April showers bring May flowers, flowers, flowers.
Posted on 05/01/2022 4:18:14 AM PDT by Berlin_Freeper
Welcome to The Bicycle Thread. A monthly PING List for bicycle enthusiasts to share experiences, information and ideas.
My wife and I are doing both Gravel Locos soon 2 weeks till Hico, then heading to Pueblo for their inaugural run. We’ve really injoyed gravel rides out through the ranch lands if Texas. Usually about 60 miles in 5 hours. Some of those crazies do 150 miles on gravel roads ! Much harder than street riding too but so much more beautiful.
Ping!
Haven’t ridden a bicycle in 45 years. My kid left his at my house and I have no clue how it even works, No to mention what might be wrong with it.
Greetings from the Richmond EAST COAST TRIATHLON Festival!
Race day is today!
https://livered.org/east-coast-triathlon-festival/
Golux & kids
Sixty miles in 5 hours on gravel is serious riding. I have to admit I couldn’t do it. I can 60 kilometers in 5 hours but that’s shorter than miles. Thanks for the link, looks like great fun.
Cool large event. A great start for the season. Have Fun!
I would like to know what people think about the Presta vs. Schrader valve issue.
Personally, I”ve had a lot of trouble with Presta valve equipped tubes, and I find them to be more “fiddly” than Schraders. I had several in a row fail catastrophically where the stem just decided to divorce itself from the tube. My LBS guy tells me this is not uncommon with Presta valves, which makes me wonder why anyone would want to go on a bike tour with them if they have that kind of propensity.
Therefore, I’m converting our fleet to Schrader only. After all, our cars, trucks, trailers, motorcycles, wheelbarrows, etc. all use Schrader valves, so why have one exception for the bicycles?
My impression of them is that they are a snooty European solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.
:^)
I have never seen so many kids on $5000 bikes!
My son rides a little K2 “Mod.” Not a bad little setup, Ultegra.
I can still dust many a spandex-clad hotshot on a $10K Colnago on my LeMond / 105.
Sadly sold my Bottecchia. Loved it, but ran out of room for bikes.
THAT was a machine! SLX, Dura-Ace, pantagraphed lugs, chrome forks...
One day I think I will find a perfect old road bike again, but I do absolutely love that Alpe d’Huez.
Maybe, at some garage sale, far, far away...
Are you still taping your bike rides around Berlin?
I watched several hours of your travels a couple years ago and really enjoyed myself.
I enjoyed them so much I actually thought about retiring in Germany for a while.
Unless you have a super thin wheel that can't fit a Schrader or you are bike shop owner because you make more $$ replacing tubes, Prestas just flat out suck.
I had a bicycle with them once, and was replacing tubes constantly because every time you put air in them there is a good chance they will break. The last straw was when I put air in the tube, the pump head got stuck (another common problem of Prestas), I gave it a slight wiggle and the valve broke off
I had the tires drilled out for Schraders after that and have been much happier ever since. There's a reason they use Schraders on Cars, Trucks, Jumbo Jets, Space Shuttle, etc and not Prestas.
The last bike ride that I took was from Oak Bluffs, Mass. to Chappaquiddick Island—about three miles. There, I rode over a famous bridge where an incident occurred that kept a very bad man out of the White House.
Sounds like your experiences and mine are similar.
I once asked someone what the advantage of Presta valves was. He said, “you can let the air out of the tires faster.” I’m thinking, “so what?”
husband is riding RAGBRAI again this year.
Solution 1: buy 6 Converter Presta to Schrader Valve Adapters for about $2 on Ebay (which is usually much cheaper for parts as these). You open the Presta valve all the way (without removing the valve) and screw the adapter on (the end with the rubber gasket goes at the bottom) and then you can use a regular pump to fill it. Then you remove it and close the Presta valve, but you could then just screw the adapter on instead of the cap, which on Schrader valves is to keep dust/dirt out, not air in, but on Presta valves that is less likely to be a problem.
Solution 2: Buy two Dual Head Schrader Presta Valve nozzles for under $6 and replace your standard nozzle with it. It is what I have used extensively, thank God. They were 2 for $1 about 4 years ago!
BTW, I recommend replacing cheap, soon cracking pump hoses with 3/16 I.D. Silicone Air Vacuum Hose (about $1 a foot).
I chose solution #3: drill out the rims with a 5/16” bit, deburr, and use Schrader tubes.
I stopped when covid hit and then it was taking 12 hours to upload a 60 minute video. Plus I could use a good video editor because I got frustrated with the free Windows one. But I will make one soon. I already bought a new setup so I can attach the Go Pro to my handlebars instead of the basket.
Very glad you liked the videos!
Thanks for the reminder.
How is this any meaningful advantage? I have a ten speed that has the kickstand bracket which makes it so in order to get the back tire off I have to deflate it first. It takes 5 seconds. How much faster does it need to be?
Solution #1 is not ideal as Prestas are so fragile they can and do easily break when putting the adapter on. Often the Adapter will get stuck on the Presta causing you to have to buy a new tube and new adapter.
Solution #2 is bad too, Presta again brake. See the picture above. The Presta broke and one part was stuck in the pump rendering it useless.
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