Pfffffff
As you can see I tried to get in a ride today with no luck. Just past the last Esplanade lagoon, my tire went flat. Again. Last time something happened this early in a ride, I had a crash, so I took it as an omen and came home to find out the root of the problem. That, and I used my last patch to fix the tube and I’ll be damned if I’m going to use the brand spankin new tube I just bought 1/2 hour before leaving.
My closest LBS charges a fortune for long stemmed 700C tubes (a “fortune” in this case being $6.99). Looks like I’ll be ordering a bunch from Performance or Nashbar or something shortly.
Looking really closely at the tire, there is a hole on the casing right where the hole in the tube is, but there wasn’t anything in the hole. Maybe the tube gets pinched in there at full pressure. IIRC, that’s where the puncture was last time, too.
Also, I finally found out where that ticking sound comes from when I get a flat. It’s the high-pressure air hitting the seat stay. I felt it on my leg right as it was ticking, so there’s that. At the Tri-state I was wondering what it was and was looking for something sticking in the wheel or something. It’s certainly loud.
Well, off to find some more patches, then change the tire, then try again tomorrow. The weather for the end of the week looks mighty bleak, so I’d better get out and about now.
October 4th, 2005 at 4:39 pm
D’oh!
Pretty soon, you’re going to be riding on one big, round patch. Be damned. Use the new tube.
October 4th, 2005 at 4:43 pm
But I did use a new tube. The one that went Pfft today was a brand new one I stuck in there on Saturday (or was it Sunday?). It only had 50 miles on it. IT WAS JUST A BABY!
October 4th, 2005 at 4:50 pm
Oh. Umm…
Well then, the only reasonable explanation is that your frame is haunted by the ghost of Maxwell Smart. I suggest a full exorcism.
October 4th, 2005 at 6:01 pm
Sorry about that Chief.