When I first got my road bike a few years ago, it had racing tires on it. What I soon found out, was that those particular tires weren’t too durable. I flatted about three or four times just riding on a seemingly debris free bike trail over a period of a few weeks.
So I looked around for tires that were more roadworthy. I got some Continental Gatorskins, and they proved to be very stout. I only flatted once or twice with them over many rides. The tire I eventually settled on was a 23mm Conti Grand Prix 4 Season, a step up in toughness from Gatorskins. They have turned out to be incredibly durable, rarely flatting, if ever, and I’ve been able to ride them to the point where the rubber starts to wear away to show the underlying layers.
These tires are not cheap, but they’re worth it. Put ‘em on and you really minimize the potential for a puncture. These tires are so tough, they’ve led me to forget that they, too, eventually wear out and need to be replaced.
I abused an already well-worn rear Grand Prix tire when after a spoke break, the rear wheel was ovalized, and that made the tire rub against the rear fork. I needed to ride about three miles to get a ride home, since I was in a wilderness area. So I released the brake and rode slowly, one side of the tire rubbing against the fork the whole way. I bought a new wheel set and it was then that I should have replaced the back tire with a new one. Definitely would have been the wise and prudent thing to do.
But no. Even though I could see where the sidewall had rubbed against the fork, it looked OK enough, like the tire still had some miles in it. So I decided to keep riding on the wear heavy back tire, which easily had thousands of miles on it. I rode for a few rides more until during one ride, the back tire tube, seemingly out of the blue, exploded. It looked like a tear in the sidewall pushed into the high pressure of the tube, which under the weight of the bike, popped. When I replaced the tube, I discovered it was a bad idea to fully inflate it with a small tear in the sidewall of the tire. I discovered that after it was fully inflated for about 20 seconds before the high pressure on the tube forced it into the shred in the sidewall, and exploded. When I replaced that tube, I only inflated it enough to firm up the tire, then luckily, I was able to ride home on the compromised tire without any more tube explosions. If that hadn’t worked even with a tube inflated at less than full pressure, I would have been faced with the not so fun prospect of hooking the bike over my shoulder and walking to the closest place to get a ride home. I’ve done that a couple of times and it’s not fun, walking along in your cleats, (unless you have cleat covers, which I don’t) trying to get some nice person on the phone to come give you a ride home. Fortunately, I was at a spot where I wouldn’t have to walk more than a few hundred yards where there was a parking lot close to a highway.
Once I walked about a mile with my crippled bike over my shoulder to a park, and I didn’t know the name of the park. So when I did get a nice friend on the phone to pick me up, it took some research to figure out where the hell I was, and the street directions to get to me. Thank you smartphones!
Back in the days of yore when pay phones were the go-to emergency communications devices, I would have truly been stranded. Might have had to hitchhike my way back home if I A) couldn’t find a pay phone, B) could find a pay phone, but didn’t have any of the necessary coins to make a call, or C), couldn’t get anybody at a home or business I might walk to, to let me use their phone.
So even if we get stranded on our bikes, if we have a smartphone, we’re halfway home, way better off than back in the Ice Age. But then the task is finding someone to call who will come and pick you up. If that fails, it’s back to hitchhiking!
So I replaced the bad tire, but hey, if I’d been smart I would have replaced the old tire after its sidewall had been abused and weakened from rubbing for a few miles against the fork. So I learned, yep, even the most durable tires need to be replaced. Yes, I know, that’s obvious! But when they work so well for so many miles, it’s easy to be lulled into thinking they’re always going to be bulletproof.
Uh, no. As Tarzan once said, “Live’n loin.”
Here’s a cycling tire discussion about the pros and cons of 23mm, 25mm and 28mm wide tires for different types of riding. Check it out. The 23mm Contis I have come in 25mm, and they’re surely a bit heavier and tougher than the 23mms. And they’re easier to change on and off the rim. But I like the 23mms because they’re good for both speed and puncture resistance.
See what the Aussie dude’s thoughts are about it all. He’s a smart, no BS kinda cyclist…
Better Garmin mount
This is a little tweak I did to help me read my Garmin better. I had it mounted on the stem to the handlebars, which I found was too far down to get quick looks at the screen. So I put a Garmin extender mount on my Christmas list, and hey, got it! Put it on and it moved the mount a bit more forward in front of the handlebars. It’s a little thing, but much easier to see the Garmin without moving my big head. Anyway, you probably already have this figured out with your own forward mount. But if not, try it, it’s waay better!
Lookin’ for climbs
I just checked my 2014 ride mileage totals and hit 5,600 miles, the most in a year so far for me. In 2013 I rode 4,700 and in 2012 5,100. Not as much climbing in 2014 for me, which is something I want to change this year. Mountains, I’m a’comin’ to ya this year, hell or high water! For me, there’s nothing better than a tough mountain climb at high altitude followed by a freewheeling descent. Now that’s joy!
‘Til next time be sure and strap on a helmet every time you get on the bike. Then keep the rubber side down, ride safely and have a blast.
--Mark Eric Larson
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