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Most cyclists have at some time had a
long walk home due to a puncture. With many years of experience as
a rider and in the bike repair business, here is my view of how to
improve your chances of riding home, rather than pushing:
-
Tyres: Make sure your
tyres are in good condition and free from bits of glass etc stuck in
the tread. Old, worn or perished tyres can
allow small flints, thorns and such like to work their way through
to the inner tube, leaving you with that sinking feeling. I
recommend Schwalbe branded tyres for good puncture resistance at a
reasonable price...available in a variety of sizes and tread
patterns they cost from £14 each.
-
Inner tubes: Again, old
tubes with numerous patches will soon let you down.
If in doubt, replace them. Schwalbe tubes start from £5 each.
-
'Slime' tyre sealant:
This is an excellent product that I use myself. Most punctures
are caused by thorns and other small items which cause very small
perforations of the inner tube. 9 times out of 10 a Slime-filled tube will seal
these sorts of holes before any noticeable pressure is lost,
allowing you to finish your ride. If the tyre does go down,
just spin the wheel to redistribute the Slime and pump up...the tyre
will very often stay inflated. As part of a service, I
can retro-fit Slime to most inner tubes with car valves for just £4 per
wheel. Presta valve tubes cannot be retro-filled, but I stock
Slime tubes with presta valves in common sizes at £9 each.
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When the chain on a bike wears, it appears to stretch
due to the cumulative wear in each link. The worn chain will also
wear the teeth on the cogs at the rear and front, and in a bad case the
chain itself can snap, possibly causing you to have a painful accident!
When replacing a chain, it is generally best to replace the rear cogs
(freewheel or cassette) at the same time, or the new chain will wear
prematurely on the worn cogs, or may even jump depending on the degree
of wear. It may also be necessary to change one or more of the
front cogs (chainrings) as well, again depending on the degree of wear.
This can add up to being an expensive repair!
As part of an initial inspection, I routinely
check chain wear using a
Park chain checker, and
can advise you accordingly.
A chain will wear eventually no matter how well
maintained the bike is, but you can prolong the life of the chain and
hence the other transmission components using the tips below:
- Clean and oil the chain regularly,
especially in wet or wintry conditions. A chain that has dried
out can wear very quickly. In the winter, grit put down
to salt the roads spells death to chains! Off-road, the worst
stuff is sand, closely followed by gritty mud. As soon as you
get back from a ride in such conditions, clean off the transmission
components, then dry and lube them. While you've got the oil
can out, put a drop or two on the pivots of the front and rear
derailleur. There are lots of high-tech cycle lubes available.
In summer just using a dry lube should be fine, but in winter a wet
lube is best as it won't wash off so easily. The worst thing
to use is nothing at all!
- Avoid chain crossover. For bikes
with derailleur gears, this is when the chain is in the biggest
front chainring and the biggest rear sprocket. If you look at
the chain from above you will see that it is badly flexed, which
will accelerate wear. You will get a similar gear by being in
a smaller chainring and a smaller sprocket, which will keep the
chain much straighter. Similarly, keeping the chain on the
smallest front chainring and the smallest rear sprocket is to be
avoided for the same reason.
- Use a spread of gears. For
derailleur geared bikes, riding in just one or two gear combinations
will soon wear the cogs used most. Your chain will generally
last longer if you use most of the gears (but see advice above about
chain crossover)
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