You're kidding, right?
haah
I crash after every front flat I've ever had! Maybe because I'm always going fast and they have been quick flats too, not sure.
Now I ride ProOne Tubeless - haven't had a flat since. Run then at 85 psi. I weight around 150.
For everyone new; not just Gary123
It's probably important to point out some things here in this thread. Especially for our newer members that are still learning the personalities of the forum veterans. Larry "crash" Oslund, might just be a statistically outlier.....
Ok hang on this got really long.....
Always consider what you are doing; these bikes let you go 40mph+ down hill and it takes very little talent to do that (The talent will come with time but it is by no means required). No matter what bike you pick; at 40mph if the front tire goes flat I give you a 60/40 chance of going down hard. Most of us lack the bike handling skills to ride through that (excluding those of us who are a practiced MTB riders or former motorcycle test pilots). If your previous high speed of terror was 32mph then, understand the choices you make as you roll up to 40+. These bikes also let you carve a corner like no other bike you have ridden. As you pedal through corner at 18+mph, at a 45degree lean, you will have a new appreciation for why your front tire needs to be perfectly seated and at the correct pressures. Always consider the choices you make prior to the ride as you maintain your bike.
So let consider Larry specifically, because he is a fun foil. When it comes to going fast on fast bikes, there are levels of risk that people pick to endure (Looking at you single track down hill MTB rider). It is therefore dangerous to compare average rider experiences to high end Larry the racer guy or anyone on the Redbull Channel. It is pretty safe to say Larry is on the high-end the bell curve for road miles ridden to crash ratio, but there is a reason for that. He has made specific choices and understands his risks (well usually he does)....
All the fast guys assume greater risks.
On the road Larry is running tiny handle bars that while they give him control at speed they certainly lack in leverage and finesse, does not matter how good he gets with them; sudden lateral inputs to his bike will have a much earlier point of no return. That is the price he is paying in order to go 25-27mph steady state. The trade off is a higher risk of going down and he compensates and wears crash padded shorts to mitigate the risk.. (then promptly lands on the butt where there is no non-human padding).
Add on top of that Larry is also running and testing a variety of Race Wheels from several sources (some of them budget priced) and testing fragile Latex tubes and learning about mounting tubeless tires for the first time. Those things increase failure rates during the test period you can't get around that. But if you want to figure it out there is no teacher as good as experience (or what you can steal from the contributors of this forums). This in the end is so very different from recreational riders who get a good solid mounted tire and then pile on 2000-4000 miles on it.
Trade-offs in everything we do that is the game we play and you will hear a lot about that here in the forums. But we like it that way.
Meanwhile stepping away from Larry. I have the similar problems to consider. I have had 4 crashes on training rides over the last 3 years, two where unmarked chipseal gravel that washed out my front wheel on a corner, 1 was catching the front wheel on the sand/asphault shoulder lip; and 1 was the front wheel blowing off the RIM because I mounted a tire that fit too loosely and didn't stop to consider that it was a really really really bad idea. All occurred at over 20mph. The common thread is those were all front tires. Fortunately the crashes are typical of recumbent; side wash outs that cost hip and arm rashes; and some component scuffing. I also wear crash shorts if I'm going for long mentally exhausting rides or really fast descents anything to save some skin. I already have a broken neck so I think about this probably more than most
So if the front tire is the spot to focus our concern.
And riding is a progression.
Learn to ride the bikes at 5 mph
Learn to ride the bike at 16 mph
Learn to ride the bike at 22mph
As you progress through these level evaluate the gear you are using and your confidence in them. If the bike shop mounted your tires; consider how much you trust that kid mechanic.
Once you join the 18mph+ crowd, it really is time to learn to mount your own tires and to maintain them correctly. If I am going down in a crash I want it to be my fault not some kid in a bike shop that was distracted by a fight with his girlfriend when he mounted my tire. There are plenty of youtube videos. You quickly will learn the little nuances to the art. It is not hard it just takes a little knowledge. Winter is a great time to practice while watching TV; the cost; a couple inner tubes at most.
Fortunately we all have access to the A67 rims from Cruzbike; they are stupid cheap and high quality; you can count on them to hold a clincher correctly and be easy to work with. You can do far worse than starting with them; and it's actually expensive to start with anything else; again because Cruzbike has specifically selected them for their quality and basically then give them away at those prices. Now If you are not using them; that's cool but make sure you know what your wheel is and what it was made for and the quality control that went into it. A 16 spoke wheel does not make a great front wheel for a Cruzbike. A budget Carbon wheel from Aliexpress deserves a bunch of testing in the garage and a high quality tire mount job to limit your risk. That cool rohloff spoke pattern is great on a DF; on your Cruzbike V20; not so much.
Ok deep breath; that's a lot of words to paint a very small picture.
On a Cruzbike the front wheel is important. Not as much as you fear but more than you may be accustomed to. Don't take shortcuts on your wheels, quality tires mounted on a quality rims are indeed worth the expenses and the time investment to learn to maintain them. Also consider what you are doing and the risks you have exposed yourself too. Then you can actively minimize those risk or choose to accept them; both of which is better than having them unwittingly imposed upon you. (Avoid self delusion that it does not apply to you
)
I personally ride tubeless because I do go down hill at 35+; I do regularly ride corners under heavy acceleration at a heavy lean; and I have to keep PluckyBlond upright on her bike; if she crashes because of a tire it will be my fault.
For those reasons I went tubeless, as the best long term play, It hasn't been an easy conversion to learn, but it is worlds easier to join in now than it was 3 years ago thanks to industry wide acceptance. It pays dividends as it reduces the frequency of rapid air loss thereby lowering the number of chances for the tire to be in a rapid and sudden compromised position. But tubes or tubeless the name of the game is do it right, and don't cut corners; and don't push the life span of your tires. Tires are not cheap so budget for them.
So to wrap this up if you are crashing because of a flat tire on the front; that means you either need skills work and more practice; or you are riding a speeds or in conditions that it is just luck of the draw whether you crash or not, which is not bike specific, It however might be rider specific if such speeds where previously outside your physical reaches and thus not a risk factor you are accustomed to managing. Those are the only two real causes.
Meanwhile If you are flatting too often then that's about tire, wheel selection for the riding parameters, condition of your roads, and maintenance of said wheels. A lot of people here can help with all of this, and now hopefully the correct questions to ask can be identified.
Now help me down from this soap box before I hurt myself..... (this was a great way to avoid my race report though).
In a few weeks I expect to have some new FLO wheels and Reynolds ones. I plan to do some testing of perfectibg Aero setup of 23c and 25c tires and the difference the RIMs make. I think it's like 6 wheel types in all. I'll put some thought into making some of that into how to do tubeless from the ground up; and what makes a true tubeless rim.... might not be until after recumbent cycle con just because of weather travel and work but it's definitely on the list for the winter.
