Gearing up for Winter Cycling

[David Bonnell]

I am considering commuting through the winter (something I've never
done before). Riding a MTB. It just started snowing here.

Does anyone have any tips to prevent corrosion, maintain decent
****fing performance, and reduce excess wear-n-tear?

Naturally, I'll keep my drivetrain well lubricated. I've been
considering a light spray of rust inhibitor as well. What else should
I be looking out for?

[cmcanulty]

I ride all winter in Marquette Mich on Lake Superior Jan temps H=20
L=4 about 200" of snow. After ruining 2 decent mt bikes here's my
routine. People say rinse bike off after every wet ride. Here the
outside faucets are all drained in winter and anyway all you would do
is freeze everything up. I get a trash dumped bike, always get same
size tires and setup so then I can each year toss the wrecked parts
and grab parts off another junker. I don't lube at all except pack BB
with grease and WD40 everything in fall. No matter what else I've
tried it just attracts the awful grease, salt, slush that covers all
the roads. Ride it until it fails or I get sick of fixing it and then
change to another. Usually they will last 2-3 winters. I do use
fenders and a rear rack, and a dog basket on front for my Yorkie. I
carry guitar, clarinets, books, groceries. Also use a womans frame
only as often if I start to slip I can get a foot down fast. I usually
fall 1 to 2 times a winter but so far I have had no injuries, I just
drop to right and tuck. Lowest temp I've done is -30, not wind chill
just temp. Below -20 it is painful no matter what I wear on fingers
and toes. Generally though I stay plenty warm and too warm on hills. I
wear a down jacket and have the dog run first mile, then she is warm
and I am too warm so I put her in basket and wrap down jacket around
her. So we then are both warm. It is fun in a sick sort of way. Not
even usually slippery. The worst is the slop on everything. The best
is when below 10 the roads are dry and you can ride like summer, no
slipping.

[Luke]

In article
<0b2e9ac2-9a92-46c7-9ff3-ae6f9d2ef37a@s19g2000prg.googlegroups.com>,
David Bonnell <dbonnell@gmail.com> wrote:

> I am considering commuting through the winter (something I've never
> done before). Riding a MTB. It just started snowing here.
>
> Does anyone have any tips to prevent corrosion, maintain decent
> ****fing performance, and reduce excess wear-n-tear?
>
> Naturally, I'll keep my drivetrain well lubricated. I've been
> considering a light spray of rust inhibitor as well. What else should
> I be looking out for?
>

Short of a completely enclosed drivetrain, nothing beats a fixed gear
for minimizing vulnerability to snow, slush and salt.

Regardless, ensure that your bike is mounted with full fenders -- wheel
spray tends to congregate around the cranks. If your winter commute
involves much slush and salt, avoid subjecting your bicycle to constant
freezing and thawing cycles as salty runoff from snow buildup will
leech into susceptible areas such as the BB, derailleurs, etc...

I use thick motor oil diluted with mineral spirits for my winter chain
lube (in summer I just dilute the oil further). Swapping out rust prone
fasteners with stainless steel equivalents is also recommended.
(Nothing like Phil hubs for bad weather riding; with their stainless
axles and cartridge bearings the only maintenance required is a wipe of
a cloth and a swapping out of the bearings every year or two).

I suspect the benefits of a rust inhibitor will be questionable. Sure
you can apply some, but my experience is that you'd do well to
reconcile yourself to the outcome that, come Spring, the cassette,
chain and at least some of your chainrings will be well on their way to
requiring replacement (depending on the severity of the season's
conditions of course).

Peripheral to the topic: I habitually run puncture resistant
tires/tubes during my winter commutes. Just put a Continental Contact
Security tire on. In -25 degree Celsius weather repairing a flat at
night can (and did) easily result in a case of frostbite. Carry an
extra tube as well.

[jbollyn@gmail.com]

On Nov 20, 10:28 am, David Bonnell <dbonn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I am considering commuting through the winter (something I've never
> done before). Riding a MTB. It just started snowing here.
>
> Does anyone have any tips to prevent corrosion, maintain decent
> ****fing performance, and reduce excess wear-n-tear?
>
> Naturally, I'll keep my drivetrain well lubricated. I've been
> considering a light spray of rust inhibitor as well. What else should
> I be looking out for?
>
If you use rim brakes, be sure to keep the rims clean - or this could
happen to you http://orion.neiu.edu/~jbollyn/bike/rim-rear-left.jpg .

J.

[still just me]

On Tue, 20 Nov 2007 08:28:49 -0800 (PST), David Bonnell
<dbonnell@gmail.com> wrote:

>Naturally, I'll keep my drivetrain well lubricated.

Your drivetrain or the bike's?

[Jay]

"David Bonnell" <dbonnell@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:0b2e9ac2-9a92-46c7-9ff3-ae6f9d2ef37a@s19g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
>I am considering commuting through the winter (something I've never
> done before). Riding a MTB. It just started snowing here.
>
> Does anyone have any tips to prevent corrosion, maintain decent
> ****fing performance, and reduce excess wear-n-tear?
>
> Naturally, I'll keep my drivetrain well lubricated. I've been
> considering a light spray of rust inhibitor as well. What else should
> I be looking out for?
>
If you are seeing snow in Nov, I guess your winter riding conditions will
continue into March.

I commute year round in Chicago. I bought a good repair stand, mostly for
cleaning. My experience has been: You will be much more inclined to clean
winter gunk off the bike, if you do not need to contort your body to do the
cleaning.

http://www.rei.com/product/729321

J.

[landotter]

On Nov 20, 10:28 am, David Bonnell <dbonn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I am considering commuting through the winter (something I've never
> done before). Riding a MTB. It just started snowing here.

Fenders fenders fenders. Real full coverage ones. Put real mud flaps
on them with screws or pop rivets. Switch to street tread tires, as
knobbies kick up way too much detritus. Nickel plated chain. Kool stop
salmon brake pads.

For clothes, the only thing I find essential in the winter is a good
shell. My Gill number I payed $$ for eight years ago does the trick.
Layers of regular street clothes are the trick. Start underdressed--
you'll warm up soon enough.

[Konstantin Shemyak]

On 2007-11-20, David Bonnell <dbonnell@gmail.com> wrote:
> I am considering commuting through the winter (something I've never
> done before). Riding a MTB. It just started snowing here.
>
> Does anyone have any tips to prevent corrosion, maintain decent
> ****fing performance, and reduce excess wear-n-tear?

Congratulations with the first snowfall! We had one at Nov. 4 here.

On a bike with aluminium frame, there is not much parts subject
to corrosion. Basically it is just the hardware; the screws
are easy to replace, and they would hardly ever corrode as much
as to become unusable. Chain - just forget about it; I lubricate
it when it needs lube and do not care if it rusts. One extra chain
for winter is not anything worth extra trouble.

Shifting; cables can freese, but I did not really have this
problem. Maybe it is because I am used to test my brakes quickly
every time I start riding, and I must do several shifts as I
start in a hilly spot.

Internal gear hubs... I had Nexus-7 and Nexus-8. Yes they can
not build ice on the sprocket, but I did not like them otherwise,
so I prefer regular derailer system. I remember my cassette
frozen only 2 times during last 5 years.

> Naturally, I'll keep my drivetrain well lubricated. I've been
> considering a light spray of rust inhibitor as well. What else should
> I be looking out for?

Good lights, good clothes, and good footwear. All that is personal
and comes with own experience. Now I'm all dressed up in windstopper,
have Lake MXZ 301 on my feet and swapping bunch of lighs depending
on where I go.

Some things which I found especially unsuitable for winter:

- Drop bars. In winter, you do not ride too fast as to care about
aerodynamic, neither too long to need many hand positions. But
wide grip and always-at-hand brakes make the ride not only more
convenient, but also more safe.

- Single speed. If "winter" means "snow". Snow may slow you down
to 7 km/h. It will be impossible to ride conveniently in any
meaning of this word. Also riding on slippery, uneven surface
at low cadence is not something I prefer. Especially uphill.

- 28" wheels. There are no as good 28" studded tires as there are
for 26". 28" models are not even close to Nokian WXC 300 in how
they hold on real icy ground. Also they are almost 2 times heavier.

When the temperature is well below the freezing point, mudguards
can be removed, as there is no slush any more. Very nice.

Happy winter cycling!

Konstantin Shemyak [everyday commute 17 km one way at 60th parallel]

[mike.a.schwab@gmail.com]

On Nov 20, 10:28 am, David Bonnell <dbonn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I am considering commuting through the winter (something I've never
> done before). Riding a MTB. It just started snowing here.
>
> Does anyone have any tips to prevent corrosion, maintain decent
> ****fing performance, and reduce excess wear-n-tear?
>
> Naturally, I'll keep my drivetrain well lubricated. I've been
> considering a light spray of rust inhibitor as well. What else should
> I be looking out for?

http://www.icebike.org/ and http://www.bikewinter.org/

[Brad Kliewer]

On Nov 20, 10:28 am, David Bonnell <dbonn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> done before). Riding a MTB. It just started snowing here.

How easily can you replace a tube? The steel beads on my hybrid's rims
were so tight, just getting a second tire iron inserted was a major
effort. I tried commuting the last two winters here (in Minneapolis).
Two years ago near the end of October I got a flat on the way home and
between the darkness and numb fingers (and running late for a party) I
threw in the towel and called my wife to pick me up. Last year I got
to the first week of November, got a flat and spent nearly an hour
changing the tube. That pretty much put me off for the season.

This spring, I bought Panaracer T-Servs because I wanted Kevlar bead
for a little more flexibility plus a Kevlar belt to help prevent flats
(and not knobby, which really limited my choices for wider tires).
It's still a bit difficult to fix a flat, but not nearly impossible. I
haven't had a flat yet this season. Ironically, I had two flats on my
second day riding on new the tires. The first was a very sharp, very
long thorn. The second was a bad seal on the valve stem of the
replacement tube (a slow leak I didn't notice).

[Tom Sherman]

David Bonnell wrote:
> I am considering commuting through the winter (something I've never
> done before). Riding a MTB. It just started snowing here.
>
> Does anyone have any tips to prevent corrosion, maintain decent
> ****fing performance, and reduce excess wear-n-tear?
>
> Naturally, I'll keep my drivetrain well lubricated. I've been
> considering a light spray of rust inhibitor as well. What else should
> I be looking out for?
>
Re: Thread title. Since winter speeds are generally slower due to denser
cold air, extra aerodynamic drag, friction and weight of winter clothes
and greater rolling resistance due to snow, studded tires, etc., would
not gearing down be more appropriate than gearing up?

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
"Localized intense suction such as tornadoes is created when temperature
differences are high enough between meeting air masses, and can impart
excessive energy onto a cyclist." - Randy Schlitter

[David L. Johnson]

David Bonnell wrote:
> I am considering commuting through the winter (something I've never
> done before). Riding a MTB. It just started snowing here.
>
> Does anyone have any tips to prevent corrosion, maintain decent
> ****fing performance, and reduce excess wear-n-tear?

You will not prevent corrosion, nor will you maintain decent shifting
performance (for the other thing, you need to talk to your doctor).
Live with it. Lube your chain often. Live without shifting if you need
to. Snow and ice can mess up just about anything. You forgot brakes.
They can really clog up with ice, and ice on the brake blocks means no
stopping at all. Be prepared.
>
> Naturally, I'll keep my drivetrain well lubricated. I've been
> considering a light spray of rust inhibitor as well. What else should
> I be looking out for?
>
Studded tires for ice. If you are on the East coast of the US, there
will be a lot of ice on the roads. Studs are essential. They really
work, too.

--

David L. Johnson

Deserves death! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death.
And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not
be too eager to deal out death in judgement.
-- J. R. R. Tolkein

[datakoll]

http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infxtra/inflin.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linseed_oil
http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infxtra/inflin.html

for coating metal surfaces, use as locktite 1-3 lbs?, but not
lubrication.

[jknotzke]

On Nov 20, 12:37 pm, Luke <lucasirag...@rogers.com> wrote:

> Regardless, ensure that your bike is mounted with full fenders -- wheel
> spray tends to congregate around the cranks. If yourwintercommute
> involves much slush andsalt, avoid subjecting your bicycle to constant
> freezing and thawing cycles as salty runoff from snow buildup will
> leech into susceptible areas such as the BB, derailleurs, etc...

I am coming into this thread a little late..

I have in the past ridden to school on a daily basis using a
mountain bike. I went through brake shoes on a weekly basis and pretty
well trashed everything under the sun on that bike because of the
salt. The bike later got stolen and I never replaced it and never
bothered to ride in the winter again. That is until two years ago..

I now ride a steel fixie to work but stopped as soon as the snow
fell. I'm in Montreal and the city LOVES salt. So I am worried that my
bike again will get trashed. I have a Phil Wood hub on the back..
Someone mentioned in another thread that these hubs do very well in
the winter because of the salt..

I plan on keeping the bike on the front porch outside so thawing/
freezing shouldn't be a problem. I really have no issues with cold,
mud, slush etc.. It's the salt that worries me.

For those of you who like their bike and want to keep it, what do
you do to prevent degradation. Now granted this bike isn't a bike I
race on or train on.. It's a beater that I ride to work on, but it's a
beater I like..

Thanks

J

[David Bonnell]

> <dbonn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >Naturally, I'll keep my drivetrain well lubricated.
>
> Your drivetrain or the bike's?

Take your pick :)

[David Bonnell]

> If you are seeing snow in Nov, I guess your winter riding conditions will
> continue into March.
>

Yes. Long winters around here (St. John's, NL), with quite a bit of
heavy/wet snow. I recall blizzards in mid-April that have shut down
the city, and it is not uncommon to get a dusting of snow in late
May.

> I commute year round in Chicago. I bought a good repair stand, mostly for
> cleaning. My experience has been: You will be much more inclined to clean
> winter gunk off the bike, if you do not need to contort your body to do the
> cleaning.
>
> http://www.rei.com/product/729321
>

I've been looking at buying a repair stand for a while, but I keep
deciding the cash is better spent elsewhere. In the interim, I'm
using my trainer as a repair stand. :(

[Andrew Price]

On Wed, 21 Nov 2007 07:49:21 -0800 (PST), David Bonnell
<dbonnell@gmail.com> wrote:

>> http://www.rei.com/product/729321
>>
>
>I've been looking at buying a repair stand for a while, but I keep
>deciding the cash is better spent elsewhere.

You don't have to pay as much as that one costs to get a reasonable
repair stand, not in Europe, at any rate. This one:

<http://www.kettler.net/articles/20060116104100002346/index.html>

goes for about half the cost of the Ultimate Pro.

[Brad Kliewer]

On Nov 21, 9:49 am, David Bonnell <dbonn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Yes. Long winters around here (St. John's, NL), with quite a bit of
> heavy/wet snow. I recall blizzards in mid-April that have shut down
> the city, and it is not uncommon to get a dusting of snow in late
> May.

I missed this the first time through. It's been about 25 years since I
took a trip to Newfoundland. I really want to go back someday. Are
there, by any chance, bike trails through Gros Morne National Park?

One other thing I remembered on my commute home today (first time in
total darkness) is that a head mounted light comes in awfully handy
when you need to change a tire. And also to more easily spot other
riders on curvy trails on black bikes with black pants, coats, gloves
and hats, although I have since quite riding on the trails... I feel
much safer on the streets where I can see the cars, and with lots of
lights, reflective tape, gear, etc. they should be able to see me.
Last year was my first use of the head mounted lamp. Unfortunately,
during the aforementioned tire change it went dead. Now I carry spare
batteries, too.

And this morning, I realized I need something warmer for my hands. I
think I'd better get some glove liners and bike mittens as an adjunct
for my winter bike gloves. I checked the weather this morning and saw
32 F with 10 mph headwinds... no problem, I thought, last week I rode
in 34 with 10 mph headwinds and it was quite pleasant. A mile in I
realized the wind was much worse than last week (I need to stop using
AccuWeather and use the Weather Channel where they list gusts). When I
got to work, the Weather Channel was showing 10 mph with 18 mph gusts
(a better characterization would have be 18 mph winds with 10 mph
dips). It took me nearly 20 minutes longer than my typically 45 minute
commute. My fingers were completely numb and when they started to warm
up I felt the most fierce pain I've had in my digits since my ice
skates broke through the ice in shallow water and I had to walk four
blocks home in cold wet feet.

[datakoll]

..

thermos filled with Italian Supremo and Galliano is nice on a
trafficless postcard day

[Michael Press]

In article <slrnfkbr7e.7f0.konstantin@shemyak.com>,
Konstantin Shemyak <konstantin@shemyak.com> wrote:

> Internal gear hubs... I had Nexus-7 and Nexus-8. Yes they can
> not build ice on the sprocket, but I did not like them otherwise,
> so I prefer regular derailer system. I remember my cassette
> frozen only 2 times during last 5 years.

What did you dislike about the internal gear hubs?
Did it have to do with winter riding? Or riding
in general?

--
Michael Press

[Michael Press]

In article <slrnfkbr7e.7f0.konstantin@shemyak.com>,
Konstantin Shemyak <konstantin@shemyak.com> wrote:

> Happy winter cycling!
>
> Konstantin Shemyak [everyday commute 17 km one way at 60th parallel]

Leningrad? Helsinki?

--
Michael Press

[Luke]

In article <slrnfkbr7e.7f0.konstantin@shemyak.com>, Konstantin Shemyak
<konstantin@shemyak.com> wrote:

> Good lights, good clothes, and good footwear. All that is personal
> and comes with own experience. Now I'm all dressed up in windstopper,
> have Lake MXZ 301 on my feet and swapping bunch of lighs depending
> on where I go.

Another devotee of the Lakes here. For extremely cold riding (-15 and
below) I resort to a pair of MXZ two sizes too large: I've removed the
inner sole and inserted an insulative inner boot. That and a double
pair of socks keeps the toes warm.

>
> Some things which I found especially unsuitable for winter:
>
> - Drop bars. In winter, you do not ride too fast as to care about
> aerodynamic, neither too long to need many hand positions. But
> wide grip and always-at-hand brakes make the ride not only more
> convenient, but also more safe.

Same seasoning, different reasoning. Generally I ride just as fast in
winter as in summer. If the roads are clear, and mostly they are around
here, one or two days following a major snowfall, there's no reason to
slow down. My experience is that drop bars, set at the proper height,
are equally at home in snowy or tropical climes.

The moods of winter vary with geography and the season's progress:
snowy and mild; bitterly cold and dry, rainy/icy... Other than to say
dress warmly and stay dry, it's difficult to generalize about winter
riding.


>
> - Single speed. If "winter" means "snow". Snow may slow you down
> to 7 km/h. It will be impossible to ride conveniently in any
> meaning of this word. Also riding on slippery, uneven surface
> at low cadence is not something I prefer. Especially uphill.

I don't ride single speed but swear that riding a fixed gear in
snowy/icy conditions makes for a more assured ride compared with a
freewheel counterpart. It's my experience that one can more precisely
gauge the limits of traction with the FG, (by gently back-pedalling);
by contrast rim brakes leave me guessing just where that threshold is.

>
> - 28" wheels. There are no as good 28" studded tires as there are
> for 26". 28" models are not even close to Nokian WXC 300 in how
> they hold on real icy ground. Also they are almost 2 times heavier.
>
> When the temperature is well below the freezing point, mudguards
> can be removed, as there is no slush any more. Very nice.

This point must be qualified. In urban areas the use of salt in
conjunction with constant traffic and sunny conditions can, and often
does, result in slushy wet roadways though temperatures may be well
below freezing - -10 degrees Celsius and beyond. Wheelspray in these
circumstances accumulates and freezes around the BB, rims, drivetrain,
boots, underside of the fenders, etc... impairing shifting and adding
KGs to the weight of the bike. Fenders are rarely more practical than
in these conditions.

[A Muzi]

datakoll wrote:
> thermos filled with Italian Supremo and Galliano is nice on a
> trafficless postcard day

My staff was drinking Vodka and Limoncello mostly, a bottle of Chianti
Classico and some Glenmorangie 12 rounded out the selection.
No blood was splilled; a good day overall.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

[Ted Bennett]

Brad Kliewer <bkliewer@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Nov 20, 10:28 am, David Bonnell <dbonn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > done before). Riding a MTB. It just started snowing here.
>
> How easily can you replace a tube? The steel beads on my hybrid's rims
> were so tight, just getting a second tire iron inserted was a major
> effort. I tried commuting the last two winters here (in Minneapolis).
> Two years ago near the end of October I got a flat on the way home and
> between the darkness and numb fingers (and running late for a party) I
> threw in the towel and called my wife to pick me up. Last year I got
> to the first week of November, got a flat and spent nearly an hour
> changing the tube. That pretty much put me off for the season.
>
> This spring, I bought Panaracer T-Servs because I wanted Kevlar bead
> for a little more flexibility plus a Kevlar belt to help prevent flats
> (and not knobby, which really limited my choices for wider tires).
> It's still a bit difficult to fix a flat, but not nearly impossible. I
> haven't had a flat yet this season. Ironically, I had two flats on my
> second day riding on new the tires. The first was a very sharp, very
> long thorn. The second was a bad seal on the valve stem of the
> replacement tube (a slow leak I didn't notice).

It's most likely your technique, Brad. Steel beads are meant to be
tight and they do not stretch. To get the bead up and over the rim's
edge you have to create some slack, and that is by ensuring that as much
of the bead as possible is down in the well in the middle of the rim.

Removing one side of the tire from the rim is all that's needed for a
tube change, although it's a good idea to completely remove the tire to
ease inspection of the tire to find the source of the puncture*a
necessary part of an effective flat repair.

Many times a tire iron is not not needed at all for the task but it's
can be easier on your fingers to use an iron or tire-stick for a bit
more leverage. Some tire-rim combinations however can be difficult
because of slight undersizing of the bead or oversizing of the bead
seat. It may be useful for you to observe an experienced mechanic as he
quickly slips off the same tire you struggled with. He/she may be
willing to give you some practical pointers.

Ted

--
Ted Bennett

[A Muzi]

>>David Bonnell <dbonn...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> done before). Riding a MTB. It just started snowing here.

> Brad Kliewer <bkliewer@gmail.com> wrote:
>> How easily can you replace a tube? The steel beads on my hybrid's rims
>> were so tight, just getting a second tire iron inserted was a major
>> effort. I tried commuting the last two winters here (in Minneapolis).
>> Two years ago near the end of October I got a flat on the way home and
>> between the darkness and numb fingers (and running late for a party) I
>> threw in the towel and called my wife to pick me up. Last year I got
>> to the first week of November, got a flat and spent nearly an hour
>> changing the tube. That pretty much put me off for the season.
>>
>> This spring, I bought Panaracer T-Servs because I wanted Kevlar bead
>> for a little more flexibility plus a Kevlar belt to help prevent flats
>> (and not knobby, which really limited my choices for wider tires).
>> It's still a bit difficult to fix a flat, but not nearly impossible. I
>> haven't had a flat yet this season. Ironically, I had two flats on my
>> second day riding on new the tires. The first was a very sharp, very
>> long thorn. The second was a bad seal on the valve stem of the
>> replacement tube (a slow leak I didn't notice).

Ted Bennett wrote:
> It's most likely your technique, Brad. Steel beads are meant to be
> tight and they do not stretch. To get the bead up and over the rim's
> edge you have to create some slack, and that is by ensuring that as much
> of the bead as possible is down in the well in the middle of the rim.
>
> Removing one side of the tire from the rim is all that's needed for a
> tube change, although it's a good idea to completely remove the tire to
> ease inspection of the tire to find the source of the puncture*a
> necessary part of an effective flat repair.
>
> Many times a tire iron is not not needed at all for the task but it's
> can be easier on your fingers to use an iron or tire-stick for a bit
> more leverage. Some tire-rim combinations however can be difficult
> because of slight undersizing of the bead or oversizing of the bead
> seat. It may be useful for you to observe an experienced mechanic as he
> quickly slips off the same tire you struggled with. He/she may be
> willing to give you some practical pointers.

Good advice. I wondered, reading of Mr Kleiwer's travails, if perhaps
there's a wider or thicker than necessary rim liner. Often found on new
bikes today, a poor choice of liner can make tire changing difficult.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

[Brad Kliewer]

On Nov 23, 12:11 pm, Ted Bennett <tedbenn...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> Brad Kliewer <bklie...@gmail.com> wrote:
> It's most likely your technique, Brad. Steel beads are meant to be
> tight and they do not stretch. To get the bead up and over the rim's
> edge you have to create some slack, and that is by ensuring that as much
> of the bead as possible is down in the well in the middle of the rim.

I'm sure I need to refine my technique a bit more -- flats are fairly
infrequent, so I don't get a lot of practice. Carl's description of
holding the tire by the top made me think of a way that would probably
both save some time and give more reliable results. I usually use one
hand to hold the (Schrader) valve open while working the other hand
more or less from the top to bottom trying to get as much air out as
possible punctures/cuts often aren't big enough to dump air out very
quickly). Then I squeeze the bead with both hands from bottom to top.
I probably should loosen the valve first to free up the other hand and
then grip the top to help keep the bead in place on the bottom (I
assume by his description that he's using gravity to make sure the
bead stays in the well once it's seated there). And for those two
times I had to change tires on late autumn nights, it might add a
measure of insurance since it's difficult to feel (because of numb
fingers) and see (because of the dark) that everything's lining up the
way it should.

I was only able to change the old (700x38) tires at all because I
watched a pro describe and demonstrate the technique (albeit on a
different bike). I never had to use a tire iron prior to this bike. I
can change my wife's 700x32 (also steel bead) by hand without any
problems at all -- they fall off by themselves (not really, but it
sure feels that way).

I know you're not supposed to, but I could only get the steel beaded
tires back on the rim with the tire iron (one nice thing about the
700x38 is that you can get the tube tucked up nicely inside the very
spacious cavern it makes). That's not a problem with the new tires.
And when I say the new tires are a little difficult, it's just that I
need to be just slightly more careful not to let it slip while I get
the first little bit over the rim. After that, I can just run the flat
edge of a second iron around the edge and it zips right off. And since
I was putting new tires on both wheels, I took the opportunity to
practice a few times, too. I even wondered whether the old tires would
be easier after practice and it was slightly better, but still much
more difficult than the Kevlar.

I also noticed that the front tire was easier to change. I wonder if
higher tension on the front wheel is compressing the rim just a touch
more (same rims, same tires)?

[carlfogel@comcast.net]

On Fri, 23 Nov 2007 12:37:01 -0600, A Muzi <am@yellowjersey.org>
wrote:

>Good advice. I wondered, reading of Mr Kleiwer's travails, if perhaps
>there's a wider or thicker than necessary rim liner. Often found on new
>bikes today, a poor choice of liner can make tire changing difficult.

Dear Andrew,

Reputable sources keep mentioning those evil rim liners, so I'm
willing to believe that they lurk like anacondas inside
innocent-looking wheels.

People also tell tales about breaking tire irons on mismatched small
tires and large rims, so I'm willing to believe that it could happen
to me, too.

But most people struggling to change tires are simply defeating
themselves in ways that might not occur to bike shop mechanics, who
rarely see what people will do by the side of the road.

1) People try to change tires that aren't flat.

I once met a rider who was trying to pry an MTB tire off a rim that
must have still been inflated to 10 psi. He could shove his tire iron
between the sidewall and the rim, but naturally he couldn't get any
further.

Slow leaks are common with goathead thorns, so I see people trying to
remove much less dramatically inflated tires, but even 1 psi will
defeat a tire iron. You can't get the tire bead down into the well
against even that kind of gentle inflation.

2) People try to change tires whose valve stems are still firmly
wedged down in the rim well.

I once had to use pliers to loosen the valve stem nut on a frustrated
rider's tire. He was attacking the other side of the rim.

Other riders think that they just have to unscrew the valve stem nut,
even though the valve stem is still jamming the tire bead down into
the well.

Sometimes they insist that the valve stem is stuck and can't be shoved
out into the tire. Usually the valve stem just snagged a bit of the
tire liner when the tire was mounted.

3) People don't work the bead down into the rim well before they try
to change the tire.

Instead they deflate the tire, push the valve stem out of the rim
well, stick a tire iron in, and try to pull the rest of the bead down
into the rim well by heaving on the tire iron until the rim bends or
the tire iron breaks.

Riders have stopped and asked me what I'm doing as I hold a flat tire
up in the air by the side of the road, squeezing the sides together at
the top with one hand and going around the rim and pinching the rest
of the bead down into the rim well with my other hand.

They're right that I look silly, but pulling the tire off with my
fingers usually convinces them that it's worth the trouble.

4) People forget that someone else managed to get their flat tire onto
the rim in the first place.

I wonder if those evil rim liners swell up inside the tire?

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

[Konstantin Shemyak]

On 2007-11-23, Michael Press <rubrum@pacbell.net> wrote:
> In article <slrnfkbr7e.7f0.konstantin@shemyak.com>,
> Konstantin Shemyak <konstantin@shemyak.com> wrote:
>
>> Internal gear hubs... I had Nexus-7 and Nexus-8. Yes they can
>> not build ice on the sprocket, but I did not like them otherwise,
>> so I prefer regular derailer system. I remember my cassette
>> frozen only 2 times during last 5 years.
>
> What did you dislike about the internal gear hubs?
> Did it have to do with winter riding? Or riding
> in general?

Riding in general. None of Nexi downshifts well under load.
Nexus-8 is somewhat better in this respect than Nexus-7, but still
not as good as the rear derailer does. Going uphill, want to downshift -
must unload pedals for a moment. This is nothing critical, especially
when commuting and not counting seconds; but the cycling must be
joy, and if one system gives a bit less joy than the other, why
not take the other.

This is really just my personal preference, I'm not saying that
one system is better than the other; I just liked the other better
just as I prefer apples to oranges.

Konstantin Shemyak.

[A Muzi]

> Konstantin Shemyak <konstantin@shemyak.com> wrote:
>> Happy winter cycling!
>> Konstantin Shemyak [everyday commute 17 km one way at 60th parallel]

Michael Press wrote:
> Leningrad? Helsinki?

One portion of the website in Russian shows St Petersburg:
http://tamara.shemyak.com/spb/

but some directories are in Suomi and include an .fi address
??
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

[Michael Press]

In article <13kebn6silp65cb@corp.supernews.com>,
A Muzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:

> > Konstantin Shemyak <konstantin@shemyak.com> wrote:
> >> Happy winter cycling!
> >> Konstantin Shemyak [everyday commute 17 km one way at 60th parallel]
>
> Michael Press wrote:
> > Leningrad? Helsinki?
>
> One portion of the website in Russian shows St Petersburg:
> http://tamara.shemyak.com/spb/
>
> but some directories are in Suomi and include an .fi address
> ??

St Petersberg! I was trying to remember the name.
Old, but not antique, atlas here.

--
Michael Press

[A Muzi]

> A Muzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>> Good advice. I wondered, reading of Mr Kleiwer's travails, if perhaps
>> there's a wider or thicker than necessary rim liner. Often found on new
>> bikes today, a poor choice of liner can make tire changing difficult.

carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
> Reputable sources keep mentioning those evil rim liners, so I'm
> willing to believe that they lurk like anacondas inside
> innocent-looking wheels.
>
> People also tell tales about breaking tire irons on mismatched small
> tires and large rims, so I'm willing to believe that it could happen
> to me, too.
>
> But most people struggling to change tires are simply defeating
> themselves in ways that might not occur to bike shop mechanics, who
> rarely see what people will do by the side of the road.
>
> 1) People try to change tires that aren't flat.
>
> I once met a rider who was trying to pry an MTB tire off a rim that
> must have still been inflated to 10 psi. He could shove his tire iron
> between the sidewall and the rim, but naturally he couldn't get any
> further.
>
> Slow leaks are common with goathead thorns, so I see people trying to
> remove much less dramatically inflated tires, but even 1 psi will
> defeat a tire iron. You can't get the tire bead down into the well
> against even that kind of gentle inflation.
>
> 2) People try to change tires whose valve stems are still firmly
> wedged down in the rim well.
>
> I once had to use pliers to loosen the valve stem nut on a frustrated
> rider's tire. He was attacking the other side of the rim.
>
> Other riders think that they just have to unscrew the valve stem nut,
> even though the valve stem is still jamming the tire bead down into
> the well.
>
> Sometimes they insist that the valve stem is stuck and can't be shoved
> out into the tire. Usually the valve stem just snagged a bit of the
> tire liner when the tire was mounted.
>
> 3) People don't work the bead down into the rim well before they try
> to change the tire.
>
> Instead they deflate the tire, push the valve stem out of the rim
> well, stick a tire iron in, and try to pull the rest of the bead down
> into the rim well by heaving on the tire iron until the rim bends or
> the tire iron breaks.
>
> Riders have stopped and asked me what I'm doing as I hold a flat tire
> up in the air by the side of the road, squeezing the sides together at
> the top with one hand and going around the rim and pinching the rest
> of the bead down into the rim well with my other hand.
>
> They're right that I look silly, but pulling the tire off with my
> fingers usually convinces them that it's worth the trouble.
>
> 4) People forget that someone else managed to get their flat tire onto
> the rim in the first place.
>
> I wonder if those evil rim liners swell up inside the tire?

You wrote well with obvious experience of 'how things don't work'. All
that should be a help to the OP.

When a wide 20 or 25mm rim liner is fitted to most modern rims with a
12mm channel, the liner can lie over the rim's bead seat. Worse, that
occlusion can be irregular, half on the left side and half on the right.
Riders seldom notice the lumpy tire, but changing it is difficult.

When two rim liners are installed, mounting a tire is obviously impeded.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

[A Muzi]

>>> Konstantin Shemyak <konstantin@shemyak.com> wrote:
>>>> Happy winter cycling!
>>>> Konstantin Shemyak [everyday commute 17 km one way at 60th parallel]

>> Michael Press wrote:
>>> Leningrad? Helsinki?

> A Muzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>> One portion of the website in Russian shows St Petersburg:
>> http://tamara.shemyak.com/spb/
>> but some directories are in Suomi and include an .fi address
>> ??

Michael Press wrote:
> St Petersberg! I was trying to remember the name.
> Old, but not antique, atlas here.

I'm not an expert but the locals have a web site called:
http://www.saint-petersburg.com/
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

[Tom Sherman]

Luke Siragusa wrote:
> ...
> Same seasoning, different reasoning. Generally I ride just as fast in
> winter as in summer. If the roads are clear, and mostly they are around
> here, one or two days following a major snowfall, there's no reason to
> slow down....

You must put out more power in winter, since cold air is more dense,
colder rubber has more hysteresis losses, and winter clothes increases
frontal area, weight and friction from movement of the limbs compared to
summer wear.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
"Localized intense suction such as tornadoes is created when temperature
differences are high enough between meeting air masses, and can impart
excessive energy onto a cyclist." - Randy Schlitter

[Konstantin Shemyak]

On 2007-11-23, Luke <lucasiragusa@rogers.com> wrote:

>> When the temperature is well below the freezing point, mudguards
>> can be removed, as there is no slush any more. Very nice.
>
> This point must be qualified. In urban areas the use of salt in
> conjunction with constant traffic and sunny conditions can, and often
> does, result in slushy wet roadways though temperatures may be well
> below freezing - -10 degrees Celsius and beyond. Wheelspray in these
> circumstances accumulates and freezes around the BB, rims, drivetrain,
> boots, underside of the fenders, etc... impairing shifting and adding
> KGs to the weight of the bike. Fenders are rarely more practical than
> in these conditions.

Oh, I did not mention my riding conditions; almost all of my daily
commute, and all my winter recreational riding, happens outside of
heavy-traffic roads. In the city, bike paths are plowed and sanded,
but (I think) not salted, so they stay pretty clean when it is
truly under zero. It is certainly true that salted roads are about
the worst thing for the bike.

Konstantin Shemyak.

[Luke]

In article <fi7qdd$gd1$1@registered.motzarella.org>, Tom Sherman
<sunsetss0003@REMOVETHISyahoo.com> wrote:

> Luke Siragusa wrote:
> > ...
> > Same seasoning, different reasoning. Generally I ride just as fast in
> > winter as in summer. If the roads are clear, and mostly they are around
> > here, one or two days following a major snowfall, there's no reason to
> > slow down....
>
> You must put out more power in winter, since cold air is more dense,
> colder rubber has more hysteresis losses, and winter clothes increases
> frontal area, weight and friction from movement of the limbs compared to
> summer wear.

(One way) summer commute: 1HR 5min. Winter commute: 1HR 10min with
clear roads. Give or take a few minutes in either case. The aerodynamic
advantage of my summer attire, usually comprised of baggy 3/4 shorts
and loose shirts is negligible or non-existent. Unquestionably, I do
labor more during my winter commutes, but nothing is more draining,
save for fighting a constant headwind, than commuting during humid 30+
degree summers days.

Yup, I'm usually just as fast in winter. But that shouldn't be taken as
being fast.

[Tom Sherman]

Luke Siragusa wrote:
> ...
> (One way) summer commute: 1HR 5min. Winter commute: 1HR 10min with
> clear roads. Give or take a few minutes in either case. The aerodynamic
> advantage of my summer attire, usually comprised of baggy 3/4 shorts
> and loose shirts is negligible or non-existent. Unquestionably, I do
> labor more during my winter commutes, but nothing is more draining,
> save for fighting a constant headwind, than commuting during humid 30+
> degree summers days....

Ugh! I have found a solution to the headwind problem, but it does
nothing for heat and humidity. I would love to live in a climate where
it never went above 21°C (70°F) [1].

I remember a ride where I was plodding along in the summer sun, heat and
humidity, when a cold front came through, with cloud cover and cool air.
I felt better almost immediately, and picked up about 20% in speed with
a lower subjective effort.

[1] Replace "21°C" with "21ALT0176C" for gene.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
"Localized intense suction such as tornadoes is created when temperature
differences are high enough between meeting air masses, and can impart
excessive energy onto a cyclist." - Randy Schlitter

[carlfogel@comcast.net]

On Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:56:22 -0800 (PST), Brad Kliewer
<bkliewer@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Nov 23, 12:11 pm, Ted Bennett <tedbenn...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>> Brad Kliewer <bklie...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> It's most likely your technique, Brad. Steel beads are meant to be
>> tight and they do not stretch. To get the bead up and over the rim's
>> edge you have to create some slack, and that is by ensuring that as much
>> of the bead as possible is down in the well in the middle of the rim.
>
>I'm sure I need to refine my technique a bit more -- flats are fairly
>infrequent, so I don't get a lot of practice. Carl's description of
>holding the tire by the top made me think of a way that would probably
>both save some time and give more reliable results. I usually use one
>hand to hold the (Schrader) valve open while working the other hand
>more or less from the top to bottom trying to get as much air out as
>possible punctures/cuts often aren't big enough to dump air out very
>quickly). Then I squeeze the bead with both hands from bottom to top.
>I probably should loosen the valve first to free up the other hand and
>then grip the top to help keep the bead in place on the bottom (I
>assume by his description that he's using gravity to make sure the
>bead stays in the well once it's seated there).

[snip]

Dear Brad,

Yes, that's the idea. Dangling the tire and squeezing the beads
together with one hand helps you keep the slack that you gain by
pinching the rest of the tire with your other hand and forcing the
bead into the rim well.

Otherwise, when you pinch the bead on one side of the tire, you can
pull it back out a little on the other side of the tire and end up
going round and round without ever getting anywhere.

The same principle causes trouble when people with broken hips are put
in traction.

Unfortunately, people now live long enough to break their hips while
taking blood thinners for severe heart trouble.

When they do, the surgeon may decide to stop the blood thinner, wait a
few days, and then fix the broken hip when the patient has a better
chance of surviving the surgery.

Meanwhile, the patient's foot is strapped into a padded boot attached
to a cable, which runs over a pulley at the end of the bed to a modest
weight, perhaps ten pounds.

The steady gentle pull on the patient's leg relieves some of the pain
of the broken hip and prevents further damage.

(One sign of broken a hip is a shortened leg. Normally, muscles pull
the leg upward, keeping the round head of the femur tight against the
pelvic socket. When the head of the femur breaks off, the muscles pull
the leg up further. Loud screams are another sign that this is
happening.)

After traction is set up, the innocent-looking little weight takes
only a few hours to pull a helpless patient to the foot of the bed.
The padded boot jams against the pulley, the traction is lost, and the
patient is left in even worse agony.

What happens is that the relentless traction pulls the patient a tiny
bit toward the foot of the bed whenever he moves, a hundredth of an
inch at a time. Even unconscious patients creep down the bed--just
breathing provides enough motion, and the traction guarantees that
ground will always be lost.

The patient is helpless. Normally we can wriggle back toward the head
of the bed, but no one tries to pull himself away from the foot of the
bed against a 10-pound pull on a foot connected to a broken hip.

So every few hours, three nurses need to show up to fix things. One
raises the weight at the end of the pulley, while the other two stand
on each side of the bed, grab the patient under the arms, and pull him
back toward the head of the bed. No matter how gentle they are, this
reminds the patient that he has a broken hip.

The nurses aren't likely to let a visitor haul on the patient, but two
of them may trust you to raise the weight. Even if they don't, you can
let them know when the traction weight has pulled the patient to the
end of the bed again. (For some reason, patients themselves may be
reluctant to ask three nurses to come to their bedside and hurt them.)

Of course, tilting the adjustable bed's head slightly downward would
solve the problem, but doctors frown on having patients with severe
heart trouble lying with their heads downhill.

Anyway, it's the same idea as letting gravity help while you work a
tire bead down into the rim well. Any bead that moves into the rim
well stays down there, so you keep all the slack that you gain.

Getting the bead down into the rim well isn't easy, since you're
trying to slide rubber that's touching a metal rim. Even faint
pressure makes the bead act like a huge brake pad, which is why
mechanics often spray water on reluctant tires--wet beads slip down
into the well more easily, just as wet brake pads fail to grab wet
rims.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

[A Muzi]

>>> Brad Kliewer <bklie...@gmail.com> wrote:

>> Ted Bennett <tedbenn...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>>> It's most likely your technique, Brad. Steel beads are meant to be
>>> tight and they do not stretch. To get the bead up and over the rim's
>>> edge you have to create some slack, and that is by ensuring that as much
>>> of the bead as possible is down in the well in the middle of the rim.

> Brad Kliewer <bkliewer@gmail.com> wrote:
>> I'm sure I need to refine my technique a bit more -- flats are fairly
>> infrequent, so I don't get a lot of practice. Carl's description of
>> holding the tire by the top made me think of a way that would probably
>> both save some time and give more reliable results. I usually use one
>> hand to hold the (Schrader) valve open while working the other hand
>> more or less from the top to bottom trying to get as much air out as
>> possible punctures/cuts often aren't big enough to dump air out very
>> quickly). Then I squeeze the bead with both hands from bottom to top.
>> I probably should loosen the valve first to free up the other hand and
>> then grip the top to help keep the bead in place on the bottom (I
>> assume by his description that he's using gravity to make sure the
>> bead stays in the well once it's seated there).
> [snip]

carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
> Yes, that's the idea. Dangling the tire and squeezing the beads
> together with one hand helps you keep the slack that you gain by
> pinching the rest of the tire with your other hand and forcing the
> bead into the rim well.
>
> Otherwise, when you pinch the bead on one side of the tire, you can
> pull it back out a little on the other side of the tire and end up
> going round and round without ever getting anywhere.
>
> The same principle causes trouble when people with broken hips are put
> in traction.
>
> Unfortunately, people now live long enough to break their hips while
> taking blood thinners for severe heart trouble.
>
> When they do, the surgeon may decide to stop the blood thinner, wait a
> few days, and then fix the broken hip when the patient has a better
> chance of surviving the surgery.
>
> Meanwhile, the patient's foot is strapped into a padded boot attached
> to a cable, which runs over a pulley at the end of the bed to a modest
> weight, perhaps ten pounds.
>
> The steady gentle pull on the patient's leg relieves some of the pain
> of the broken hip and prevents further damage.
>
> (One sign of broken a hip is a shortened leg. Normally, muscles pull
> the leg upward, keeping the round head of the femur tight against the
> pelvic socket. When the head of the femur breaks off, the muscles pull
> the leg up further. Loud screams are another sign that this is
> happening.)
>
> After traction is set up, the innocent-looking little weight takes
> only a few hours to pull a helpless patient to the foot of the bed.
> The padded boot jams against the pulley, the traction is lost, and the
> patient is left in even worse agony.
>
> What happens is that the relentless traction pulls the patient a tiny
> bit toward the foot of the bed whenever he moves, a hundredth of an
> inch at a time. Even unconscious patients creep down the bed--just
> breathing provides enough motion, and the traction guarantees that
> ground will always be lost.
>
> The patient is helpless. Normally we can wriggle back toward the head
> of the bed, but no one tries to pull himself away from the foot of the
> bed against a 10-pound pull on a foot connected to a broken hip.
>
> So every few hours, three nurses need to show up to fix things. One
> raises the weight at the end of the pulley, while the other two stand
> on each side of the bed, grab the patient under the arms, and pull him
> back toward the head of the bed. No matter how gentle they are, this
> reminds the patient that he has a broken hip.
>
> The nurses aren't likely to let a visitor haul on the patient, but two
> of them may trust you to raise the weight. Even if they don't, you can
> let them know when the traction weight has pulled the patient to the
> end of the bed again. (For some reason, patients themselves may be
> reluctant to ask three nurses to come to their bedside and hurt them.)
>
> Of course, tilting the adjustable bed's head slightly downward would
> solve the problem, but doctors frown on having patients with severe
> heart trouble lying with their heads downhill.
>
> Anyway, it's the same idea as letting gravity help while you work a
> tire bead down into the rim well. Any bead that moves into the rim
> well stays down there, so you keep all the slack that you gain.
>
> Getting the bead down into the rim well isn't easy, since you're
> trying to slide rubber that's touching a metal rim. Even faint
> pressure makes the bead act like a huge brake pad, which is why
> mechanics often spray water on reluctant tires--wet beads slip down
> into the well more easily, just as wet brake pads fail to grab wet
> rims.

"I cried when I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet"

Such a colorful description of a broken hip; I hope never to experience
it! A few rounds with broken shoulders, arms, elbow, wrists, fingers
were much less horrible.

Tangentially, here's my #1 wheelbuilder this morning:
http://www.yellowjersey.org/photosfromthepast/MIMICRSH.JPG
She says the pavement looked worse.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

[Tom Sherman]

Andrew Muzi wrote:
> ...
> Tangentially, here's my #1 wheelbuilder this morning:
> http://www.yellowjersey.org/photosfromthepast/MIMICRSH.JPG
> She says the pavement looked worse.

With City of Madison (lack of) maintenance policies the last few years,
that is not surprising.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
"Localized intense suction such as tornadoes is created when temperature
differences are high enough between meeting air masses, and can impart
excessive energy onto a cyclist." - Randy Schlitter

[carlfogel@comcast.net]

On Mon, 26 Nov 2007 22:21:40 -0600, A Muzi <am@yellowjersey.org>
wrote:

>>>> Brad Kliewer <bklie...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>> Ted Bennett <tedbenn...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>>>> It's most likely your technique, Brad. Steel beads are meant to be
>>>> tight and they do not stretch. To get the bead up and over the rim's
>>>> edge you have to create some slack, and that is by ensuring that as much
>>>> of the bead as possible is down in the well in the middle of the rim.
>
>> Brad Kliewer <bkliewer@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> I'm sure I need to refine my technique a bit more -- flats are fairly
>>> infrequent, so I don't get a lot of practice. Carl's description of
>>> holding the tire by the top made me think of a way that would probably
>>> both save some time and give more reliable results. I usually use one
>>> hand to hold the (Schrader) valve open while working the other hand
>>> more or less from the top to bottom trying to get as much air out as
>>> possible punctures/cuts often aren't big enough to dump air out very
>>> quickly). Then I squeeze the bead with both hands from bottom to top.
>>> I probably should loosen the valve first to free up the other hand and
>>> then grip the top to help keep the bead in place on the bottom (I
>>> assume by his description that he's using gravity to make sure the
>>> bead stays in the well once it's seated there).
>> [snip]
>
>carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>> Yes, that's the idea. Dangling the tire and squeezing the beads
>> together with one hand helps you keep the slack that you gain by
>> pinching the rest of the tire with your other hand and forcing the
>> bead into the rim well.
>>
>> Otherwise, when you pinch the bead on one side of the tire, you can
>> pull it back out a little on the other side of the tire and end up
>> going round and round without ever getting anywhere.
>>
>> The same principle causes trouble when people with broken hips are put
>> in traction.
>>
>> Unfortunately, people now live long enough to break their hips while
>> taking blood thinners for severe heart trouble.
>>
>> When they do, the surgeon may decide to stop the blood thinner, wait a
>> few days, and then fix the broken hip when the patient has a better
>> chance of surviving the surgery.
>>
>> Meanwhile, the patient's foot is strapped into a padded boot attached
>> to a cable, which runs over a pulley at the end of the bed to a modest
>> weight, perhaps ten pounds.
>>
>> The steady gentle pull on the patient's leg relieves some of the pain
>> of the broken hip and prevents further damage.
>>
>> (One sign of broken a hip is a shortened leg. Normally, muscles pull
>> the leg upward, keeping the round head of the femur tight against the
>> pelvic socket. When the head of the femur breaks off, the muscles pull
>> the leg up further. Loud screams are another sign that this is
>> happening.)
>>
>> After traction is set up, the innocent-looking little weight takes
>> only a few hours to pull a helpless patient to the foot of the bed.
>> The padded boot jams against the pulley, the traction is lost, and the
>> patient is left in even worse agony.
>>
>> What happens is that the relentless traction pulls the patient a tiny
>> bit toward the foot of the bed whenever he moves, a hundredth of an
>> inch at a time. Even unconscious patients creep down the bed--just
>> breathing provides enough motion, and the traction guarantees that
>> ground will always be lost.
>>
>> The patient is helpless. Normally we can wriggle back toward the head
>> of the bed, but no one tries to pull himself away from the foot of the
>> bed against a 10-pound pull on a foot connected to a broken hip.
>>
>> So every few hours, three nurses need to show up to fix things. One
>> raises the weight at the end of the pulley, while the other two stand
>> on each side of the bed, grab the patient under the arms, and pull him
>> back toward the head of the bed. No matter how gentle they are, this
>> reminds the patient that he has a broken hip.
>>
>> The nurses aren't likely to let a visitor haul on the patient, but two
>> of them may trust you to raise the weight. Even if they don't, you can
>> let them know when the traction weight has pulled the patient to the
>> end of the bed again. (For some reason, patients themselves may be
>> reluctant to ask three nurses to come to their bedside and hurt them.)
>>
>> Of course, tilting the adjustable bed's head slightly downward would
>> solve the problem, but doctors frown on having patients with severe
>> heart trouble lying with their heads downhill.
>>
>> Anyway, it's the same idea as letting gravity help while you work a
>> tire bead down into the rim well. Any bead that moves into the rim
>> well stays down there, so you keep all the slack that you gain.
>>
>> Getting the bead down into the rim well isn't easy, since you're
>> trying to slide rubber that's touching a metal rim. Even faint
>> pressure makes the bead act like a huge brake pad, which is why
>> mechanics often spray water on reluctant tires--wet beads slip down
>> into the well more easily, just as wet brake pads fail to grab wet
>> rims.
>
>"I cried when I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet"
>
>Such a colorful description of a broken hip; I hope never to experience
>it! A few rounds with broken shoulders, arms, elbow, wrists, fingers
>were much less horrible.
>
>Tangentially, here's my #1 wheelbuilder this morning:
>http://www.yellowjersey.org/photosfromthepast/MIMICRSH.JPG
>She says the pavement looked worse.

Dear Andrew,

Without the complication of heart disease, broken hips do better,
though they're still awful because of the emphasis on immediate use.

In contrast to the cardiac delay, the surgeon usually puts in hip
that's structurally as strong as it will ever be. The next morning,
two large nurses force--

Er, help the patient to stand up.

During the war, German doctors pioneered the procedure of driving a
rod down through broken femurs. (When the neck of the femur breaks
off, we laymen call it a broken hip, but doctors bear this more
gracefully than RBT bears stretched chains. They also put up with us
calling it a rod, when the procedure is usually known as nailing the
hip.)

The German doctors found that using a nail and forcing the patient,
despite his screams, to stand as soon as possible reduced the death
rate considerably.

When Allied POWs with nailed femurs were repatriated, the initial
reaction was about the same as the way that RBT welcomes bicycle
innovations:

"One of the most important orthopaedic advances to come out of World
War II -- the insertion of nails into the marrow cavity of thigh bones
-- was first mistaken for a Nazi atrocity. Brown said Gerhard
Kuntscher demonstrated his technique of nailing femurs in 1940. German
surgeons used the procedure to treat captured Allied flyers, and
American doctors became aware of it when the POWs were repatriated in
1945."

"Friedenberg recalled his thoughts the first time he looked at an
X-ray and saw the hardware: "'These bastardly Germans. They're
experimenting on American prisoners, putting in this big rod. They're
destroying the intramedullary canal.'"

"'We equated that with their cold experiments on concentration camp
victims. Yet these former prisoners were walking around without a
limp, happy, and the bone was healed.'"

"Nailing quickly became the standard of care."

http://www.medserv.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1828

As for your labor force, please give her my sympathy.

Reassure her that the doctors will probably be able to remove those
metal rods after her facial injuries heal.

If not, Dr. Frankenstein can introduce her to a nice fellow with
handsome bolts and charming forehead staples.


http://www.imdb.com/gallery/mptv/1302/Mptv/1302/3318_0030.jpg.html?path=gallery&path_key=0026138

:-)

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

[marika]

<carlfogel@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:ik7nk3tqt2klvcipk8f3v9ga34iv3gsl53@4ax.com...

>
> If not, Dr. Frankenstein can introduce her to a nice fellow with
> handsome bolts and charming forehead staples.



not that i have any specific thoughts on this but wondering what is planned
for
his birthday(s) this year?


mk5000

"Her artists could not please;
She tore her books, she shut her courts,
She fled her palaces;

Lust of the eye and pride of life"--pagan world, matthew arnold