Flat Chance

The road to my recovery is a little less bumpy now.  I still have some annoying rib pain, but nothing (at the moment anyway) that's keeping me from doing anything bike-related.  During my convalescence though, it seems like I've neglected my body just for the sake of being on a bike again.  That may be true but it's a moot point now.

I'm just about healed now.

However, I was in a dark place mentally, and while one can argue that I'm like that most of the time anyway, I will say that trying to deal with being broken took its toll on me.  I did just enough to try to keep my sanity, but I did more than neglect my body.  I also neglected some of our bikes.  It's difficult to keep up with so many bikes when all three of us here in the house ride (and each have multiple two-wheeled machines.)  My bikes have been good enough (with the small amount of riding I've done), so I finally stopped being so unselfish and took a look at some of our other rides.

The first was Lunchbox's bike.  I've said it many times before, but he's prone to flat tires.  I've tried different tubes, tubeless, and the last step was a new tube and tire.  Without even riding, he had a flat.

I knew it wasn't his fault now.  I suspected that the rims had an issue before, but I didn't really look into it.  He liked those wheels because of the white spokes, but I knew they were crap (cheap wheels from a bike long ago.)  I happened to have some new Niner wheels from a bike that I took off before riding, but there was one problem...

Thru axle and he haz quick release frok.

I scoured The Internets and found an adapter that would work.  I couldn't find anyone that had anything bad to say about it, which probably means that it sucks.  Who gives a shit.  I ordered it anyway, because I don't care.  It showed up, and installation was a breeze.

It's solid too.

I used a new tube, same (new) tire, and moved the brake rotor to the new wheel.  No moar flat.

Now, on to the next issue.  The little lady told me she had a flat for no reason.  I checked it out and didn't see an obvious issue, so I did what any normal person would do and added moar sealant.  The next day it was flat again.  I decided to investigate further.  I took off the tire and saw that the rim tape I used was not doing so well.

Something told me I would regret buying that tape.  I've used Stan's tape for years, but when I went to my local bike shop the last time they didn't have any.  I was told that this "other brand" was better (I won't say the name but it starts with an "R" and ends with some shit made by the Big Red S.)  And by the way, this happened once before too, but I chalked that one up to user error.  Now I had no doubt that it was a poor purchase.

The rim was re-taped, tire re-inflated, and flat time is over.  I'm throwing away an almost complete roll of rim tape because I didn't listen to my gut.  Lesson learned.

I forgot what that lesson was though.  Maybe it's that I don't need to be around people.


Or maybe that I need to start being a little more patient.

 

The Waiting Game

Little Miss Sunshine’s new frame is on the way, but it can’t get here fast enough for me. I know she’s ready to enjoy the single speed life, but I just want to build a new bike. I know Canada is a long way from here, so I have to show a little patience.


Screw that shit.


I have so much pent up bike-building energy that I feel like ripping people’s arms out of their sockets. Since I’m not really violent (most of the time anyway), I have to find other things to do that will pass the time.


I’ve been spending my evenings wandering around the garage looking for shit that needs to be fixed on our bikes. Everything is pretty much tip top, and I don’t need to start unfixing things just for the chance to fix them again. You following me here?


Anyway, as we wait for the frame to arrive from the Great White North, the parts gathering continues. The Space Cowboy was kind enough to sell me one of his spare cranksets, and I picked it up da udda day.



We just need to acquire a 32 tooth SS ring for it.


Next up, I grabbed my old set of 29er wheels (which will be donated to the new SS) and figured out what they needed to be “trail worthy” again. Since they were setup ghetto tubeless a few years ago, I decided that I should change the tape.


I pulled out the Gorilla tape and got to work.




I mounted up a set of Kenda Small Block 8 tires and poured in the Stan’s. Two scoops and I was ready to let the sealant do its work.





I’ve been sealing up Kenda tires for a while now, so I’m getting pretty good at it. After a little bit of time, we now have a set of tubeless wheels and tires for the new bike.





At this point I started to take inventory of the parts we’ve acquired. I took a gander in the box of shit I had set aside.



Handlebars, a choice of stems, seatpost, wheel skewers, brakes, chain, and assorted “small parts.”


By my calculations, the only things we need are the frame (on the way, remember?), a headset (also on the way), and a seat. I told the little lady she doesn’t need a seat, since she’ll be standing up all the time anyway on a single speed.


She wasn’t buying that, so there will be seat shopping in the future I guess. That’s all on her.


As soon as the frame gets here, I’ll get to work. Building bikes is one of my most favorite things to do (besides riding them), and this one will be even better because I don’t have to install any shifty bits. I’ll probably only need a total of two beers to get everything together and ready to ride. If it takes less time than that, then I’ll still probably drink two beers.


Hell, maybe I’ll have three.


And now, I wait.

Going Ghetto

Ha. Well, sort of. We’re not packing up our shit and moving out of the ‘burbs. Rather, I decided it was time to do something about this flat tire shit I’ve been dealing with lately. Since a lot of riders around here run a tubeless setup, I figured I would try it too. However, I’m doing it Ghetto Style (read: cheap.) I found a link on YouTube for a video about the conversion. I realized that I could do a homemade version on my own, so I gathered up some supplies.


I obviously had plenty of old tubes lying around, so I figured I could use the valve stems:



I purchased some Gorilla Tape from a local hardware store:





…and some Stan’s sealant from a local bike shop:





This seemed like it would be an easy job, so I dug right in. First, after removing my tires and tubes, I cleaned the rims. Then, it was time to apply the Gorilla Tape to the rim channel.





I overlapped it a little, which amounted to about a spoke on each side of the valve hole. It went on nice and smooth:





Next, I cut a valve stem from one of my many old tubes:





And placed it in the rim:





Disclamer: The valve stem in the photo was for illustrative purposes only. I didn’t like the bubble-looking thing, so I used another in the final installation.

Anyway, after installing a GOOD valve stem, I mounted the tire. I slapped on a little soap action to aid with seating the tire bead:





I aired up the tire with my compressor and the bead popped into place. No muss, no fuss. After checking the installation, it was time for the sealant. I broke the bead in the bottom and poured in a couple of scoops of Stan’s.





I popped the bead back on, and it aired right up again. After following the sealing procedure (without all that drilling and crap) on the NoTubes website, I was golden. I did the other tire the same way, and mounted everything back on. I took a moment to admire my work:




I decided to take a ride to the store (around 4 miles roundtrip), just to test it out. No lost pressure, so I was feeling good. I checked it every couple of days, and I was satisfied. Finally, I had the nerve to take my new ghetto tubeless setup out on the trail. After a lap around one of the rootiest places in town, I knew I was gonna be okay. No flats, no leaks, no problems. It’s about time I got with the times.


The setup was pretty easy for a tubeless newb like me, so that means anyone can do it. I don’t have a tubeless wheelset, nor do I have actual “tubeless” tires. I’m running regular Kenda Small Block 8 tires on WTB Speed Disc 29er rims, which I’ve heard is one of the most difficult setups to do. It’s actually been over a week now since I did it, and everything is still tip top. Maybe now I can stop worrying about flatting all the time. I love it when a plan comes together.