Tips/critique for a new rider
Discussion
So something odd happened this evening. A few times lately I have noticed quite a distinct noise from the front tyre when going over a crack, stone or bump. Kind of a mix of a pop and a scrape.
Tonight, going over a speed bump, it was particularly loud. I didn't think too much of it but on my final stretch I noticed my front tyre was flat. Got home and it was about 20psi I think. I've pumped it up to 100 and it seems to be holding (will check tomorrow).
What has happened here? Where has the air escaped from if the tyre and tube are intact?
Tonight, going over a speed bump, it was particularly loud. I didn't think too much of it but on my final stretch I noticed my front tyre was flat. Got home and it was about 20psi I think. I've pumped it up to 100 and it seems to be holding (will check tomorrow).
What has happened here? Where has the air escaped from if the tyre and tube are intact?
KnackeredOldBanger said:
Wish I lived somewhere as flat as you! Rides around me average 100ft climb per mile distance, it's quite daunting as a rubbish cyclist!
Keep it up.
I didn't think it particularly was at first! But yeah looking at other Stravas it is isn't it. There are six places where I get up out of the seat but they are all probably - to most on here at least - pretty modest hills.Keep it up.
Incidentally - and referencing one of the first topics discussed here - I no longer "spin" up hills. I now prefer staying in a higher gear and standing up. Not sure what that means but, hey, it's what I now do!
Hi WhisperingWasp, have you sorted all the posture issues and pains? I just found this thread and I haven't had the time to go through all the 6 pages, but I would recommend a bike fitting if you have £150 or so to spend. Best bike related money I've ever spent. Fixed all the pains and improved my pedal stroke and general fitness. Something to think about possibly. As for the seat, you need to find the right one for you, there's no exact science for this to my knowledge!
Hope this helps a bit!
Hope this helps a bit!
Guys what am I doing wrong?! So the tyre was completely flat today so I changed the inner tube. Gone out for a ride and heard the pop sound again over consecutive bumps. Bit later I can see and feel a tyre bulge which is rubbing against the brake pad then all of a sudden lose all the air.
Tyre looked like this. The tyre has popped off of the rim. I am sure it must be user error but don’t know what I’ve done wrong!
Tyre looked like this. The tyre has popped off of the rim. I am sure it must be user error but don’t know what I’ve done wrong!
k knows how you’ve managed that .WhisperingWasp said:
Guys what am I doing wrong?! So the tyre was completely flat today so I changed the inner tube. Gone out for a ride and heard the pop sound again over consecutive bumps. Bit later I can see and feel a tyre bulge which is rubbing against the brake pad then all of a sudden lose all the air.
Tyre looked like this. The tyre has popped off of the rim. I am sure it must be user error but don’t know what I’ve done wrong!
You must have managed to fail to seat the tyre correctly. Worth when you fit them checking all around to look for spots where the bead hasn't seated. After inflating, of course!Tyre looked like this. The tyre has popped off of the rim. I am sure it must be user error but don’t know what I’ve done wrong!
the usual cause of this is not seating the inner tube/tyre correctly. When you first change the tube and add the tyre; pump it up a little (5 or 6 pumps on a track pump) then spin the wheel in you hand and look for a inconsistency in the tyre (like a high riding spot). it's probably where your inner tube is proud of the sidewall of the tyre. it's a regular occurrence that most of us look for when attaching the tyre but more easily spotted when spun with a little pressure in the tube.
Oh side point, if you want to get faster then lose weight and push your limit HARD. I've recently gone from 115 to 99 kg and completed 900 miles in 9 days. Now i've recovered and back to my local routes i rarely use my 32 and 28 ring and have increased my average speed by about 1.5mph to around 18.5 mph.
Oh side point, if you want to get faster then lose weight and push your limit HARD. I've recently gone from 115 to 99 kg and completed 900 miles in 9 days. Now i've recovered and back to my local routes i rarely use my 32 and 28 ring and have increased my average speed by about 1.5mph to around 18.5 mph.
Solocle said:
You must have managed to fail to seat the tyre correctly. Worth when you fit them checking all around to look for spots where the bead hasn't seated. After inflating, of course!
I think this is what I've done. How I've managed to do that and still inflate to 100psi I do not know.TheDrownedApe said:
the usual cause of this is not seating the inner tube/tyre correctly. When you first change the tube and add the tyre; pump it up a little (5 or 6 pumps on a track pump) then spin the wheel in you hand and look for a inconsistency in the tyre (like a high riding spot). it's probably where your inner tube is proud of the sidewall of the tyre. it's a regular occurrence that most of us look for when attaching the tyre but more easily spotted when spun with a little pressure in the tube.
Oh side point, if you want to get faster then lose weight and push your limit HARD. I've recently gone from 115 to 99 kg and completed 900 miles in 9 days. Now i've recovered and back to my local routes i rarely use my 32 and 28 ring and have increased my average speed by about 1.5mph to around 18.5 mph.
900 miles in 9 days! Blimey. That is some going.Oh side point, if you want to get faster then lose weight and push your limit HARD. I've recently gone from 115 to 99 kg and completed 900 miles in 9 days. Now i've recovered and back to my local routes i rarely use my 32 and 28 ring and have increased my average speed by about 1.5mph to around 18.5 mph.
WhisperingWasp said:
I think this is what I've done. How I've managed to do that and still inflate to 100psi I do not know.
You need to go round the whole rim on both sides and pinch the tyre making sure no tube is showing beyond the tyre bead - I.e you don’t want to see any tube. Only then may you pump. You’re very lucky it didn’t go bang as you pumped it and deafen you and even more lucky it didn’t cause an off!Tyre levers are often to blame for this, if you use your hands you’ll have better results I’d have said.
okgo said:
You need to go round the whole rim on both sides and pinch the tyre making sure no tube is showing beyond the tyre bead - I.e you don’t want to see any tube. Only then may you pump. You’re very lucky it didn’t go bang as you pumped it and deafen you and even more lucky it didn’t cause an off!
Tyre levers are often to blame for this, if you use your hands you’ll have better results I’d have said.
I do wince when I’m pumping it up! I still can’t believe you do it to 100+ psi!Tyre levers are often to blame for this, if you use your hands you’ll have better results I’d have said.
So I do do the pinch check all the way around. The only place where I can still see the inner tube a bit is right at the valve but then this bit does sit a bit different doesn’t it (some sort of reinforcement?). Can’t seem to avoid it and once pumped up it does seem fine.
But then when I think about it this is exactly where the blowout happened yesterday…?!
WhisperingWasp said:
I do wince when I’m pumping it up! I still can’t believe you do it to 100+ psi!
So I do do the pinch check all the way around. The only place where I can still see the inner tube a bit is right at the valve but then this bit does sit a bit different doesn’t it (some sort of reinforcement?). Can’t seem to avoid it and once pumped up it does seem fine.
But then when I think about it this is exactly where the blowout happened yesterday…?!
If the blow out is at/around the valve, most likely you've not got it in exactly straight and the valve hole has been rubbing at the base of the valve on one side. Tubes can rotate inside the tyres when riding, but it's much less usual. It might also fail fast enough to have given enough pressure to blow the tyre off the rim???So I do do the pinch check all the way around. The only place where I can still see the inner tube a bit is right at the valve but then this bit does sit a bit different doesn’t it (some sort of reinforcement?). Can’t seem to avoid it and once pumped up it does seem fine.
But then when I think about it this is exactly where the blowout happened yesterday…?!
If it's not the first time in the same place I'd also check that there's no sharp edges to the hole/file it down a little, and also have a good look and feel around the area in general or other sharp/pointy bits inside the wheel.
defblade said:
If the blow out is at/around the valve, most likely you've not got it in exactly straight and the valve hole has been rubbing at the base of the valve on one side. Tubes can rotate inside the tyres when riding, but it's much less usual. It might also fail fast enough to have given enough pressure to blow the tyre off the rim???
If it's not the first time in the same place I'd also check that there's no sharp edges to the hole/file it down a little, and also have a good look and feel around the area in general or other sharp/pointy bits inside the wheel.
So there is definitely a bulge at the valve. Hard to capture but quite obvious in real life. Not sure what I am doing to cause it though. If it's not the first time in the same place I'd also check that there's no sharp edges to the hole/file it down a little, and also have a good look and feel around the area in general or other sharp/pointy bits inside the wheel.
Oh and to add the tyre bead was definitely not sitting right at this point, ie the bulge was lifting it up and away from the rim a touch.
Edited by WhisperingWasp on Saturday 18th June 11:39
WhisperingWasp said:
So there is definitely a bulge at the valve. Hard to capture but quite obvious in real life. Not sure what I am doing to cause it though.
Oh and to add the tyre bead was definitely not sitting right at this point, ie the bulge was lifting it up and away from the rim a touch.
I'm not a wheel expert... but that looks nasty. Hard to say if it's cause or result though... Have you taken the tyre and tube off to check the inside surfaces of the wheel - valve hole, protruding spokes, etc?Oh and to add the tyre bead was definitely not sitting right at this point, ie the bulge was lifting it up and away from the rim a touch.
I can true a wheel, but to me that doesn't look like anything I'd even try to take out... I have a nasty feeling it'll be new wheel time
... but happy to be corrected! (And I would probably post on here first asking if is is fixable, anyway
)The bodger in me wants to gently bend it back straight with mole grips, but even my budget-conscious wallet is saying wheels aren't that expensive compared to the results of high speed wheel failure.
defblade said:
I'm not a wheel expert... but that looks nasty. Hard to say if it's cause or result though... Have you taken the tyre and tube off to check the inside surfaces of the wheel - valve hole, protruding spokes, etc?
I can true a wheel, but to me that doesn't look like anything I'd even try to take out... I have a nasty feeling it'll be new wheel time ... but happy to be corrected!
(And I would probably post on here first asking if is is fixable, anyway )
The bodger in me wants to gently bend it back straight with mole grips, but even my budget-conscious wallet is saying wheels aren't that expensive compared to the results of high speed wheel failure.
Thanks for the info. I have checked all of them things you mention but I am no expert so I would say there is certainly nothing obvious but I could well be missing something. I can true a wheel, but to me that doesn't look like anything I'd even try to take out... I have a nasty feeling it'll be new wheel time
... but happy to be corrected! (And I would probably post on here first asking if is is fixable, anyway
)The bodger in me wants to gently bend it back straight with mole grips, but even my budget-conscious wallet is saying wheels aren't that expensive compared to the results of high speed wheel failure.
Sounds like you think the wheel could be buckled? This seems plausible given some of the noises it’s made lately going over bumps! Question is how to avoid? I obviously avoid big potholes and cracks and stuff but even doing this this has happened.
It looks like you haven't seated the tyre properly around the valve (it happens because the tube is obviously bulkier around the valve).
- deflate the tyre fully and unseat it from the rim
- loosen off the lock nut on the inner tube valve (if there is one)
- push the valve out a cm or so (as if trying to push it out into the tyre)
- use your hands to seat the bead of the tyre into the rim around the valve it doesn't matter if it is still unseated further around the tyre.
- now pull the valve out and tighten the lock nut on the valve
- finish seating the tyre further around the rim by hand / tyre levers
- now go all around the rim squeezing the tyre together to check that no inner tube is trapped between the tyre bead and the rim
- pump up to 100psi or so, then spin the wheel to check the tyre is all seated properly and evenly. There is normally a useful moulding line on the tyre close to the rim that is a good guide i.e. it should be eqidistant from the rim all the way round
- you probably don't need 100psi for normal riding so maybe let out a 10psi or so (caveat I don't know how much you weigh!)
- deflate the tyre fully and unseat it from the rim
- loosen off the lock nut on the inner tube valve (if there is one)
- push the valve out a cm or so (as if trying to push it out into the tyre)
- use your hands to seat the bead of the tyre into the rim around the valve it doesn't matter if it is still unseated further around the tyre.
- now pull the valve out and tighten the lock nut on the valve
- finish seating the tyre further around the rim by hand / tyre levers
- now go all around the rim squeezing the tyre together to check that no inner tube is trapped between the tyre bead and the rim
- pump up to 100psi or so, then spin the wheel to check the tyre is all seated properly and evenly. There is normally a useful moulding line on the tyre close to the rim that is a good guide i.e. it should be eqidistant from the rim all the way round
- you probably don't need 100psi for normal riding so maybe let out a 10psi or so (caveat I don't know how much you weigh!)
WhisperingWasp said:
Thanks for the info. I have checked all of them things you mention but I am no expert so I would say there is certainly nothing obvious but I could well be missing something.
Sounds like you think the wheel could be buckled? This seems plausible given some of the noises it’s made lately going over bumps! Question is how to avoid? I obviously avoid big potholes and cracks and stuff but even doing this this has happened.
Actually, I'm looking again... is the bulge in the tube rather then the wheel rim? Not sure my contacts had settled in when i looked this morning!Sounds like you think the wheel could be buckled? This seems plausible given some of the noises it’s made lately going over bumps! Question is how to avoid? I obviously avoid big potholes and cracks and stuff but even doing this this has happened.
Indeed I think addey has nailed it. On reflection, what I am doing is seating the tyre at the valve last rather than first. As such I am seating it around the valve when the tyre is at its most taut, using the tyre levers by this point.
I imagine I am leaving myself the least possible margin for error doing this. Or to put it another way it sounds like I’m doing it completely arse about face!
Thank you all for the advice.
I imagine I am leaving myself the least possible margin for error doing this. Or to put it another way it sounds like I’m doing it completely arse about face!
Thank you all for the advice.
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