Sacre Blew!

[carlfogel@comcast.net]

Curse you, Marten, I just blew another $12.49 on weird bicycle
literature, merely because I asked an innocent question about old tire
gauges and how they blew up tires around 1900 in another thread!

From the 1900 Michelin Guide reprint, the "Pneumatiques Michelin pour
Velocipedes" chapter:

p41 http://i20.tinypic.com/kal0mg.jpg

p42-43 http://i20.tinypic.com/28t9usx.jpg

p44-45 http://i20.tinypic.com/jaj502.jpg

p46-47 http://i24.tinypic.com/21aa1p1.jpg

p48-49 http://i23.tinypic.com/20zz4lh.jpg

p50-51 http://i24.tinypic.com/2chrql0.jpg

The valves of 1895 and 1898 are shown with shocking frankness, the
Westwood tire is mentioned and mis-spelt, fearsome hooked beads are
shown, "practical" rules for tire inflation are offered, the roots of
Sheldon's tire size chart are revealed with truly French hauteur, and
responsibility is declined for underinflated tires.

None of it helped me fix my 40th flat of the year today, but I did
enjoy reading about how la plume de ma tante est sur la chambre de
air.

Alas, the tube was "irreparable".

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

[M-gineering]

carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
> Curse you, Marten, I just blew another $12.49 on weird bicycle
> literature, merely because I asked an innocent question about old tire
> gauges and how they blew up tires around 1900 in another thread!
>

Dang, you've been had: "offert gracieusement aux Chauffeurs" it says on
the cover, Le guide Michelin ne doit pas etre Vendu it says on the
back!. Demand a refund ;)


--
/Marten

info(apestaartje)m-gineering(punt)nl

[datakoll]

"the feather of my aunt is on the room of air" ?

is there a download?

[Colin Campbell]

carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
> Curse you, Marten, I just blew another $12.49 on weird bicycle
> literature, merely because I asked an innocent question about old tire
> gauges and how they blew up tires around 1900 in another thread!
>
> From the 1900 Michelin Guide reprint, the "Pneumatiques Michelin pour
> Velocipedes" chapter:
>
> p41 http://i20.tinypic.com/kal0mg.jpg
>
> p42-43 http://i20.tinypic.com/28t9usx.jpg
>
> p44-45 http://i20.tinypic.com/jaj502.jpg
>
> p46-47 http://i24.tinypic.com/21aa1p1.jpg
>
> p48-49 http://i23.tinypic.com/20zz4lh.jpg
>
> p50-51 http://i24.tinypic.com/2chrql0.jpg
>
> The valves of 1895 and 1898 are shown with shocking frankness, the
> Westwood tire is mentioned and mis-spelt, fearsome hooked beads are
> shown, "practical" rules for tire inflation are offered, the roots of
> Sheldon's tire size chart are revealed with truly French hauteur, and
> responsibility is declined for underinflated tires.
>
> None of it helped me fix my 40th flat of the year today, but I did
> enjoy reading about how la plume de ma tante est sur la chambre de
> air.
>
> Alas, the tube was "irreparable".
>
> Cheers,
>
> Carl Fogel

Sacre Bleu!

40 flats, and we're not even up to day 300 of this year?

Where do you ride (and why)? Are you a patcher, or a pitcher, of tubes
that have gone flat?

I believe I'm only up to about 4 flats in slightly over 10,000 miles of
riding - no doubt due to geographic separation from you!

[carlfogel@comcast.net]

On Sat, 20 Oct 2007 08:48:24 +0200, M-gineering
<ikmotgeenspam@m-gineering.nl> wrote:

>carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>> Curse you, Marten, I just blew another $12.49 on weird bicycle
>> literature, merely because I asked an innocent question about old tire
>> gauges and how they blew up tires around 1900 in another thread!
>>
>
>Dang, you've been had: "offert gracieusement aux Chauffeurs" it says on
>the cover, Le guide Michelin ne doit pas etre Vendu it says on the
>back!. Demand a refund ;)

Dear Marten,

I shall deduct the sum from my chauffeur's weekly pay envelope.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

[* * Chas]

"datakoll" <datakoll@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1192888334.837333.239550@z24g2000prh.googlegr oups.com...
>
> "the feather of my aunt is on the room of air" ?
>
> is there a download?
>

"La loma es azule pero mi tio es verde."

Chas.

[carlfogel@comcast.net]

On Sat, 20 Oct 2007 17:12:49 -0700, Colin Campbell
<cmcampb@adelphia.net> wrote:

>carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>> Curse you, Marten, I just blew another $12.49 on weird bicycle
>> literature, merely because I asked an innocent question about old tire
>> gauges and how they blew up tires around 1900 in another thread!
>>
>> From the 1900 Michelin Guide reprint, the "Pneumatiques Michelin pour
>> Velocipedes" chapter:
>>
>> p41 http://i20.tinypic.com/kal0mg.jpg
>>
>> p42-43 http://i20.tinypic.com/28t9usx.jpg
>>
>> p44-45 http://i20.tinypic.com/jaj502.jpg
>>
>> p46-47 http://i24.tinypic.com/21aa1p1.jpg
>>
>> p48-49 http://i23.tinypic.com/20zz4lh.jpg
>>
>> p50-51 http://i24.tinypic.com/2chrql0.jpg
>>
>> The valves of 1895 and 1898 are shown with shocking frankness, the
>> Westwood tire is mentioned and mis-spelt, fearsome hooked beads are
>> shown, "practical" rules for tire inflation are offered, the roots of
>> Sheldon's tire size chart are revealed with truly French hauteur, and
>> responsibility is declined for underinflated tires.
>>
>> None of it helped me fix my 40th flat of the year today, but I did
>> enjoy reading about how la plume de ma tante est sur la chambre de
>> air.
>>
>> Alas, the tube was "irreparable".
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Carl Fogel
>
>Sacre Bleu!
>
>40 flats, and we're not even up to day 300 of this year?
>
>Where do you ride (and why)? Are you a patcher, or a pitcher, of tubes
>that have gone flat?
>
>I believe I'm only up to about 4 flats in slightly over 10,000 miles of
>riding - no doubt due to geographic separation from you!

Dear Colin,

As usual, the Arkansas River valley upstream from Pueblo in southern
Colorado is enjoying a bumper fall crop of goathead thorns.

Here's a goathead, posing on a dime:

http://home.comcast.net/~carlfogel/download/Goathead.jpg

Here's another goathead, which impaled my still-inflated rear tire the
day before the photo was taken, but was temporarily thwarted by a
Slime tube:

http://i18.tinypic.com/2gtpxd2.jpg

After my recent tragic loss, I'm down two dozen 700c Slime tubes from
the 36 that I accumulated before I began patching:

http://i24.tinypic.com/de5nao.jpg

I'm deep into my second box of 100 Rema patches.

Somtimes I wonder uneasily whether bicyclists elsewhere ride farther
between punctures than I do, but usually the feeling passes while I'm
pumping up my flat tire.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

[Kevin McMurtrie]

In article <ud6lh353763e2eko1dpqqhshagq4jllr6o@4ax.com>,
carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

> On Sat, 20 Oct 2007 17:12:49 -0700, Colin Campbell
> <cmcampb@adelphia.net> wrote:
>
> >carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
> >> Curse you, Marten, I just blew another $12.49 on weird bicycle
> >> literature, merely because I asked an innocent question about old tire
> >> gauges and how they blew up tires around 1900 in another thread!
> >>
> >> From the 1900 Michelin Guide reprint, the "Pneumatiques Michelin pour
> >> Velocipedes" chapter:
> >>
> >> p41 http://i20.tinypic.com/kal0mg.jpg
> >>
> >> p42-43 http://i20.tinypic.com/28t9usx.jpg
> >>
> >> p44-45 http://i20.tinypic.com/jaj502.jpg
> >>
> >> p46-47 http://i24.tinypic.com/21aa1p1.jpg
> >>
> >> p48-49 http://i23.tinypic.com/20zz4lh.jpg
> >>
> >> p50-51 http://i24.tinypic.com/2chrql0.jpg
> >>
> >> The valves of 1895 and 1898 are shown with shocking frankness, the
> >> Westwood tire is mentioned and mis-spelt, fearsome hooked beads are
> >> shown, "practical" rules for tire inflation are offered, the roots of
> >> Sheldon's tire size chart are revealed with truly French hauteur, and
> >> responsibility is declined for underinflated tires.
> >>
> >> None of it helped me fix my 40th flat of the year today, but I did
> >> enjoy reading about how la plume de ma tante est sur la chambre de
> >> air.
> >>
> >> Alas, the tube was "irreparable".
> >>
> >> Cheers,
> >>
> >> Carl Fogel
> >
> >Sacre Bleu!
> >
> >40 flats, and we're not even up to day 300 of this year?
> >
> >Where do you ride (and why)? Are you a patcher, or a pitcher, of tubes
> >that have gone flat?
> >
> >I believe I'm only up to about 4 flats in slightly over 10,000 miles of
> >riding - no doubt due to geographic separation from you!
>
> Dear Colin,
>
> As usual, the Arkansas River valley upstream from Pueblo in southern
> Colorado is enjoying a bumper fall crop of goathead thorns.
>
> Here's a goathead, posing on a dime:
>
> http://home.comcast.net/~carlfogel/download/Goathead.jpg
>
> Here's another goathead, which impaled my still-inflated rear tire the
> day before the photo was taken, but was temporarily thwarted by a
> Slime tube:
>
> http://i18.tinypic.com/2gtpxd2.jpg
>
> After my recent tragic loss, I'm down two dozen 700c Slime tubes from
> the 36 that I accumulated before I began patching:
>
> http://i24.tinypic.com/de5nao.jpg
>
> I'm deep into my second box of 100 Rema patches.
>
> Somtimes I wonder uneasily whether bicyclists elsewhere ride farther
> between punctures than I do, but usually the feeling passes while I'm
> pumping up my flat tire.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Carl Fogel

You can buy anti-thorn liners and tires. The Slime liner seems to work
perfectly as long as the tire doesn't get too hot. Thorn resistant
tires form Specialized don't stop all thorns but they weigh a lot less
than a liner and they don't mind the temperature. Both can change the
handling of the tires. In my case the tires are MUCH quieter with thorn
protection but feel a little sloppy at off-road pressures.

[* * Chas]

<carlfogel@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:ud6lh353763e2eko1dpqqhshagq4jllr6o@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 20 Oct 2007 17:12:49 -0700, Colin Campbell
> <cmcampb@adelphia.net> wrote:
>
> >carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
<snip>
> >> None of it helped me fix my 40th flat of the year today, but I did
> >> enjoy reading about how la plume de ma tante est sur la chambre de
> >> air.
> >>
> >> Alas, the tube was "irreparable".
> >>
> >> Cheers,
> >>
> >> Carl Fogel
> >
> >Sacre Bleu!
> >
> >40 flats, and we're not even up to day 300 of this year?
> >
> >Where do you ride (and why)? Are you a patcher, or a pitcher, of tubes
> >that have gone flat?
> >
> >I believe I'm only up to about 4 flats in slightly over 10,000 miles of
> >riding - no doubt due to geographic separation from you!
>
> Dear Colin,
>
> As usual, the Arkansas River valley upstream from Pueblo in southern
> Colorado is enjoying a bumper fall crop of goathead thorns.
>
> Here's a goathead, posing on a dime:
>
> http://home.comcast.net/~carlfogel/download/Goathead.jpg
>
> Here's another goathead, which impaled my still-inflated rear tire the
> day before the photo was taken, but was temporarily thwarted by a
> Slime tube:
>
> http://i18.tinypic.com/2gtpxd2.jpg
>
> After my recent tragic loss, I'm down two dozen 700c Slime tubes from
> the 36 that I accumulated before I began patching:
>
> http://i24.tinypic.com/de5nao.jpg
>
> I'm deep into my second box of 100 Rema patches.
>
> Somtimes I wonder uneasily whether bicyclists elsewhere ride farther
> between punctures than I do, but usually the feeling passes while I'm
> pumping up my flat tire.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Carl Fogel

Sacre bleu mose tabernas! You get that many flats?

Chas.

[M-gineering]

carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
> On Sat, 20 Oct 2007 17:12:49 -0700, Colin Campbell
> <cmcampb@adelphia.net> wrote:
>
>> carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>>> Curse you, Marten, I just blew another $12.49 on weird bicycle
>>> literature, merely because I asked an innocent question about old tire
>>> gauges and how they blew up tires around 1900 in another thread!
>>>
>>> From the 1900 Michelin Guide reprint, the "Pneumatiques Michelin pour
>>> Velocipedes" chapter:
>>>
>>> p41 http://i20.tinypic.com/kal0mg.jpg
>>>
>>> p42-43 http://i20.tinypic.com/28t9usx.jpg
>>>
>>> p44-45 http://i20.tinypic.com/jaj502.jpg
>>>
>>> p46-47 http://i24.tinypic.com/21aa1p1.jpg
>>>
>>> p48-49 http://i23.tinypic.com/20zz4lh.jpg
>>>
>>> p50-51 http://i24.tinypic.com/2chrql0.jpg
>>>
>>> The valves of 1895 and 1898 are shown with shocking frankness, the
>>> Westwood tire is mentioned and mis-spelt, fearsome hooked beads are
>>> shown, "practical" rules for tire inflation are offered, the roots of
>>> Sheldon's tire size chart are revealed with truly French hauteur, and
>>> responsibility is declined for underinflated tires.
>>>
>>> None of it helped me fix my 40th flat of the year today, but I did
>>> enjoy reading about how la plume de ma tante est sur la chambre de
>>> air.
>>>
>>> Alas, the tube was "irreparable".
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> Carl Fogel
>> Sacre Bleu!
>>
>> 40 flats, and we're not even up to day 300 of this year?
>>
>> Where do you ride (and why)? Are you a patcher, or a pitcher, of tubes
>> that have gone flat?
>>
>> I believe I'm only up to about 4 flats in slightly over 10,000 miles of
>> riding - no doubt due to geographic separation from you!
>
> Dear Colin,
>
> As usual, the Arkansas River valley upstream from Pueblo in southern
> Colorado is enjoying a bumper fall crop of goathead thorns.
>
> Here's a goathead, posing on a dime:
>
> http://home.comcast.net/~carlfogel/download/Goathead.jpg
>
> Here's another goathead, which impaled my still-inflated rear tire the
> day before the photo was taken, but was temporarily thwarted by a
> Slime tube:
>
> http://i18.tinypic.com/2gtpxd2.jpg
>
> After my recent tragic loss, I'm down two dozen 700c Slime tubes from
> the 36 that I accumulated before I began patching:
>
> http://i24.tinypic.com/de5nao.jpg
>
> I'm deep into my second box of 100 Rema patches.
>
> Somtimes I wonder uneasily whether bicyclists elsewhere ride farther
> between punctures than I do, but usually the feeling passes while I'm
> pumping up my flat tire.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Carl Fogel

does the goathead puncture at the firat encounter, or doea it need a few
revolutions to strike home? In the latter case you might want to
investigate a tyre saver. I haven't seen them lately, but you'll
probably find them going back to 1900 ;)

Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres with a very thick thread might be worth a
look too

--
/Marten

info(apestaartje)m-gineering(punt)nl

[carlfogel@comcast.net]

On Sat, 20 Oct 2007 18:41:06 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

>On Sat, 20 Oct 2007 17:12:49 -0700, Colin Campbell
><cmcampb@adelphia.net> wrote:
>
>>carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>>> Curse you, Marten, I just blew another $12.49 on weird bicycle
>>> literature, merely because I asked an innocent question about old tire
>>> gauges and how they blew up tires around 1900 in another thread!
>>>
>>> From the 1900 Michelin Guide reprint, the "Pneumatiques Michelin pour
>>> Velocipedes" chapter:
>>>
>>> p41 http://i20.tinypic.com/kal0mg.jpg
>>>
>>> p42-43 http://i20.tinypic.com/28t9usx.jpg
>>>
>>> p44-45 http://i20.tinypic.com/jaj502.jpg
>>>
>>> p46-47 http://i24.tinypic.com/21aa1p1.jpg
>>>
>>> p48-49 http://i23.tinypic.com/20zz4lh.jpg
>>>
>>> p50-51 http://i24.tinypic.com/2chrql0.jpg
>>>
>>> The valves of 1895 and 1898 are shown with shocking frankness, the
>>> Westwood tire is mentioned and mis-spelt, fearsome hooked beads are
>>> shown, "practical" rules for tire inflation are offered, the roots of
>>> Sheldon's tire size chart are revealed with truly French hauteur, and
>>> responsibility is declined for underinflated tires.
>>>
>>> None of it helped me fix my 40th flat of the year today, but I did
>>> enjoy reading about how la plume de ma tante est sur la chambre de
>>> air.
>>>
>>> Alas, the tube was "irreparable".
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> Carl Fogel
>>
>>Sacre Bleu!
>>
>>40 flats, and we're not even up to day 300 of this year?
>>
>>Where do you ride (and why)? Are you a patcher, or a pitcher, of tubes
>>that have gone flat?
>>
>>I believe I'm only up to about 4 flats in slightly over 10,000 miles of
>>riding - no doubt due to geographic separation from you!
>
>Dear Colin,
>
>As usual, the Arkansas River valley upstream from Pueblo in southern
>Colorado is enjoying a bumper fall crop of goathead thorns.
>
>Here's a goathead, posing on a dime:
>
> http://home.comcast.net/~carlfogel/download/Goathead.jpg
>
>Here's another goathead, which impaled my still-inflated rear tire the
>day before the photo was taken, but was temporarily thwarted by a
>Slime tube:
>
> http://i18.tinypic.com/2gtpxd2.jpg
>
>After my recent tragic loss, I'm down two dozen 700c Slime tubes from
>the 36 that I accumulated before I began patching:
>
> http://i24.tinypic.com/de5nao.jpg
>
>I'm deep into my second box of 100 Rema patches.
>
>Somtimes I wonder uneasily whether bicyclists elsewhere ride farther
>between punctures than I do, but usually the feeling passes while I'm
>pumping up my flat tire.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Carl Fogel

This yellow spot flashing past on my front tire threatened to be my
42nd flat for 2007:

http://i20.tinypic.com/vr5644.jpg

But it's just a harmless longspine sandbur, as the more than two
spines show--they're flexible enough to be mashed nearly flat, unlike
the nearly hardwood pair of thorns on a goathead.

Sandburs are quite common, but are usually found in shoelaces, not
bicycle tires, because they grow on grassy stalks like this:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/IMAGES/C/W-GM-CLON-FR.002.jpg

Even worn tires can resist sandburs, so I took the photo, brushed the
sandbur off, and rode merrily off.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

[carlfogel@comcast.net]

On Sat, 20 Oct 2007 22:49:25 -0700, Kevin McMurtrie
<mcmurtri@dslextreme.com> wrote:

>In article <ud6lh353763e2eko1dpqqhshagq4jllr6o@4ax.com>,
> carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 20 Oct 2007 17:12:49 -0700, Colin Campbell
>> <cmcampb@adelphia.net> wrote:
>>
>> >carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>> >> Curse you, Marten, I just blew another $12.49 on weird bicycle
>> >> literature, merely because I asked an innocent question about old tire
>> >> gauges and how they blew up tires around 1900 in another thread!
>> >>
>> >> From the 1900 Michelin Guide reprint, the "Pneumatiques Michelin pour
>> >> Velocipedes" chapter:
>> >>
>> >> p41 http://i20.tinypic.com/kal0mg.jpg
>> >>
>> >> p42-43 http://i20.tinypic.com/28t9usx.jpg
>> >>
>> >> p44-45 http://i20.tinypic.com/jaj502.jpg
>> >>
>> >> p46-47 http://i24.tinypic.com/21aa1p1.jpg
>> >>
>> >> p48-49 http://i23.tinypic.com/20zz4lh.jpg
>> >>
>> >> p50-51 http://i24.tinypic.com/2chrql0.jpg
>> >>
>> >> The valves of 1895 and 1898 are shown with shocking frankness, the
>> >> Westwood tire is mentioned and mis-spelt, fearsome hooked beads are
>> >> shown, "practical" rules for tire inflation are offered, the roots of
>> >> Sheldon's tire size chart are revealed with truly French hauteur, and
>> >> responsibility is declined for underinflated tires.
>> >>
>> >> None of it helped me fix my 40th flat of the year today, but I did
>> >> enjoy reading about how la plume de ma tante est sur la chambre de
>> >> air.
>> >>
>> >> Alas, the tube was "irreparable".
>> >>
>> >> Cheers,
>> >>
>> >> Carl Fogel
>> >
>> >Sacre Bleu!
>> >
>> >40 flats, and we're not even up to day 300 of this year?
>> >
>> >Where do you ride (and why)? Are you a patcher, or a pitcher, of tubes
>> >that have gone flat?
>> >
>> >I believe I'm only up to about 4 flats in slightly over 10,000 miles of
>> >riding - no doubt due to geographic separation from you!
>>
>> Dear Colin,
>>
>> As usual, the Arkansas River valley upstream from Pueblo in southern
>> Colorado is enjoying a bumper fall crop of goathead thorns.
>>
>> Here's a goathead, posing on a dime:
>>
>> http://home.comcast.net/~carlfogel/download/Goathead.jpg
>>
>> Here's another goathead, which impaled my still-inflated rear tire the
>> day before the photo was taken, but was temporarily thwarted by a
>> Slime tube:
>>
>> http://i18.tinypic.com/2gtpxd2.jpg
>>
>> After my recent tragic loss, I'm down two dozen 700c Slime tubes from
>> the 36 that I accumulated before I began patching:
>>
>> http://i24.tinypic.com/de5nao.jpg
>>
>> I'm deep into my second box of 100 Rema patches.
>>
>> Somtimes I wonder uneasily whether bicyclists elsewhere ride farther
>> between punctures than I do, but usually the feeling passes while I'm
>> pumping up my flat tire.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Carl Fogel
>
>You can buy anti-thorn liners and tires. The Slime liner seems to work
>perfectly as long as the tire doesn't get too hot. Thorn resistant
>tires form Specialized don't stop all thorns but they weigh a lot less
>than a liner and they don't mind the temperature. Both can change the
>handling of the tires. In my case the tires are MUCH quieter with thorn
>protection but feel a little sloppy at off-road pressures.

Dear Kevin,

Yes, we can buy thick tires, thicker tires fattened with Kevlar belts,
thicker thorn-resistant tubes, and Mr. Tuffy plastic strips.

I'm not sure what the temperature has to do with resistance, but my
summer riding often involves air temperatures over 90F. Today, it
reached 86F. Tomorrow, rain and snow are predicted.

In any case, the difference in rolling resistance on 700c road tires
is quite noticeable. The tires, tubes, and liners all work not by
stopping a goathead but by simply being so thick that the short thorn
doesn't go all the way through. I use tires with Kevlar internal belts
because they seem to stop a fair number of thorn tips--I dig them out
of the tread regularly with the end of a paper-clip.

(Posters who don't carry two paper clips to get thorn tips out of road
tires live in a different world than mine. You carry the second paper
clip after you drop the first paper clip and learn how hard it can be
to find a paper clip next to a prairie highway or a riverside bike
trail. If you lose the second paper clip, the metal tongue on your
wristwatch buckle is better than nothing.)

A tap with a hammer will put a goathead through a Mr. Tuffy strip:

http://i17.tinypic.com/4xzduuu.jpg

The thorn tip was blunted not by the tough plastic, nor by the rubber
mat under the plastic strip, but by hitting the wooden workbench under
the rubber mat.

I tried Mr. Tuffy strips, thick tires, and thorn-resistant tubes, but
I still had flats. And thick tires, thick tubes, and removable strips
make mounting and removing tires harder.

Few tire strips, tough tires, or thorn-resistant tubes offer much
sidewall protection:

http://i18.tinypic.com/2gtpxd2.jpg

To be fair, neither do Slime tubes--sometimes Slime plugs impressive
holes and holes high up on the sidewalls, and sometimes Slime does
absolutely nothing to stop all the air from escaping out a pinhole
right in the middle of the tire.

Once, I tried _double_ Mr. Tuffy strips, but the increased rolling
resistance ended that embarrassing experiment after a single ride.

The first safety tires were solid rubber and immune to flats, but I'm
not willing to go back to 1885. I cherish the illusion that I'm
rolling along light as a feather, despite Slime tubes and Kevlar
belts.

Slime tubes, with tiny white fibers mixed with few ounces of lurid
green fluid, plug a fair number of my goathead pinholes long enough to
get home. I prefer to fix my flats in the garage, as opposed to
yesterday's 30-40 mph wind gusts. If any of the hideous green Slime is
visible the next day, I know that I need to replace a tube with a slow
leak.

Slime tubes work well enough for my situation, but I'm aware of their
limits and not even certain that they're the best solution to my
problem. Other posters are quite happy with their special liners,
thicker tubes, tougher tires, super sealants, and even airless
tires--hi, Lewis!

I don't think that Slime tubes would be nearly as helpful for riders
who run over broken glass, rock chips, staples, inch-long Russian
olive thorns, or fish hooks--to name a few non-goathead offenders that
I've pulled out of my tires.

I take comfort in the fact that I've never had a Michelin wire flat,
though a friend who borrowed a bike picked one up and asked me what
the tiny little wire was.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

[carlfogel@comcast.net]

On Oct 21, 12:37 am, carlfo...@comcast.net wrote:
> On Sat, 20 Oct 2007 22:49:25 -0700, Kevin McMurtrie

[snip]

> I take comfort in the fact that I've never had a Michelinwire flat,
> though a friend who borrowed a bike picked one up and asked me what
> the tiny little wire was.
>
> Cheers,
>
> CarlFogel

Aaargh! Two Michelin wire flats in the last week! A semi-trailier lost
a tire, shredding it over about a quarter-mile of highway on my daily
ride. I've been riding as far away from the chunks of rubber as 65 mph
traffic allows, but that's not far enough.

I found the second offender at noon when I happened to check my rear
tire.

Here's what was still sticking out

http://i8.tinypic.com/48hl9a1.jpg

And here's about 5 mm of wire inside the tire:

http://i5.tinypic.com/6gl20p1.jpg

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

[carlfogel@comcast.net]

On Sun, 21 Oct 2007 00:14:04 -0700, "* * Chas"
<verktygjunk@aol.spamski.com> wrote:

>
><carlfogel@comcast.net> wrote in message
>news:ud6lh353763e2eko1dpqqhshagq4jllr6o@4ax.com...
>> On Sat, 20 Oct 2007 17:12:49 -0700, Colin Campbell
>> <cmcampb@adelphia.net> wrote:
>>
>> >carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
><snip>
>> >> None of it helped me fix my 40th flat of the year today, but I did
>> >> enjoy reading about how la plume de ma tante est sur la chambre de
>> >> air.
>> >>
>> >> Alas, the tube was "irreparable".
>> >>
>> >> Cheers,
>> >>
>> >> Carl Fogel
>> >
>> >Sacre Bleu!
>> >
>> >40 flats, and we're not even up to day 300 of this year?
>> >
>> >Where do you ride (and why)? Are you a patcher, or a pitcher, of tubes
>> >that have gone flat?
>> >
>> >I believe I'm only up to about 4 flats in slightly over 10,000 miles of
>> >riding - no doubt due to geographic separation from you!
>>
>> Dear Colin,
>>
>> As usual, the Arkansas River valley upstream from Pueblo in southern
>> Colorado is enjoying a bumper fall crop of goathead thorns.
>>
>> Here's a goathead, posing on a dime:
>>
>> http://home.comcast.net/~carlfogel/download/Goathead.jpg
>>
>> Here's another goathead, which impaled my still-inflated rear tire the
>> day before the photo was taken, but was temporarily thwarted by a
>> Slime tube:
>>
>> http://i18.tinypic.com/2gtpxd2.jpg
>>
>> After my recent tragic loss, I'm down two dozen 700c Slime tubes from
>> the 36 that I accumulated before I began patching:
>>
>> http://i24.tinypic.com/de5nao.jpg
>>
>> I'm deep into my second box of 100 Rema patches.
>>
>> Somtimes I wonder uneasily whether bicyclists elsewhere ride farther
>> between punctures than I do, but usually the feeling passes while I'm
>> pumping up my flat tire.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Carl Fogel
>
>Sacre bleu mose tabernas! You get that many flats?
>
>Chas.

Dear Chas,

Doesn't everyone?

:-)

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

[carlfogel@comcast.net]

On Sun, 21 Oct 2007 08:47:18 +0200, M-gineering
<ikmotgeenspam@m-gineering.nl> wrote:

>does the goathead puncture at the firat encounter, or doea it need a few
>revolutions to strike home? In the latter case you might want to
>investigate a tyre saver. I haven't seen them lately, but you'll
>probably find them going back to 1900 ;)
>
>Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres with a very thick thread might be worth a
>look too

Dear Marten,

A goathead thorn probably goes in up to the hilt when hit squarely by
a 700c tire at 110 psi under a 220 lb rider and bicycle doing 20 to 40
mph. After all, the thorn is needle-sharp and darned near hardwood:

http://i20.tinypic.com/103tm9v.jpg

That's a sewing pin on the left, and a sharp toothpick on the right.

Here a few goatheads pose around a dime, next to Russian olive thorns:

http://i20.tinypic.com/24mexph.jpg

The tiny yellow flower is a goathead's idea of beauty. That's a seed
pod with four green goatheads on the lower right, not a strange 4-leaf
clover.

If you hit a Russian olive branch just right, the inch-long thorn acts
like a nail sticking up from a board. Luckily, Russian olives rarely
attack tires except when the road crews cut the brush next to roads
and paths.

Usually, the goathead's body breaks off, leaving the broken-off base
of the thorn flush with the tread and the sharp end sticking into the
tube. Sometimes you can pry the thorn out with a fingernail, but often
a paper-clip comes in handy--you push the thorn all the way through to
get it out of the tire.

Some goatheads will stab and then be pulled out, leaving no thorn
behind, but you still have to check the whole tire, feeling the inside
for any tiny thorn tip and peering at the tread for the tiny round
base of a broken-off thorn. This gets harder as your eyes get older.
Here's a large and very easy-to-see example, before and after
extraction:

http://i20.tinypic.com/2rei5v9.jpg

http://i23.tinypic.com/nq5oyf.jpg

It's common to notice a goathead flashing past on the front tire,
stuck in the sidewall. This one probably attacked my rear tire at
least two miles before I reached home:

http://i18.tinypic.com/2gtpxd2.jpg

Still holding air:

http://i24.tinypic.com/nfocvk.jpg

The further up the side of the tire, the less protection from thick
tread, thick tubes, tire liners, and sealants.

With hundreds of goatheads on a single flat vine, you can pick up
several at once. Four of them ganged up on this tube:

http://i23.tinypic.com/x1x6ih.jpg

Riders unfamiliar with goatheads sometimes roll right onto a vine and
pick up a few dozen thorns. They usually don't do this twice, any more
than a dog sticks his face into a porcupine more than once. Here's a
modest example of goathead growth next to a bike path:

http://i23.tinypic.com/jkceu0.jpg

Some posters have used tire-savers and claimed that they reduce
goathead flats. I'm skeptical, since the needle-sharp thorns probably
go in all the way as soon as you hit one. If you walk on goatheads
while wearing rubber-soled shoes, it's hard to maintain much faith in
the theory that goatheads work their way in gradually.

Frank Krygowski was kind enough to send me some old tire savers. They
didn't fit a modern bike, but they gave me a model for making my own.
(I don't think that anyone even makes tire savers any more, which
hints that they aren't as useful as claimed.)

Sadly, I abandoned tire-savers after a single ride, which wasn't much
of a test. The trouble was that they threw a cloud of dust right in my
face when I tucked in for my daily 2-mile descent, so I was coughing
my lungs out. (Jobst points out that dusty, muddy legs show who's
using tire-savers and doubts their effectiveness even more than I do.)

Unfortunately, anti-goathead measures tend to work best where
goatheads aren't really much of a problem. Out where goatheads are a
_real_ problem (as opposed to my daily ride, which is practically
goathead free in comparison), people use knobby MTB tires to get up
and away from the thorns, thick thorn-resistant tubes, tire liners,
and Slime-style sealants--and they still get flats.

If I just rode around my neighborhood, I wouldn't have any trouble
with goatheads, but I wouldn't have much fun. The bright side is that
goatheads discourage bicyclists, so my daily ride is uncrowded.

But not much fun today--still raining and snowing after 86F yesterday.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

[datakoll]

symbolique d'est d'il, non ? une métaphore ?

[datakoll]

http://www.railstotrails.org/newsandpubs/trailofthemonth/index.html