Overtraining was defective pump

[Derk]

Hi,

Some time ago I mentioned I feared I suffered from overtraining syndrome.
Today I found out my specialized floor pump only inflated my tires to 2 bar,
whilst 7 bar was shown on the meter. I never checked the tire manually,
since I trusted the pump....

Boy, what a difference: I managed to get an average of 31.8 km/h in spite of
0 degree Celcius temperature.

Greets, Derk

 

[[email protected]]

On Mon, 20 Dec 2004 18:49:17 +0100, Derk
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Hi,
>
>Some time ago I mentioned I feared I suffered from overtraining syndrome.
>Today I found out my specialized floor pump only inflated my tires to 2 bar,
>whilst 7 bar was shown on the meter. I never checked the tire manually,
>since I trusted the pump....
>
>Boy, what a difference: I managed to get an average of 31.8 km/h in spite of
>0 degree Celcius temperature.
>
>Greets, Derk

Dear Derk,

I'm surprised that you didn't notice dreadful cornering
problems with 30 psi instead of 100 psi.

The sidewalls would have sagged and wobbled under your
weight, and the contact patches would have tripled in size,
which make quite a difference in turning.

I occasionally find this out the hard way with slow leaks
from thorns.

If the faintly different feel of a softer and softer rear
tire hitting road cracks doesn't penetrate my daydreams on
the five miles of gentle curves into town, I'm liable to wet
my pants when I reach the first right-angle turn in the park
at 20 mph, lean over, and find that I'm riding a soggy blimp
that wants to sail over into curb.

When I approach the park now, I take a quick glance back
down at my rear tire to see if it's bulging from a slow
leak.

Carl Fogel

 

[Lou Holtman]

Derk wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Some time ago I mentioned I feared I suffered from overtraining syndrome.
> Today I found out my specialized floor pump only inflated my tires to 2 bar,
> whilst 7 bar was shown on the meter. I never checked the tire manually,
> since I trusted the pump....
>
> Boy, what a difference: I managed to get an average of 31.8 km/h in spite of
> 0 degree Celcius temperature.
>
> Greets, Derk
>

Now I can't take you serious any more
2 bar... yeah right.

Lou
--
Posted by news://news.nb.nu

 

[[email protected]]

[email protected] wrote:
> On Mon, 20 Dec 2004 18:49:17 +0100, Derk
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >Hi,
> >
> >Some time ago I mentioned I feared I suffered from overtraining
syndrome.
> >Today I found out my specialized floor pump only inflated my tires
to 2 bar,
> >whilst 7 bar was shown on the meter. I never checked the tire
manually,
> >since I trusted the pump....
> >
> >Boy, what a difference: I managed to get an average of 31.8 km/h in
spite of
> >0 degree Celcius temperature.
> >
> >Greets, Derk
>
> Dear Derk,
>
> I'm surprised that you didn't notice dreadful cornering
> problems with 30 psi instead of 100 psi.
>
> The sidewalls would have sagged and wobbled under your
> weight, and the contact patches would have tripled in size,
> which make quite a difference in turning.
>
> I occasionally find this out the hard way with slow leaks
> from thorns.
>
> If the faintly different feel of a softer and softer rear
> tire hitting road cracks doesn't penetrate my daydreams on
> the five miles of gentle curves into town, I'm liable to wet
> my pants when I reach the first right-angle turn in the park
> at 20 mph, lean over, and find that I'm riding a soggy blimp
> that wants to sail over into curb.
>
> When I approach the park now, I take a quick glance back
> down at my rear tire to see if it's bulging from a slow
> leak.
>
> Carl Fogel

I always rode MUCH, MUCH faster after hitting 7 bars on "bar row" in
Anchorage.
Happy Holidays, John "-)

 

[Phil, Squid-in-Training]

"Lou Holtman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Derk wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > Some time ago I mentioned I feared I suffered from overtraining
syndrome.
> > Today I found out my specialized floor pump only inflated my tires to 2
bar,
> > whilst 7 bar was shown on the meter. I never checked the tire manually,
> > since I trusted the pump....
> >
> > Boy, what a difference: I managed to get an average of 31.8 km/h in
spite of
> > 0 degree Celcius temperature.
> >
> > Greets, Derk
> >
>
> Now I can't take you serious any more
> 2 bar... yeah right.

How is that at all unbelievable?

My road bike has a slow leak in the front that takes about a week to drop
60psi down from 130. During that time, I ride it to class each day, and the
gradual softening effect is completely transparent to me. When it gets down
to about 30 or 20psi, I notice it and stop being lazy and pump it back up to
130. The first ride after pumping it back up is like a new experience for
me. This has been going on for about 2 months now, and it's still a little
surprising each time. I'm 135lbs, and 700x23.

BTW, Derk, I wouldn't have that problem with my Specialized floor pump,
because the area of the piston is probably about 1in^2. Why? Because I am
literally leaning on the piston superman-style at the very end of pumping up
my road tires to 130 31.8kmh at 0C is something I definitely wouldn't be
able to do!

Phil, Squid-in-Training

 

[Lou Holtman]

"Phil, Squid-in-Training" <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:[email protected]...
>
> "Lou Holtman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Derk wrote:
> > > Hi,
> > >
> > > Some time ago I mentioned I feared I suffered from overtraining
> syndrome.
> > > Today I found out my specialized floor pump only inflated my tires to
2
> bar,
> > > whilst 7 bar was shown on the meter. I never checked the tire
manually,
> > > since I trusted the pump....
> > >
> > > Boy, what a difference: I managed to get an average of 31.8 km/h in
> spite of
> > > 0 degree Celcius temperature.
> > >
> > > Greets, Derk
> > >
> >
> > Now I can't take you serious any more
> > 2 bar... yeah right.
>
> How is that at all unbelievable?

Because cornering with 2 bar in a 23 mm road tire is awful and any
experience rider, like Derk, should notice that, specially when you are
doing 31 km/hr average. The difference with 7 bar is huge. When you hit a
(minor) hole with 2 bar you almost certain you get a snakebite flat.

>
> My road bike has a slow leak in the front that takes about a week to drop
> 60psi down from 130. During that time, I ride it to class each day, and
the
> gradual softening effect is completely transparent to me. When it gets
down
> to about 30 or 20psi, I notice it and stop being lazy and pump it back up
to
> 130. The first ride after pumping it back up is like a new experience for
> me. This has been going on for about 2 months now, and it's still a
little
> surprising each time. I'm 135lbs, and 700x23.
>
That's another thing I don't understand. Why don't you pop on a new inner
tube or patch the thing? I ride with latex inner tubes and have to pump my
tire before EVERY ride. When I forget to do that, after the first corner I
notice (they drop to 4 bar overnight) and return home to pump the tire up.

Lou

 

[Derk]

Lou Holtman wrote:

> Now I can't take you serious any more
> 2 bar... yeah right.
I couldn't believe it myslef either. I have been riding my old winterbike
for some time now and I always ride through a polder during this period:
very long straight roads, no bumps or potholes, cycling tracks. I noticed
a few times when jumping over a branch that I hit the ground very hard, but
I never had flats. It was just plain stupid to trust a pump and never check
the pressure myself.

Personally, I'm surprised that resistance on the road is that much greater.
I use 25 mm tires in the winter btw.

Something else: my dealer isn't able to get me a new meter for my 6 years
old Specialized pump. I bought a SKS Rennkompressor in the mean time, but I
would also repair the Specialized if I could find the meter somewhere not
too expensive.

Greets, Derk

 

[Jeff Starr]

On Tue, 21 Dec 2004 09:40:39 +0100, Derk <[email protected]>
wrote:


>Something else: my dealer isn't able to get me a new meter for my 6 years
>old Specialized pump. I bought a SKS Rennkompressor in the mean time, but I
>would also repair the Specialized if I could find the meter somewhere not
>too expensive.
>
>Greets, Derk

Hi, if the gauge has a standard sized fitting, you should be able to
replace it with any gauge of the same size and specs. Even if isn't,
you may be able to get a reducer bushing of some sort. Take the pump
to a hardware store.

For everyone, it is a good idea to compare your pumps gauge to a
quality, seperate one. There are often differences and it is nice to
be able to compensate for them.

I use a Topeak Joe Blow Sport and I have a Topeak Smarthead Digital
Gauge. I like the Gauge so much that when I found them on sale at
Campmor, I bought 3 of them for Christmas gifts.
http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?memberId=12500226&productId=30373072


Life is Good!
Jeff

 

[Alex Rodriguez]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
says...

>Hi,
>Some time ago I mentioned I feared I suffered from overtraining syndrome.
>Today I found out my specialized floor pump only inflated my tires to 2 bar,
>whilst 7 bar was shown on the meter. I never checked the tire manually,
>since I trusted the pump....
>Boy, what a difference: I managed to get an average of 31.8 km/h in spite of
>0 degree Celcius temperature.

That is a huge difference in tire pressure. I don't see how you did not get
pinch flats all the time.
------------
Alex

 

[Derk]

Alex Rodriguez wrote:

> That is a huge difference in tire pressure. I don't see how you did not
> get pinch flats all the time.
I agree. I'm amazed also. Maybe it was 2.5 bar or so, but I was amazed when
I inflated the tire at the LBS with their pump.
I never had a flat tire during the last 6 months or so.

Greets, Derk

 

[(Pete Cresswell)]

RE/
>For everyone, it is a good idea to compare your pumps gauge to a
>quality, seperate one. There are often differences and it is nice to
>be able to compensate for them.

I have a (reliable?) dial pressure gauge that I use on my car. Cost a few
bucks, has a 6 or 8" pigtail on it...

That plus one of those little Schraeder/Presta adapters lets me check up on my
pump easily.
--
PeteCresswell

 

[Mike Krueger]

<< Some time ago I mentioned I feared I suffered from overtraining syndrome.
Today I found out my specialized floor pump only inflated my tires to 2 bar,
whilst 7 bar was shown on the meter. I never checked the tire manually,
since I trusted the pump.... >>

How an experienced cyclist could think a tire inflated to only 30psi was
pressurized to 100psi I cannot imagine.

 

[Derk]

Mike Krueger wrote:

> How an experienced cyclist could think a tire inflated to only 30psi was
> pressurized to 100psi I cannot imagine.
Neither can I, but it must have gone slowly. The pump must have indicated
the right value, but gave a little less pressure every day. I blamed this
13 years old bike, that is rather heavy partly for the fact that my average
went down, the cold weather didn't help either and I never cleaned the
chain, since it is my bad weather bike. I don't know of course for how long
the pump has been defective.

Fact is that after properly inflating the tire, my average went up quite a
bit. After inflating it, I felt the difference immediately.

Derk

 

[Jeff Starr]

On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 08:51:19 +0100, Derk <[email protected]>
wrote:


>Neither can I, but it must have gone slowly. The pump must have indicated
>the right value, but gave a little less pressure every day. I blamed this
>13 years old bike, that is rather heavy partly for the fact that my average
>went down, the cold weather didn't help either and I never cleaned the
>chain, since it is my bad weather bike. I don't know of course for how long
>the pump has been defective.
>
>Fact is that after properly inflating the tire, my average went up quite a
>bit. After inflating it, I felt the difference immediately.
>
>Derk

Derk, wasn't it noticable when you squeezed the tire by hand? Maybe, I
am in the minority, but I generally will give my tires a quick squeeze
once or twice during a ride, while stopped.

I remember someone posting that they thought something was wrong, with
the rider, when climbing was more difficult. Only to discover later,
that they were in their largeer chainring. It sounds silly, but I
think sometimes, people become so used to doing something, that they
don't pay attention to it. Or???


Life is Good!
Jeff

 

[Derk]

Hello Jeff,

Jeff Starr wrote:

>wasn't it noticable when you squeezed the tire by hand?
I must admit I never checked the tire by hand, since I completely trusted
the pump....


>It sounds silly, but I think sometimes, people become so used to doing
>something, that they don't pay attention to it. Or???
You can also call it laziness ;-)

Greetings, Derk

 

[RonSonic]

On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 09:01:08 -0600, Jeff Starr <[email protected]> wrote:

>On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 08:51:19 +0100, Derk <[email protected]>
>wrote:
>
>
>>Neither can I, but it must have gone slowly. The pump must have indicated
>>the right value, but gave a little less pressure every day. I blamed this
>>13 years old bike, that is rather heavy partly for the fact that my average
>>went down, the cold weather didn't help either and I never cleaned the
>>chain, since it is my bad weather bike. I don't know of course for how long
>>the pump has been defective.
>>
>>Fact is that after properly inflating the tire, my average went up quite a
>>bit. After inflating it, I felt the difference immediately.
>>
>>Derk
>
>Derk, wasn't it noticable when you squeezed the tire by hand? Maybe, I
>am in the minority, but I generally will give my tires a quick squeeze
>once or twice during a ride, while stopped.
>
>I remember someone posting that they thought something was wrong, with
>the rider, when climbing was more difficult. Only to discover later,
>that they were in their largeer chainring. It sounds silly, but I
>think sometimes, people become so used to doing something, that they
>don't pay attention to it. Or???

I started a ride last week thinking I was feeble and my legs were really flat -
sick and work had kept me off the bike for just over a week so no surprise...
About a mile in the chain untangled from it's half-jammed in the rear der status
with a "thwack" that rang through the frame and suddenly I was about two cogs
faster than I'd been.

Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm going to just come up with a preflight
checklist and go through it every time until the habit's there and includes
everything. Yeah, I squeeze the tires, shake the fork and snug the skewers
(especially the rear - got a scare once when the wheel cocked jumping across a
busy street) but I should do the rest and be sure. It's easy to make fun of the
guys missing something dumb until it's me.

Ron

 

[Jeff Starr]

On Thu, 23 Dec 2004 04:42:01 GMT, RonSonic <[email protected]>
wrote:


>I started a ride last week thinking I was feeble and my legs were really flat -
>sick and work had kept me off the bike for just over a week so no surprise...
>About a mile in the chain untangled from it's half-jammed in the rear der status
>with a "thwack" that rang through the frame and suddenly I was about two cogs
>faster than I'd been.
>
>Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm going to just come up with a preflight
>checklist and go through it every time until the habit's there and includes
>everything. Yeah, I squeeze the tires, shake the fork and snug the skewers
>(especially the rear - got a scare once when the wheel cocked jumping across a
>busy street) but I should do the rest and be sure. It's easy to make fun of the
>guys missing something dumb until it's me.
>
>Ron

Speaking of skewers, I think it is one of those things that people
should always check, when the bike has been left unattended.

Unfortunately, after it happened, I found out an acquaintance had
removed the bike from a friends front wheel. She had somehow run the
lock through, in such a way, that only the front tire was secured. He
thought it was funny to leave the wheel there and hide the rest of the
bike. Ha ha?! Anyway, after the joke was over, he put the wheel back
on. The bike had lawyer tabs, so he had to loosen the skewers. If I
hadn't checked it and tightened it properly, she would of had
problems. He didn't even have in straight. Trouble is, it was getting
dark out and she may not have noticed.

Assholes and vandals have been known to loosen skewers. So I think
they should always be checked.



Life is Good!
Jeff

 

[Phil, Squid-in-Training]

> That's another thing I don't understand. Why don't you pop on a new inner
> tube or patch the thing?

Good point.

I ride with latex inner tubes and have to pump my
> tire before EVERY ride. When I forget to do that, after the first corner I
> notice (they drop to 4 bar overnight) and return home to pump the tire up.

Since my slow leak is so slow, the effect is gradual. I lose about 2 or
3psi every ride (to/from class) so I wouldn't notice it over the long run.

Phil