What a day...

sparky

Active Member
Local time
3:18 PM
Joined
Mar 19, 2008
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1,347
Location
South Mississippi
So... I wake up, check the new posts here at MBc, and then I decide to ride!! I'm riding all around town with nowhere in particular to go... nothing but friendly smiles & thumbs up, and one lil' girl asked me where I got my bike from.

I remembered this beautiful nature trail I haven't been to since Hurricane Katrina, so I changed direction. The sad part is that as soon as I go over this small wooden bridge (one of the many entrances to the trail), my bike starts making this metal on metal noise. I got off to inspect & found that the chain was rubbing against this metal plate that really has no purpose. So, I cut the engine & started pedaling like I should have been doing in the first place, since it's a nature trail.

Once I get home, I start doing a few lil' tune-ups... throttle adjustment, lubing the chains, cleaning & lubing my dirty front shocks, removing that troublesome metal plate, and one or two other things. My friend hops on, starts riding, then comes back and tells me the engine's chain came loose. I looked at the motor & noticed it was tilted at an odd angle -- two of the four bolts were missing!!

So, I tighten what I can and ride to the local nut & bolt specialty store. Half way there, my freshly oiled chain falls off into the nastiest pile of dirt. I had to stop, but at least it was the only time my chain fell off on the ride there. Once I get there, this young guy tells me to take my bike around back. He got two bolts, tried to put 'em in, & then realized the engine's threads are stripped, so he starts telling me i need to tap it, use a helicoil, something. Finally, he says "Lemme try one more"... and it worked! The threads were just didn't start until deep inside the block. Whew! Another guy comes up, shocked that he never got to have a motored bike when he was younger, & we started talking about the basics - price, speed, mpg, etc. I ask him how much he wants for about 6 tiny bolts, & the guy says, "Don't worry about it!" I have gone their several times before for bolts for my car, & they never gave me that response before. Motored bikes are cooler than cars... that's just all there is to it.

Anyway, I start riding back & then decide to get some loctite & permatex 1a gasket sealer from the auto parts store. I start riding again, & as soon as I'm less than a 1/4 mile from my house, I hear this super loud high-pitched noise from underneath me. I thought the guys passing me in a pickup threw a firecracker at me, but I had to check my tube to be sure. Sure enough, I got the tiniest piece of metal in my tire, popping the tube like I've never heard a tube pop before. Luckily my rim wasn't scratched at all, so I had a fairly pleasant walk home.

I already bought some thorn-resistant tubes, so I'm about to go put those on right now and then get back to riding!!

What a day... it's helping me get this baby in tip top shape, but I could have gone without the flat tire 'til my new tires & tire liners get here next week.
 
So all in all it was a mixture of ups & downs....that's life,sometimes u fly/sometimes u crash.
I would get some SLIME Tyre Sealant....between good tyres/liners/thorn resistant tubes,and sealant you've done your best at bulletproofing your tyres(short of putting solids on)
http://www.cyclelink.com.au/category612_1.htm
 
Many stories come from motoredbikes. Thanks for sharing!
Just wait until I find a camera so you guys can see pictures of this nature trail... it's amazing!

So all in all it was a mixture of ups & downs....that's life,sometimes u fly/sometimes u crash.
I would get some SLIME Tyre Sealant....between good tyres/liners/thorn resistant tubes,and sealant you've done your best at bulletproofing your tyres(short of putting solids on)
http://www.cyclelink.com.au/category612_1.htm
I'll pass on the SLIME, thank you very much! I've never heard good stories about it, only bad.

I was waiting to put my thorn resistant tubes on until my new tires, outer tire liners, & inner spoke liners arrived from http://www.danscomp.com , but I just kept delaying the order for some st00pit reason. It's a shame that site's for BMXs only, 'cause they've got pretty good deals.
 
I got slime on my rear tire again. The first time it exploded on me so I switched to NoMoreFlats. But then my ride became bumpy so I switched back to the slime. This time I decreased my pressure to 5 psi less than minimum inflation which is 30 psi on mine.
So far no problems but I now keep a spare slime tube in my tool pouch. My front tire is NoMoreFlats and that's still smooth so it seems to do well up front.
 
Geeze, I'm a BIG believer in Slime. Out there in the desert there's so many thorns you can't avoid them all. I'm mean THORNS, some over an inch long. Slime saves the day all the time. I just pick the thorns out and ride away smiling.
 
Yup, I'd much rather use liners over slime any day. I got these tire liners, spoke liners, & kevlar tires to go with the thorn resistant tires I'd already bought (remember this site is for 20" BMXs only):
http://www.danscomp.com/449000.php?cat=PARTS
http://www.danscomp.com/449030.php?cat=PARTS
http://www.danscomp.com/444020.php?cat=PARTS

If these aren't bullet-proof, I dunno what is. There's still room for error if I fill the tubes improperly. According to this site, there was a bubble in my tire. I know this because I do have a hole thru the side of the tube & tire... it wasn't a thin piece of metal after all. I remember a bubble in my tire when I first aired it up, but I did re-seat the tube to take it out. I've been riding this bike for weeks... I just don't understand how it wouldn't have popped before. The tube/tire was rubbing the brakes... could this cause the blow out from the side?

BTW... Where did you get your kevlar liners, Van?
 
I ordered my Mr. Toughies from Bike Nashbar. I am running Schwalbe Big Apple 20" tires (I got them from Utah Trikes). When I change tubes, I put the tire together. Put a little air in them. Let the air back out. Then inflate them fully. That lets the tube get situated inside the tire with no twists etc.
 
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