Bikes, Tyres, Inflation, Compressor, Home Brew Lube, The Old Trek

The old trek rolled nicely, but the lower bars are too low
for my neck.

Red light. Time to check the bump, bump, bump coming
 from the rear tire. Inner cords are broken. Ride this high-
pressure tyre much farther, and it would blow big time.
Time to go back home and get the backup bike.

So the plan ... the plan ... was to get the "rain/flatland" bike back into working order for  bikepath rides near work. And basically all that entailed was pumping up the tires, and squirting on a bit of chain lube. Nine years since I last rode it, and that was all that was needed.

That was the "plan." So first things first, pump up Trek's tires, and top of the air in Leader's tires. Then.go.ride before the rush hour traffic got into full swing. Save the the lube chores for later.

Well, I have this "pancake" compressor for hobby power tools that needs to justify its existence, so I used it to inflate the four tires, just because it's there.

But, as I was inflating the blue Leader785R's tires, I had my fingers on the tires and I felt a strong jolt. I just figured it was the blast of air, nothing more.

I put the red Trek 660 in the back yard and went out to ride the blue Leader.

At the first traffic light I felt a bump, bump bump, coming from the Leader785's back tyre. WTF could that be? An acorn? -- nope not unless it is stuck to the tyre.

I got off the bike to check it out. and this is what I found (photos)

October 6. Uh oh, too much air too fast.
Tire is borked.

Uh oh! What did I do to this inner tube/tyre combination? These are high-pressure Serfas Secas that run at a max 130 psi (crazy eh?). I typically inflate to 110-120 psi.

I was pumping in about 10 psi at a time, with each trigger press, so it should not have been a big deal, but the tire is 7 years old, and the inner cords might have weakened after so many huge pothole hits.

Air n Sports bicycle tyre inflator attachment.

Returned home, got the old Trek out.

Shit, no lube!

I could ride it as is, but that would be cruel and unusual punishment to a 30 year old Campagnolo Nuovo Record drive train, so I whipped up a quick batch of home brew out of chainsaw bar oil/motor oil and mineral spirits, and we were just about ready to roll.

I forgot my recipe. So I winged it — a couple of ounces of Master Mechanic chainsaw bar oil, an ounce of Castrol motor oil, and about and ounce of mineral spirits to aid penetration (all funneled into an empty bottle of ProLink Gold and shaken, not stirred). If I'd have had more mineral oil I'd have added a bit more, but that was all that was left in the can. That ought to do it! It flowed on easily enough.

Back in July I had tested this compressor on tires up to 130.
(That's the max for the Serfas Secas, and I like 'em firm.) 

The home brew laboratory. Not shown Castrol motor oil.

Next, move the lights, Garmin Edge 305 and saddle bag over, and ride around a bit to test the "clipless" pedals again.

The old Specialized Bike BG MTB clipless shoes were as comfortable as they were 9 years ago - amazing.

I could get used to clipless again maybe.

Very quickly got the pedaling style back, although it took a most of the ride to get fluid with the clip-ins.

The downtube shifters were very stiff. I hadn't used them in years, either, so each shift took a few seconds extra time. But aside from that, the bike rode really, really well, and in places, it was just fantastic, felt very alive. You better believe it — "Steel is real," as its fans like to say.

Mental note to self, "if in doubt, clip out" and when approaching intersection that might require a stop, "clip out first, shift later."

For the 53+plus guys (who don't bounce as well as they once did)  it's just not worth the risk of falling because you took too long to shift a downtime shifter, and didn't have time to clip out before you stopped, capiche?

Yes.