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Soft Tire


Razors Edge

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Yesterday, I went out to the garage to head out for a ride before dark.  As normal, I squeeze the tires and decide to add air or not.  The front was SOFT. Very soft.  Not flat, but under 20psi (vs expected 80psi).  I had ridden it Sat with no issues, and a 60psi drop is NOT normal.  I grabbed my spare front wheel off the wall, pumped it up, and went to swap it on to the Tarmac.  NOPE! It was the setup I used for the Roubaix and had the 28mm Conti 4ks, which are about 1 or 2mm too wide for the Tarmac I have :angry:  So, I swapped back to the soft tire, pumped it up, and committed to paying attention to it on the ride.  I'd lost some daylight, so I knew the ride wouldn't be too long anyway.

So, went, rode, checked it a couple times, got home with no issues, and when I checked it this morning, still full (or firm to my squeeze).  We'll see what happens over the next 24-48 hours, but definitely annoying :(

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1 minute ago, Dottles said:

I'm worried about you RE.  This was way to much effort to be sharing about tire pressure.

It's more about the cause, not the symptom!!!!  WTF is up with that tire?!?!?  Is it a slow leak? Someone fucking with me? Fixed? Unresolved and waiting until a very inopportune time to strike again?  Is there a god?

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1 minute ago, Razors Edge said:

It's more about the cause, not the symptom!!!!  WTF is up with that tire?!?!?  Is it a slow leak? Someone fucking with me? Fixed? Unresolved and waiting until a very inopportune time to strike again?  Is there a god?

Ok, you caught me.  I've been sneaking over at night and letting a little out at a time.

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Just now, Dottles said:

Wow, that's very kind of you.  Am I a lucky prankster or what??

Well, I store a bunch of food down in the garage before it makes it into the pantry. There's beer and wine in there too, and, of course, sparling water, dried & canned goods, and snack food, but please don't swipe any TP or paper towels! Those are being hoarded and aren't part of the deal!

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19 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

when I checked it this morning, still full (or firm to my squeeze).

Wow, someone else that admits to checking tire pressure with a squeeze. On my road bike I always connected the floor pump and brought it up to correct pressure when I was home but on a week long ride I would give the tires a squeeze to see if I could go another day without adding more air. If you use a gauge you always lose a ppft of air checking them.

With my touring bikes they have bigger tires and a squeeze tells me if I’ll be ok for another ride. Everyone says you need to run lower pressure on gravel anyway and all my rides from home start and end in gravel.

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5 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

Wow, someone else that admits to checking tire pressure with a squeeze. On my road bike I always connected the floor pump and brought it up to correct pressure when I was home but on a week long ride I would give the tires a squeeze to see if I could go another day without adding more air. If you use a gauge you always lose a ppft of air checking them.

With my touring bikes they have bigger tires and a squeeze tells me if I’ll be ok for another ride. Everyone says you need to run lower pressure on gravel anyway and all my rides from home start and end in gravel.

I find if I top them off to my "regular" 90 rear, 85 front, that keeps me fine for multiple rides in a week, and the next time I inflate, they have usually dropped about 10 psi each in 4-6 days.  Some tubes are a little quicker to lose air, but a squeeze is enough to tell me if I should bother hooking up the pump.  For a "big" ride like a century, sure, I'll top off just to "be safe", but for a normal ride??? A squeeze is enough. I don't think running 70/70 psi would be a big issue for most road rides I do.

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Just now, ChrisL said:

Could be a slow leak or a valve screw not completely screwed down? I have forgotten to crank down the little valve screw after pumping up a tire and lost a lot of pressure between rides. 

Interesting.  My buddy said he had that happen. I didn't think that was possible! But maybe it is what happened, and certain bumps along a ride bleed some air? Or just not having it tightened down leaves a gap for more than normal air loss?

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52 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Interesting.  My buddy said he had that happen. I didn't think that was possible! But maybe it is what happened, and certain bumps along a ride bleed some air? Or just not having it tightened down leaves a gap for more than normal air loss?

Yes.  Presta valves will burp on bumps.  That's why the not cool kids keep the caps on tight.

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I always pump up my tires before a ride. Even if it is 5-10 psi. I figure this lets me know with the pump gauge what is going on,

 

The other night, got a flat on the road in the dark. Love a good helmet light :nodhead:

It was going soft slowly, had about 5 miles to go.  Thought about pumping it up and continuing on but knew with my luck, I'd pump it up 4 or 5 times before getting back so I just changed it on the roadside.

When Gina rides with me, I pump all 4 tires every time. Just that way, I guess!

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4 hours ago, Mr Beanz said:

I always pump up my tires before a ride. Even if it is 5-10 psi. I figure this lets me know with the pump gauge what is going on,

 

The other night, got a flat on the road in the dark. Love a good helmet light :nodhead:

It was going soft slowly, had about 5 miles to go.  Thought about pumping it up and continuing on but knew with my luck, I'd pump it up 4 or 5 times before getting back so I just changed it on the roadside.

When Gina rides with me, I pump all 4 tires every time. Just that way, I guess!

I feel like such noob....I pump my tires..um every few wks.  Yea, I'm a sludge. Frankly, there were times, I wondered if I could properly yank off the hose valve without release much air that I just pumped in. 

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13 hours ago, shootingstar said:

I feel like such noob....I pump my tires..um every few wks.  Yea, I'm a sludge. Frankly, there were times, I wondered if I could properly yank off the hose valve without release much air that I just pumped in. 

You have a hybrid, don't you? Those tires are pretty wide and pretty "maintenance free" from a roadie perspective :D  My wife's bike has 700x32 tires, and I think they need air like once a month - if that.  She seems just as happy with the PSI at 50 as 35 and I don't think I've ever heard her say her tires need air.  I'll pump them up every so often before we head out for a ride as part of my normal pre-ride routine, but other than that, very low maint for them.

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54 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

You have a hybrid, don't you? Those tires are pretty wide and pretty "maintenance free" from a roadie perspective :D  My wife's bike has 700x32 tires, and I think they need air like once a month - if that.  She seems just as happy with the PSI at 50 as 35 and I don't think I've ever heard her say her tires need air.  I'll pump them up every so often before we head out for a ride as part of my normal pre-ride routine, but other than that, very low maint for them.

I can see me moving to a hybrid bike as I continue to age!  Daughter #2 has a very nice one.  Maybe more of a "flat bar road bike".

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17 minutes ago, Philander Seabury said:

Two words for the ultimate in soft taars - Hutchinson Flash,  I sure hope those are discontinued!

Nope!  :D

https://coachlevi.com/cycling/the-pros-and-cons-of-5-tires/

As God as my witness, I thought the $5 price was a closeout! :D 

Good trainer tires, though!

But, WTF???:

flashtirebend.jpgflashtirebend2.jpg

And, a question for you...can you really call god as a witness?  How does that work? Subpoena?  What if god doesn't show up?  And what sort of ID does god use to get into the courthouse?

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On 10/14/2021 at 10:34 AM, Razors Edge said:

It's more about the cause, not the symptom!!!!  WTF is up with that tire?!?!?  Is it a slow leak? Someone fucking with me? Fixed? Unresolved and waiting until a very inopportune time to strike again?  Is there a god?

You didn't screw the valve down all of the way the last time you added air.

 

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3 hours ago, Philander Seabury said:

Two words for the ultimate in soft taars - Hutchinson Flash,  I sure hope those are discontinued!

Nope!  :D

https://coachlevi.com/cycling/the-pros-and-cons-of-5-tires/

As God as my witness, I thought the $5 price was a closeout! :D 

I remember back in 2009 'ish, I bought a Hutchinson tire. One of their top of the line equals to the Conti GP, didn't care for it at all. Flatted like a MOFO. Maybe a good race tire but not for me. I vowed to avoid H like the plague. :D

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6 hours ago, Razors Edge said:

You have a hybrid, don't you? Those tires are pretty wide and pretty "maintenance free" from a roadie perspective :D  My wife's bike has 700x32 tires, and I think they need air like once a month - if that.  She seems just as happy with the PSI at 50 as 35 and I don't think I've ever heard her say her tires need air.  I'll pump them up every so often before we head out for a ride as part of my normal pre-ride routine, but other than that, very low maint for them.

Well riding at 70 PSI is  nicer and abit faster.

I'm just kinda lazy re wheel pumping frequency.

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