I usually ride my bike to the shop in the mornings. It just doesn’t make sense to spend the money on gas when I live relatively close to the shop and the dog seems to enjoy the exercise. My tire had been running low so i got out the pump to add some air to the tire and thats when things started to go wrong. For some reason I couldnt get the pump to latch onto the valve stem in a manner that let the air flow through the correct orifice. (There are two orifices on the pump…one for presta valves and one for schrader valves.) I spent about twenty minutes trying to figure out what I was doing wrong and was drawing a blank. Now, when confronted with a puzzling situation like this I usually go for the process of elimination. I tried both tires and had the same problem. Reasonably, this means the problem is something to do with the pump rather than the tires. (The odds of both tires suddenly developing the same mysterious problem are pretty slim.) The problem obviously (to me) had to be the pump…either a problem with the pump itself or a problem in my application of it. Unfortunately, I do not have a spare pump for my bicycle to compare against.
Long story short: operator error on my part. I took the bike and pump to my local bike shop and asked the guy to check it out. He got the pump hooked up to the valve bo problem and promptly filled my tire. WTF? So I thanked him, watched him carefully, and then deflated my tire and tried it myself. Seemed to work this time. The error was in my trying to force the stem too deeply into the pump.
But, while I was at the bike shop I figured I should get another air pump. I wanted one to keep with the bike, which means a small, compact, lotsa-strokes unit. The guy who owns the bike shop is, surprise, a like-minded individual so he knew where I was coming from. “Here’s what I want: I need a pump that will fit in my bag, work on both valves, take abuse, be reliable, versatile and durable. If it gets wet or snowed on it won’t matter. Doesn’t have to mount to the frame, but it would be nice to have that option. I don’t care about the cost as long as it is end-of-the-world quality.”
He explained that while the smaller fit-in-your-bag pumps required more strokes than the longer mount-to-the-frame pumps, there is a greater risk of damage to the frame mounted pump if you take a tumble on your bike. I hadn’t thought of that. Originally I was looking at this pump
Of course, a pump is pretty useless without the means to repair the tube so it can hold more air. A few more clicks of a mouse got me a bicycle multi tool
I do need to put together a comprehensive “at home” kit of tools and gear to keep the bicycles running, though. I got several very good books on bicycle maintenance and repair, I just need to go find a junked mountain bike and tear it apart and put it back together a few times.
While Im not a ‘Peak Oil’ person, there are times when being able to zip around the town and the hills quietly, quickly, and on pathways that motor vehicles cant navigate might be very useful. Last thing I need is to get stuck somewhere with a busted chain or flat tire, though. So…we prepare.
A common problem I’ve experienced with the pump is the pin in the valve not lining up just right with the post inside the pump. The pin gets pushed to an angle between the post and the pump head and, since the pin isn’t depressed, doesn’t allow air in.
If you need new tires, I’ve had great luck with Michelin City tires – they have a reflective side wall that I like because half of my commute is in the dark. I travel over broken glass and concrete on nearly every trip and these tires lasted almost 1800 miles. Finally done in by a 4mm shard of glass that wore a chunk out of the tire and popped the tube – I may have gotten more miles out of the tires if I’d been inspecting them more regularly.
That incident gave me some experience with two WalMart products I was using: Slime innertubes and a Bell patch kit. The Slime innertubes work fine for pinholes but the product will not clot off a larger hole at normal operating pressure. My tube leaked down to about 20 pounds before the pressure was low enough for the product to work – basically riding on the rim at that point. I still think Slime innertubes are worth it if the extra weight isn’t a consideration.
The Bell patch kit worked great – this was the second time I used it and I got months of use and hundreds of miles on the patch before the second puncture, and then I replaced the tube on GP. That kit uses self-adhesive patches; the advantage being that you don’t have to wait for any vulcanizing glue to dry. Tossing some alcohol preps in with the patch kit is a good idea – the glue or adhesive does’t work well on a dirty tube and the abrasive pad provided doesn’t do a great job of cleaning the area.
That looks like a fine pump you got but I don’t like their mounting design – positioning the pump on the lateral aspect of the frame makes it far more likely to get damaged during an unplanned dismount than positioning it on the inside of the frame; like where the water bottle sits. I just keep my pump in a bag as well.
I feel like an idiot, my Grandfather had one of those old school wooden handled air pumps (with steel rods on outside of tube) that lasted YEARS and YEARS of myself, brother and passle of cousins using it to inflate tires. When he passed away and Grandma was getting rid of his tools, I should have asked for that pump – it worked great.
Your bike shop advice was sound. I had a Raleigh with a frame mounted pump and sure enough, I took a spill that effed the tube enough for pump not to work. It didn’t occur to me at the time to test it, so when I really needed it, I was left walking a long a$$ way home. This occured back in 70′s, no cell phones, we just sucked it up and took care of business.
I use a Lezyne Sport-Drive pump on my bikes. They’re well built, simple, and work well. Lezyne pumps screw onto tires, so there’s no pump head to break, wear out, or over insert.
I had a Topeak Morph for a couple of days and wound up returning it as was pretty sure I’d break the damn thing. It was pretty fiddly and had a lot of plastic parts.
As far as spare parts go, I carry a spare tire rather than a patch kit, bike tool with chain breaker, and a couple of spare links for the chain.
http://www.lezyne.com/products/hand-pumps/high-pressure#!Sport-Drive-HP
I am very much a bike guy ,I ride a specialized full suspension mtn. bike.As I live in the land of cactus and goat heads flats are acommon occurence.To deal ,I slime my tubes ,carry a spare tube and patch kit in my camel back.My camelback (EDC) also contains: repair kit ,pump,small 1st aid,small headlamp, leatherman,bic,cliffbar,and a glock 17.For longer wilderness treks a mountain hardware fanny pack is added witha fleece and light anorack ,two person survival bag, bic, food, larger headlamp, and a buck (mountain lion tickler)night hawk, on the waist. Oh and 1 more tube.thanks for the read
Have you looked at the Armadillo tires. My dad turned me on to these a couple years ago. They have worked great thus far. No flats yet. Thou me being me, I still carry equiptment to fix a flat tire.
Zinn is pretty good. My bike books are all sitting in storage currently, so I can’t suggest any other texts.
The real problem — and I haven’t found a book yet that addresses the problem — is the lack of standards in the bike world. Yeah, there are “standards,” but they all seem to have so many exceptions that it’s hard to trust the standard. And in order to constantly have “New!” “Improved!” gear to sell, the manufacturers are constantly tinkering with designs. Changes may be merely cosmetic, or may render the new version incompatible with the previous version.
For survival bike-repair purposes, add a couple of tools not usually included in lists of “bicycle tools”: a micrometer and a pair of calipers. Being able to precisely measure small parts — ball bearings for example — can be critical during repairs.
A MAPP-gas torch isn’t a bad idea either. Brazing or soldering can be used to repair damaged frames and is also useful for loosening frozen parts.
Sheldon Brown’s web site has a number of useful tables listing specifications for threads used on parts, common sizes of ball bearings and so forth. Print these out and stow with your tools and/or books.
Any time I acquire a bike I make a point of tearing down and overhauling critical parts like the wheel hubs, bottom bracket and headset. Both to inspect for wear and to make sure that the parts were properly lubed and assembled. While I have the assembly torn down, I record details of the components that may need to be replaced in the future: diameter of ball bearings and the number needed, the dimensions and shape of the hub cones, and so forth. McMaster-Carr is a good source for bearings; bike-specific bits like hub cones are available from most bike shops but can be hard to find if the hub is an older model.
Bleh… Slime is the easiest way to ruin a perfectly good tube.
Get a patch kit, take an extra 5 minutes to properly patch your tube.
Also, instead of a pump. Get a CO2 inflator http://www.cheapcycleparts.com/products/6966-innovations-in-cycling-2425-tools-tire-inflator-pump-with-cartridge?gclid=CJWTy_rd5LICFWaoPAod1ScAHg
That will get your tire full enough to ride on much faster. If you want, you can top off with the pump of many strokes.. Unless sitting around and making a fast up and down motion with your right hand for several minutes is something you enjoy.
Also, think about a tuffy liner http://www.westernbikeworks.com/product/mr-tuffy-standard-weight-tire-liner?v=s000000&utm_campaign=products&utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&gclid=CP7Rmbve5LICFaOaPAodxxAA7g
They really help quite a bit and are easy to install.
I run a hard compound street tread on my patrol bicycle, that also helps cut down on flats, but that solution won’t work for everyone.
As for tools, something like this: http://www.amazon.com/SKS-Function-Multi-Tool-Black/dp/B0030IJWHG/ref=sr_1_18?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1349263899&sr=1-18
That, along with a Gerber multi-tool, and a set of tire wrenches will fix 98% of your problems. Anything beyond that you need a real tool kit, and likely the mechanic who already owns it to repair. I would say skip the chain tool. In my experience chain work is best done by someone who knows what they are doing.
Bubba.. – 5 years on bicycle patrol in a major city, IPMBA certified.