What did you do to your Cruzbike today?

[bladderhead]

Synchronised bursting is a talent I wish I did not have. Sometimes a talent can be a curse. I got peeled, but nothing worse. When I got up I looked along the road but could not see any tyre-bursting objects. The tyre-wear looks really weird. The tread looks okay, but the sidewall has visible threads. How can the sidewall wear more than the tread?

The bike now has Rubino Pro, and I will keep inspecting them.

 

[benphyr]

Only three things I can think of that would have more wear on sidewall than on tread:
a. tires out in sunlight long enough for rubber/casing to degrade,
b. tires run at such low pressure (or leak such that they ran at extremely low pressure) that the tire was close to pinch flat on regular riding >50% tire drop (in comparison to 15% ideal proposed here: http://www.adventurecycling.org/default/assets/resources/200903_PSIRX_Heine.pdf )
c. something rubbing on the sidewall/casing - poorly adjusted rim brake, fenders, generator, etc.

But none of those seem likely to be your situation at all: regular use tends to mean that you would not experience a, probably would notice b, and would definitely notice c. And I cannot see that any of these would lead to synchronized bursting of tires.

Synchronized bursting seems to indicate some environmental factor at that precise location caused both to fail simultaneously. Would extreme heat, glass, police speed strip cause such a result at the same time?

 

[jond]

Synchronised bursting is a talent I wish I did not have. Sometimes a talent can be a curse. I got peeled, but nothing worse. When I got up I looked along the road but could not see any tyre-bursting objects. The tyre-wear looks really weird. The tread looks okay, but the sidewall has visible threads. How can the sidewall wear more than the tread?

The bike now has Rubino Pro, and I will keep inspecting them.

Conti gp4000 s 11 are seemingly a very popular tyre choice. Anecdotally most of my cycling group use them.

I have used them for many years following the size trends and have not experienced any issues.

But I have noticed on some of the older (3-4 year old) replaced smaller 23 -25 mm tyres that have plenty of life left that the sidewalls seem to have degraded. So much so that I reluctantly disposed of many tyres......... the tyres are hung in my garage out of sunshine and elements.

I know you said 1500 miles but the actual age of the tyre may be an issue.

Again the real value of a regular check up of your steed is to the fore. It won’t stop every mishap
But it certainly helps with the preventable.

I have a recumbent mate who resorted to nil maintenance and purchased the result. He now has a chain check tool.
The same guy also resorted to super gluing his tyres. Until the accident I was unfortunate enough to witness at 50 klm/ hr. Front wheel blow out 451 20” wheel. He was lucky to not be killed.

Now for his audax passion he keeps his tyres reasonable.

 

[bladderhead]

I got the tyres in January, I always pumped them hard, and if they were rubbing I would have heard it. I guess I will never know. I think I was lucky. Now I will keep my tyres reasonable.

 

[Don1]

those tyres are death traps.. use anything else... even maxxis are better

 

[bladderhead]

Which tyres? Rubino or GP? It was GP that nearly assassinated me.

 

[Gary123]

Gp's got me also. Too loose on the rim. Now running rubino 28's. Tighter on rim which is important with a flat. I stayed upright on on last puncture although it was pretty low speed. Solved the seat the headrest the front wheel removal the handling now only punctures to worry about.

 

[bladderhead]

Punctures are all I worry about. When I get them I get them good.

 

[McWheels]

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/tour-reviews/schwalbe-marathon-almotion-2016

 

[bladderhead]

It was an incredible palaver getting mudguards on, but I absolutely insist on having mudguards. Those tyres are too big to fit, and I am not messing with the mudguards again. Any tyres will eventually wear to the point of going bang if you do not watch them. Lesson.

I used to occasionally notice noises as bits got trapped between the mudguards and the tyres. Now with the Rubino it is definitely happening a lot more. I can see the gap between tyres and mudguards is smaller than it used to be. I had 25-622, now I have 23-622, so the gap should be bigger.

 

[rx7mark]

This last weekend I finally installed my Speedplay Frog cleats on my T50. Took a little longer than usual because I was hacking my Sidi Draco's to mount the cleats mid-sole. This required sourcing a dog bone Shimano threaded insert, locating and drilling holes right in the middle of the carbon sole, trimming the MTB sole tread for clearance, sourcing longer CSK allen bolts, and then filing the heads of those bolts to reduce the CSK height so that the screws don't stick up enough to interfere with the pedals during engagment. I also did the Ratz hack on the pedals, then greased and reassembled, to allow float in both directions.

All went well, and I rode the bike to work and back today without issues, though I did the zero speed fall in my driveway when I got home and started tipping in the direction I had not yet unclipped. Lesson learned unclip both sides before coming to a complete stop in the driveway.

Mark

 

[snilard]

This last weekend I finally installed my Speedplay Frog cleats on my T50. Took a little longer than usual because I was hacking my Sidi Draco's to mount the cleats mid-sole. This required sourcing a dog bone Shimano threaded insert, locating and drilling holes right in the middle of the carbon sole, trimming the MTB sole tread for clearance, sourcing longer CSK allen bolts, and then filing the heads of those bolts to reduce the CSK height so that the screws don't stick up enough to interfere with the pedals during engagment. I also did the Ratz hack on the pedals, then greased and reassembled, to allow float in both directions.

All went well, and I rode the bike to work and back today without issues, though I did the zero speed fall in my driveway when I got home and started tipping in the direction I had not yet unclipped. Lesson learned unclip both sides before coming to a complete stop in the driveway.

Mark

No photos, It never happened.

 

[rx7mark]

No photos, It never happened.

Fair enough Snilard,
Here are some post hack pictures of my Sidi Shoes, the mid-sole cleat mounts, and the hacked Frog pedals..


I discovered the Mid-sole pedal position while in the local gym recovering from foot surgery on my big toe. The surgery did not allow me to use the normal pedal position so I put the pedal mid-sole. This worked really well and I decided to use it when I built my T50, at first with Innovation pedals, and now with the Speedplay Frog cleats. The cleat bolts are mounted in the exact center of the shoe sole both length wise and side to side.

Some on line investigation led me to discover this was not a unique pedal position, and a lot of tri athletes are using it to keep the calves fresh for the running portion of the race. The problem was that the only shoes made for this type of pedal position were custom order shoes in the $800 range. Further investigation showed that a lot of people were hacking regular shoes, but the recommendation on line was to only do this to fairly flat bottom fully carbon soled shoes. S0 I searched for a full carbon shoe that would fit the bill and fit my foot. The SIDI higher end MTB shoes were a perfect fit in a size 47, but out of my budget. Ebay to the rescue, I found these slightly used pair in my size for a fraction of retail. And I LOVE these shoes, they are super comfortable and take my orthotic inserts no problem.

Let me know if anyone has any questions.
Mark

 

[rx7mark]

I picked up a nail the other day in my rear tubeless tire on my T50 commuter. I stopped and pulled it out, and kept riding while keeping an eye on the tire pressure. No issues and I made it all the way home with only a slight loss of tire pressure. But I decided it was time to freshen up the sealant, since it had been 9 months since the original sealant was added. I also had some new sealant to try from TruckerCo, as my LBS does not reliably stock the orange duration sealant I originally used.

The thing is I had a hard time mounting the front tire originally, and since new it does not hold pressure as well as the rear. It will drop 3-5psi per day, while the back drops the same amount over a week period. So in went 30cc of the TruckerCo cream sealant, and a quick ride around the block to distribute it then I put it away until the next mornings commute to work. Well its been a week and both tires have not lost even 1psi over the one week period. So far very impressed and much more economical than the orange sealant.

Mark

 

[bladderhead]

Mid-sole

I have been advocating it for years.

 

[ChaleJake]

I ordered a curved slider for my much loved Silvio S30. I believe the curved slider will improve my field of vision and lower my hands into the sweat spot. Right now, I have my handlebar bar curved downward to bring my hands lower. Come on mail truck bring the slider my way!!

 

[1happyreader]

Fair enough Snilard,
Here are some post hack pictures of my Sidi Shoes, the mid-sole cleat mounts, and the hacked Frog pedals..
View attachment 6821View attachment 6822 View attachment 6823

I LOVE these shoes, they are super comfortable and take my orthotic inserts no problem.

Let me know if anyone has any questions.
Mark

Hi Mark,
what's your observations about Sidi Draco's
1. Narrowness
2. the amount the shoe can be tightened over the foot.

I got super flat feet. in an A width.

inserts, moleskin added to bulk up the shoe tongue, and lacing till the leather meets are often needed get close to a fit.

 

[rx7mark]

Hi Happy rider,
The Sidi do run narrow, but you are going to have to try them on for yourself. I am a 12 to 12.5 C width, but have very high arches, and custom orthotics, so I pulled out the stock insoles and replaced them with my orthodics.

I can tell you that the heal width is adjustable, and the buckle system has a wide range. Worst case might be to put thicker insoles to take up some space.

Good luck.
Mark

 

[jond]

I got the tyres in January, I always pumped them hard, and if they were rubbing I would have heard it. I guess I will never know. I think I was lucky. Now I will keep my tyres reasonable.

Reasonable is good and I wasn’t inferring you did not.

Tyres no matter what brand are taken for granted by a lot of cyclists till that day of the blowout.

My audax mate who super glued his cuts and nicks and went beyond the tyre wear indicator was possibly an extreme. His tyres were 451 20” front so difficult to get here. But no excuse.

It nearly cost his life.

Personally once I flat profile my tyres I change them. And for an event too.

It’s worth it for an increased peace of mind. But the risk of flats can only be mitigated.

 

[bladderhead]

I just need to keep looking at my tyres. Now I know.