Tag: flat tire

My Frustrating Bicycle

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike, Cycling1 Comment

I bought a brand new back wheel for my bicycle from the local bicycle shop, Snider’s Cyclry, in June.  They didn’t give me the rubber that covers the screws inside the wheel and the way I feel is that you shouldn’t even have to ask for it.  They should just put them in the brand new wheels when they take them out of the box so they don’t forget to install them when they sell them.

I assumed it had one when I bought it so I didn’t ask for it and came home and installed it without the rubber.  I noticed it didn’t have it and I didn’t feel like asking to be taken back there so I just covered it with black electrical tape.  I went 2 months with the tape on there with no issue at all.  Not one flat tire the whole time so I’m very confused as to why I can’t keep air in it anymore.

A week or so ago I got a flat tire so I took it out and the hole was right next to the valve.  I checked the black tape and it wasn’t covering the screw so I could see that the tape wasn’t the perfect solution.  I repaired the tube and put the tape back on the screw and filled it with air but I think because the repair was so close to the valve it just wasn’t going to work.

Luckily I had a spare tube so I took the wheel off and put the new tube on it.  Later that night I heard my bicycle fall down in the patio.  What the…  I took the wheel off and pull the tube out and it has a hole in the same exact spot on this brand spanking new tube.  Not wanting to waste the tube I decide that I really want to repair it and naturally the repair won’t work.

I haven’t been able to ride my bike at all in over a week because I didn’t have the money for a new tube.  Darrin went to Target and bought me a new tube but he bought the expensive Schwinn self sealing tube.

Since I knew the black tape wasn’t helping, I thought that I should try to make my own rubber screw cover by cutting up a tube that I had repaired way too many times.  It’s a little thicker than the rubbers that they normally use to cover the screws but it’s all I have to work with.  It was too long so I had to cut it and patch it.  The patch didn’t stay on so I decided to just hot glue it to the wheel lol.  I didn’t use too much glue so it shouldn’t make it too thick and if it doesn’t work out I can always remove it.  The glue peels right off very easily.

This morning I get on my bicycle to run down to the store and buy some milk for my breakfast and the wheel is flat.  I just installed it this weekend and rode it to the store once or twice on Saturday and it was fine all day Sunday so I don’t understand why it’s flat all of a sudden.

I took the wheel off the bike and removed the tire which was a huge pain in the ass because the tube still had a lot of air in it.  I finally got the tire off and put the tube in a bucket of water to find the hole.  When you see bubbles coming up then you know where your hole is.  No bubbles at all.

I put the tube and tire back on, put the wheel on the bike and fill it with air and it was fine.  I have even been checking it every couple of hours the whole day by squeezing the tire to make sure it was hard and it’s been fine.  All I kept thinking was thank goodness, I don’t think I’ll have any more issues with it.

JINX!

Tonight I was in the kitchen getting a glass of water and I hear a banging sound in the patio.  I go out there and my bicycle is on the ground.  It fell because the tire went flat.  I don’t understand.  I haven’t even been on the bicycle since I filled it with air.  The tire has no stickers in it so I know that isn’t the problem.

So my next thought is that maybe these expensive self sealing tubes have a glitch in the valve that when the blue or green gel is inside the valve it keeps it open a little so air can escape.

This whole thing with this back tire is really frustrating the hell out of me because I’m not getting any exercise because every time I go out there I have a flat tire.  There is nothing more infuriating than not being able to ride my bike.

Ok well, tomorrow I will clean the valve out and fill it with more air and see what happens.  I hope that works.  If it doesn’t then I’ll have to go out and buy some of the cheap tubes that don’t self seal.  At least the cheapo tubes last a heck of a lot longer than the expensive ones.

Todays Agenda

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily BlogLeave a comment

I’ve already gone out on the bike trail this morning at 4:30am and returned before 6:30am doing 20 miles.  Since I had 2 flat tires in 2 days on the front tire I’ve been leery every time I start riding after stopping at like a stop light or a stop sign because it just feels like I have a flat tire.  Then I get off the bike to check and it’s still hard from all the air pressure inside of it.

I’m still exhausted from all that work I did yesterday at the rental house next door.  I still have to do the bathroom, the bath tub, sink and toilet, the floor is already mopped.  Then I have to rake up all the leaves and dog poop that the last tenants were nice enough to leave me to clean up.  I think 3 large piles that he raked up but never actually shoveled up and thrown out.  What a nice guy right?  So now I gotta do his dirty work.  That’s it!  No more pets allowed.

Michael Jackson’s memorial service at the Staples center will be broadcast live from 9am to 1pm on almost every channel today and Darrin wants me to record it for him from CNN.  He wanted me to record it from E! but I was going through the guide on the cable but E! doesn’t show it being live until tonight so there’s something wrong there lol.  They say 10am PST but it shows the Michael Jackson True Hollywood Story being played over and over.  I think CNN will do just fine.

So at about 6pm tonight is the new show Warehouse 13 on SyFy channel.  Yes I said 6pm.  I have SyFy HD which is eastern time zone so I get to watch it as the east coast does.

My day is pretty much set already.  UGH!  I have to go fold laundry before I go next door lol.

So Much For That Idea…

On By Michel McDonaldIn DietLeave a comment

Yesterday I was bad an ate a burrito and an apple empanada from Taco Bell.  It was the .99 cent burrito and I figured it was ok since I’m now riding 5 days a week.  I was going to up it to 7 days a week and I was kinda thinking about how important it was that I ride today to burn off that bad idea lol.

So I got up this morning at 4:30am as usual, by 5am I was in the patio getting my bike and it felt a little strange.  The back tire was totally flat.  I noticed yesterday that it kept getting low for some reason, I had to pump it up twice during my ride.  So I just went back to bed and figured today is a wash, I’ll probably have to get a new tube.

When I woke up I got up and went out there to take off the tube so I can at least seal the hole.  After all it is the kind of tube with the green slime inside of it so it’s supposed to seal itself and I guess it did because I put it in a bucket of water (pumped up) and there were no air bubbles.  So I put it back on and pumped it back up.  It’s sitting upside down in my back yard right now so I can keep squeezing it to make sure it’s still pumped up lol.

Tonight I’m going to check on it again to see if it’s still pumped up or not.  If not then I’ll just have to get a new tube tomorrow and figure that today and tomorrow are days off and I’ll have to ride 5 days in a row.  I would like to go buy a new tube anyway just to have a spare on hand.  I had a spare but this guy that we know named Brazil came to our house the day I had my accident, he wanted to borrow my bike for a while so he can get to work cause he got a new job and I told him about my accident.  He said he had a flat tire and I said well that’s no problem, I have a spare tube you can have lol.  So now I need another spare tube.

I also need a new head light anyway so I want to at least get to the .99 cent store while we’re out and get a new one.  They are cheap and take batteries but I need them as backup because my generator is screwing up and it’s making it very difficult for me to ride and feel safe.  I’m mainly afraid I’m going to get a ticket if my back light goes out during the ride or if my head light isn’t bright enough too.  So I need new ones.  And $1 is better than paying $15 or $20 for the same exact thing.

Bike Necessities

On By Michel McDonaldIn CyclingLeave a comment

I just bought some things I really needed for my bike.  I’ve been wanting a new pump forever that is small enough that I can carry with me when riding but with a gauge.  I found a pump at www.nashbar.com.  The pump was $20 which is $10 less than Snider’s.

I also bought a frame bag ($10) while I was there to store the pump as well as the tools needed to change or repair a flat tire.  It’s also big enough to hold a tire tube just in case.  The bag is in the shape of a triangle so that it fits right inside the frame.