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The Double Flat Blues

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

The Double Flat Blues

Old 07-24-20, 12:27 PM
  #26  
RedBullFiXX
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Originally Posted by 79pmooney
I know, I still don't get it. I just came home from 65 miles on my basically race ti fix gear. Put 100 psi into my 24/25c tires. Never once occurred to me I wanted lower pressure.

I have a theory that in general carbon bikes are less comfortable on rougher surfaces than steel or ti, hence the love of softer, wider tires. (And it isn't just me with this theory. At Cycle Oregon, it's a running joke among the ti and steel riders that we have to be ready to hit the brakes anytime we hit chip seal because all the carbon bikes around us slow down.) I suspect modern, deep rims add to this.

Ben
TL: Smoother ride, and more efficient, both can be true
Perhaps higher pressures are desired for your ride to feel fast ?
28c are not my goto for climbing as I have to pump to 80 psi to get that feeling back, like 25c @ 70psi
And 25c are lighter, so..
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Old 07-24-20, 04:19 PM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by 79pmooney
But a full frame pump will make a smaller difference! As in, you'll have far less (unpleasant) memories of all those pump-ups.
I have the Lezyne mini foot pump

really happy with it

has worked flawlessly for 10 years
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Old 07-24-20, 05:23 PM
  #28  
sanmateoclimber
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Originally Posted by 79pmooney
OP, would you like to tell us what tire size and pressure you were running? Your weight too if that's not too much to ask. (My 100 psi is with 24c ties and 155 pounds.)
Ben
Don't believe these were pinch flats, though I sure don't know what I'm talking about on the matter. I'm about 163 lbs on 25s at 110 psi. I've experimented a bit with lower pressures (here we go opening up that can of worms,) but never liked the result when it comes to my primary obsession: improving hill climbing speed.
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Old 07-24-20, 05:45 PM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by sanmateoclimber
Don't believe these were pinch flats, though I sure don't know what I'm talking about on the matter. I'm about 163 lbs on 25s at 110 psi. I've experimented a bit with lower pressures (here we go opening up that can of worms,) but never liked the result when it comes to my primary obsession: improving hill climbing speed.
Yea! I hate coming far forward on a hard climb and feeling the front tire squish. Your pressure sounds in the ballpark to my experience. I ran 100 in front, 104 in back yesterday. 25c front, 24c rear IIRC (I always go 4-5 pounds more in back; not a bigger difference for 1) avoiding that squish and 2) having plenty of air in the front tire for hitting the bottomless pothole.
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Old 07-24-20, 06:30 PM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by 79pmooney

I have a theory that in general carbon bikes are less comfortable on rougher surfaces than steel or ti, hence the love of softer, wider tires. (And it isn't just me with this theory. At Cycle Oregon, it's a running joke among the ti and steel riders that we have to be ready to hit the brakes anytime we hit chip seal because all the carbon bikes around us slow down.) I suspect modern, deep rims add to this.

Ben
There is probably a lot of truth to that.
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Old 07-26-20, 07:46 AM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by sanmateoclimber
Obviously, my recent fall from grace has me re-questioning the cost/benefit of being prepared for multiple flats on a ride. So my question to experienced road cyclists is this: was this a freak occurrence, and can I dismiss it as such?
No. The things which make flats likely increase your odds of suffering multiple flats - a rain storm washes debris into the gutter, high winds blow thorns onto the road, people who don't like cyclists tack a road.

Or do those of you who ride several thousand miles a year on tubed tires all prepare for this as an eventuality?
Yes. I have bring two spare tubes and a patch kit. On 100+ mile rides I add a spare tire incase there's a small piece of embedded debris I can't find.
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