Today's Bike Ride

[Hanneke]

Oh LOL Daz re sleeping with your bike!

No idea about the punctures you keep on getting, short of Ady's thought that something small may be embedded in the outer that causes it?

I have used Bontrager Kevlar lightweight tyres on the training bike for years and hardly ever get a puncture. As a matter of fact, less than once a year...

I now use Schwalbe Ultremo's on the Mavic's and same thing, rode over 3000 miles puncture free... then replaced them with some Stevio's, and got a puncture during the TdG... suppose I can't complain though, for lack of punctures... Not sure what caused the last puncture, tiny hole in the tube, no sign of anything in the tyre...

I need to however get a set of spare tubs and some old rims to put them onto, because I may just get a puncture in one of my tubs on the deep section carbon wheels... even though I only use them for racing and TT-ing...

Oh and like Ady, I ride my tyres at 100 psi for training and get them up to 120 ish for racing. I think if you have them too hard you are more prone to punctures. I also find it less comfortable...

[Hanneke]

Oh and had some fantastic riding yesterday in the pooring rain! 10m TT Welsh Champs first thing in the morning and was quite pleased with my time... as the weather was awful, strong side winds and rain!

Then got home and my friend had been out to ride the Gospell Pass on his cross bike... after lunch we went out for a play on the crossers onto the Black Mountains... WOW! Over 3 hours of difficult technical riding in the pooring rain! Great stuff! I found out a few things though: my shoulder is too bony for shouldering the bike comfortably, it needs padding out!

I also need to fit the SPD pedals onto it, as not being clipped in, riding with fell shoes on flat pedals, gets a bit hairraising at times Also, I need to see if I can find brake pads that have better braking power, as those cantilever breaks are really a bit scary for their lack of stopping power

I did however find that running while pushing the bike wasn't too much of a hardship and was surprised that I was able to ride up and down bits I had never thought about riding a bike onto...

My friend being a pure cyclist rode a lot more than me and I found that I was often faster than him carrying/pushing the bike while running, than he was riding... He came acropper twice, I managed to stay upright! But did end up knee deep immersed in some bog, bike and all as well as going streight through a river that came up to mid thigh, where my friend decided to go around Suppose that is the difference between the fell runner and the cyclist coming out...

Great day! But we had no desires to take the cross bikes to bed, as we left them to fester in the car giving priority to hot showers, drinks and food in front of the fire!

[daz h]

Im starting to think its the bloody roads around here
Derbyshire roads are shocking caused by zero money being spent over the last few years.

Normally your prone to punctures if your tyres are to soft. I think maybe the cosmics are not as forgiving as say my zondas. Poss a bit more prone to pinch punctures.
Going to fit them on my rourke as thinking about it i hardly ever get a puncture on my bianchi. Must be the rims.

[Hanneke]

Daz, your roads can't possibly worse than the roads I ride on here...

Try the Bontrager kevlar stuff or the Schwalbe's... seems to work for me...

[Hanneke]

Mind you, the Mavic's I have are Ksyriums SL, supposed to be bomb proof and bought especially because of the dodgy roads here... so far soo good

And you got to just LOVE the red hubs and single red spoke as well

[George]

I was always under the impression that you need to keep tyres pumped up fairly hard to avoid punctures.

[stevefoster]

A quick 15 miles on singlespeed crosser culminating in a 25% mile long grunty b@st@rd climb, resisted the urge to pedal up it and gave the old bike an upper
May sleep with her tonight, she's very dirty