I successfully replaced the busted tube in my front tire, but while inflataing it I realized that I've been at nearly half the suggested psi. 20 instead of 40. I get pretty heavy resistance to inflation beyond that. Is that normal?
cycling and century rides -
- Thread starter andr0id psycho sho(ker
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Sure is. It's due to compressing the air that's already in that space. If you're using a hand pump, it can be somewhat of a pain if you have noodle arms. Floor pumps ain't so bad.
Only reason to experience higher than expected resistance to pressurizing a tire is if you have your innertube twisted or kinked. So long as you placed it straight in the tire, though, that shouldn't happen.
40 psi... heh. You should try some skinny road bike tires. 110's no friggin' joke. And not comfortable. 90-100's much better.
Only reason to experience higher than expected resistance to pressurizing a tire is if you have your innertube twisted or kinked. So long as you placed it straight in the tire, though, that shouldn't happen.
40 psi... heh. You should try some skinny road bike tires. 110's no friggin' joke. And not comfortable. 90-100's much better.
Okay, just wanted to make sure it wasn't about to explode or something, thanks
Trust me, you'll know when they blow. And ensure you don't go past the rating of the tire (which is all based on size) - so if you run 700c by 32c, I'd likely take that to around 50-60 psi. Remember, the harder they are, the less rolling resistance on good roads. However, if you're going off-road or doing gravel? 40 psi max for more grip and comfort. Down to 20 psi if you're doing sand and mud, for more grip.
There's a ton of random information about what pressures to run in what tires for what you're doing. All I can really say is my own experience: Road, go as high as your tire goes (maybe knock off 10-15 psi for comfort if your roads are seriously janky). Gravel, go half what the tire's rated for to improve your traction and handling. Just be aware that it gives you a slightly higher chance of pinch-flats.
And as long as those innertubes are flat inside their tires, no way are you blowing them as long as you don't exceed the tire's rating. Not unless they're shoddy and old, which I've had more than my share of, and separate at the seams when you pressurize them.
Finally ordered a kit. It's been the most rainy March in 30-40 years and stuck at around 9-12 degrees celsius, so haven't really been out since installing the pedals (also university work). How serious do you need to take temperature recommendations on clothing? I bought jersey/bib fit for 15-20c according to the manufacturer, but 0-10c sleeves as well. Considering my legs will be moving, this sounds fine to me heating wise in ~12c weather?
I was almost considering just buying spring/fall fit clothing, but rather be ready for summer than what little is left of between-season.
I was almost considering just buying spring/fall fit clothing, but rather be ready for summer than what little is left of between-season.
I've found that riding in colder temperatures, it's not my legs that suffer - it's my damned feet. Hence why I have thermal overshoes. Everything else can be thin as fuck lycra, but gimme nice thermal overshoes and some good gloves. And a cap for under my helmet, because while the vents on that thing are awesome in summer heat, they suck during cold weather.
Welp. Got the kit and sleeves. On one hand, sizewise, they fit me, just not my gut. They do promote that tiny bit of stomach-tucking most people normally do when they're out and about, so that's not an issue. Avoiding it hanging also forces a better posture.
I do however feel bloodflow issues. Not discomfort, but clearly something being tight. Is this just a matter of breaking it in? The length of the legs are just above my knees which seems a bit on the long side, so they're within my size range. It's clear that wind is gonna tear straight through it, so doubt sleeves is gonna help much until it gets a few degrees warmer also.
My shoes are also full of holes, so I'll just wait for summer lol. Maybe by fall I can invest in the winter equipment.
I do however feel bloodflow issues. Not discomfort, but clearly something being tight. Is this just a matter of breaking it in? The length of the legs are just above my knees which seems a bit on the long side, so they're within my size range. It's clear that wind is gonna tear straight through it, so doubt sleeves is gonna help much until it gets a few degrees warmer also.
My shoes are also full of holes, so I'll just wait for summer lol. Maybe by fall I can invest in the winter equipment.
One way to prevent air flow in your shoe is to encase your feet in tin foil. No joke. It helps. Even when you have thermal overshoes, there are still a few ventilation holes that can be exposed, so I use this trick myself. Also helps when the roads are soggy shit-shows with fucking crap temperatures.
If you're feeling bloodflow issues after a few miles on the bike, then your kit may very well be too tight. But if that 'tight' feeling fades, you're fine. Your kit will stretch a bit with wear. Also, if it's tight enough that it's borderline uncomfortable, don't dream of using a drier to dry your kit (you shouldn't anyway, but I know I'm a lazy asshole and'll just throw it all in with the normal laundry). Instead hang it to dry so it doesn't shrink.
You'll be surprised how little chill you feel once you get moving.
12C /54F is fine so far as I'm concerned - any higher is simply gravy.
But yeah, winter gear is the shit. Invest when you can afford to!
If you're feeling bloodflow issues after a few miles on the bike, then your kit may very well be too tight. But if that 'tight' feeling fades, you're fine. Your kit will stretch a bit with wear. Also, if it's tight enough that it's borderline uncomfortable, don't dream of using a drier to dry your kit (you shouldn't anyway, but I know I'm a lazy asshole and'll just throw it all in with the normal laundry). Instead hang it to dry so it doesn't shrink.
You'll be surprised how little chill you feel once you get moving.
12C /54F is fine so far as I'm concerned - any higher is simply gravy.But yeah, winter gear is the shit. Invest when you can afford to!
My arm felt numb for like 2 hours afterwards, so probably wasn't the cause of the kit. It happens somewhat often.
I'm visiting family and bringing the full outfit to test it out on proper, calm roads, but I'd rather not forfeit the ability to change a size up, but I really can't imagine it'd need to be bigger. Even at 12c as of late it feels surprisingly warm, but still, even the jacket is basically see-through. Was tempted to get a midseason jacket instead but it'd be outdated the second it got hot, whereas I'd rather freeze for a few weeks and then sweat to death.
I basically haven't biked in weeks, despite initially going out in both wind and rain. I haven't lost interest but it's hard to push myself for some reason.
I'm visiting family and bringing the full outfit to test it out on proper, calm roads, but I'd rather not forfeit the ability to change a size up, but I really can't imagine it'd need to be bigger. Even at 12c as of late it feels surprisingly warm, but still, even the jacket is basically see-through. Was tempted to get a midseason jacket instead but it'd be outdated the second it got hot, whereas I'd rather freeze for a few weeks and then sweat to death.
I basically haven't biked in weeks, despite initially going out in both wind and rain. I haven't lost interest but it's hard to push myself for some reason.
Well, if your arm feels numb, then it's time to think of fork and roads. If your roads aren't super smooth (like practically perfect), a carbon fork transmits every flaw in the road directly to your arms. I don't have the fortune of a lightweight frame myself, but one of my riding buddies does - his arms are beat to utter shit after a ride on our crap roads out here, whereas me and my steel beastie are ready for another 40 miles.
While visiting the family, if you find it's the roads that disagree with your arms, it could very well be that fork murdering you with its stiffness. Stiffness is great for speed and lightness, but absolute murder on the human body. Sure, you transmit every ounce of power you can plow into your bike to your motion, but it in turn transmits every flaw it finds to your joints.
Rambling consolidated - if the shit roads are beating you via your nice carbon fork, consider going to aluminum. Keep the carbon frame - fork's all that'd need to be replaced.
While visiting the family, if you find it's the roads that disagree with your arms, it could very well be that fork murdering you with its stiffness. Stiffness is great for speed and lightness, but absolute murder on the human body. Sure, you transmit every ounce of power you can plow into your bike to your motion, but it in turn transmits every flaw it finds to your joints.
Rambling consolidated - if the shit roads are beating you via your nice carbon fork, consider going to aluminum. Keep the carbon frame - fork's all that'd need to be replaced.
- Highlight
- #52
Everything is aluminium; only the fork is carbon/kevlar. I mean, our roads are very good from what I've seen people complain about, then again the only other roads I've been on were perfect NorCal ones in a forest. It's just that my current city is basically built around a cross-country train track, so all the heavy trucks go through here as well.
Regarding my arm, it's a somewhat recent thing and unrelated to cycling. It just felt a bit extreme following trying out the kit. Basically, haven't been out in weeks and only helmet away from a full set. It'd just be awkward/cold to go with what I have now. Hopefully I'll just slave through those few days at home and continue once I return.
Any experience with gloves? Huge outlet sale so might as well get some, but my hands do not align with my general large frame/sizes, which seems a bit awkward. XL unisex is usually L male, yet I measure 21.5 cm across my knuckles, putting me at medium unisex. Seems like everything bike-related has their own measurement quirks.
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Gah, hope your arm issue sorts itself out. Seriously.
As for gloves, I might have /some/ experience - just be ready for my experience to not relate to you at all. I have multiple pairs of gloves - a very heavy set for cold weather, an autumn set that's gortex windblockers but not overly thickly padded, a thin Bell set with full fingers and nice padding in the palm, a thin full-fingered Pearl Izumi set with no padding in the palm, a no-fingered set with light padding in the palms (my favorite, but the fabric's so thin it's ripping across my knuckles from a year of solid use) and a new no-fingered Lizardskin set with no padding in the palms.
The padding was necessary until I put decent bar tape on my Panasonic. That nice, thick, soft tape I have on there added on with the fact that I ride a steel fork with steel drops absorb any vibration to the point where the only reason I wear gloves at all is to keep my sweat from mucking up my tape. So those no-padding gloves are coming into their own now.
If vibrations eat you alive, you have thin tape or you have sissy hands (not judging) padding in the palm can really help. It helps relieve pressure from being on your hoods for hours on end. But once you toughen up or get some rockin' tape on your steed, it's no longer really necessary, and lets you get some higher quality gloves for a comparable price to mitigate the rapid pace of fabric degradation I've experienced with cheaper padded gloves.
TLDR: Expensive gloves last longer. Padding is good if vibration kicks your ass. Get different thicknesses for different weather when you can afford it.
PS: If you get no-finger gloves, the ones with hoops between digits are awesome because it lets your battered, shaking hands pull those fucking things off when you want to pull them off after a long ride.
Used to be a hardcore roadie and cyclocross guy. Quit riding for about 6 years, but started up casually part way through last summer. Got lazy during the winter... realized I am now totally a fair weather rider. Just waiting for 10-13C to feel inspired to get back on the bike. Looking forward to having peeps here to talking cycling with.
TIP: Back in the day whenever facing long races/rides on chattery roads, I used to double wrap my bars.
TIP: Back in the day whenever facing long races/rides on chattery roads, I used to double wrap my bars.
Someday, I'll get to that double wrapping the bars business. Right now I'm a cheap bastard that can't be bothered to upgrade from my steel bike.
Would be more than a fair weather rider, but commuting to work is a 20+ mile (each direction) extravaganza with some pretty volatile riders on pissy roads. And damned work has to override the best riding hours. Thank goodness retirement's within the next half-decade.
Cyclocross scares the piss out of me. Mostly the remounting while running bit. I tried once. After eating grass, I never bothered again.
Would be more than a fair weather rider, but commuting to work is a 20+ mile (each direction) extravaganza with some pretty volatile riders on pissy roads. And damned work has to override the best riding hours. Thank goodness retirement's within the next half-decade.
Cyclocross scares the piss out of me. Mostly the remounting while running bit. I tried once. After eating grass, I never bothered again.
Starting to get real fucking toasty here, despite still being ~12c. The store sent me the wrong god damn helmet size (hard enough as is to get anything 61-62cm in size), so can't really exploit the weather.
Anyway, how exactly do people go about bringing bike pumps? There's no space on my frame for even a mini one, but putting one in the jersey pocket every time seems kinda wonky. You flat once every what, 20 rides? A lot of weird luggage for that one case.
Anyway, how exactly do people go about bringing bike pumps? There's no space on my frame for even a mini one, but putting one in the jersey pocket every time seems kinda wonky. You flat once every what, 20 rides? A lot of weird luggage for that one case.
I got a lights and crap kit when I bought mine that included a cheap pump that I leave in my bag of stuff with my lock and my wallet.
I go about bringing my bike pump by having a frame pump. It ties real nice with some velcro straps onto my left drop, away from my drive train, and it's also held snug by the quick release lever on the rear wheel. As for when I flat, sometimes I can go 40-50 rides without a flat. Then bam, four in a row. So fuck it, I have my bike pump. Mini pumps can't get pressure back up to 90 lbs, and I'm too much of a cheap fuck to purchase new CO2 canisters every time I slam into a set of railroad tracks or go on gravel or a flat out shit road and waste my innertubes.
This is the little pump I have - makes very quick work of getting air back into a tire and getting it back up to full (very handy when you blow a tube on mile 60 of a 100 mile ride):
And here's how I know I'm getting to 90 lbs: this little beauty fits in a saddlebag without problems, and weighs only about 10 grams.
And here's how I know I'm getting to 90 lbs: this little beauty fits in a saddlebag without problems, and weighs only about 10 grams.
My husband carries a small one in a little backpack. It works for him. I think it's one of those portable ones useful for emergencies. It hasn't failed him so far.
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