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CA Needs To FIX ITS ROADS!!!


Razors Edge

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:angry:

51.5 miles into a 52 mile ride and ... another FLAT TIRE :angry:  Luckily, I was meeting my wife at the beach, so I only had to walk a few blocks to throw the bike in the car, but what a bummer :(  Looked at it this morning, and first thought, before pulling the tire off, was that the small gash let in something.  I don't remember getting that gash, so :scratchhead: not sure if that caused a flat or not in the past. I don't think it did :dontknow:

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But then, as I pulled the tire off the rim, I looked at the tube from that area and it looked fine.  I decided to put some air into the tire and see if I found the leak.

BINGO!

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...what's this little shiny thing?

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Maybe a staple of some sort?  My last flat a couple months ago on my front tire was a staple, but far more substantial in size.  What's up with CA and staples????  You can see how tiny it is when shown against the tire levers.

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6 minutes ago, Philander Seabury said:

What does fixed mean in that case?  Graded?

My road crosses four townships. My township put down new milled blacktop last week. The next township up the road about 100 yards away tried putting chip seal in front of the houses to keep the dust down. It developed huge potholes and can’t be graded. They went along with a truckload of blacktop patch and a shovel  And filled all the potholes last week. The blacktop patch will be lucky to last a few months but it’s nice now.

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Your right, so go home! 😁

On my Thursday night ride my riding buddy got a flat by a thorn so small us geezers couldn’t find it.  I had him run his glove along the inside of the tire & we could hear it snag to pinpoint where it was.  It was a tiny thorn, I’m really surprised it worked its way through the tire casing.

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20 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

Your right, so go home! 😁

On my Thursday night ride my riding buddy got a flat by a thorn so small us geezers couldn’t find it.  I had him run his glove along the inside of the tire & we could hear it snag to pinpoint where it was.  It was a tiny thorn, I’m really surprised it worked its way through the tire casing.

I carry an old sock.  It houses some my loud tools so they remain quiet.  It serves as a glove for chain work and it can be used inside the tire to find sharp objects without damaging your glove.  One of the most useful items in my bag of tricks.

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4 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

I carry an old sock.  It houses some my loud tools so they remain quiet.  It serves as a glove for chain work and it can be used inside the tire to find sharp objects without damaging your glove.  One of the most useful items in my bag of tricks.

How much use does an old sock get??? Your roads sidewalks must be atrocious!

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10 hours ago, MickinMD said:

Wow!  Getting a flat from that little thing is really bad luck.

Most of my flats have been from wires in radial truck tires that have blown out on the interstate. I don't think size matters. Once had a nail go through the tire, both sides of the tube, and the rim.

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58 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

Your right, so go home! 😁

On my Thursday night ride my riding buddy got a flat by a thorn so small us geezers couldn’t find it.  I had him run his glove along the inside of the tire & we could hear it snag to pinpoint where it was.  It was a tiny thorn, I’m really surprised it worked its way through the tire casing.

We see that a lot with goats heads or Texas sandburrs. One thorn will break off the burr and work its way through the tire. All it takes is a little prick....In the fall, I will often take the tires off and give them a slow, thorough cleaning by prying thorn pieces from the tire with a knife. It's tedious, but a beer and some music makes it better than a flat on the road!

Several years ago, I kept getting poked in the heel in one pair of shoes, but I could never find anything. This went on for a few weeks. Finally one day, I was able to feel a point below the insole. I was able to compress the foam sole with some pliers and grasp the object. Apparently I had stepped on a piece of glass and it had worked its way through the shoe as I walked. Luckily the foam polished the edges of the glass so it wasn't sharp enough to puncture me by the time it worked its way through. 

 

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Not making any bold statements & blowing my flat karma but I’m so freaking happy I ride tubeless.  My current & previous Cross bikes do mixed road & light dirt so went with 32 mm tires with a file tread but no knobs.   Great in the road & capable enough in the dirt.

I have finished numerous rides to find a little wet spot on the tire.. Sweet, another flat avoided.

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2 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

I live in the middle of one of the best gravel rails to trails linear state parks around.  

Tubeless might make you not get as many (or any) flats.  You might check that out.  And roll with some lower pressures for a plusher ride.

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1 minute ago, ChrisL said:

Not making any bold statements & blowing my flat karma but I’m so freaking happy I ride tubeless.  My current & previous Cross bikes do mixed road & light dirt so went with 32 mm tires with a file tread but no knobs.   Great in the road & capable enough in the dirt.

I have finished numerous rides to find a little wet spot on the tire.. Sweet, another flat avoided.

That's what I run.  32mm with an inverted tread by Kenda.

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25 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

Not making any bold statements & blowing my flat karma but I’m so freaking happy I ride tubeless.  My current & previous Cross bikes do mixed road & light dirt so went with 32 mm tires with a file tread but no knobs.   Great in the road & capable enough in the dirt.

I have finished numerous rides to find a little wet spot on the tire.. Sweet, another flat avoided.

Yeah, I got the Tarmac about one or two years before all the road bikes jumped on disc brakes and then tubeless.  I think the current frames are only disc brakes - on all their road bikes except the lowest Allez options. 

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10 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Yeah, I got the Tarmac about one or two years before all the road bikes jumped on disc brakes and then tubeless.  I think the current frames are only disc brakes - on all their road bikes except the lowest Allez options. 

You should have disc brakes.  They are great.

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2 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

You should have disc brakes.  They are great.

I have them on the gravel bike.  It's all good :party:

I don't do much braking on the road bike.  I wouldn't mind discs for long steep descents that end in a T intersection because that would really allow me to wait until the very last moment to slow safely.  Right now, with the rim brakes, its more a "brake a little more gently and earlier" sort of thing.  They would help in the rain too, but again, not that much if you're not braking very often.

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23 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

I have them on the gravel bike.  It's all good :party:

I don't do much braking on the road bike.  I wouldn't mind discs for long steep descents that end in a T intersection because that would really allow me to wait until the very last moment to slow safely.  Right now, with the rim brakes, its more a "brake a little more gently and earlier" sort of thing.  They would help in the rain too, but again, not that much if you're not braking very often.

I watched a video (maybe on GCN) after the Chris Froome disc debate.   An American pro who had raced for Ineos was telling a story of a rainy mountain descent during a grand tour, Giro maybe.  He’s still on rim brakes and starts to brake setting up for a hairpin turn.  A rider on discs passes him no hands  zipping up his vest, reaches down at the last possible minute to slow down for the turn.   

Do rim brakes work, yes. Are disc brakes better, yes.

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20 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

I watched a video (maybe on GCN) after the Chris Froome disc debate.   An American pro who had raced for Ineos was telling a story of a rainy mountain descent during a grand tour, Giro maybe.  He’s still on rim brakes and starts to brake setting up for a hairpin turn.  A rider on discs passes him no hands  zipping up his vest, reaches down at the last possible minute to slow down for the turn.   

Do rim brakes work, yes. Are disc brakes better, yes.

Still have a surprisingly large %age of rim brake riders in the peloton.  It does seem like a huge disadvantage in a race to change the disc brake wheels, and neutral support is a clusterf%$# almost to the point of uselessness or even a hindrance.

But, with tubeless catching on as well in the pro ranks, it will be interesting to see how this evolution unfolds.

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1 hour ago, jdc2000 said:

Disc brakes also require more frequent brake pad changes.  Not an issue when you have a pro mechanic working on your bike after every ride.

 

Maybe so but I have been running cable & hydro discs for about 5 years now on 4 different bikes and they really haven’t been much trouble.  Changing pads is a 5-10 job and mine never went out of whack for any reason.  

Ride what makes you happy but in my experience discs really haven’t been troublesome at all. 

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2 minutes ago, Kzoo said:

Extradition papers are being filed...

That may be required!  Have you been to this place??? It's offensively awesome.  Too many blessings in one place, and the natural wonder from oceans to mountains, deserts to forests, plants & animals, and food & drink, is quite simply INCREDIBLE.

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1 minute ago, Razors Edge said:

That may be required!  Have you been to this place???

I have.  I have been to SD twice.  Both for week-long conventions down at the convention center.  Neither time did I have a rental car so I didn't get to explore and IBM kept us entertained at night.  My largest experience was about 6 months of work twice in the SF Bay area - San Mateo - half way between the city and San Jose.  Get place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.  Checking out SF and north into wine country was fun but I didn't have 2 hour commutes or earthquakes to deal with (OK one earthquake while I was there).

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13 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

That may be required!  Have you been to this place??? It's offensively awesome.  Too many blessings in one place, and the natural wonder from oceans to mountains, deserts to forests, plants & animals, and food & drink, is quite simply INCREDIBLE.

Great.... Another Virginian in my state... 😁.  

I joke about this but there is a semblance of truth.   I dragged my wife out here from VA and she loves the area and tolerates me.  If something were to happen to me she’d never go back to VA no way no how. 

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1 minute ago, ChrisL said:

Great.... Another Virginian in my state... 😁.  

I joke about this but there is a semblance of truth.   I dragged my wife out here from VA and she loves the area and tolerates me.  If something were to happen to me she’d never go back to VA no way no how. 

Had the family issues and the trust/will been different, we would 100% have bought this house.  But with the market the way it is, from a "trustee" standpoint and with no direction from the trust & will to give the kids first right of refusal nor the parent-child tax protections, my wife HAD to get the largest amount of money for the heirs.  With a contentious sibling, convincing all siblings that not paying realtor fees and not doing proactive repairs would justify a lower "family" price for us was not a battle that would be won.

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21 minutes ago, Kzoo said:

I have.  I have been to SD twice.  Both for week-long conventions down at the convention center.  Neither time did I have a rental car so I didn't get to explore and IBM kept us entertained at night.  My largest experience was about 6 months of work twice in the SF Bay area - San Mateo - half way between the city and San Jose.  Get place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.  Checking out SF and north into wine country was fun but I didn't have 2 hour commutes or earthquakes to deal with (OK one earthquake while I was there).

San Diego (the city) certainly has stuff to do without a car, but this state is really a "car" state, as it is BIG and it has amazing stuff in all four corners and every bit in between.  We've obviously just been here in SoCal for this time, but have spent time in other parts up to San Fran (not yet beyond that for me).  With this house stuff, we've had to be "out" for some events like the carpeting and the showing, so we've also hit some other spots during that time - like returning to Kings Canyon and to Yosemite or being up at Palm Desert and hitting Joshua Tree several times.  Riding along the ocean, sitting on the beach, taking hikes in the hills, and trying out a wide variety of food and beverages has yet to get "old".  In fact, EVERY TIME I step outside, it is like "WHOA! This is great."  We have found, it is a AVOID the 5 at all costs world, but otherwise, it's pretty darn wonderful. 

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32 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Had the family issues and the trust/will been different, we would 100% have bought this house.  But with the market the way it is, from a "trustee" standpoint and with no direction from the trust & will to give the kids first right of refusal nor the parent-child tax protections, my wife HAD to get the largest amount of money for the heirs.  With a contentious sibling, convincing all siblings that not paying realtor fees and not doing proactive repairs would justify a lower "family" price for us was not a battle that would be won.

We had similar drama selling my moms house. Sucks but I trusted my sister who was the trustee and so it worked out fine for me.  
 

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