Preparing for first 600k

[Jason Hansen]

Hi.

I'm getting ready for the SIR 600k this weekend and I've a question on how to secure the spare tire to my saddle?

Is there a method for attaching a folded tire to the saddle rails using a toe strap or something?

Please advise, thanks!  Also links to pictures or walkthrough appreciated.

[WMdeR]

Dear Jason,

Use 3ft of black (or a contrasting/matching color to your frame) duct tape and a folding tire under your saddle. Fold the tire in fourths or sixths. Wrap the tape tightly around the tire then around both rails and back around the tire bundle.  The tape will potentially be useful for other things, and will securely hold the tire in place.  Alternatively, you can tape it behind your seat tube if you've already got a (full) saddlebag, or just toss it in your handlebar/saddlebag, where it will stay dry and better protected from the elements.

However, If you're using a reasonably wide tire then I'd question the need for a spare tire on a 600K.  Start with tires and tubes in good condition (i.e. almost but not quite new--perhaps 100mi on them) and carry two (or three) spare tubes, a patch kit, and material for a tire boot.  I've never significantly damaged a tire wider than 23mm on a ride (other than Grand Bois Cyprèses on gravel), and even they were rideable with boots.  The biggest advantage to having a spare tire is the "rainy nighttime mystery flat" problem, where you've got a Michelin wire or something difficult to find in your tire causing repeated flats.  This has been a strictly theoretical problem for me, so I've not lost sleep over it.

I carried all sorts of tools, spares, etc for the first couple of years I did long rides, and started paring down things I never used.

I'm down to three spare tubes (for 700C; one for 650B), a frame-fit pump, a few  Allen keys (3mm fits my shoe cleats,4mm,5mm fit the adjustment points on my bike), a tire lever, a patch kit with fresh glue, a powerbar wrapper, a spoke wrench, a fiber-fix spoke, a chain quicklink, a few zipties with a few feet of electrical tape, and a small swiss army knife with scissors, a flathead screwdriver point, tweezers, and a blade.  If I'm going into remote country, I add a chain tool.  I've never needed the chain repair stuff, nor a spoke wrench, but I've ridden with others who have broken their chain and/or a spoke, and both are show-stoppers.  I've used the rest at one point or another.

Enjoy your first 600k.  Please let us know how it went!

Best Regards,

Will

William M. deRosset

Fort Collins, CO

[Susan Otcenas]

>>I haven't carried a spare tire previously.  I was told that I needed it for the 600 though.

 

Ah.  Plus, I mis-read your original question as "tube", not "tire".  Sorry 'bout that.

 

"Need" is an interesting word.  You *need* a way to fix a flat (or 3) but I would quibble with the notion that you *need* a spare tire.  Particularly the notion that you need a spare tire on a 600 any more (or less) than you do on any other long rando ride that takes you to faraway places at oh-dark-thirty.  I think it's very much dependent on what tires you use *and* your skill/confidence in repairing/booting them when you are not firing on all cylinders *and* whether you want to hassle with that or not.

 

Personally, I run 650cx23 (not a ton of beefy rando worthy choices in this tire size) so I carry a spare tire on anything longer than a 200K (ie. anything that might have me out after dark when my ability to boot would be compromised by lack of light or general fatigue).   My spare is an uber-lightweight, racing-style folder.  (consider it the equivalent of the little donut tire spare in your car.  Not the choice for everyday use, but it will get you where you need to go without too much trouble and let's you finish your trip.)   I still wouldn't want to strap it directly to the saddle.  It doesn't take up much space and fits easily into a side pocket on my trunk bag. 

 

Susan

 

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Susan Otcenas

Team Estrogen, Inc.

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877-310-4592

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From: Jason Hansen [mailto:blin...@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2012 11:45 AM
To: Susan Otcenas
Subject: Re: [Randon] Preparing for first 600k

I haven't carried a spare tire previously.  I was told that I needed it for the 600 though.

On Tue, May 29, 2012 at 11:04 AM, Susan Otcenas <su...@teamestrogen.com> wrote:

What have you done with it on shorter rides and why isn't that appropriate for the 600K?   A 600 is not the time to change things, generally speaking.

 

The simple answer is a seat pack.  It's secure and will also hold your tire levers, a patch kit, etc.

 

IMHO, simply lashing the tube to your saddle is a bad idea.  It's too easy to lose it. (I tried that once on a triathlon many many moons ago.  It fell off after a bumpy stretch of road, and OF COURSE I flatted a few miles later.  Had to bum a spare off another passing racer, who was kind enought to stop for me!)

 

Susan

 

***********************************************

Susan Otcenas

Team Estrogen, Inc.

www.TeamEstrogen.com

877-310-4592

***********************************************

Follow our TE fan page on Facebook!

Look for "teamestrogen.com"

***********************************************

 

 

---

From: ran...@googlegroups.com [mailto:ran...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Jason Hansen
Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2012 10:42 AM
To: ran...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [Randon] Preparing for first 600k

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[Lynne Fitz]

My saddle bag is secured to my saddle :-) Spare tire is in there.
Grand Bois Cypres; folds up reasonably small. Wish I did not have to
carry it (and "have" is too strong a word"), but if I get a flat at o-
dark-30, faster to swap out the tire altogether.

I have seen pictures of a spare tire threaded in the spokes of the
front wheel. Don't know if I recommend that or not.

See you Saturday am!
Lynne F

[Jan Heine]

At 3:37 PM -0700 5/29/12, Lynne Fitz wrote:

>but if I get a flat at o-
>dark-30, faster to swap out the tire altogether.

Lynne makes a good point. Sometimes, it is very hard to find the
offending object that caused a flat. If you cannot find it, you run
the risk of getting more flats until it is removed.

It may be better to replace both the tube and the tire with
components you know are in good shape. I would do this at the latest
after the second flat where you cannot find the object that caused
the puncture. Then you can examine the tire at home with good lights
and find what caused the flat.

Sometimes, an object punctures the tube without getting stuck, and
simply isn't there. But when somebody tells me that they got 4 flats
on one ride, and never found anything stuck in the tire, it is highly
likely that it was the same undiscovered object that caused all flats.

Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
http://www.bikequarterly.com

Follow our blog at http://janheine.wordpress.com/
--

[Jeff Arasmith]

Jan and Lynne,

I learned a related lesson the hard way.  I've had all but one of my flats when on my own and took the time to find what was usually a piece of glass in the tire.  Earlier this spring, I was on a group ride and due to my perception of time pressure, I gave up quickly and assumed there was nothing still in the tire.  9 miles later, I had another flat and a chance to dig around with the tip of my pocket knife blade. There was a hunk of glass between the inner and outer surfaces of the tire.  Talk about wasting the time of the group I was riding with.  They were exceptionally gracious.

I also carry a good quality set of tweezers that I got at the Kershaw Knives factory sale.  I haven't had to use them yet, but another randonneur was happy to use them to pull a fine wire out of his tire.

-Jeff A.

On Tue, May 29, 2012 at 3:53 PM, Jan Heine <hei...@earthlink.net> wrote:

At 3:37 PM -0700 5/29/12, Lynne Fitz wrote:

but if I get a flat at o-
dark-30, faster to swap out the tire altogether.

Lynne makes a good point. Sometimes, it is very hard to find the offending object that caused a flat. If you cannot find it, you run the risk of getting more flats until it is removed.

It may be better to replace both the tube and the tire with components you know are in good shape. I would do this at the latest after the second flat where you cannot find the object that caused the puncture. Then you can examine the tire at home with good lights and find what caused the flat.

Sometimes, an object punctures the tube without getting stuck, and simply isn't there. But when somebody tells me that they got 4 flats on one ride, and never found anything stuck in the tire, it is highly likely that it was the same undiscovered object that caused all flats.

Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
http://www.bikequarterly.com

Follow our blog at http://janheine.wordpress.com/

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[Randon Nerd]

I carry a spare tire on every ride - I used to carry a "slightly worn" tire for my spare but have found that it is easier to carry a new tire, especially if my bike has "older" rubber, as I only need to replace the tire once, rather than doing an emergency repair on the road and then redoing it again once I get back home.  While Specialized Armadillos are my "tire of choice" for commuting, for randonneuring I've "standardized" on Conti 4-Seasons - 28mm where they'll fit, 23mm where there is less clearance.

I'm not sure that I'd limit my choice of carrying a spare to the distance one is riding.  While most of the time I'll replace the tire when I get a flat and I see threads wearing through, the three times I have completely destroyed my tire - to the point where a Tyvek boot did not hold - were within 10K of the start.  I could have left the replacement tire in the car and gone back to retrieve it, but it was easier to just replace the tire and tube and be on my way - and save the "boot" for those times when I've already replaced the tire.  (I'm not so quick to throw away my old tire as sometimes it might be the better option for that second tire repair.

Willie

[Jeff Arasmith]

Here are some photos of spare tires held to the seat rails with an extra toe strap:

http://www.abovecategorycycling.com/archives/1220

http://www.abovecategorycycling.com/archives/457

http://grouchosports.com/team-bloggers/groucho-blogger-mike-m-almanzo-prep-spare-tubular-dilemma/

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/345794-how-to-carry-a-spare-tire

Tubular specific discussion, but some interesting ideas and photos:

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=61362

-Jeff A.

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[Ryan Watson]

This is clearly an excuse to buy more gadgets that should not be passed up!!

I recommend either the Berthoud tire bag:

http://www.renehersestore.com/servlet/the-272/Berthoud-Tire-holder-bag/Detail

Or the Nitto tire cage:

http://www.euroasiaimports.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=8004&idcategory=1314

Ryan 

[Emily O'Brien]

Aside from whether or not you need to carry a spare tire, there are lots of places on a bike that you can strap a folding one where it's out of the way. If you have room under your bottle cages in the crook between the seat tube and down tube, there's room for it there without hitting the cranks, provided it's strapped in securely and not too wide. Velcro straps will hold it fine and you can forget about it until you need it. You can also strap it to the down tube where a third bottle cage would go. I've heard of some riders using their spare tire under the saddle to prevent their saddlebags from hitting their legs. Or you can stick it in the corner under your stem. Just strap it in somewhere, then go ride back and forth over a bumpy road (or almost any road, if you're around here) and if it doesnt fall off you're good to go.

Emily

-----Original message-----

[Jason Hansen]

Thanks for all the responses, very helpful!

[Bill Gobie]

Not addressing  your question but on topic, I think: Check your cables for broken strands, particularly the shift cables at the shifters and the front derailleur at the pinch bolt. Pull the cables out of brifters if you have integrated levers so you can see the portions that wrap on the drums since that is where they tend to break. Replace your cables if you don't know how old they are.

Bill Gobie

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[DistanceBiker.com]

Using this strap of my design, you can carry a spare under your saddle or under your aerobars.
~ Richard

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[Randon Nerd]

Ryan - I KNOW that one doesn't mount the tire cage in a water bottle frame mount so if one is having a custom bike made, where does one normally have the bolt holes welded into the frame?  I might have room behind the down tube or would it be better to have it attached under the top tube?

Willie

[Peter Mathews]

A cautionary note.

I have seen unusable folded tyres taken out from be cause they have
been stored on the bike for too long and inadequately protected.

I think it is best to put them in a plastic bag at least as I have
observed the glue on duct tape causing deterioriation.

Obviously this can also be avoided by cycling the spare through to
being the everyday running tyre.

Have pity in a bunny who now rides a recumbent with different size
front and rear wheels. And yes, for long rides, I carry one of each
size. Schwalbe Duranos.

Peter

Peter Mathews
Library Planning Executive
Office of the University Librarian
Monash University Library
MONASH UNIVERSITY  VIC  3800
Ph    : (03) 9905 2192
Bike  : 043 999 2130
email : peter....@monash.edu

[Ryan Watson]

Willie,

I suppose you could put it wherever you like if you're getting a custom. It's designed to fit standard water bottle mounts. 

I put mine on the underside of the downtube where I have a 3rd set of bottle mounts. A normal water bottle won't fit there without rubbing the inner chainring, but the tire cage is narrower and fits fine. 

Photo here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7556426@N06/6832277617/

[randonnerd]

Ryan -

My three bottle holders mounts are too "sacred" to waste on a spare tire mount:

http://westerjerseywheelmen.yuku.com/topic/1753/Why-Rando-Bikes-Have-Three-Water-Bottle-Cages#.T8lVm8WaKSo

Although this is one of my smaller frames, I have no trouble fitting a "tall boy" under the down tube. :-)

The photos were taken in Kansas and are the "special hydrating" 3.2 variety. 

Willie

[russell...@yahoo.com]

I carrry my spare tire on the randonneur bike between the seatstays above the rear brake.  Held in place with a toestrap threaded through the tire and around the seattube.  Its a 700x20 Continental Supersonic.  Its about the only tire that folds up small enough to fit into the small space between the seatstays.  I was very happy to have that spare tire at 1 AM on Wednesday night in the rain on PBP 2007.

[William Pustow]

   My RBA turned me on to a good idea. He carries  a used spare tire with a deflated tube in it. It fits easily into his bag and at night is easy to use because it has already been  pre-stretched and and has a tube in it -  as opposed to looking for the cause of the puncture. He would look for the problem with the flatted tire at one of the lighted controls.

Bill Pustow

Louisville, Ky

RUSA # 75

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