The daily "I cycled to work" thread
Discussion
A quick question.... How many of those who ride to work would be willing to accept that they can't change an inner tube?
I ask as I took pity on a woman this morning who was stood at the side of the road when I pulled up at a junction on the phone to her boyfriend (I assume) asking him how to fix a puncture, and I've also been stood in Evans in Clapham before now when another woman came in asking them to repair a puncture, and when they said they'd not be able to do it until the morning started bemoaning the fact that she'd have to get a taxi home and back.
OK, nobody is going to carry the tools and spares to fix all eventualities at the side of the road, but how can anyone go out without the knowledge and equipment to fix a puncture???
I ask as I took pity on a woman this morning who was stood at the side of the road when I pulled up at a junction on the phone to her boyfriend (I assume) asking him how to fix a puncture, and I've also been stood in Evans in Clapham before now when another woman came in asking them to repair a puncture, and when they said they'd not be able to do it until the morning started bemoaning the fact that she'd have to get a taxi home and back.
OK, nobody is going to carry the tools and spares to fix all eventualities at the side of the road, but how can anyone go out without the knowledge and equipment to fix a puncture???
Kermit power said:
A quick question.... How many of those who ride to work would be willing to accept that they can't change an inner tube?
I ask as I took pity on a woman this morning who was stood at the side of the road when I pulled up at a junction on the phone to her boyfriend (I assume) asking him how to fix a puncture, and I've also been stood in Evans in Clapham before now when another woman came in asking them to repair a puncture, and when they said they'd not be able to do it until the morning started bemoaning the fact that she'd have to get a taxi home and back.
OK, nobody is going to carry the tools and spares to fix all eventualities at the side of the road, but how can anyone go out without the knowledge and equipment to fix a puncture???
Nice of you to stop I ask as I took pity on a woman this morning who was stood at the side of the road when I pulled up at a junction on the phone to her boyfriend (I assume) asking him how to fix a puncture, and I've also been stood in Evans in Clapham before now when another woman came in asking them to repair a puncture, and when they said they'd not be able to do it until the morning started bemoaning the fact that she'd have to get a taxi home and back.
OK, nobody is going to carry the tools and spares to fix all eventualities at the side of the road, but how can anyone go out without the knowledge and equipment to fix a puncture???
It doesn't surprise me though sadly. I'm just surprised I don't see more of it.Kermit power said:
A quick question.... How many of those who ride to work would be willing to accept that they can't change an inner tube?
I ask as I took pity on a woman this morning who was stood at the side of the road when I pulled up at a junction on the phone to her boyfriend (I assume) asking him how to fix a puncture, and I've also been stood in Evans in Clapham before now when another woman came in asking them to repair a puncture, and when they said they'd not be able to do it until the morning started bemoaning the fact that she'd have to get a taxi home and back.
OK, nobody is going to carry the tools and spares to fix all eventualities at the side of the road, but how can anyone go out without the knowledge and equipment to fix a puncture???
LOL quite a few, I know loads of casual cyclists who take no tools/sparesI ask as I took pity on a woman this morning who was stood at the side of the road when I pulled up at a junction on the phone to her boyfriend (I assume) asking him how to fix a puncture, and I've also been stood in Evans in Clapham before now when another woman came in asking them to repair a puncture, and when they said they'd not be able to do it until the morning started bemoaning the fact that she'd have to get a taxi home and back.
OK, nobody is going to carry the tools and spares to fix all eventualities at the side of the road, but how can anyone go out without the knowledge and equipment to fix a puncture???
My good mates Ive cycled with for 15yrs cant do one on side of road, the more serious rider got one last week on his way to work and took it into a shop en route and got them to change it as he got an inner tube there, he didnt even give them a tip or pay for fitting!!! I always end up doing minor repairs for them on long rides.
A fair few in our club struggle a bit, but to be fair some of my bikes I can do in minutes, others take ages and are hard work, it depends on the wheel/tyre combo
On the other hand in a few thousand miles I have only had 3 punctures and all of them I only realised at the end of the ride/commute.
If you get decent quality tyres, with puncture protection, keep them at the correct psi and replace them early I find punctures are rare (for me at least)
Kermit power said:
A quick question.... How many of those who ride to work would be willing to accept that they can't change an inner tube?
I ask as I took pity on a woman this morning who was stood at the side of the road when I pulled up at a junction on the phone to her boyfriend (I assume) asking him how to fix a puncture, and I've also been stood in Evans in Clapham before now when another woman came in asking them to repair a puncture, and when they said they'd not be able to do it until the morning started bemoaning the fact that she'd have to get a taxi home and back.
OK, nobody is going to carry the tools and spares to fix all eventualities at the side of the road, but how can anyone go out without the knowledge and equipment to fix a puncture???
I wouldn't accept it myself, certainly not in London where taking your Bike on public transport (to get home) is pretty darned difficult and at least 50% of my commuting happens when the bike shops are shut.I ask as I took pity on a woman this morning who was stood at the side of the road when I pulled up at a junction on the phone to her boyfriend (I assume) asking him how to fix a puncture, and I've also been stood in Evans in Clapham before now when another woman came in asking them to repair a puncture, and when they said they'd not be able to do it until the morning started bemoaning the fact that she'd have to get a taxi home and back.
OK, nobody is going to carry the tools and spares to fix all eventualities at the side of the road, but how can anyone go out without the knowledge and equipment to fix a puncture???
But, in realiity, punctures are fairly rare. I had two last week, but before that I think it was two or three years ago.....
Hence, I would rather people take up cycling than be put off by lack of mechanical knowledge.
Maybe it's time someone invented run-flat tyres for cycles? My OH has them on the car. She is fully capable of changing a wheel at the side of the road, in London, where drivers are often inconsiderate. But it's much safer for her and our daughter (who's usually on board with her) to drive home and let me change it on the drive later.
I stopped to help a chap on my commute home last week. His bike was some sort of modern looking long distance machine with internal geared rear hub and a similar looking front hub which I presume was a dynamo. Nice bit of kit.
It was wet and windy, a sod of a night to get a puncture, and the patch on his tube wasn't sticking. I was on the MTB but as luck would have it I had a spare road tube in my bag which I gave him (cost me a fiver the week before so I better get some good karma back for that!). It was only as I was about to head off that we realised he didn't have a wrench to remove the wheel and thus replace the tube. Doh!
I left him in the rain (with my inner tube) in the hope that someone with a spanner would come along soon...
It was wet and windy, a sod of a night to get a puncture, and the patch on his tube wasn't sticking. I was on the MTB but as luck would have it I had a spare road tube in my bag which I gave him (cost me a fiver the week before so I better get some good karma back for that!). It was only as I was about to head off that we realised he didn't have a wrench to remove the wheel and thus replace the tube. Doh!
I left him in the rain (with my inner tube) in the hope that someone with a spanner would come along soon...
No more cycling for me, for a whilse at least! - last week in the current job necessitates carrying all my carp home on the train, that and a spell in A&E last night has left me with stitches and no current movement in my right thumb, balls!
Hopefully when I get into the new job I'll start again, but having to be at my desk for 6:30am after an hour on the bike necessitates a 5:15am departure time if i did then the same again in the evening after whats likely to be a 14 hour day...ouch!
Hopefully when I get into the new job I'll start again, but having to be at my desk for 6:30am after an hour on the bike necessitates a 5:15am departure time if i did then the same again in the evening after whats likely to be a 14 hour day...ouch!
kiethton said:
No more cycling for me, for a whilse at least! - last week in the current job necessitates carrying all my carp home on the train, that and a spell in A&E last night has left me with stitches and no current movement in my right thumb, balls!
Hopefully when I get into the new job I'll start again, but having to be at my desk for 6:30am after an hour on the bike necessitates a 5:15am departure time if i did then the same again in the evening after whats likely to be a 14 hour day...ouch!
I had no idea fish farming demanded such long hours! Hopefully when I get into the new job I'll start again, but having to be at my desk for 6:30am after an hour on the bike necessitates a 5:15am departure time if i did then the same again in the evening after whats likely to be a 14 hour day...ouch!
donfisher said:
thepawbroon said:
Maybe it's time someone invented run-flat tyres for cycles?
QR skewers and self sealing patches have made fixing a flat about as painless as it possibly could be. Anything else and you're just creating a solution to a problem that isn't actually there IMHO.I live in a village that the "Oxfordshire Cycle route" passes through...
the amount of people i see parked up changing inner tubes or on the phone as they "didn't want to carry spares"
.
about twice a month i'll be washing my car or cutting the grass and need to help cyclist who have forgotten to bring tyre levers or a pump...
Fixed one chaps mud guards after his "light weight, expensive" fixings failed..
5mins with some cable ties and he was off on his way...
.
just hope when i break down...someone will offer me help...what goes around etc etc....
the amount of people i see parked up changing inner tubes or on the phone as they "didn't want to carry spares"
.
about twice a month i'll be washing my car or cutting the grass and need to help cyclist who have forgotten to bring tyre levers or a pump...
Fixed one chaps mud guards after his "light weight, expensive" fixings failed..
5mins with some cable ties and he was off on his way...
.
just hope when i break down...someone will offer me help...what goes around etc etc....
Pleasant tip in this morning, though the roads were slippery after the rain.
I religiously carry the tools, pump, tubes etc - but to be honest the time I did get a flat I couldn't change it at the roadside. I simply could get the tyre off the rim, I felt cold and miserable and was just unable to complete. I ended up pushing it to the train and the srting it out in the Underground carpark at work after a hot shower and a coffee.
I knew how to do it, I had all the tools, I just couldn't muster the patience/technique at the roadside. I know I will have the same problem now - especially since I am running C's which are a right sod to get on and off.
I religiously carry the tools, pump, tubes etc - but to be honest the time I did get a flat I couldn't change it at the roadside. I simply could get the tyre off the rim, I felt cold and miserable and was just unable to complete. I ended up pushing it to the train and the srting it out in the Underground carpark at work after a hot shower and a coffee.
I knew how to do it, I had all the tools, I just couldn't muster the patience/technique at the roadside. I know I will have the same problem now - especially since I am running C's which are a right sod to get on and off.
Rocksteadyeddie said:
donfisher said:
thepawbroon said:
Maybe it's time someone invented run-flat tyres for cycles?
QR skewers and self sealing patches have made fixing a flat about as painless as it possibly could be. Anything else and you're just creating a solution to a problem that isn't actually there IMHO.http://www.tiredofpunctures.com/cycle/index.html
...in fact I remember them being introduced in the '80s. Or someone tried to introduce them back then. They didn't catch on because they were reputedly horrid to ride on. That said, these modern 'solid' foam tyres make some strong claims about performance and comfort being unaffected by the lack of air inside the tyre, because there is air in there, it's just sealed inside the closed cells of the foam.
If they caught on a bit more and were similarly priced to pneumatic tyres, and more widely available, I might give them a go. Until then, though, I'll carry on with a 'standard' tyre/tube combination, as it's a tried and tested solution to riding in relative comfort.
yellowjack said:
Rocksteadyeddie said:
donfisher said:
thepawbroon said:
Maybe it's time someone invented run-flat tyres for cycles?
QR skewers and self sealing patches have made fixing a flat about as painless as it possibly could be. Anything else and you're just creating a solution to a problem that isn't actually there IMHO.http://www.tiredofpunctures.com/cycle/index.html
...in fact I remember them being introduced in the '80s. Or someone tried to introduce them back then. They didn't catch on because they were reputedly horrid to ride on. That said, these modern 'solid' foam tyres make some strong claims about performance and comfort being unaffected by the lack of air inside the tyre, because there is air in there, it's just sealed inside the closed cells of the foam.
If they caught on a bit more and were similarly priced to pneumatic tyres, and more widely available, I might give them a go. Until then, though, I'll carry on with a 'standard' tyre/tube combination, as it's a tried and tested solution to riding in relative comfort.
Rocksteadyeddie said:
I suppose the question is how much of a problem punctures really are? I reckon on 2 or 3 a year in I don't know how many thousand miles. It's a pain in the arse of course, but not one that merits any serious consideration at a solution.
For sure - as the posts further up the thread highlighted, there are plenty cyclists going out without the means not ability to change a puncture. At the end of the day, you can always get the bike home one way or another. With cars and motorbikes it's a weird situation. On a very small sample size (i.e. me!) the mitigation is all wrong....
In my car, I've not had a puncture since 1995. Yet every single car I've had has had the means to change or "fix" a puncture. On my motorbike, I've had 3 punctures in 7 years, and still don't carry any repair kit.
I best stop talking about them "p" things now........
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