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@hozn 166703 wrote:

You sure you pumped it up hard enough? Some tires, especially with tubes on tubeless rims, will not snap their beads out of the center channel until pressure gets quite high. (You can then lower it down to something sane after they snap in.) Also try spraying the beads with soapy water or furniture polish.

I took it above the pressure that caused it to fail before. Stopped at 85psi after inflating/deflating 3 times and gave up on it.

For those running tubeless on commuters – what is your schedule for topping up sealant?

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Welp, after slapping it on with a tube the tire is messed up. I couldn’t get a section of the tire to sit where it should. The bead was just too low and you could see that the tire wasn’t sitting perfectly round on one section of the rim. As to if it was like that all along, or the blow-off caused it, the world may never know.

Winter is coming. Back to Conti GP 4 Season 32mm. My OCD is in overdrive having mis-matched front and rear tires for the time being :rolleyes:

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After much inspection……. I have no idea. Didn’t have any tubes that were of proper size for a 30mm tire. They should arrive tomorrow and I’ll run it with tubes for a bit for my own sanity. Never had a flat with them, so I’ve never needed them. Don’t judge me.

I didn’t have too hard of a time taking the tire on/off and wasn’t even close to getting it to inflate with a standard pump, so perhaps its a touch loose for the rim? The rim tape job is less than LBS quality in my mind. Given that I’m paying quite a bit of money for the labor and I bought the tape there you’d think they’d do more than a single layer and make sure the end was stuck down well :rolleyes:

If i choose to get my own air compressor – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TDNKBMC/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I1ZIXX7E09BEZ7&colid=NV6WT5PNMMU2

Anyone know if that will suffice? It happens to jive well with my golfing habit and is popular to grip/regrip golf clubs as well…

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Bead looked ok, it was early in the morning and I was pretty bitter though – so not the most thorough inspection. I’m going to try and remount/reseal today after work.

Just to clarify the original post, I pumped the tire pressure up from ~50psi to 65/70psi. Schwalbe list the happy place for the tire between 50-80.

I’ve had a tubeless tire lose all its air pressure overnight on me before bad seal somewhere I presume – but blowing the tire off the rim is a first.

*edit – yeah I’ve probably put about 150 miles on the bike sense the service, needed a new bb as well and a newborn makes taking the time to do it all at home seem pretty selfish.

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65 with low humidity? Downright chilly this morning.

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I’ve been using SRAM’s 1×11 for the last few months commuting(50t and 11-32). Do it. You know you want to.

I was originally going to go 11-36 on the rear but figured I’d give 11-32 a go. So far it hasn’t been an issue.

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@Lt. Dan 150740 wrote:

Is there a corporate code to use?

I didn’t post the original link, but I have access to the DB site and also to Raleigh’s discount site through my employer. Both are owned by Accell and have a pretty widely used discount program. Worth an HR check at the office to see if your company does it.

Wilier has a discount program too.. its slightly less generous :rolleyes:

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Looks lovely out there. Times up, lets do this.

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@hozn 149811 wrote:

That is a perfect set of specs! Nice bike! You should be able to also fit the 45NRTH Xerxes studded tires, which have to be the nicest rolling studded tires out there.

Schwalbe S-One?

I am debating trying some S-One tires for the commuter, though the 28mm Pro One are working fine.

Only thing I want to mention is that if you stick with SRAM X-Sync rings, you could run into frame clearance issues if the frame was only designed to clear a 50t. The X-Sync rings are (all?) offset inboard by 2mm (and the teeth are chunkier); my commuter works fine with a 50t compact, but cannot clear the 46t X-Sync, so I switched to Wolf Tooth 44t. For me the 46 with an 11-36 was about perfect. I could also see switching to 11-40 with a 48t on that bike to move my normal riding gears to slightly bigger cogs. SRAM 1x is pretty awesome.

Yep the S-Ones or like G-One Speed or something? they are changing the name this year? Doing the commute this week on the Clement PDX tires feels like I’m pushing monster truck tires. Additionally, hydro disc brakes are amazing. Setting them up so they don’t rub can be a true test of patience.

I believe the clearance for 50t is there, but yes, I’ll have a bit of angst until its actually on.

Oh and SRAM doubletap is blowing my mind… my ability to downshift is just… like rolling dice.. could go down 1 gear.. maybe two… maybe 1.5. I currently suck at doubletap.

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Eat your heart out BAFS, I’m coming for you. For those following my bike follies, threaded bottom bracket, internal cable routing, room for bigger (greater than 30mm) tires and added bonuses of: thru-axles, hydraulic brakes and SRAM 1x. I’m rather excited. Going to swap in some Schwalbe 30mm tubless and eventually change to a 50 or 48t x 11-36t. It didn’t hurt that my employer gives a big fat discount on Raleigh bikes.

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My evening commute was lovely. One thing though.

I’ve seen an increase (any amount is an increase over zero) of cyclists on Cedar lane in Vienna where it crosses 66. For the love of god just take the lane. There ain’t room to share the lane and you hugging a non existent shoulder just freaks me out. So as I go north and you go south, please be safe.

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@Tim Kelley 147808 wrote:

We actually considered adding map monsters. Alexandria, DC, FAIRFAX?? Yar, there be dragons.

Its funny… but also sad and true

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@KLizotte 144939 wrote:

Wow, you must have a whole garage full of “toys.”

It helps that my townhouse doesn’t have a garage

Golf, like cycling, can be done inexpensively. It can also be done very expensively. That choice is always up to the individual. Ebay is probably the greatest creation ever for a golfer on a budget.

Golf seems to be on a long slow slide down.

They are both pretty cyclical. You hear about golf more (in the good and the bad times) because:

1. Its on broadcast TV every weekend
2. Most major OEMs are publicly traded
3. Courses are capital intensive

Its like if Specialized or Trek had to constantly sell 5% more bikes every year to meet shareholder’s expected earnings. There is a point where the market is saturated. Thus, Nike Golf.

Golfers are primed to pay for gains, which makes them an easy market switch. I find it interesting that many of the articles talk about how easy it is to cycle. This is of course true, but it doesn’t talk about the effort, work and suffering required to get good at road cycling. I get a little chuckle when they push the idea that golfers turn to cycling because golf is too hard. Then cyclists talk about suffer scores, power meters and cracking on a climb.

Mechanical doping on friendly group rides here we come!

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Disclaimer: I do not race, have not raced, I have essentially no credentials other than based on the BAFS/Bike Arlington club I ride quickly, so I figure – why not?

I pick random segments/sections of my commute to give high effort. I typically take Monday and Friday easy. Because my commute has so many lights and stop signs I know that my average speed is more indicative of my luck at the intersections than my effort, so I try not to let that get in my head and instead focus on the unbroken sections of effort. I don’t use a power meter or any device other than the strava on my phone.

I’ve found that pushing myself for a whole commute is counter productive with all the stops I have. Much easier and effective to say “Ok, all out for the next mile”, short easy spin, “Ok, all out again”.

I use a timbuk2 especial medio backpack. The raider is their lighter and racier bag. I don’t think that makes that big of a difference though.

Endurance Road bikes have a pretty relaxed geometry and will put you plenty upright in traffic but assuming you are flexible/comfortable enough can be plenty aero in the drops. The Jake/Esatto would be the Kona equivalent from a quick spin on their site.

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As the forums only rider and avid golfer (that I’m aware of) I am compelled to note that, this has been going on for a long time.

Both activities do seem to be highly cyclical. Golf and cycling seem to go through booms and busts regularly. I am a fan of either, so whatever works for you.

On a positive note for golf, rounds are up at Fairfax County Public Courses this year.

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