Posts Tagged ‘Tennessee’

I’ve been biking in Memphis for more than three years now. One thing is for certain when commuting in Memphis — you’ll get lots of flats. Street cleaning is minimal, broken bottles abundant and invisible shards of shredded steel-belted radials are everywhere. When I was using my road bike to commute I chose the expensive yet very tough Specialized Armadillo tires. The Armadillos were a pretty good tire and prevented most flats. They once even deflected an 1/8 inch drill bit which lodged in the rubber of the tire and spun around a few times scoring my frame — but no flat. However, the Armadillo was no match for the shredded steel-belted radials.

I switched to my mountain bike after a year on the road bike so I could take to the sidewalk on the busiest road I traveled. Slicks were out of the question since I often road in wet weather and in grassy areas. Nobbies were the answer for me. It allowed for good traction in all conditions and kept the casing and tube further off the ground and away from the road cacti. Despite the choice of nobbies, flats were still a common occurrence. That’s when I decided to switch to a Slime-filled tube on the rear tire.

I have not had a flat with the 26″ Slime tubes after about 2500 miles of commuting on them. I did have a puncture once that I heard and for which I stopped. It didn’t appear that the tube was sealing so I passed my finger over the hole as the Slime was seeping out. Upon doing this, the leak stopped and I haven’t done anything with it since.

It is noticeably different riding the Slime tubes. Mostly, they make you noticeably slower. These things do not roll well. However, since I’m so tired of flatting after 3 years, I’m willing to sacrifice the performance. And, I only use the Slime tube on the rear wheel as it flats far more frequently than the front.

I’ve also recently started riding a 700C Slime tube on my road bike. My first long distance ride in a while resulted in two flats on the Slime tube. One flat resulted from a small, sharp unidentifiable object. After several attempts at reinflating the tire, I was able to get about 80psi in the tire — just enough for me to reach the half-way point stop. However, prior to arriving at the stop, the tube flatted again. This time it was an all-to-common steel-belted tire shard. Although only a pin prick hole, I could not get the tube to hold pressure and I was forced to install my spare tube. Pulling the Slime tube was fun to say the least. First there’s the green goop everywhere, which happens, burns like hell when you get it in any open sore. Then, trying to fold the Slime tube up into a reasonable size to stuff in my Camelback proved almost impossible since the Slime seals the valve rendering it impossible to fully deflate the tube.

Conclusion: Slime-filled tubes work well for lower pressure tires like MTB tires but they do not suffice for high pressure tires. Thus, don’t buy the 700C Slime-filled tubes.

MTB Slime Tubes Rating: 4 Disabled UDVs
700C Slime Tubes Rating: 1 Disabled UDV

A few weeks ago, a work buddy, with whom I regularly ride, had three bikes stolen out of his garage early one morning (You have to love Memphis, TN. I topped him a couple of weeks ago by witnessing a drive-by shooting on my block as my kids played in the front yard). Of course, he filed a police report, knowing that they would not nor could not do anything to recover his bikes. Once he received the completed police report, he contacted his insurance company, in this case State Farm, to determine if he should file a claim. Here’s how the math came out:

Bikes’ Worth: $1495

Deductible: $500

Loss of “No Claims”
Discount x 3 Years: $1131

Net Insurance
Payout: -$136 dollars

Yep, that’s right. My friend would have to pay the insurance company $1631 over three years to buy replacement bikes worth $1495, netting my friend the loss of 3 bikes plus $136 to the insurance company. After rejecting their offer to file a claim and pay them more money while still having lost his bikes, he asked what kind of insurance should he have had to protect against the loss of the bikes. They stated that he could purchase Personal Insurance on any item in the house but that the value of the item would have to exceed $3000 in order to qualify.

Take-away Message: Your homeowner’s insurance does not cover your bikes. If you rely on your bike(s) as transportation as I do, lock it up in your home or garage to an immovable object just as you do on the street.

I don’t think bike commuting helps make friends in every city or community but it sure helps here.  Using my bike almost exclusively for transportation in the city of Memphis makes me a bit of a novelty.  Given that midtown Memphis is a pretty diverse place and there are a lot of bike commuters, I’m also not hated for being one that impeeds traffic.

Almost everywhere I go, people talk to me about commuting on a bike.  I have people at intersections roll down their window, usually to ask me a question about why I’m out on a bike.  I just started at a new gym and while very few people want to talk at 6:30am, the fact that I walk in wearing a bike helmet seems to be a great conversation starter.  Sure, most conversations center around the weather for that day but at least people feel compelled to interact with me.  These situations just confirm my belief that bike commuting makes for stronger communities by stimulating people to interact with each other.

I’m never one to follow fads. I was always reasonably popular in school but never really ‘cool’. I couldn’t wear the right clothes or shoes or drive a cool car or act cool. Thus, when I started learning about the fixed gear movement, about two years ago when I moved to Memphis, I thought that seems really stupid and dangerous. Plus, even if I had a fixed gear, I wouldn’t be cool.

After a couple of friends and I attended the Bicycle Film Festival when it came to Memphis, I figured I’d give it a shot. I had an old Peugeot Monaco frame hanging in the garage which was left by the previous owner. I actually put it in the purchase agreement that the frame had to stay, I forgot about the refrigerator. Dohhhh! So, this summer when my wife and kids went to Haiti for 5 weeks, I made it my project.

I flipped the handle bars and cut them to make bull horns. Bought a set of road rims, tires, seat, seatpost, handle bar tape, chain and pedals. I re-greased the headset and replaced the bearings in the bottom bracket. I couldn’t find a seatpost to fit so I bought a 22.Xmm seatpost and shimmed the heck out of the seat tube. I also added a front brake as I am married with two children.

Peugeot Monaco Fixie

I took the first few rides pretty slow. After riding a aluminum mountain bike and city bike exclusively for almost two years, the feel of the steel frame was inspiring. While still rigid, almost no vibrations made it through to the seat our my hands. I also relish the fact that bike makes virtually no sound. I hate the hum of tires and engines which is pervasive almost anywhere there is the slightest bit of civilization. It feels good to ride something so quiet.

Probably my tenth ride on the fixie, and after a few beers, a friend and I were headed on a trek to find him a fixie frame. While trying to turn left across a busy road, I caught my left pedal on the ground. I came down sideways on the rear tire, which rolled and blew out. That sent me to the ground, hard. I skinned both elbows, my left hand, left knee and right foot (I was wearing sandals). A couple of weeks later after truing the wheel and putting on some new rubber, I discovered that I had also bent the heck out of my saddle rails and seatpost such that by looking at them you wouldn’t notice but once you got on, wow, ef-ed up. Since the seatpost was on back order, at least a month went by before I had the bike ride-able again.

I recently started working from home so I don’t need to take my mountain bike to work anymore — I had to hop curbs and navigate oft-wet grass. However, I go to a local gym, about three miles away, every morning. Since it’s not to far and the route is void of major roads, I take the fixie. While I’m still getting the hang of it and once and a while forgetting that I can’t stop pedaling, I thoroughly enjoy the bike. I look forward to mounting it every morning — don’t tell my wife. So, while I’m being a bit faddish, I have to say it’s well worth it.

PS: I can’t lock up the back wheel to slow down. I think the bend in the fork and the short run of the stem doesn’t allow me to get my weight far enough forward to take enough weight off the back wheel. Anyone had a similar issue?

After wrapping up a shop-lead ride, a badly needed commuter bike tire change and tube patch while watching the Tour de France, I realized that a floor pump serves nicely as an alternative hassock.  Just place the pump a couple of feet from your beer-stinking couch and rest your achilles tendon on the handle.  With beer in hand and legs raised, your leg metabolites will work their way to your organs and allow you to relax and watch others suffer while you recover.