Monday, March 26, 2007

The monday night flat tire

What the heck is going on?! I ended up with a goat-head thorn slow leak from some point in my trip today. I didn't notice it until I was unloading the bike when I got home and the rear tire didn't have as much spring as usual as I set it down.

This is really grating on me. Day in and day out for the last 6 months, I've had one flat with these tires until last Monday. 2 flats in two weeks. Grr!

I used my new Park Tool pre-glued patch kit that I got last week. It looks like it'll hold well. It's worth mentioning that this was a brand new tube. Instead of swapping it out like I would if I was on the road when I noticed it, I just patched it and put it all back together.

The grime on the wet roads was also going to take its toll on my drivetrain, so I took the opportunity to wipe everything down and re-lube the chain. I should be ready to face whatever tomorrow throws at me.

2 comments:

  1. I got rained on pretty good last night. Where you bus, bike commute. I car bike commute.

    I was going to do all the things you did to "your" bike. (wipe and lube). Instead I drank a bottle of wine and watched tv.

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  2. Had I not needed to fix my flat, I probably would have gotten lazy and left my bike to soak in disgusting rain water and road grime, too.

    I saw her sitting there, upside down on her bars and saddle like a dying creature, dripping her muddy, gritty ooze all over my front hallway. I couldn't help but break out the old t-shirt rags, toothbrush (for the chainrings and derailleurs) and Meguiar's Quik Detailer to get the bike nice and clean again. I finished it off with a fresh application of FinishLine wax on the chain. I cleaned the rear cluster out before I put the patched tube back on the wheel. She ran nice and smooth this morning!

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