• About Me

Cycle Seattle

~ Posts on bikes

Cycle Seattle

Monthly Archives: January 2015

Tubeless vs. Staple

25 Sunday Jan 2015

Posted by Stonehog in Cycling

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

flat tire, Hetre, hetre EL, Stan's, Toussaint, tubeless, Velo Routier


BH-1.jpg

After about 6 months of riding my Velo Routier on tubeless Hetre ELs, it was time to “change the fluid”. I wasn’t sure how long before the first batch would be dried up and gone. After riding to the beach and back, I noticed a slow leak in the front tire. I brought it back home, got out the Stan’s, and gave it a refill without having to remove the whole tire. I noticed that there was a uniform white residue along the inside of the tire including the sidewalls. There were a few chunks of latex that pooled up around what I took for small holes, and I wiped out the inside of the tire before putting in a fresh couple ounces and refilling the tire. I was able to remount the tire and use my floor pump to pop the bead back into place with little effort.

After a few rides, I started to wonder if I was running on borrowed time with the rear – since that is always the tire that goes flat for me. There had been no noticeable puddle of Stan’s in the front tire when I popped it open. To put my mind at ease, tonight I put the bike up in the stand and popped one side off the rim of the rear wheel. While wiping out the remaining Stan’s (about a teaspoon left – mostly viscous yellow – no sign of the white latex still in the suspension), I noticed the twin prongs of a perfect staple that had pierced the tire mid-tread.

BH-2.jpg

I tried to find it on the outside of the tire to remove it the way it had gone in, but the connecting bar had broken off the tines. I removed them from the inside. I have no idea how long that staple was in there. It could have happened shortly after I started riding these tires tubeless, or it could have happened last week. One thing is certain – I would have had a flat had I been using tubes. As it stands, I didn’t notice the puncture until I went to perform maintenance on the tire.

Pretty cool! I think a few more of my tires will be losing their tubes in the future.

Big Rides

13 Tuesday Jan 2015

Posted by Stonehog in Cycling, Northwest, Randonneuring

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

100k, 200k, bicycle, brevet, Oregon Outback


Calm January bay.

I’m going into 2015 with an open mind.  I would love to ride more brevets this year, but I’m leaving mileage goals wide open.  I did a few “permanents” last year (solo brevets that you schedule yourself), and I really enjoyed them. There are 200ks around Whidbey Island that I’d like to do regularly, and I even set up some rides in the Ride with GPS app, including one populaire (100k) that I may ride and submit for permanent status if it turns out to be good.  It’s quite a hillfest, however!

BH-21.jpg

I would still love to see how far I can make it in 24 hours (or if I can even ride that long) and then maybe try a longer ride at some point.  I am pretty sure I’m not up for the PBP or any 1200k quite yet – I haven’t the will power for that much time in the saddle in a short amount of time.  I’m not leaving it off the table, however.

One thing is for sure:  I want to bike into old age, and continue to enjoy my rides.

BH-3.jpg

I’ve been out about once a week since mid December.  I guess this is my yearly break.  I’ve been focusing more on diet and basic Pilates exercise to keep in shape, but I’m giving my knee a rest to get my adductors stretched back out. I also just tried out kayaking, and this will be added to my weekend relaxation/exercise plans for 2015. I really enjoy paddling around, and have a lot to learn about cruising about in the cold water of the Sound.  I also need some cross training so I don’t continue the descent into a biker physique combined with a tech slouch.

stonehog-4.jpg

One interesting ride I plan to try this year is the Oregon Outback. This is a 360 mile, mostly gravel journey that crosses the state south to north from Klamath Falls to Deschutes. There was much written about it last year, with some like Ira Ryan and Jan Heine “racing” the route and finishing in under 30 hours, and others taking a leisurely multi-day tour to the finish. I will be likely doing the latter with a friend and my Hunqapillar. I don’t get enough chances to really ride that bike under load in it’s primary capacity. The last time it wasn’t just a commuter was the Rivendell Entmoot, and that’s just sad and wrong!

This ride will be a benchmark for my spring riding season. I would still like to visit Babyshoe Pass, and Stehekin, as well. Perhaps more exploring in WA is in order…

Flickr Photos

BH-19.jpgBH-18.jpgBH-17.jpgBH-16.jpgBH-15.jpgBH-14.jpgBH-13.jpgBH-12.jpgBH-11.jpgBH-10.jpg
More Photos

Archive

  • August 2020 (1)
  • March 2018 (1)
  • January 2018 (1)
  • July 2017 (1)
  • June 2017 (1)
  • May 2017 (1)
  • February 2017 (1)
  • December 2016 (1)
  • November 2016 (1)
  • August 2016 (2)
  • March 2016 (1)
  • January 2016 (6)
  • December 2015 (2)
  • November 2015 (1)
  • June 2015 (5)
  • May 2015 (1)
  • April 2015 (1)
  • March 2015 (2)
  • January 2015 (2)
  • December 2014 (2)
  • November 2014 (2)
  • October 2014 (2)
  • September 2014 (2)
  • August 2014 (1)
  • July 2014 (1)
  • June 2014 (1)
  • May 2014 (2)
  • April 2014 (5)
  • March 2014 (4)
  • February 2014 (4)
  • January 2014 (6)
  • December 2013 (1)
  • November 2013 (2)
  • October 2013 (2)
  • September 2013 (1)
  • August 2013 (1)
  • July 2013 (2)
  • May 2013 (6)
  • April 2013 (1)
  • March 2013 (6)
  • February 2013 (2)
  • January 2013 (7)
  • December 2012 (5)
  • November 2012 (2)
  • October 2012 (2)
  • September 2012 (3)
  • August 2012 (3)
  • July 2012 (1)
  • June 2012 (4)
  • May 2012 (7)
  • April 2012 (1)
  • March 2012 (1)
  • February 2012 (4)
  • January 2012 (5)
  • December 2011 (6)
  • November 2011 (4)
  • June 2011 (2)
  • May 2011 (4)
  • March 2011 (2)
  • February 2011 (4)

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 95 other subscribers

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Cycle Seattle
    • Join 95 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Cycle Seattle
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar