Amesja

+1 to talc. It's not necessary but it makes the tube nicer to handle and install much of the time.

I shake and bake a tube if it getting yucky after patching it at home and before rolling it up tightly to put back into my saddle bag as my spare for the next time.

Usually a tube will get really nasty in storage and stick to itself and be a mess the next time I need it when I get a flat. I wipe off all the excess talk after Shake&baking it with a paper towel and just leave enough on there so that the tube is silky-smooth like new and not a sticky mess. Then I backwards-wrap it in one place with a strip of masking tape followed by a forwards-wrap to cover the sticky side on the outside and so I can write the size on the masking tape. The masking tape can be easily ripped and removed with bare hands when needed and since it was backwards-wrapped at first there is no sticky goo left on the tube.

Once talked, wrapped and labled it goes into a plastic zip-lock bag to keep it dry if it going to be an on-the-bike spare.

Short of the plastic bag I do the above with all the tubes I recover from bikes that get parted out or used-holed tubes friends give me because they are too good to ride on patched tubes. I almost never need to buy tubes and often end up giving away many on the road and don't feel put out because I got them for free in the first place. :-D I've got a big box of used but like new reconditioned tubes all marked for size/type and ready to go.

Patches are almost free when you buy them in bulk. Why ever buy a tube? Often the nice older tubes from 70's-era bikes are as thick and nice as even the most expensive heavy-duty puncture-resistant tubes you can buy today. Why would anyone throw these beauties out? Tubes are protected from the UV light and ozone in the atmosphere that kills the outer surface of tires by virtue of being surrounded by the tires themselves. Sometimes I need to ream/re-tap the inner stem threads of Shrader stem tubes off of the older bikes but that is a simple job.

Maybe I'm just cheap

smurfy

Got a '70's-era bike you still ride w/quick-release wheels? My advice is to invest in new q/r skewers!

I have a fixie I built up and also built up a wheelset for it. For the front wheel I used an NOS '70's-era Shimano high-flange hub I got from a friend which apparently has never been laced to a wheel. One day I drove to a club ride meeting place and when I was putting the front wheel on after getting the bike out of the car the 35 year-old q/r skewer simply snapped (the part that goes through the axle), despite the fact that I only used it less than a couple of years and the bike has only been ridden in the rain once! How can this be? So I had to abandon the ride before it even started after driving twenty miles to get there.

Now that I bought a new q/r skewer for it I also got a spare for my supply bag when I transport my bike to club rides.

ThermionicScott 

Some great (and some dubious ) stuff in this thread!

I noticed that the link below has changed. Here's the new location.
- Scott

Swoop

For commuters or any other riders for whom punctures are more of a concern than weight/performance:
Use an old tube (the more patched the better ) as a protective layer over current tube. Cut the inner middle section of the old tube out (i.e. the width of the valve stem), and seat it over your current tube. I'm not sure if this is a good idea on a roadbike tho, I've done it on my mtb.
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ful-or-useless

varminter

8 pound sledge in combination with an Impact driver along with a oxy/acet torch can fix anything.

Hendo252 

I used the "shake and bake" method to talc a tube tonight -- MUCH better than my old method (pour talc in hand, rub on tube, make big mess).

Thanks for posting!

-Tom in SoCal

jenniferny

DUI on a bicycle is just as illegal and just as irresponsible on a bicycle as it is in a car or boat! It is the stupidest and most irresponsible thing any person can do while operating ANY vehicle! Plus, the attorneys fees are the same whether you are driving a car or a boat or a bicycle. Got $2500 you don't need or want, there are much better ways to waste it than on an attorney for a DUI, and much safer and MUCH LESS DEADLY too!!

mikezs

It's not illegal in the UK. Not saying it's not irresponsible though... Don't get hit by a car, very selfish!

Amesja

Next thing they are going to say is that riding roller skates, pushing a wheelbarrow or a shopping cart after a beer is evil too....

It comes down to people wanting to bring back prohibition.

dd22ff

I like to use an old egg carton if I'm working with several types of hardware or bearings.

smasha

as for the stupidity of DUI on a bike, you're 100% right.

as for the legality, it depends. in some areas DUI is a "motor vehicle offence". in other areas it's a "vehicle offence".

even if it's technically legal, it's still stupid, and a cop can still find things to ticket you for... like reckless endangerment, or whatever drew their attention to you in the first place.

in any case... it's dumb. don't do it.

jenniferny

Sorry, but I disagree. It has nothing to do with prohibition, it has everything to do with a person being responsible, instead of doing something so stupid as to operate ANY type of vehicle after they drink enough of any alcoholic beverage or use an illegal narcotic, whether it is marijuana, an illegally obtained prescription drug, using LSD,or drinking alcohol to meet the Driving Under The Influence or Driving While Intoxicated standard. If you choose to drink or use illegal narcotics enough to meet that standard, take a cab or designate a driver who will not be drinking or using illegal narcotics to take you home. The number of people KILLED or left in a vegetative state every year by people that are so stupid that they operate a vehicle when they are clearly to drunk or under the influence of illegal narcotics to drive is staggering and every death that occurs as a result is a needless death. Just look at how many of our fellow bicyclists die or are seriously injured by intoxicated drivers every year as a result. This year one of those people could be me, or you, or anyone who chooses to help the environment and their health by taking up the cycling hobby. I do not care what type of vehicle you choose, you can just as easily cause an accident and potentially a death even if you are on roller blades or a bicycle, or operating a watercraft or driving a car, and if anyone dies because of it you deserve to be charged with a homocide and be held liable and punished as such. If you chose to drink and operate a vehicle you so are accepting responsibility for anything that you do or cause while you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs and operating said vehicle. Granted, it is much more difficult to cause a death or injury using a wheelbarrow or a shopping cart while under the influence, but it is still just as stupid to do so! So, drink as much as you choose, after all they are your own brain cells that you are killing, just DO NOT OPERATE A VEHICLE WHILE INTOXICATED. Here is a headline from the CBS affiliate in Philadelphia: Philadelphia Police Say Bicyclist Struck And Killed By Drunk Driver This headline is less than a year old, next time it could be me, you, or anyone else in this forum. Please reduce the odds of this happening again by making the choice NOT to operate a vehicle after consuming alcohol or using illegal narcotics.

wrq1103

To increase disc brake modulation and control on a trike, try the Aztec brake rotors. They don't grab as quickly as the original Avid rotors, and yet still provide plenty of braking power. They make rapid braking, and braking above 30 mph safer. Ray, bike mechanic, inventor of, and USA distributor for, the Quik-Pak bicycle cargo trailer.

saarf

need a hint please
does a colnago c50 take a 1 1/8 headset?

Thanks

found the info
https://www.roadbikereview.com/cat/fr...2_2493crx.aspx
cheers anyway

LanceRides

[QUOTE=Cfd;8290615]Always use one of those magnetic steel trays for holding (and catching) small parts & hardware.
Everything - including bearings - sticks to them without fail.

Make your own! Try this link or google "Self Adhesive Magnet"
$3.20 for a 10 pack
https://www.lyt.com/servlet/the-742/2...dsh--10/Detail

It's a flexible magnetic sheet, typically cut to business card size, handy for making refrigerator magnets, but also available in larger sheets. Stick em on the bottom of jar lids from tomato sauce (or Nacho dip). Stick 'em on the bottom of cheap food storage containers, like the semi-reuseable ones from Glad etc.

LanceRides

Quote:

Originally Posted by Myosmith

Shake n Bake your inner tubes. Well, OK, don't bake them but put them in a gallon ziplock bag with a small amount of talc, seal the bag and give it a good shake in several directions. Carefully pull the tube out of the bag tapping the excess talc back into the bag as you go. Viola, a perfectly powdered tube ready for installation with no mess, no dust in the air, on the floor, or on you. Wastes a lot less talc than trying to powder the tube by hand and you can save the talc in the bag for another tube.

My wife uses Corn Starch as a "natural" substitute for Talc (after her shower for instance). Result is, I've got Corn Starch handy, but no talc. Any reason I can't use the CS instead??

Axiom

I think rnmfl was referring to cold beer when you are working on the bike? not riding?

smasha

"talcum powder" is a natural mineral. mixed with "fragrance" it becomes "baby powder". my concern with corn starch is that it would react with moisture. in other words, it would go rotten and stink like a dead thing. for that reason, i'd stick with baby powder or talcum powder.

edit: asbestos & calcium are other examples of "natural minerals". there's not an absolute correlation between "natural" and "healthy"

LanceRides

Thanks smasha, I'll get some Talc for my tube. (and will rinse my spare free of the corn starch!)

As for Talc for baby / body care, there are some health concerns. Do a Goggle for "Dangers of talcum powder" or check this link:
https://www.livestrong.com/article/23...owder-dangers/

I don't think we need to be concerned with health risks when using talc for lubing a tube (small amounts, outdoors, not big clouds of the stuff in the bathroom). But those links will point out reasons to avoid it as a personal care product.

smasha

^^ i wouldn't want to inhale a big cloud of corn starch. my ex-wife has a lot of degrees and certificates in this area, and she says it's bad to inhale ANY particulates... this would include corn starch and talcum powder, asbestos, diesel fumes, cigarette smoke, etc. some particulates are worse than others, and some can be dealt with by the body better than others, but really, just avoid inhaling particulates, even if they're "natural".

if i was going to spend more than a few minutes in a cloud of talcum powder, or corn starch, i'd get an appropriate mask/filter. otherwise, i wouldn't worry about it.

LanceRides

Roger that!

Amesja

Don't work in the construction trades then. Especially stay away from coal mines...

DannoXYZ 

"Echk, echk... I think I'm getting the black-lung, Pop!"

Brockster

Zoolander!!

w98seeng

Ever wonder if there is an inexpensive safe way to store wheels? I just thought of this today, I used broom holders screwed to the ceiling.

This works great as it won't scratch the rim, the wheels just pops in and pulls out.

Take a look...

Ian