The Bicycle / Biking Gear Thread

Garneau really seem to hit the quality/price point for me, over and over again.

Here's the jersey: Amazon product ASIN B01L29WST8
That's a good jersey for under $30. In fact, the puke green (why does everyone like this color?) is going for $20 right now in size L.
 
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I don't see anything in the above post idk.

I'm clearly not as dedicated as you guys are. Regular gym shorts are fine for rides less than 20 miles. Longer and I need some additional padding though. Mountain bike shorts for me up to 60ish miles which is as far as I have ridden. Knees not butt are limiting factors
 
Nuke, you're just probably much skinnier than me. I'm overweight, which puts more pressure on my groin area. As for "serious," that's always a tricky word. I am terribly serious about doing everything I can to not be a fat old man who can't do the stuff he loves, but I try like hell not to take myself seriously. I get 'good' gear because I want to be comfortable, and because I like working the gear. Feels nice, you know?
 
The Amazon link works for me, using Firefox.

For me, any ride longer than a 10 minutes means a padded chamois in the shorts, be them baggy or tight. For casual rides, I'll throw on a pair of surf shorts over some padded shorts.
 
True I likely am lighter than you since even though I'm old I weigh the same as I did in high school. One thing bad knees did for me is a realization that being overweight was going to be bad, very bad, so I never let myself get overweight. Having to go through multiple rehabs meant I got really used to going to the gym too. And since I grew up riding a road bike (I bought my first one at the age of 11 I think it was maybe 10) I must have hardened my ass to be able to handle longer rides without a padded chamois idk. I didn't get my first one until I found that riding in shorts was a tad chaffing after about 30 miles. And I got my first jersey because having my phone on my back was more comfortable than flopping around on my thigh.

I don't care what anyone wears or gets, after all it's your money. I am and always will be cheap and if cheap works for me all the better. If cheap doesn't work for you who am I do say. I don't even care if you take yourself seriously :). I do generally see the expenditure of a lot of $$ on a hobby as a sign of being very serious about it. Certainly that was the case when I used to scuba dive. I was into underwater photography at the time and spend a lot of money on gear...which (a) I don't use now cause I haven't been diving for a long time and (b) is all obsolete since since my camera was (is) a film one and most of the equipment was specific for the model camera I have (Nikon 8008)
 
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OK, so - inflation. I had one of those teensy CO2 inflators, and the even teensier rubber gasket inside came out and went somewhere and now I can't really use it well with presta valves.

What are people using? Any product recommendations?
 
Once back home, squeeze the tire to get rid of the CO2 since it will leak through the tube's porosity faster than air. Pump the tire back to normal pressure with a pump.

For CO2 inflators, I recommend one with a valve that allows you to control the flow into the tube. There are several manufacturers that offer decent ones.
https://www.competitivecyclist.com/lezyne-control-drive-co2
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Amazon product ASIN B07351DLP9
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Amazon product ASIN B017KU1DIK
91ESMpBLkHL._SL1500_.jpg
 
Cool. I actually inflate my tires at the beginning of every ride, and sometimes on long ones in the middle of the ride. I use the "Joe Blow" pump and really like it.

@Tig How do the gizmos above compare to the L-shaped versions? (which are what I have).
 
Danhedonia said:
Cool. I actually inflate my tires at the beginning of every ride, and sometimes on long ones in the middle of the ride. I use the "Joe Blow" pump and really like it.

@Tig How do the gizmos above compare to the L-shaped versions? (which are what I have).
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Yeah, I always pump up my tires before every ride with a floor pump.

The basic L versions work all at once, so you better have everything just right. I like to slowly inflate the tire to seat the beads instead of high volume, all at once. Also, I don't ride with high pressure in my tires, so this allows more control.

Ah, here's the one I have used for several years without any problems:
Amazon product ASIN B003M2PNGY
71mNtoHHHmL._SL1500_.jpg
 
I also have a floor pump for home and use it before every ride.

For the road I have a mini morph for each bike which is attached to the frame. Since my 2 bikes have different valves I need 2 pumps and it saves me trying to swap while on the road and/or forgetting the pump before I leave. I can get the tires up to ride-able pressures but they aren't fully inflated. I did try a CO2 one once but wasn't keen on the lack of control that mine had or the fact that I wouldn't be able to tell if I over-inflated (I don't know if it is impossible or not). I've thought of trying again but the Mini works well enough (I've ridden 30 miles back after a puncture with it). I did have to buy a special holder for my Cannondale since I have 2 water bottles on it and the stock holder takes the place of one water bottle which I wasn't willing to do

For the floor pump I got a Vibrelli from Amazon that was inexpensive ($35) and works great with a nice big easy to read gauge though I would prefer that it has numbers every 10 psi not 20. I had another pump which still works but it was struggling with pressures above 80psi so I got the Vibrelli instead and am happy with it.
 
During/after pumping up a flat tire, I use the good tire as a reference. I place both thumbs together and push, feeling and seeing how firm and deep they go, then try it on the newly inflated tire.
 
I do the same but I find when I get home and actually use a pump with a gauge the pressure is significantly lower than my target. I think I run higher pressures than you do, about 85 psi on my 27x1 1/4" tires and 100 on 700x23mm. Getting anywhere near those pressures with the hand pump is likely impossible. It will get me home but I can tell (especially on the rear where 95% of the flats occur) that they feel similar but are actually much softer
 
So, I have a slow leak on my back wheel. I've swapped out the tube a couple times, and no change. Rode 40 today and swung by the car 30 miles in, and the PSI had dropped from 135 to 105. After 48 hours, almost all of the air is gone.

I hit a pothole last Sunday but can't see any irregularity; it could also be the :/ Panaracer tire I'm using, but I have one on the front wheel and there's no leak there.

Any thoughts? Not enthused about purchasing a new back wheel.
 
Danhedonia said:
So, I have a slow leak on my back wheel. I've swapped out the tube a couple times, and no change. Rode 40 today and swung by the car 30 miles in, and the PSI had dropped from 135 to 105. After 48 hours, almost all of the air is gone.

I hit a pothole last Sunday but can't see any irregularity; it could also be the :/ Panaracer tire I'm using, but I have one on the front wheel and there's no leak there.

Any thoughts? Not enthused about purchasing a new back wheel.
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Mark the tube and the wheel. Stick the tube under water to find the leak, then match it up to the wheel and find the sharp spot that needs filing.
 
I already did that; no bubbles anywhere. But there is a spot with a tiny amount of roughness on the rim. I'm thinking that if I file it, even carefully, I might make things worse?
 
Inflate the tube until it is several inches in diameter and check for bubbles while each section is underwater in the sink of tub. Check the base of the stem.

Inspect the rim strip to see if it exposes any spoke holes, etc. Check the rim's valve stem hole for roughness/burrs.

A slow leak can also be caused by a faulty valve. (rare)

Ah, this article was in this week's Road Bike Rider news letter: https://www.roadbikerider.com/slow-leaks-frequent-flats-check-the-rim-strips/
 
Well if all the pressure is gone there has to be a leak. The starting pressure seems really high to me. I don't think I ever had tires that have pressure ratings that high (120 is tops). If you can't find the leak with water/soap you could see if the pressure is a factor. Maybe the valve is leaking at 135psi and once it starts it doesn't reseat idk. Note also that a slow leak will show only a bubble or two and you could miss it. That's why soap sometimes helps. Or just put a new tube on they are pretty cheap to eliminate the existing tube
 
The thing is, I've always rode at 140-150. Like, since the 80's. But I think you may be right about the valve, nuke.

Recent rides have featured different combos of tires/tubes than previously, so there is maybe something there. I really, really hope it isn't to do with the wheel.
 
Danhedonia said:
The thing is, I've always rode at 140-150. Like, since the 80's. But I think you may be right about the valve, nuke.
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What are you riding, 18mm tires? The only time I used that much pressure was with Continental tubulars in the velodrome.

These days, the smallest tire I'll use is a 25mm, 80-85 psi front, 90-95 psi rear. Like most people that have lower pressure, I've experienced far fewer flats the last 10 years.
 
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