Showing posts with label tyre liners. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tyre liners. Show all posts

Monday 3 February 2020

Sore Points Fixed With Subtle Tweaks









I made the schoolboy error of whipping the Pro Stealth Saddle in situ, making cursory visual inspection and checked alignment with a straight edge (rather than a spirit level). Subsequently, I paid the price, 20 miles into our maiden voyage, my sit bones were screaming. 

However, being a seasoned tester of traditional leather saddles, I persevered. Fifteen miles into our second outing, my inner thigh was feeling decidedly raw. I concluded, mid ride that the saddle height was fractionally too low, with the Stealth. 

This, (coupled with the padding density) in turn was placing additional pressure, causing this discomfort.   Relieved to be home, time for a more detailed analysis. I produced a 5mm Allen key and raised the seat post by a few millimetres, then took a spirit level to things. Not far out but sufficient…Loosening the cradle bolt, tilting the saddle fractionally downwards, snugging the cradle bolt tight (while keeping a sharp eye on the level) cured this.

My Univega was sporting a fair amount of slimy, salty road filth and the Juice Lubes Ceramic Juice was looking a bit filmy. This prompted a quick cold-water rinse, followed by a sudsy bucket and drivetrain cleansing 


White Lightning Extreme Wet was the most obvious, default replacement. No curing time, plenty of staying prowess-should last through February. Delivering a few squirts of Juice Lubes JL69 Bike Maintenance Spray https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/juice-lubes-jl to cables and pivot points concluded said fettling episode…

Then I spotted some nasty looking sharps that had penetrated its rear Schwalbe Marathon Mondial Double Defence Tyres https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/schwalbe-marathon-mondial-tyres. Deflated the tyre, extracted the flints using nail tweezers, then filled the holes with superglue.

Oddly enough, some Tannus Tyre Liners had arrived for testing (although these were 700x32, so went to the Schwalbe Road Cruiser https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/scwalbe-road-cruiser-tyres Fortuitous too, since the Schwalbe had also succumbed to a flint induced flat.

Liner protectors work like another layer within the tyre, preventing thorns and similar sharps puncturing the tube. I recall Tuffy Tape from the late 80s. Some swore by it, others at it.

Those taking a more moderate (dare I say, rational) stance suggested they could work well but recommended checking their alignment periodically. This was to prevent them inducing precisely the flats they were intended to eliminate. 

These Tannus are less convenient to install than heavy duty butyl. They cite an additional 40 seconds. Maybe with assembly line familiarity but I took another 2/3 minutes first time round. Still, at 200g apiece, are considerably lighter than the Kenda Thornproof tubes (which have been my defaults during winter’s worst for nigh on a decade).

Retailing at £29.99, the Tannus are pretty much the going rate for liner technology. That said; money would be better spent on upgrading tyres, if you’re running unreliable budget rubber, or a higher end set are past their prime.  Tannus also reckon it’s possible to limp home on an otherwise flat tyre, without damaging the rim.

Taking this a stage further, this theoretically allows tyres to be run at really low pressures, say for additional grip on the trails, or a really icy road. Personally, in the latter context, I would’ve reached for the Schwalbe Marathon winter https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/schwalbe-winter-spiked-tyre, or comparable spiked tyre.

Back to saddles, I was still feeling a little raw, so switched exclusively to my fixed gear winter trainer and the Selle San Marco Concor SuperCorsa for a few days. Now, as I’ve said before, in some respects, it’s an old saddle but serves to illustrate that classic designs are still very relevant.

Yes, 320g might be a touch portly for some (those with bikes on Calorie controlled diets, in particular) but what’s a few grams if you can sit in comfort all day?  Arguably, black would’ve been a better fit with my working fixed’s colour scheme. I reckon the tan’s a nice contrast.

The Genetic D-Riser 4 Bars continue to impress me. For gravel/cyclo cross I’d stick with their D-Riser 16 siblings https://www.sevendaycyclist.com/genetic-d-riser-bars, which still perform very well on asphalt. 

However, I have been surprised to find the D-Riser 4 feel that bit sharper on relatively smooth roads-sweeping around S bend descents that kind of thing.

I haven’t noticed any real difference, when ascending and as with its sibling the 20degree rise is subtle but welcome, especially through congested traffic, or relaxing on a long day ride.   I'll do a few hundred miles more with these contact points, before reaching any firm conclusions.