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RANT: A reason not to have 650 wheels....
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 2008-08-29 5:22 PM |
Expert  1379    Woodland, California |  Subject: RANT: A reason not to have 650 wheels........ or at least to keep a large stock of tubes. I made the mistake of keeping only one spare, and didn't really think about it because I flat so infrequently...... but last week I managed to destroy 2 tubes. So here is my as of yet unfinished adventure in trying to get new tubes. 2 weeks ago: attempted to get long ride in before going out of town. T-storms outside, opted to ride on the trainer, and while hurriedly removing my almost-new tire to put an old tire on, managed to put a huge slice in my tube. Pulled out the spare, and somehow managed to break the valve. Got angry, skipped ride, went out of town. 1 week ago: went out of town again. Returned Monday, stopped at LBS on the way home, picked up 2 new tubes (yay!). Went home, changed tube, discovered that the valve stem is too short for my rims. Got angry, didn't ride, cleaned the kitchen. Tuesday: sent husband to LBS #2 and 3 to look for tubes. No one had any. Ordered 3 tubes w/overnight shipping from Performance. Thurs: arrived home, no tubes. Checked on Performance website, my order hadn't even been pulled yet. Got angry, canceled order, went running. Today: called LBS #4 and asked if they had 650 tubes in stock. "Yes we do!" "650???? Are you sure???" "YES! Come on down!" Drove 20 minutes, went inside, found out that the guy I talked to didn't even check and they had none in stock. Then they promised they had some at a different location and would get them and call me at about 1 or 2. It is now 3:21 and I still have no freaking tubes.
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| 2008-08-29 6:16 PM in reply to: #1638726 |
Champion 5345 Carlsbad, California | Subject: RE: RANT: A reason not to have 650 wheels.... Sounds like time to go for a run  Seriously: I bet this is the last time you will find yourself short on tubes for your bike. Although 650's are less common owing to the debunked myth, they are still used by several manufacturers for smaller framed bikes and are not likely to become exctinct anytime soon. I am sorry to hear about your experiences with trying to track them down as it is definitely affecting your training. Good luck with the LBS... |
| 2008-08-29 7:16 PM in reply to: #1638726 |
| Member 33 | Subject: RE: RANT: A reason not to have 650 wheels.... That is hardly a reason to not have 650 wheels. That was complete lack of planning on your part. You would have had the same problem (minus the one shop not having any in stock) regardless of the size wheel you ride. A few rules of responsible bike ownership: 1.) always have about 4-5 spares on hand at any given time. Locations for spares should be - seat bag (2) - race bag (1) -somewhere else in the house you keep bike related stuff (1-2) When you flat, change it and then make note to replace that one soon. Or, you could try patching it. Archaic, I realize, but that's what we used to do back in the day. 2.) Buy a valve extender. If your rims are so deep dish that a standard valve stem won't work, make sure you have an extender. OR, when you are going to order tubes from a catalog, ORDER 5 tubes with 80mm valve stems. 3.) get a cheap rear 650 wheel off eBay or wherever to use for your trainer riding, so you aren't messing around with swapping tires in order to ride the trainer. And FWIW, one hour on the trainer is not going to drain the life off your tire, unless you are using expensive tubulars. Which you aren't. 650 wheels are not to blame here. Edited by kerrylitka 2008-08-29 7:17 PM |
| 2008-08-29 7:22 PM in reply to: #1638726 |
Champion 10668 Tacoma, Washington | Subject: RE: RANT: A reason not to have 650 wheels.... Or a lesson learned on being prepared... |
| 2008-08-29 8:59 PM in reply to: #1638726 |
Champion 6046 New York, NY | Subject: RE: RANT: A reason not to have 650 wheels.... thankfully my LBS always has 650s - and I use the ones with longer valves for my zipp 404s...so I always have plenty of tubes for race and training wheels on hand
I ALWAYS carry 2 tubes on the bike and have another 4 at home (for both type wheels) having had flats happen in clusters....
just a part of biking.....
but yeah, my p3c came with 650s |
| 2008-08-29 10:12 PM in reply to: #1638726 |
Expert 1379 Woodland, California | Subject: RE: RANT: A reason not to have 650 wheels.... Yup, lesson learned. Too bad I can't put sarcasm font in the title, obviously I don't think this is an actual reason not to have 650s. But as for the exact same thing happening with 700s, I beg to differ - every bike store in town has giant stacks of 700c tubes, including the one I went to twice today to pick up what the guy described as "the last three 650 tubes in town". Obviously I will be more prepared in the future. I just thought this was a ridiculous chain of events for just trying to get a tube. OH, and one of the new tubes exploded in my tire as I was getting ready to leave tonight. The second one exploded in my husband's face (and yes, after that we thoroughly checked my rim and tire, found nothing). I ended up putting in an old tube with multiple patches that I forgot I had and went riding without a spare. |
 2008-08-29 10:15 PM in reply to: #1638726 |
| Subject: ... This user's post has been ignored. Edited by mixie 2008-08-29 10:17 PM |
| 2008-08-30 6:02 AM in reply to: #1639019 |
Resident Curmudgeon 25290 The Road Back Gold member | Subject: RE: RANT: A reason not to have 650 wheels.... mixie - 2008-08-29 10:15 PM BTW, don't buy the performance stock brand tubes. They suck azz....I bought a case and was not happy with them. I've used performance tubes almost exclusively for the past four years, >15,000 miles, with no problems to speak of. YMMV, of course. |
| 2008-08-30 7:41 AM in reply to: #1639019 |
| Champion 6046 New York, NY | Subject: RE: RANT: A reason not to have 650 wheels.... oh yeah there was the day I was out riding and accidently had put a 700c spare in my bag and flatted 2 miles from home in the POURING rain.... I did get the 700cc on there and it got me home.... |
| 2008-08-31 4:27 AM in reply to: #1639152 |
| Veteran 247 CA | Subject: RE: RANT: A reason not to have 650 wheels.... the bear - 2008-08-30 4:02 AM I've used performance tubes almost exclusively for the past four years, >15,000 miles, with no problems to speak of. YMMV, of course. I've been using them for a year or so as well with no glaring problems as well. Helps to have good quality tires though. |
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