This afternoon going from work to daycare I had a flat. A slice that was wide but did not go all the way through. The tubeless sealant seemed to be depleted. I don't think it was dried out, it was still sealing some punctures the last few months, but it's been warm. Either way, the sealant did not take care of it until the pressure was very low, not floppy but riding on the rim. I realized that I had my laptop bag and did not have any tire stuff at all. Home is not far off the path so I babied it home and got another bike. When I got all the small primates settled down at home I investigated. There now seem to be more holes - to be expected considering more than a mile riding on the rim. I added some sealant just to play around with it and took a ride around the driveway to slosh it. It seems to be holding for the moment but I obviously can't trust it. Slices or no, the tread depth tells the same story. Time for a new one. I get to choose commuter tire or gravel tire.
This just adds to the pile. Bikes are going to be expensive for a few months in this house. My wife's bike got stolen, as written elsewhere on this site. We found a direct replacement (in a better color!) but that required (heh) a trip to Incline Village where the seller lives, and so that was a free weekend day spent and a nice but expensive lunch out. She wants a 1x11 conversion again like I did for her stolen one, that's $300, more than we paid for the used bike. I got a cheap pedal to replace the wobbly one on my MTB and when I went to put it on I discovered the crank was also loose. We all know that doesn't get better. So here's my excuse to get a premium crank, but unlooked-for. I torqued it down and I can probably eke it out for a while. The crank on the commuter bike is creaking up a storm too but I believe that's the Cinch chain ring interface dried out of grease or never had any, I'm still hopeful it will be all right.
the first slice
another one found at home, maybe from riding on the rim
