Bicycle tyres

[Stat Brother]

Well he must be running his bike shop very poorly then. Both the bike shops I have worked in employed two full time mechanics who spent most of the summer months turning away work because they did not have time to do it. From their point of view would you rather do a full service at more than £100 plus parts, or fix a puncture for £20? Plus any bike that enters a bike workshop must be fit to ride when it leaves, this means that the mechanic must make sure it is road worthy before it leaves. Often not the case when someone comes in who cannot even fix a puncture themselves. I would ask respectfully that you do not claim that what I said is a load of bollocks when I clearly know a lot more about bike shops and their policies with regards to repairs than you do.

That saves me a job!
I was all ready to go wading in on your behalf Pantani, this morning, but ran out of time.
The thought of a bike shop, in this day and age, having time to drop 'nothing' to fix a puncture is almost comical.

 

[Stat Brother]

I have an old Pashley tandem and the valves are neither shrader or presto. They require the old style pump that had the rubbery bit that packs away in the handle after use. Do you think I can find one of those pumps Not yet!

Do me a favour, keep that to yourself LS.
If Wifey gets wind of a tandem in the area she'll be round with big wodges of cash, so she can bug the arse out of me when I'm riding a bike. It's currently her only down time

 

[Lewes Seagull]

do me a favour, keep that to yourself ls.
If wifey gets wind of a tandem in the area she'll be round with big wodges of cash, so she can bug the arse out of me when i'm riding a bike. It's currently her only down time

for sale. Pashley tandem. Open to sensible big wodges of cash.

 

[sten_super]

That saves me a job!
I was all ready to go wading in on your behalf Pantani, this morning, but ran out of time.
The thought of a bike shop, in this day and age, having time to drop 'nothing' to fix a puncture is almost comical.

Hmmm, I'm not sure that it's quite as outrageous as Pantani has made out. I think the point is that c£15-£20 is the price-point at which these shops are willing to fix punctures. It may only be £5 at their standard hourly rates but at this price it clearly isn't worth them doing it.

I know Cambridge is different to Sussex (bike shops are ten-a-penny here) but I've never had a problem taking my bike in one morning, asking them to repair (or on a couple of occasions replace) an inner tube and picking it up the same day. I suspect it may depend on exactly what kind of bike shop we are talking about - I've certainly never paid anything approaching £100 for a service (excluding parts)!

 

[Stat Brother]

for sale. Pashley tandem. Open to sensible big wodges of cash.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

[Stat Brother]

Hmmm, I'm not sure that it's quite as outrageous as Pantani has made out. I think the point is that c£15-£20 is the price-point at which these shops are willing to fix punctures. It may only be £5 at their standard hourly rates but at this price it clearly isn't worth them doing it.

I know Cambridge is different to Sussex (bike shops are ten-a-penny here) but I've never had a problem taking my bike in one morning, asking them to repair (or on a couple of occasions replace) an inner tube and picking it up the same day. I suspect it may depend on exactly what kind of bike shop we are talking about - I've certainly never paid anything approaching £100 for a service (excluding parts)!

Fair enough, I was reacting more to the previous comments by NMH, saying Pantani was talking bollox, and people in bike shops spend all day twiddling their thumbs.

 

[dannyboy]

not meaning to hijack the thread but as there are some bike nuts on here i thought id throw in a quick question . i have just got back in to riding in the last couple weeks after a year ( bit ridiculous as i really enjoy it) . anyway the last thing i did to the bike before i put it away was get it serviced by evans on their service the new bikes they sell thing . having not ridden it for a year the gears are changing less than smooth even though it ws serviced. is this normal ? have the cables slipped or something in that year? i put lube on the gear parts and chain etc . is that just cos its a fairly low end bike and that what i should expect from gears on this bike . its a trek 7.3 by the way.

 

[Lewes Seagull]

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

And it's blue & white. She won't be able to resist!

 

[dannyboy]

incidentally i was charged £26 the other day by my local bike shop to replace an inner tube . i didnt have any spares and had never done it before . seemed a bit steep but i really wanted to get out on the bike . think i better buy a couple of spare inner tubes and learn from youtube

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Rayment Cycles - three inner tubes for a tenner.
Changing them - couldn't be easier. Just need a couple of spoons and a good pump.
Save your money for when something really goes wrong with your bike.

 

[Was not Was]

think i better buy a couple of spare inner tubes and learn from youtube

Hell, yeah. Use bike shops for the difficult stuff. One of the joys of cycling (even if it is a bit masochistic) is the roadside inner tube swap. In the rain. It's what sets us apart from mere mortals.

 

[dannyboy]

whats a good make of inner tube or are they much of a muchness?

 

[Was not Was]

whats a good make of inner tube or are they much of a muchness?

Basically, a think one. I doubt it makes them any less likely to puncture (I mean, if something sharp has got thru the tyre, it'll get through the tube surely), but it makes it more repairable (using the system suggested above of carrying a spare with you in case you get a puncture, then patching the punctured tube at home later). Where I live, the bike shops do Specialized or Schwalbe tubes, either of which are decent.

Of course, punctures are less likely if you have a tough tyre (with kevlar in it). Armadillos are good, though Specialized do one as well - I just can't remember what it's called. For £20-25 per wheel, you reduce the number of punctures you get, so a good investment if you would otherwise be paying the shop to fix them. The other useful bit of kit (apart from the levers to get the tyre off) is a decent pump to carry around with you.

 

[CheeseRolls]

Slime inner tubes for the Downs. No guarantees but they can keep you riding through some punctures.

Basically there is green gue inside the tube that is forced out and can then seal the puncture hole.

Sent from my HTC Wildfire using Tapatalk

 

[Pantani]

Basically, a think one. I doubt it makes them any less likely to puncture (I mean, if something sharp has got thru the tyre, it'll get through the tube surely), but it makes it more repairable (using the system suggested above of carrying a spare with you in case you get a puncture, then patching the punctured tube at home later). Where I live, the bike shops do Specialized or Schwalbe tubes, either of which are decent.

Of course, punctures are less likely if you have a tough tyre (with kevlar in it). Armadillos are good, though Specialized do one as well - I just can't remember what it's called. For £20-25 per wheel, you reduce the number of punctures you get, so a good investment if you would otherwise be paying the shop to fix them. The other useful bit of kit (apart from the levers to get the tyre off) is a decent pump to carry around with you.

You are absolutely right in all you say, the ultimate tyre for me are Continental Ultra Gatorskins. One puncture in three years on my commuter, and this is riding up Lewes Rd to the uni where they see fit to trim the hedgerows and leave brambles all over the cycle path. For me the key to reducing punctures is to check your tyres after each ride and remove anything that is stuck in them before they work right through the rubber. Even my Michelin Pro Races puncture rarely and they are not really designed to avoid punctures. Cheese Rolls call on the slime tubes is a good one too, for off road. No self respecting roadie would surely allow extra weight in the form of green goo to increase the weight of his wheels.

 

[Harold]

whats a good make of inner tube or are they much of a muchness?

After trying out a few manufacturers, I favour Continental (and steer people away from Kenda). Purely my own experiences though. Never tried the Tesco tubes mentioned on here.

 

[Pantani]

Nearly forgot to mention the number one ultimate puncture avoidance tip. Pump your tyres up to the correct pressure. The tyres are all designed with a certain level of inflatedness in mind, if they are not at this level they will not function properly. Sounds obvious I know, but how often do we all just put off the reinflation of our tyres for 'just one more day'.

 

[Harold]

I rate Schwalbe Marathon Plus as a decent tyre. Not cheap mind.

 

[dannyboy]

looks like I need to buy a few bits then . no point buying inner tubes without a little pump . anyone got any good recommendations for a good pump for the bike ? I have a decent one for home . also my tyres say MAX psi 110 .is that what I should pump it up to or a little less ?

 

[Stat Brother]

Nearly forgot to mention the number one ultimate puncture avoidance tip. Pump your tyres up to the correct pressure. The tyres are all designed with a certain level of inflatedness in mind, if they are not at this level they will not function properly. Sounds obvious I know, but how often do we all just put off the reinflation of our tyres for 'just one more day'.

You just got in there.
I couldn't believe you missed it