Friday, July 9, 2010

Inadvertent cylclocross

If you happen to get a new road bike anytime in the near future, it would probably be a good idea to check what kind of wheels and tires you are getting. The specific make and model of the wheels isnt too important but the type certainly is. Apparently, tubeless road wheels are now in vogue. Or maybe not and I just got "lucky."

Either way, about an hour into my ride last night, towards the end of my first interval, my bike felt a bit wobbly and I noticed the front tire was looking a little low. I stopped, checked the tire, and sure enough... it was flat. Bummer.

As I started to change it, though, I noticed the tire was connected to the rim and then... I saw the writing on the wall, so to speak. Literally, it was on the rim: tubeless. DUMPSTER.

Needless to say, I didnt have another tubeless tire or, unfortunately, anything to fix this one. Additionally, I was over on the Arsenal (where I do all my weekday riding) so calling the roommate wasnt an option since he does not have access. So since it was a slow leak, I shot it with some CO2 and took off riding. Eventually the additional air escaped and I was left to ride the rest of the way home on the rim.

About 35 minutes later, I arrived safe and sound. Thankfully the roads on the Arsenal and short trip back to my house are relatively smooth, so I was actually able to hold a respectable speed. And I have to say Shimano's Ultegra WH-6700 wheelset is pretty bad ass for holding up that long without any air in the tire.



All in all, it couldve been worse. I missed part of my workout but at least I made it home in one piece with a bike (and wheel) that is still functioning. And really, with The Tour having gone of over the cobbles the other day, the timing was kind of fitting.

3 comments:

Chris said...

I have no experience with tubeless road wheels. However, I do with tubeless mountain wheels. With the mountain tubeless system, if you do flat, you can still put a tube in and keep training/racing unless the tire is torn too much. So, I am thinking you could have put the tube in and been ok for the remainder of your ride?

Unknown said...

That's funny. Thanks for the heads up, I didn't know that technology had infected road wheels as well. Wonder if like with MTB it is much heavier than a good clincher? I think Chris in the previous comment is correct, at least on a MTB wheel you can put in a norma tube. Maybe Pitstop, particularly for a slow leak.

Andrew said...

Thanks guys; that's good to know. I didnt have any experience with tubeless so I was worried that if I tried to take the tire off, I wouldnt be able to get it back on the rim at which point I wouldve been SOL. Next time I guess I'll just pop a tube in the tire.

Bob: Regarding performance, as far as I know a lite clincher with latex tube is still the fastest tire choice (and what I use for racing).