Putting on a tire.

I can't remember how many times I've changed tires for people on club rides. I'd rather not do it but if there's one thing worse than getting my hands dirty it's watching people waste time struggling over a flat tire.

Most of you can get the tire off, check for what caused the flat and put the new tube in. The grief comes with the struggle to get that last few inches of tire back on the rim when your thumbs just aren't strong enough.

Let's make it easy. Hold the wheel on the ground with the valve at the bottom. Start putting the tire on at the top of the wheel opposite the valve and work down toward the valve pushing the sides down as you go. When you get to the hard bit then spit on your fingers and rub them under the tire bead. The tire will pop on easily.

With the valve at the bottom push down on each side of the tire.
A little spittle under the last part will make it even easier.

If you have a CO2 pump to inflate your tires but have never used one then buy a pump - it'll still work after the inflator has popped off the valve and frozen your hand. If you must use a CO2 inflator then buy a Red Zeppelin which screws onto the valve - never pops off.

Don't throw your inner tube away. Repair kits are cheap. So take it home and fix it - or give it to me.

Allan Broadribb
Check out all my articles on www.2tiredtales.com.

Strava

I wish I'd kept a log of my rides when I was a junior rider - it would be nice to look at them today. Back then some riders did keep ride logs with locations, maps and distances but being young and foolish I never did. It would not only be nice to look at those rides but it would also be a reminder of those I rode with. Many of the roads I rode in the south of England don't even exist anymore - they are buried under motorways - most of the people I rode with are probably buried too! 

What we had back then in the 1960's were paper maps to plan rides and a Lucas Cyclometer. The cyclometer was an analog distance computer bolted on the front axle with a pin attached to one of the spokes which clicked on a star wheel, sort of like the wheel magnet used today but with a mechanical read out. You just had to live with the tick-tick-tick while riding. If you were really into planning rides you could buy a map wheel which gave you an approximate distance when you rolled it along the route on your map. I only know about this because someone in the club had one. 

A Lucas Cyclometer and a map Wheel

Nowadays my Garmin, Strava and Ridewith GPS take care of all this stuff for me - and then some. It's hard to believe the first Garmin Edge and Strava were only launched 13 years ago. Now I can create a route anywhere in the world, follow it on my Garmin while riding and afterward see the result on Strava - wow!

I especially like Strava because I have a log of my rides in which I can see the routes and even illustrate them if I wish. I can also see who I have been riding with and keep in touch with with friends I have made riding at home and in Europe. It is the only social network I belong to! As for the rest of the features it's nice to see the mileage and elevation I have completed in a year. Oops! - I forgot, Strava won't tell you that but a handy Chrome extension for Strava called Elevate will!

Allan Broadribb

Isabelle

Knock knock.

Who's there?

Isabelle.

Isabelle who?

Isabelle necessary on a bicycle?

An old joke but I think the answer is yes. 

I have a bell on both my bikes. I like having a bell especially when I am riding where I am likely to meet other cyclists, runners or walkers. A bell distinguishes me as a cyclist. I am not aware of any other vehicle that uses a bell to warn others of my presence. Sure you can say "Cyclist passing on your left" or something like that and hope that a couple walking along and chatting understand you but a "ting ting" on your bell says it all and in a universal language. 

Beryl Burton

I started racing in time trials in the UK when I was 15 because I couldn't ride in road races until I was 16. But that's not the point, the point is that the RTTC (Road Time Trials Council) required me to have a bell on my bike. Looking back I'd have to say this was kind of quaint. But it is a "rule no more" as what we used to call "time testers" now wear wind suits and weird helmets and ride carbon bikes with odd looking bars and solid wheels - but no bell. What a shame, a tradition gone, a lost link to the great riders of the past. In 1963, when I was seventeen Beryl Burton, yes a woman, broke the 4 hour barrier for the 100 mile time trial on a 10 speed steel road bike with a bell. And time trials had to start and finish in the same place so this was not a one way wind assisted ride. 

So those are the reasons I like having bells on my bikes. But before you rush out and buy one, let me say there are several kinds you should consider. There's the old fashioned steel domed bell with a trigger and gears inside that makes a real ringing sound and there are the light weight aluminum domed ones with a pinger that go "ting ting". I personally favor the Knog Oi "ting ting" bell because it inconspicuously wraps around my bars near the stem. Fortunately I have yet to see a USB rechargeable electric bicycle bell.

Knog Oi bell

It should be noted I have not received a position on the board of Knog nor any compensation for my mention of their product here.

Fixing the Garmin Power Switch

My good old Garmin Edge 800 power switch finally gave out on me. I was left with a hole where the the power button was. Options are to buy a new one or try to fix it. Being me I decide to try fixing it. I've had this Edge 800, which was introduced in 2010, about 8 years. It has everything I need especially great easy to follow maps which are really useful when riding away in places like the Carolinas and Europe.

Here's the hole where the button had failed. You can see the switch inside.

I cut a piece out of an eraser to fit the hole with an Xacto knife - a fiddly job.

Then I fit the piece of eraser in the hole making sure it is not too tight so the momentary switch button inside will release after being pushed. Then I mess with it a bit to make sure it works.

I cover the result with  piece of electrical tape and  .   .   .

  .   .   .   .Hey Presto - it works - just like that. Although I'll probably have to replace the electrical tape from time to time. And, now you know where I live!

Butchered Brooks B17

I've now contributed about 36 articles to Braking News and Roundabout The Villages and while I have a list of local historical articles still to go I haven't done enough research recently to write another now. And, now is Tuesday night when I am under the gun from editor Komoroske who wants something NOW. As Monty Python would say, "And now for something completely different" - how to modify a Brooks B17 saddle. Maybe not the smoothest transition, but it got the job done.

When I was 14 in 1960 I desperately wanted a 10 speed bike. My Dad said he'd put up 50% if I joined a cycling club and took it seriously. So I got a Velo Sport handbuilt 10 speed racing bike, my Dad ante'd up, I joined the Streatham Cycle Racing Club, and I worked Saturdays at Velo Sport to support my new habit. Pete Russell owned the store and one of the things he did, and taught me how to do, was "butcher" a Brooks B17 saddle - probably the most popular bike seat in the days before plastic saddles.

 

And guess what? A couple of years ago I was at a bike event where they had a swap table and I was irresistibly drawn to an old Brooks B17. I knew exactly what I was going to do with it, so picked it up for a few bucks, took it home, then went online and bought some large Brooks copper rivets and a can of Proofide.

Before

 

"Butchering," sometimes known as "blocking" the saddle, is pretty simple if you have an eye for the finished shape. You cut off the bag loops at the back, remove the metal Brooks name tag, then use a sharp knife to cut off the leather flush with the rear frame and also the nose, which will expose the front of the frame. Keeping the saddle on a seat post, you then turn it upside down and with a rubber mallet beat a curve into the flat part at the back of the frame. Once you have established the shape you want you drill out the old rivets and replace them with the new large copper ones. Some people take them out and replace them one at a time - personally I remove the leather cover completely. If you hand hammer the rivets they look really nice.

 

We're nearly done. With the cover back on, roll the sides of the underneath, use about 120 grit sandpaper to get rid of the shine, hit it with Proofide and you have a butchered Brooks B17. Something that Brooks copied and called the B17 Professional. 

After - a work of  art.