Rubber me crazy!

I have an interesting background for tour cycling...I was a certified automotive mechanic, then in 1998 I started a 15 month odyssey that spanned 3,000 miles of the Appalachian Trail. I actually only hiked 9 months of those 15, I found that I am allergic to cold! I tend to turn all blue and stuff, go figure...Anyway, it was around then that I found cycling, I now tell people that I am simply a hiker on a wheel chair...But that experience with the Appalachian Trail, combined with my automotive background taught me a different angle when looking at preparing for cycle touring...Because of that, I am going to address something which might initially be perceived as "off the wall" for you at first...

Tires!

Why am I making the first article of discussion for this trip about tires when there is all this other stuff that needs to be discussed, bought and packed? Simple, the road is a dangerous place for the tires that touch that road, therefor they are the most important aspect of the bike, as well as the most vulnerable...If you were going to get into hiking and came to me for outfitting, I wouldn't show you back packs first, you don't walk on your back, so I am going to outfit your footwear first...Likewise, The top of the bike is not what needs to be considered first, but the most vulnerable point of the whole set up...Those two tires...

First off, you want to know what applications you will be riding in...Strictly road? Dirt? A combination of the two? Do you want to use road tires and carry fold up tires for dirt and swap them out every time you want to switch applications? These questions led to the bike you are now riding for the trip to a large extent. For all intents and purposes, I ride a truck...I ride a Specialized Hardrock Sport. I tell people that I ride a 1976 Dodge 4x4 Power Wagon, feels like it, too! Plus I pull a trailer...But the application that I choose to ride in is a combination of road or dirt on a moments notice, so I take the hit with the amount of rubber that does hit the road...Besides, I don't want to stop and switch out tires every time I want to go ride on dirt, I guess I am lazy like that or I wouldn't ride a dirt bike! Yes, the amount of rubber hitting the road does hold a huge impact for your legs. The less rubber the better simply because of the weight and energy required to get and keep them rolling, it's simple physics at that point...If you do choose to run aggressive tires, I have found very little difference in tire widths beyond the fact that aggressive knobbie tires tend to hum loudly the faster they go. This is due to the tire reacting to the road surface. For an MTB I would recommend 26x1.75 or 26x1.95 as the best sizes, however, anything over 26x1.95 is just too much rubber....But, lets not get into the sticky and boring details, for sticky details, please read Sheldon Browns article on Bicycle Tires and Tubes...For now, lets just talk about "practicality!"

I have seen tires and tire support gear go in really unexpected ways, I have had it go in strange and bizarre ways, too...But the most vulnerable and common for a tire other then a sharp object is the bead where it touches the rim...Unless you are using a spoke less wheel, your wheels are hanging weight, the top of the wheel carries the weight so the bottom of the rim where the tire hits the pavement flattens out and can shift back and forth slightly...This is what causes your wheel to fall out of true...As the pavement and rim are much stiffer then the pliable tire, the top of the tire rubs back and forth along that seam. Normally this would be of little notice to the system, until you start doing 70 miles a day, at an average of 12 MPH with an extra 50 pounds of dead weight on the tire...Then the bead on the tire can give out quickly if the rim is too far out of whack for too long! The rear tire is also the most vulnerable as it is the load bearing wheel on the bike and takes most of the weight...

If you are mechanically inclined, learn how to replace a broken spoke and to do quick field truing to your wheels on a periodic basis...It really is easy to learn, you only need a simple spoke wrench and about 10 minutes per wheel...A broken spoke or out of true wheel can cost more then the time and tools it takes to fix it, not to mention it's just $2 for an average spoke...15 minutes of work at camp or on the side of the road can save you time, money and aggravation in the long run!

So, what do you "really" need to know about tires? Always, and I do mean "always" carry at least one fold up tire for the bike...Loose a tire in the middle of no where and you will be pushing your bike until the right vehicle comes along willing to get you to someplace that sells tires your size. I have lost more tires then I can remember...Don't forget, that bike will have 50 pounds of luggage on it, if not more...Thats a bit intimidating for people driving by....At times you may be a hundred or more miles from the nearest bike shop or any other tire outlet, for that matter...Don't be afraid to run those $15 specials, either. In the end, I get just as good a performance from a cheap Wall mart tire as I do from a $70 Continental, Not to mention that the $15 special might be the only thing available...Besides, expensive isn't necessarily better in some instances...When the rear tire is worn out, rotate your tires front to rear, when the front tire is worn down, replace both tires...

Always carry 2 spare inner tubes...Repairing a tube without water or another means of finding the hole is difficult at best, if you have two tubes and you are on top of it all, you will always have one tube that is good to go! Carry a spare Shrader Valve and valve tool if you choose to use a tire sealant on top of it all...The sealant can and does ruin a Shrader valve...Try to always use puncture resistant inner tubes, a quality patch kit and if your tires are big enough, use a liner in them as well...Slime makes a fantastic tire liner, I have been running Slime liners for the first time this year and they have preformed beautifully. They are much thinner then standard plastic/rubber liners and will work better for narrower tires, like the 26x1.5 or smaller and they don't weigh as much...And no matter what, "never" stop believing in flat tires...they exist, even if very elusive! As you can see, there is a lot to consider when it comes to the rubber on your bike...Oh! One last thing, carry a back up tire pump, too...I'll tell you a story to emphasize that...

At the end of August, 2001, I was on the Souther Tier Trail just out side of El Paso, TX...Maybe 30 or so miles (48km) east of town and I hit glass in such a way that a sliver got through my liner...It was like nine o'clock in the morning near the first of September in the west Texas desert...Not a building in sight, they don't refer to West Texas as "The Big Empty" for nothing, you know?...It was already 90 degrees (33C) in the shade and getting hotter, not to mention I was sweating like stuck pig...Well, I repaired the tube all proper and pulled out my pump to fill the tire, but the pump wouldn't seal around the valve stem...The rubber O ring that seals the outside of the stem was so worn that it wouldn't make a seal...I had no back up pump at that time, either...That was a very empty feeling...One that I don't recommend to the reader...Now what? What else? I started to push the bike and stuck my thumb out for every truck down the service road until one stopped and loaded me and the bike into the bed, then took me to the nearest service station...It could have been a lot worse, I might have had to push my bike the 7 miles to the service station...I learned a lesson the hard way, always, always, "always" carry a back up tube, tire "and" pump...Most often, the best emergency pump to carry is a CO2 inflator type along with your frame mount.

Finally, a note on tire pressure...Always make sure your tires are inflated to manufacturers standards, that information is located somewhere along the side wall. I prefer my tires rock hard, so I inflate them to 60 PSI. Generally, the better the tire, the more pressure it will be able to hold...For 26x1.75 and up, standard is 40 - 60 PSI...The closer to maximum manufacturers inflation recommendations you stay, the better the tire will perform...Another thing about pressure is an under inflated tire will make the rim vulnerable to dents and dings. The thinner the tire, the closer to maximum pressure you should keep for that very reason. A dented rim is just as dangerous to a tire as a rim that is out of true or riding on a broken spoke...The tire can be and is the rims first line of defense against damage from imperfections in the road surface..

So, what does your check list for the rubber on your bike look like now?

Spare tubes x 2
Fold up tire x 1 (at least)
liners
Sealant (optional)
Tire levers x 3 (metal)
Primary pump
CO2 Inflator
Tire Pressure gauge
Patch kit
Spoke wrench
Shrader Valve tool
Spare Shrader valve

That rubber is more valuable then you first thought it was, huh?

"If you hold a cat by the tail you learn things you cannot learn any other way." Mark Twain