One of the subscribers to a bicycle touring list that I also subscribe to recently got a flat (he lives in Florida so it's not too cold to ride) and he decided to let his LBS fix it while he made a video of the process.
I thought the video was worth posting. Probably because it almost exactly matches my method.
My notes:
I wrote to Ken (the bicycle owner) and noted that the mechanic talked about positioning the tire label by the valve in order to know where to look next time a flat occurred.1 However, the mechanic never performed that search with the flat being fixed. Ken said that because of YouTube limits, he had to edit the video and that the mechanic had spent about five minutes examining the old tube / tire.
I actually position the label opposite the valve. Presumably you can position the label anywhere as long as it is consistent so that you can use the label and valve to locate where the cause of the flat came through the tire.
Another member of the list noted that if the offending bit of metal or glass or whatever is not lodged in the tire but is loose inside, it will continually roll to the bottom as you examine the tire so you ought pay particular attention to that. I've added that to my procedure.
I pump up the tire maybe a 1/3 to 1/2 way and examine the bead seating as in the video. I also knead the tire as you can see. I also might bounce the tire on the ground in a couple places. After that, I deflate the tire again in order to relax the inner tube. My theory is that if there were kinks or creases, the now relaxed inner tube allows them to straighten out.
1 When the next flat occurs, you pull off the tire and find the flat in the inner tube. Once you find the puncture, you know to look at the tire the same number of degrees away from the label as the puncture was from the valve.
2010-02-16
2010-02-10
Guns for Lead Based Toys
"China's military stepped up pressure on the United States on Monday by calling for a government sell-off of U.S. debt securities in retaliation for recent arms sales to Taiwan."
- Washington Times 2010-02-10
When will we wise up? Will it take a real economic strike by China crippling our economy before we tighten our belts and stop the insane spending. Federal, state, and our own consumer addictive self destructive behavior has to stop.
- Washington Times 2010-02-10
When will we wise up? Will it take a real economic strike by China crippling our economy before we tighten our belts and stop the insane spending. Federal, state, and our own consumer addictive self destructive behavior has to stop.
2010-02-01
Sanctions
The news today reported that China is threatening sanctions against the US because of arms sales to Taiwan.
How could they?
As many have been predicting for some years now, our debt will come back to bite us in the butt. China has been buying up our debt for years now. And now like the poor broke neighborhood gambler up to his eyeballs in debt to the loan sharks, we could be truly screwed.
If we are to prevent our proverbial legs from being broken, we need to STOP THE SPENDING. I never thought this was going to work. But the feds took a shot. It ain't working. The projection is now that every penny of personal income tax will be needed to cover the interest on the debt.
What's next?
Default?
Hyperinflation? That worked out well in Germany now didn't it.
STOP THE INSANITY!
How could they?
As many have been predicting for some years now, our debt will come back to bite us in the butt. China has been buying up our debt for years now. And now like the poor broke neighborhood gambler up to his eyeballs in debt to the loan sharks, we could be truly screwed.
If we are to prevent our proverbial legs from being broken, we need to STOP THE SPENDING. I never thought this was going to work. But the feds took a shot. It ain't working. The projection is now that every penny of personal income tax will be needed to cover the interest on the debt.
What's next?
Default?
Hyperinflation? That worked out well in Germany now didn't it.
STOP THE INSANITY!