Donkelope

I saw a Donkelope bike last week in Portland. Hammered fenders, wooden rims, file tread sew ups. Definitely not what you're getting these days in the stores.

Tire Iron Failure

This, I think, was 1/3rd of the first bike tool I ever owned. Purchased for me at around age 13, I've kept the same set of three tire irons quite a while. A couple years ago I lost one in some tall grass at a roadside tire change and the second one snapped on me recently, leaving one lone tire iron. This was a set of Dremefa tire levers from The Netherlands that came in the little red bracket with a rough patch on the side for tire patch installation. At the time, these were the only tire irons sold in bike shops. I found their maker on the web and they remain unchanged:

Photo from www.bobike.nl

If you look in the image at the top of the page, it seems like the crack initiated at one of the many grooves worn into the lever face by running the lever around the rim of a wheel I probably no longer own. Godspeed little tire iron.

Tire Slits and Patch Kits

Got a slit tire on Sunday, I think I hit a piece of glass. The tube slit was easy to find and patch, but I was worried that the tire would open up on me before I got home. Stupid me, I didn't have a tire boot with me. Not even a dollar bill to put in the tire as a boot! (I fixed that by throwing one in my seat bag last night). So, I put an instant patch on the inside of the tire and blew it up just enough to keep the rim off the ground. What do you know, it held. I replaced the tire before riding it again, this time with a Mr. Tuffy installed. Better safe than sorry on a touring bike. I would have liked a 25mm Kevlar belted tire, but non in stock at the LBS.

Self inflating tire invention

-D- came across this a while back and forgot to send it out. A company has developed a self-inflating tire consisting of a peristaltic pump between the rim and tire and as the wheel rotates if forces air into the tire, with a valve dictating the pressure. Good use of existing movement and maybe a way to keep your commuter bike tires constantly inflated instead of having to break out the pump every few days. Too heavy for a road bike, probably not durable enough for a mountain bike. How much power does it sap? I don't know. I'm sure a sports car company will want to figure it out though.

Tire Lump

Speaking of my 'Roubaix' bike, I had to solve a curious tire problem with that machine. The ride was smooth other than a once-in-a-revolution pogo bump I was getting. Spinning the tire in the air showed a significant high spot. I thought that maybe the tire casing was defective, letting the tube bulge out, but when I pulled the bead away from the rim, I saw something different. The thick area around the valve of the tube was so wide that it didn't allow the bead to seat properly. You can see that in the picture above. Solution - new tube. I chalked this one up to tube manufacturer quality control.

Oddball tires - could use a hand here

Anyone know where I can find some super oddball 20 x 1 3/8" tires for this Montgomery Ward's folding bike? It would be fun to have, if I could just get it some new rubber. It's almost too much hassle, given that I can buy a Dahon folding bike brand new for $199...

SF MoMA - Biomega bike

I took a little trip to the San Francisco Museum Of Modern Art recently. I was surprised that I didn't see more industrial design. There was some graphic art and ID in one small exhibit, and one of the things on display was this Biomega bike from Denmark:

As I looked it over, it appeared to be a folding bike with a laid back riding position, some serious hydraulic disk brakes and some sort of integrated cable lock. I checked it out on the web and they call this model the "Boston" and claim that the cable is a structural component of the frame, and that if cut, the bike is "unrideable…but repairable". The cable didn't look like it was under any tension to me, so I'm assuming that the frame either flexes enough once you get on it to put it in tension or that claim is not entirely true. If it were in tension (a la the cable on a Slingshot frame) while no one was on the bike, I don't know how you'd get it unlocked. Also, notice no valve stems on the tires. I'm assuming that to avoid that wilted-tire look after a few months on display, they either filled the casings with something that doesn't leak out or put some sort of alternate tube (like Tire Balls) in.

Surly Utility Bike with Mega Tires

This is a Surly Big Dummy with Large Marge rims seen at a cyclocross race apparently owned by this dude.

Those Maxxis Hookworm tires are huge! I looked them up on the web and was surprised to find out that they can hold 110 PSI! That would be great for low resistance rolling on road and graded trails. A bike like that could be a car-replacer.

Fatties really do fit fine

No, I'm not talking about the national obesity epidemic, I'm talking about the Surly frame geometry.  When I bought my Pacer frame (currently for sale), I read about the ability to fit large tires and/or fenders on the road frame (ie Fatties Fit Fine).  That was pretty cool I thought, particularly because it didn't negatively affect the bike in any other way.  I wondered - why don't all non racing frames come like this?  (The answer is probably industry laziness)  I didn't really test it though, using tires no wider than 25's on that bike.  However, I did meet one guy who was testing the limits.  He had a Surly 1x1 (which is a 26" frame) fitted with 29" wheels and cyclocross tires.  Plenty of room left over for a thick creamy layer of mud.   He raced it too.  Do the guys at Surly know about this versatility?

Road bike tire icons - the universal language

After a recent descent down highway 84 (why the hell was that video made? "Loook, dey don even hav to pedal!), I got the road bike home and discovered a nice gash in the sidewall. Now, I've heard these can be patched with a dollar bill, power bar wrapper, or a specially made Park Tire Boot, but I decided that prevention was worth a pound of cure so I began tire shopping and was thoroughly confused. Does "Aramid Tek" mean that there's a kevlar bead, a kevlar belt, or the tire was designed by a guy named Aram? What's with all the wacky tread designs on road tires? Do they need tread? Luckily, I discovered Michelin. Fair price, and the features are printed right on the packaging in easy to understand, universal icons. Long mileage? Check. Puncture resistance? Check. I grabbed the package and checked out.

If only pregnancy tests could be so easy to understand.