veganbikes

Thanks and agreed. If I really had no money at all and was really putting all the money I did have into life and I couldn't afford a tire and had no other way of getting things going sure I would do what I could but in the end I might just go to a shop and ask if there is anything I can do to help them out to work out a deal for a tire and tune up or something or just see if they have some used tires anywhere that could work.

Bike riders are people. I mean I do a passable Arnold S. impression but I am still a flesh bag with blood and due to a cold a lot of mucus not a T100 cybernetic organism. There are some cheap non-cyclists out there as well. In terms of safety yes I don't get it either. It is a bit beyond ridiculous. We had a customer come in who needed a lot of work declined some very needed work to make the bike safe and instead wanted us to buy a very expensive brooks saddle and something else that wasn't needed and didn't make the bike safe. I think we eventually got him to do everything but the person talking with him the second time (or third time) should have declined the silly saddle and said approve the needed work, let's get that done and then we can get the saddle and other things.

Lombard

There are uber cheap people everywhere. I used to work with a few. One guy would starve himself for more than a day before going to an all-you-can-eat restaurant so he would get his money's worth and gorge as much as he could.

veganbikes

That is good sense assuming you know how to really do a buffet properly. If you avoid the starches that fill you up and cost them little you are going to be OK. Though in the case of AYCE stuff you do want to have something in the tank especially things that are probiotic and good for digestion. During a buffet it is good to drink warm tea especially if eating a lot of fried foods. Too much cold liquid and can help the fat congeal and fill you up and make you sick. Plus tea is generally good for you.

Camilo

Yes, "freely"

Lombard

Knowing him, he went straight for that meat or anything that's expensive.

Camilo

RE: the sewn tire and general "cheapness". I agree some people are thrifty, some are cheap. There's a difference. But some people - like myself - just don't want to trash something that might have some useful life left. I just hate throwing away useful stuff. No, I'm not a hoarder. But I do occasionally put more time and effort into continuing to use something that any decent time/money analysis would say, toss it and replace it.

I don't buy bottled water, but fill up one of the many water bottles I own. Cheap or thrifty - yeah a little. Green? yeah a little. But mostly I hate throwing away water bottles that are not actually spent or unusable! That factor is what really rubs me the wrong way.

That said, I don't try to squeeze the last bit of life out of tires, whether they be bicycle or motor vehicle. I was interested in reading the OP's description of the sewn patch he did and felt kudos were in order, although i wouldn't do it.

And frankly, I don't think it is as dangerous as it could be on say, a road bike tire which has a lot less rubber and air volume and speeds on hard surface (for me) exceeding 40mph at times. But I'm a slow cautious MTB rider and if the rear tire blew out, I would just thump along for a few yards until I stopped. I wouldn't at all likely lose control and get hurt. Could be wrong. Other MTB riders, I'm sure, place different demands on their tires.

Lombard

No, that's smart. Bottled water is one of the biggest ruses on the planet. Somehow people have been convinced that their tap water isn't good enough when in fact tap water has more stringent quality requirements than bottled water does. And as you say, terribly wasteful of resources.

rekmeyata

Agreed, again! If money is tight then why look at a $6,000 bike (example only) and forego safety equipment? that makes no sense to me either. If I could only afford a $6,000 bike and that's it, nothing left to buy safety equipment with, then I would be looking at a $5,000 bike instead, and spend the other $500 on helmet, lights, reflective clothing, etc.; and the other $500 to be used for other stuff I might need. Some people don't think that their brain is worth spending $100 or so on a helmet, if your brain is not worth $100 then fine, don't spend the money on a helmet...

rekmeyata

[QUOTE=Camilo;22708336]RE: the sewn tire and general "cheapness". I agree some people are thrifty, some are cheap. There's a difference. But some people - like myself - just don't want to trash something that might have some useful life left. I just hate throwing away useful stuff. No, I'm not a hoarder. But I do occasionally put more time and effort into continuing to use something that any decent time/money analysis would say, toss it and replace it.

I don't buy bottled water, but fill up one of the many water bottles I own. Cheap or thrifty - yeah a little. Green? yeah a little. But mostly I hate throwing away water bottles that are not actually spent or unusable! That factor is what really rubs me the wrong way.

That said, I don't try to squeeze the last bit of life out of tires, whether they be bicycle or motor vehicle. I was interested in reading the OP's description of the sewn patch he did and felt kudos were in order, although i wouldn't do it.

And frankly, I don't think it is as dangerous as it could be on say, a road bike tire which has a lot less rubber and air volume and speeds on hard surface (for me) exceeding 40mph at times. But I'm a slow cautious MTB rider and if the rear tire blew out, I would just thump along for a few yards until I stopped. I wouldn't at all likely lose control and get hurt. Could be wrong. Other MTB riders, I'm sure, place different demands on their tires.[/QUOTE

Plastic water bottles are recyclable. So are bicycle tires and tubes, they grind those up and put them into asphalt.

Lombard

That's not recycling, that's downcycling.

Plastic water bottles are still wasteful as they are being used for something that isn't necessary when you drink tap water. Lots of fossil fuel used to make plastics and many of these end up in the ocean, not recycled or even downcycled.

Camilo

Yeah, I know that many plastic containers are recyclable. We send all the kinds that are allowed to the recycling center. But I still feel I'd just rather avoid them as much as possible. A little gesture. As for tires, I'm not aware of any bike tire recycling opportunity where I live. I do leave my old tires with the tire store, but I don't even know if they get recycled around here. I'll ask next time I'm there and if they'll take my bike tires and tubes, miniscule as it might be.

rekmeyata

is it better to down cycle or throw it all into a land fill?? As far as what your saying, have you checked the degree of non recycle stuff is in your CF bike? lots of fossil fuel went into those cf bikes, or are you riding a bamboo bike? https://www.bikeradar.com/features/t...bon-footprint/ Carbon fibers themselves are usually produce from polyacrylonitrile; this is a fossil-fuel based polymer and part of the acrylic resins; along with that CF is very energy intensive to produce, in fact it takes 40% more energy to make CF then it does to make stainless steel, and between 60 to 75% more than aluminum. So you can go on and on about plastic bottles, but one shouldn't throw rocks inside a glass house.

Lombard

False equivalency. Plastic water bottles are single use. Is your bike single use? No, a bike will last a decade or more.

And of course it's better to downcycle a plastic water bottle than to throw it into a landfill. But it's even better not to use it at all as it's unnecessary.

And BTW, i own bikes made of carbon fiber as well as steel and aluminum alloy. All have their strengths and weaknesses.

Doc_Wui

One time I switched a fat tire wheel to those stylish rims with holes inbetween the spokes. Didn't know I needed a PVC rim liner. Blew a hole right thru one of the open holes. X-shaped cut, about am inch across.Being cheap, I put a patch on the inside of the tube, and one on the outside too, It worked and has held fine, Relative to the 4" diameter of the tube, a 1" tear isn't that big. Maybe why it worked.

rekmeyata

This is a clear case of you refusing to accept the eco responsibility for the type of bike material you have chosen to use, and instead are trying to pass the blame off of yourself and back to plastic bottles. While a bike will last a decade of more you would have to consume a lot more bottles than a decade of use would be, and during that decade of bike you are consuming tires, tubes, handlebar tape, seats, plastic water bottles, etc.

Now look, I own quite a few bikes, I would have never brought up all of this had you not gone off on plastic bottles, which in the scope of things is really minor especially when you consider that most bottles these days are being recycled...but even that recycle process takes fossil fuel to do. In other words, there is nothing that you or I use that doesn't cost something somewhere in terms of eco pollution, even when we fart! And the reality is, we should be using glass bottles with a deposit fee, which we get back when we return the bottle instead of plastic bottles.

Camilo

I can't apologize enough for mentioning water bottles in #31 and not realizing the danger I'd created in my #36. But I sincerely was trying to discuss thriftiness and tires, not water bottles.

But I'll have to say, the participants in this discussion contest obviously are well hydrated.

Lombard

It's a matter of using something that is totally unnecessary like single use plastic water bottles. And while many of them are recycled or downcycled, still many of them end up floating in the ocean. How many bikes, tubes, handlebar tape and saddles are floating in the ocean? Most of those have a much longer useful life. I agree with you on glass bottles. I remember those days when we would take back the old soda bottles and they would actually be cleaned out and re-filled. Of course glass bottles aren't the best thing on a bike.

As I said (in case you weren't paying attention before), I am not a proponent of any bike frame material over another in general. I own carbon fiber bikes, CroMo steel bikes and aluminum bikes. My latest purchase was in 2017 when I bought a new Reynolds 631 Jamis Renegade Exploit gravel bike.

rekmeyata

The reason, and disgusting reason, so many plastic bottles are in the ocean is because the US has contracts with Chinese recycle companies to take our plastic trash, so that thrash gets bailed and put on Chinese barges to go to China, somewhere along the route back to China the ship crew starts dumping that plastic in the ocean, the reason they are told to do this is because China has more plastic then they can recycle so they just dump it in the ocean!

Lombard

IOW, lots and lots of plastic does NOT get recycled or even downcycled. And now China has stopped taking our "recyclables". Question is where are all these recyclables going now? Many are ending up in regular trash in landfills.

rekmeyata

That is correct, the same thing is happening with aluminum, China has more aluminum trash then they know what to do with, so they've been dumping it illegally according to West standards even though, like plastic, the US has contracts with China to take the aluminum trash. If the US ever gets it's head out of its arse we could eliminate a lot of plastic and aluminum trash by going to glass bottles with a deposit.

Lombard

I agree. However, I cannot comment any further on this without getting into a political discussion which I'm sure isn't allowed here.

alexk_il

OP here... A quick status update.

So, decided to patch my cut tire just to see if it works. Pure curiosity, I am an engineer after all. 😁

​​​​​In a brief, it looks ok when the tire is off the wheel, but it doesn't look great if I put it on the wheel and pump it up properly.

I guess it will last longer than the famous dollar bill patch trick, but I won't trust the tire for any purpose rather than to get home on a cut tire.

Thanks to all who replied.
​​​​​

greatscott

My comment had nothing to do with politics, just stating a fact that has made the news. I guess if this forum mod took it to be political well then they would also have to take all references made by all responses in regards to plastic bottles damaging the environment, and comments made about recycling to be political, they have not done that yet so I think we didn't cross the line. I don't consider being eco-aware to be political unless it's bashing or praising one political party, or a political person(s). So as long as you keep politics out of what you were going to say, you should be ok?

Lombard

I was replying to rekmeyata in post #45, not your comment.