grumpycommuter
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Roll back to last Thursday....
Long day at work, lovely evening, just time for a swift 20 or so but must be back by 1800. Half way in and pop! Its on the front thank god, always a blessing when riding fixed. Looks like a rim tape problem, mental note to fix it properly. A very swift last half of the ride and home. On holiday for 10 days from Sunday so onto CRC for a new tube, i'll try a schwalbe and some new tyre levers, i'll go for some Park Tools ones because they are blue.
And onto today....
Great morning with the family topped off by a parcel arriving just in the knickers of time! Stow new tube and levers in the saddle bag and we are ready to rock.
1600...household chores done so it's of for a pre-holiday spin. 1/2 a mile in and pop! It's on the front again! I must be blessed. Must be the rim tape. Never mind, quick fix and leg it home to do properly. Should be a 25 mins turnaround. Bloody hell!! 15 mins later and i just have the tyre off and these levers seem to be have designed to remove tractor tyres or MTB ones at the very least. Tube in and another 5 mins wrestling the tyre on and home. 20 mins shouting and grunting and the tyre is off again. I know that my Exal rim / Zaffiro combination is tight but this is bloody ridiculous, Thursday wasn't this bad.
Rim tape done at last, new tube in and another 15 mins of swearing and tyre levers pinging across the back yard. It's done. Right lets pump this thing up. Arrggghhhh! the bloody tube has been shredded while i was fighting to get it in. I am now officially Grumpy. Repair the tube that has come out (and don't even start me on tube repairs!!) and then give up and eat pizza
Result : one grumpy Dad, one shredded new tube, 3 bloody awful albeit nicely coloured levers, no Saturday ride and a bike back on the road with no spare whatsoever. Halfords it is tomorrow then!
Long day at work, lovely evening, just time for a swift 20 or so but must be back by 1800. Half way in and pop! Its on the front thank god, always a blessing when riding fixed. Looks like a rim tape problem, mental note to fix it properly. A very swift last half of the ride and home. On holiday for 10 days from Sunday so onto CRC for a new tube, i'll try a schwalbe and some new tyre levers, i'll go for some Park Tools ones because they are blue.
And onto today....
Great morning with the family topped off by a parcel arriving just in the knickers of time! Stow new tube and levers in the saddle bag and we are ready to rock.
1600...household chores done so it's of for a pre-holiday spin. 1/2 a mile in and pop! It's on the front again! I must be blessed. Must be the rim tape. Never mind, quick fix and leg it home to do properly. Should be a 25 mins turnaround. Bloody hell!! 15 mins later and i just have the tyre off and these levers seem to be have designed to remove tractor tyres or MTB ones at the very least. Tube in and another 5 mins wrestling the tyre on and home. 20 mins shouting and grunting and the tyre is off again. I know that my Exal rim / Zaffiro combination is tight but this is bloody ridiculous, Thursday wasn't this bad.
Rim tape done at last, new tube in and another 15 mins of swearing and tyre levers pinging across the back yard. It's done. Right lets pump this thing up. Arrggghhhh! the bloody tube has been shredded while i was fighting to get it in. I am now officially Grumpy. Repair the tube that has come out (and don't even start me on tube repairs!!) and then give up and eat pizza
Result : one grumpy Dad, one shredded new tube, 3 bloody awful albeit nicely coloured levers, no Saturday ride and a bike back on the road with no spare whatsoever. Halfords it is tomorrow then!
