Modern Flawed Designs
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Darkest Lincs
Posts: 494
Originally Posted by DaveReidUK
Yes, but if you pump the tyre up with the valve at 6 o'clock, it's easier because you're not struggling against gravity ...
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Yakima
Posts: 178
Originally Posted by wowzz
The tyres on my bike are filled with "gunk" that instantly fills small puntures. You need to have the valve at 12 o'clock when inflating the tyre, to ensure the gunk has fallen to the bottom of the tyre.
that could rotate the wheels for you and save the effort!
Gnome de PPRuNe
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Too close to Croydon for comfort
Age: 58
Posts: 9,842
Originally Posted by Winemaker
Problem solved by my local bike shop - tires with a layer of kevlar.
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: EU
Posts: 493
Conti Gatorskins are indeed a good investment, especially for touring. Won’t save you from an impact puncture, but will not puncture otherwise very often. Schwalbe Duranos are also good if looking for a lightweight tyre. Both types give 3k+ miles - excellent value for money as you say.
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: UK
Posts: 447
Originally Posted by Winemaker
I hate pushing a bike ten miles and riding on a flat was not exactly good for the tire.
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: EU
Posts: 493
Originally Posted by Winemaker
There are some viscous thorn bushes around here and I was getting a flat almost every time I rode; I hate pushing a bike ten miles and riding on a flat was not exactly good for the tire. I do have a repair kit with a small gas inflation cylinder, but that gets expensive and you need to carry tire tools. Problem solved by my local bike shop - tires with a layer of kevlar. Same weight as regular tiers, but not a single flat since I got them. A bit pricey but well worth it.
* don't forget to check the tyre for the cause of the puncture
Avoid imitations
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Wandering the FIR and cyberspace often at highly unsociable times
Posts: 13,728
Originally Posted by DaveReidUK
Puncture-proof tyres are great until you need to remove one, for example to replace a broken spoke.
DAMHIKT.
DAMHIKT.
I've had at least one every year for the last four years - it's always been the back wheel, too. Some say that the front tyre kicks up the item causing the puncture, ready for the rear one to run over.
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 783
Originally Posted by Winemaker
There are some viscous thorn bushes around here and I was getting a flat almost every time I rode; I hate pushing a bike ten miles and riding on a flat was not exactly good for the tire. I do have a repair kit with a small gas inflation cylinder, but that gets expensive and you need to carry tire tools. Problem solved by my local bike shop - tires with a layer of kevlar. Same weight as regular tiers, but not a single flat since I got them. A bit pricey but well worth it.
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Yakima
Posts: 178
Originally Posted by DaveReidUK
Puncture-proof tyres are great until you need to remove one, for example to replace a broken spoke.
DAMHIKT.
DAMHIKT.
edited to add: Or cars. Human powered machines only!
Last edited by Winemaker; 27th Feb 2022 at 04:19.
Join Date: Feb 2022
Location: Canberra
Posts: 0
Originally Posted by ATNotts
Can I add the tyre pressure warning light on Volkswagen Audi Group vehicles. The number of times I had had a false warning is now so great that I ignore it (the crying wolf syndrome) unless I can feel changes in the way the vehicle is handling. The thing is almost totally pointless. And then there is the ACC cruise control that applies the brakes when you're exiting the motorway up a slip road and passing a slower vehicle on your right. If that is as good as self driving cars ever got they'd be a total liability.
Cars generally have far too much tech, and far too many warning systems nowadays.
Cars generally have far too much tech, and far too many warning systems nowadays.
The ACC can be a pain and really needs to be more off than on
Gnome de PPRuNe
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Too close to Croydon for comfort
Age: 58
Posts: 9,842
Useful tip that, I developed pretty strong thumbs over 40+ years getting the last bit of bead over the rim on countless occasions. Another thing is to always check the rim tape is still straight. I had a whole series of punctures and couldn't find the culprit embedded in the tyre; a colleague immediately suggested I checked the tape - a short stretch had shifted and the tubes were fretting on spoke holes.
(A bonus point to anyone who can identify the aircraft in Dave's video above - I can't!
)
(A bonus point to anyone who can identify the aircraft in Dave's video above - I can't!
)
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Mostly in my own imagination
Posts: 131
I don't understand. Why don't you just arrange to have a car follow you with three or four replacement bikes strapped to the roof?
From watching television I thought that was standard practice
From watching television I thought that was standard practice
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Canberra ACT Australia
Posts: 309
A twist on the ‘I don’t want my car to do this automatically’ theme: Why on Earth doesn’t my car do this automatically?
My Ford Ranger does a bunch of things automatically that leave me uttering: WTF? But when I fold in the side mirrors in parking lots, after I park, to reduce the risk of contact with adjacent people and vehicles, do you reckon they subsequently fold out automatically when I start the car again or put it in reverse? Nope!
When I ask myself: “What would be the durr-obvious useful automatic function?, I answer: “Automatic fold out side mirrors!” Do the engineers really think we’re parking in such narrow spaces that we fold in the side mirrors first and can’t fold them out before reversing out? How could we get out of the car if the space is that narrow? We couldn’t open the doors to get out, if the space was that narrow!
There are probably a million like this: Instructions that leave out a fundamental step. Just helped someone move into a house with you-beaut automatic watering timers that connect to your ‘smart’ phone. The instructions and the FAQ made zero mention of the fact that you must enter the physical address of the unit in order for the clock to set. Not a single syllable. And no way of setting the clock manually.
The ‘welcome to your easy to use gadget’ email – naturally you have to set up an account – included an email address for questions. I sent an email to that address and received a “no longer working” response. The instructions did include a requirement to write down the MAC address printed on the bottom of the unit. However, that information was used nowhere in the set-up process.
I’m sometimes tempted to believe that the people who come up with these instructions get their jollies from leaving out something critically important. On that subject….
The new home into which I’ve just helped someone to move contained some acts of pure genius. I truly believe that they were done as a ‘piss take’ on whoever was going to discover the implications. This is a picture of the tap for the very expensive, plumbed fridge that I was trying to install. Note the adapter sleeve is tightened up against the tap, such that the tap can’t be turned. After all, why would you want to turn the tap on? The same genius installed the taps for the washing machine in a position that made it impossible to connect the washing machine hoses to them. Talk about laugh!
My Ford Ranger does a bunch of things automatically that leave me uttering: WTF? But when I fold in the side mirrors in parking lots, after I park, to reduce the risk of contact with adjacent people and vehicles, do you reckon they subsequently fold out automatically when I start the car again or put it in reverse? Nope!
When I ask myself: “What would be the durr-obvious useful automatic function?, I answer: “Automatic fold out side mirrors!” Do the engineers really think we’re parking in such narrow spaces that we fold in the side mirrors first and can’t fold them out before reversing out? How could we get out of the car if the space is that narrow? We couldn’t open the doors to get out, if the space was that narrow!
There are probably a million like this: Instructions that leave out a fundamental step. Just helped someone move into a house with you-beaut automatic watering timers that connect to your ‘smart’ phone. The instructions and the FAQ made zero mention of the fact that you must enter the physical address of the unit in order for the clock to set. Not a single syllable. And no way of setting the clock manually.
The ‘welcome to your easy to use gadget’ email – naturally you have to set up an account – included an email address for questions. I sent an email to that address and received a “no longer working” response. The instructions did include a requirement to write down the MAC address printed on the bottom of the unit. However, that information was used nowhere in the set-up process.
I’m sometimes tempted to believe that the people who come up with these instructions get their jollies from leaving out something critically important. On that subject….
The new home into which I’ve just helped someone to move contained some acts of pure genius. I truly believe that they were done as a ‘piss take’ on whoever was going to discover the implications. This is a picture of the tap for the very expensive, plumbed fridge that I was trying to install. Note the adapter sleeve is tightened up against the tap, such that the tap can’t be turned. After all, why would you want to turn the tap on? The same genius installed the taps for the washing machine in a position that made it impossible to connect the washing machine hoses to them. Talk about laugh!
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: London
Posts: 442
People not doing stuff like this properly does my head in. The workaround (which is probably what the previous owner did after realising their balls-up):
1. Remove knob from tap
2. Turn on/off using pliers, adjustable spanner etc
3. Replace knob
1. Remove knob from tap
2. Turn on/off using pliers, adjustable spanner etc
3. Replace knob
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: UK
Posts: 1,959
Look for a slimmer adaptor. Or get a friend with a lathe to turn down the top of the brass adaptor. Or cut a mill or so off the top yourself with a hacksaw.
Or cut a couple of mill off the bottom of the tap knob to clear the brass fitting.
Or cut a couple of mill off the bottom of the tap knob to clear the brass fitting.
