my knees
> started complaining a bit about the cold, but I was almost home by then, and finished with just
> over 29 miles in at a 16.1 mph moving average. This also ended up being my longest solo ride ever,
> so that was kind of cool, too.
>
> --
> Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!
>
> REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

 

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> But there's also the question of why a minipump at all? Most frames have room for a full-length
> pump, and the longer ones are a whole lot better at keeping dogs at bay as well (ever swung a
> minipump at a dog? Don't!).

This is my question as well. Anyone that would purposely use a minipump has to be a little
slack jawed.

 

On Mon, 01 Mar 2004 02:53:20 GMT, "Tom Kunich" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>>
>> But there's also the question of why a minipump at all? Most frames have room for a full-length
>> pump, and the longer ones are a whole lot better at keeping dogs at bay as well (ever swung a
>> minipump at a dog? Don't!).
>
>This is my question as well. Anyone that would purposely use a minipump has to be a little
>slack jawed.

unless that anybody is riding off road on a frame that won't fit a real frame pump--whereupon he
probably doesn't need the high pressures anyway

 

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Dave:
>
> Most minipumps are either made for mountain bikes (where you need large volumes of low pressure,
> and are impossible to get above maybe 50psi with) or make claims they'll hit 120psi but you either
> can't muscle them that
far
> or they blow a seal first.
>
> I've found two true "mini" pumps that will do the job, the ubiquitous Blackburn AirStik (their
> part# AS-1) and the TREK mini road pump (part
> #88287). The Topeak will work as well, but is considerably larger than
the
> other two.
>
> At our shop, the acid test when a rep brings in a new pump with claims of high pressure, is very
> simple. I inflate a road bike tire with a floor
pump
> to 120psi and *then* attach the minipump to it and try to put more air
into
> it. On many, it's simply an impossible task. You can't get enough force
on
> the handle to get that sort of air pressure. On others, the seal
literally
> fail on the first attempt to air it up. And yes, this is after
momentarily
> depressing the valve to make sure it isn't sticking.
>
> But there's also the question of why a minipump at all? Most frames have room for a full-length
> pump, and the longer ones are a whole lot better at keeping dogs at bay as well (ever swung a
> minipump at a dog? Don't!).
>
> Aside from the flat, sounds like you had a very nice ride!
>
> --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com
>

What about the CO2 cartridge pumps? I've never used one but arn't they supposed to pump up to
around 90 psi?

 

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> > Overall a very nice day to ride, with lots of motorcycyles out, and a few other cyclists as
> > well. I think I want to get some leg warmers though. When the sun went behind the clouds, my
> > knees started complaining a bit about the cold, but I was almost home by then, and finished with
> > just over 29 miles in at a 16.1 mph moving average. This also ended up being my longest solo
> > ride ever, so that was kind of cool, too.
> >
>
> I'd say that was a good ride, even with the flat. Just out of couriostiy,
> 16.1 mph average speed is somewhat faster than what I've been able to achieve in my area so I was
> wondering how many stops did you have during this ride? My area puts me with a few stop signs
> and street lights so that may explain my slower average speed (around 15.5 mph) but I ride
> mainly solo and don't have anybody to compare to.

Not many stops on the route I took; I don't count them, but there were maybe ten or a dozen over the
course of the ride. I did have a few places where the traffic was slow and I had to slow down
because of that as well. Probably the main thing which boosted my average was the long stretch along
the highway, where there was nothing except some rough pavement patches to slow me much for several
miles. I probably averaged 21 or so for that stretch. BTW, that's my "average while moving"
according to my bike computer. If you took into account the time I was stopped, it would have been
rather slower.

--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in the newsgroups if possible).

 

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> >Nice day today in Southern New England: lower 50's by noon, so it was time for a longer ride than
> >I've been doing outside.
>
> Great!!
>
> I got out in 42F temp yesterday for 20 miles, and it was really invigorating.
>
> Sounds like you had a good time - sorry about the flat, but at least you got in OK.

It was only a matter of time; I knew my luck with flats only showing up at home couldn't last
<GGG>. I had my spare tube and tire levers (and patch kit if needed), so it was no big deal. Sounds
like your weather is a couple of weeks behind ours; I got a 20 mile ride in 40F weather a couple of
weeks ago.

....

--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in the newsgroups if possible).

 

In article <[email protected]>, mikej1 @ix.netcom.com says...
> > I definitely need to get a mini-pump with a higher pressure capability (easier to get to high
> > pressure, that is). From what I've read here, I may look into a Topeak Road Morph, but other
> > suggestions are welcome as well.
>
> Dave:
>
> Most minipumps are either made for mountain bikes (where you need large volumes of low pressure,
> and are impossible to get above maybe 50psi with) or make claims they'll hit 120psi but you either
> can't muscle them that far or they blow a seal first.

That sounds like mine; it was no problem getting to 40 or 50, but it was a killer getting it to 60.
I guess when I say "mini pump", I'm thinking of any pump I can carry on a bike, as opposed to a
floor pump. Thanks for the suggestions.

...

> keeping dogs at bay as well (ever swung a minipump at a dog? Don't!).

I carry Halt! for that.

>
> Aside from the flat, sounds like you had a very nice ride!

That I did!

....

--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in the newsgroups if possible).

 

"Luigi de Guzman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Mon, 01 Mar 2004 02:53:20 GMT, "Tom Kunich" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> >news:[email protected]...
> >>
> >> But there's also the question of why a minipump at all? Most frames
have
> >> room for a full-length pump, and the longer ones are a whole lot better
at
> >> keeping dogs at bay as well (ever swung a minipump at a dog? Don't!).
> >
> >This is my question as well. Anyone that would purposely use a minipump
has
> >to be a little slack jawed.
>
> unless that anybody is riding off road on a frame that won't fit a real frame pump--whereupon he
> probably doesn't need the high pressures anyway

Well, if you have a bike that won't mount a real pump that's one thing (Calfee's don't allow pumps)
but if you CAN fit a real full sized frame pump and you don't you'll just be learning the hard way.

And now that Rhode Gear and several other companies are making them it's even easier to come by a
usuable full sized pump.

 

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> "Luigi de Guzman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > On Mon, 01 Mar 2004 02:53:20 GMT, "Tom Kunich" <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > >"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > >news:[email protected]...
> > >>
> > >> But there's also the question of why a minipump at all? Most frames
> have
> > >> room for a full-length pump, and the longer ones are a whole lot better
> at
> > >> keeping dogs at bay as well (ever swung a minipump at a dog? Don't!).
> > >
> > >This is my question as well. Anyone that would purposely use a minipump
> has
> > >to be a little slack jawed.
> >
> > unless that anybody is riding off road on a frame that won't fit a real frame pump--whereupon he
> > probably doesn't need the high pressures anyway
>
> Well, if you have a bike that won't mount a real pump that's one thing (Calfee's don't allow
> pumps) but if you CAN fit a real full sized frame pump and you don't you'll just be learning the
> hard way.
>
> And now that Rhode Gear and several other companies are making them it's even easier to come by a
> usuable full sized pump.

On the recommendation of my LBS, I bought a Zefal frame pump. I was really tempted by the Topeak
Road Morph, but at $10 more, and a lot more pieces to break, I ended up going the frame pump route.
The gauge would be nice, but I can get by without it.

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

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

 

On Mon, 1 Mar 2004 19:51:27 -0500, David Kerber
<[email protected]_ids.net> wrote:

>On the recommendation of my LBS, I bought a Zefal frame pump. I was really tempted by the Topeak
>Road Morph, but at $10 more, and a lot more pieces to break, I ended up going the frame pump route.
>The gauge would be nice, but I can get by without it.

you won't regret the Zefal HPx. It's a mighty piece of equipment. For anything but quick spins to
the store or the library, I've got it on the pump peg.

-Luigi