The daily "I cycled to work" thread
Discussion
I attempted to cycle to work today for the first time in about three years. Five miles in to an eight mile ride, I picked up a puncture. Having already punctured both the front and rear at the weekend, I'm beginning to think driving the car might be cheaper.
Wheel is at the local repair shop for me to pick up later and hopefully I'll actually manage to complete a journey puncture-free for a change on the way home....
Wheel is at the local repair shop for me to pick up later and hopefully I'll actually manage to complete a journey puncture-free for a change on the way home....
Usget said:
Having read that Richmond Park was open at night if you went through the pedestrian gates, I gave it a go last night. Wow. Spooky but brilliant, with the ghostly shapes of the deer just visible from the road. I'm going back tonight!
basically you're going dogging arent you?pablo said:
Usget said:
Having read that Richmond Park was open at night if you went through the pedestrian gates, I gave it a go last night. Wow. Spooky but brilliant, with the ghostly shapes of the deer just visible from the road. I'm going back tonight!
basically you're going dogging arent you?
lauda said:
I attempted to cycle to work today for the first time in about three years. Five miles in to an eight mile ride, I picked up a puncture. Having already punctured both the front and rear at the weekend, I'm beginning to think driving the car might be cheaper.
Wheel is at the local repair shop for me to pick up later and hopefully I'll actually manage to complete a journey puncture-free for a change on the way home....
If your bike hasn't really been used for three years you probably need new tubes/tyres. The important thing is to stick at it, punctures always seem to come in phases Wheel is at the local repair shop for me to pick up later and hopefully I'll actually manage to complete a journey puncture-free for a change on the way home....
pablo said:
Usget said:
Having read that Richmond Park was open at night if you went through the pedestrian gates, I gave it a go last night. Wow. Spooky but brilliant, with the ghostly shapes of the deer just visible from the road. I'm going back tonight!
basically you're going dogging arent you?WinstonWolf said:
If your bike hasn't really been used for three years you probably need new tubes/tyres. The important thing is to stick at it, punctures always seem to come in phases
Thanks for the encouragement. The annoying thing is that the bike is brand new! I've used it five times since I got it and managed three punctures. Cost me £30 in new inner tubes to travel about 40 miles.But I will persevere and made it home in one piece this evening despite the foul weather.
lauda said:
Thanks for the encouragement. The annoying thing is that the bike is brand new! I've used it five times since I got it and managed three punctures. Cost me £30 in new inner tubes to travel about 40 miles.
But I will persevere and made it home in one piece this evening despite the foul weather.
Patches, lauda, patches!But I will persevere and made it home in one piece this evening despite the foul weather.
These are ace...
...pre-glued, so no faffing about with vulcanising solution and powdered chalk, small enough to fit absolutely anywhere. 6 patches, and a 'scuffer' in a wee plastic box - £2.99 in my local bike shop, or £2.69 online with Evans Cycles.
If you are already switching your own tubes (not paying the bike shop to do it) then there's no reason to be binning an innertube with one puncture in it. By all means, fit a new tube at the roadside, but take the holed one home and patch it there. Then let all the air out of it and use it as the spare. You'll only need 3 (maybe 4) tubes to rotate in the event of the dreaded 'hiss'.
I'm still running the two original tubes in my 2008 mountain bike, one has 14 patches on it, the other 10. The spare tube is a Specialized "Thin" tube with a couple of patches. The bike has been through three sets of tyres, and recently, thanks to a hidden piece of flint buried in the tyre carcass, I managed 5 punctures in 12 miles. When you have that kind of ride, one spare tube simply won't cut it.
The maths is simple. £2.99 or £30 to achieve the same result. And with the patch kit you'd have three spare patches still, saving you another £30, potentially. Think of all the shiny bike bits you could buy with that (potential) £60...
...well worth 15 minutes (it probably won't even take that long) sat at the kitchen table patching a tube, and much better for the environment too
gazza285 said:
6 patches for three quid!
48 Rema TipTop patches and solution for £7.50, sheet of Emery paper nicked from work.
Don't tell anyone, but back in the days when the military had Armstrong motorbikes, the MT store issued lovely heavy duty patch kits for them. Some of the contents of those patch kits may have found their way into my saddle bag. (Nato stock number 6MT6/2640-99-805-7604 48 Rema TipTop patches and solution for £7.50, sheet of Emery paper nicked from work.
).I used to swear by the traditional solution/glue type patches, but that was mostly because the pre-glued ones were shyte. I recently had cause to use quite a few of the Park patches, and some of the 'Slime Skabs'. I've got to say that the Park ones seem to be a lot better than the Skabs, and the lack of glue means a lot less faffing about, which is important when you're in the woods in the rain and don't want to get too cold waiting for glue to 'go off'. That's a luxury I'm willing to pay a bit extra for.
yellowjack said:
gazza285 said:
6 patches for three quid!
48 Rema TipTop patches and solution for £7.50, sheet of Emery paper nicked from work.
Don't tell anyone, but back in the days when the military had Armstrong motorbikes, the MT store issued lovely heavy duty patch kits for them. Some of the contents of those patch kits may have found their way into my saddle bag. (Nato stock number 6MT6/2640-99-805-7604 48 Rema TipTop patches and solution for £7.50, sheet of Emery paper nicked from work.
).I used to swear by the traditional solution/glue type patches, but that was mostly because the pre-glued ones were shyte. I recently had cause to use quite a few of the Park patches, and some of the 'Slime Skabs'. I've got to say that the Park ones seem to be a lot better than the Skabs, and the lack of glue means a lot less faffing about, which is important when you're in the woods in the rain and don't want to get too cold waiting for glue to 'go off'. That's a luxury I'm willing to pay a bit extra for.
Never trust patches, used them once recently and they went on the next ride
I always try and buy good quality puncture proof tyres , luckily managed years between punctures
Thats road use though, I guess off road is more puncture prone and you can run the tyres lower psi so patches might not explode like they did with me!
I always try and buy good quality puncture proof tyres , luckily managed years between punctures
Thats road use though, I guess off road is more puncture prone and you can run the tyres lower psi so patches might not explode like they did with me!
yellowjack said:
gazza285 said:
6 patches for three quid!
48 Rema TipTop patches and solution for £7.50, sheet of Emery paper nicked from work.
Don't tell anyone, but back in the days when the military had Armstrong motorbikes, the MT store issued lovely heavy duty patch kits for them. Some of the contents of those patch kits may have found their way into my saddle bag. (Nato stock number 6MT6/2640-99-805-7604 48 Rema TipTop patches and solution for £7.50, sheet of Emery paper nicked from work.
).I used to swear by the traditional solution/glue type patches, but that was mostly because the pre-glued ones were shyte. I recently had cause to use quite a few of the Park patches, and some of the 'Slime Skabs'. I've got to say that the Park ones seem to be a lot better than the Skabs, and the lack of glue means a lot less faffing about, which is important when you're in the woods in the rain and don't want to get too cold waiting for glue to 'go off'. That's a luxury I'm willing to pay a bit extra for.
I use the park patches then have some duct tape wrapped around half a biro in the saddle bag, put the tape over the patch and its never failed, then its a proper repair when i am home and dry...
TwistingMyMelon said:
Never trust patches, used them once recently and they went on the next ride
I've the opposite experience. I've used instant patches for years and never had one fail on me (MTB). One of my tubes must have 6 or 7 patches on it now.I've used Weldtite Red Devils and Park ones in the past, but that 48 pack sounds like the way to go!
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