Everything I Thought I Knew About Tires Is Wrong

Wow.

Especially painful is reading that my hard-earned intuition that high-TPI tires are more puncture-resistant than low-TPI tires is WRONG WRONG WRONG. I was convinced this was true, and had based that conviction on personal experience.

Of course, the assertion that TPI is inversely correlated with puncture resistance is, ceteris paribus, inversely correlated with puncture resistance, does not necessarily contradict the observation that high TPI tires are more puncture resistant, since ceteris are not paribus.

Still

My Hair Shirt

Let me preface this by saying that my standards for my own conduct have no bearing on what I think other people should do.

When I ride, I scrupulously follow traffic laws. I stop for red lights. I stop at stop signs. Even if there are no cars or pedestrians at the intersection. I stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk. I ALWAYS, ALWAYS yield the right of way to pedestrians, regardless of whether they are in the right. I ride as far to the right as is safe, except to make left hand turns. Etc, Etc.

Sometimes, I break a traffic law. When this happens, I feel pretty awful. To help expiate the guilt, I fine myself. I look up the amount of the fine for the violation in Washington State, and I donate that amount to a cause that, hopefully, will help those in need.

Today, I donated $124 to Northwest Harvest, because I was unable to stop in time to stay outside of a crosswalk into which a pedestrian had entered. (Riding far to the right, I couldn't see around a truck that was parked nose into the crosswalk.) The pedestrian was able to step back in time. I am very thankful for that, because if I were ever to hit a pedestrian, I don't know what I'd do. (Lesson learned: if I'm approaching a crosswalk, and I can't see the curb at the crosswalk, I need to either slow down or, if it's safe, move toward the center of the road until I can see the curb.)

Interestingly, later in the ride, I was stopped at a crosswalk with pedestrians in it while several cars blew through, while a cop sat watching. (I am confident that if one of the drivers had had a knife and was Native American and hearing-impaired, the cop would have swung right into action,)

Anyway, if my code of conduct is personal, why am I publicizing it? Don't know. Maybe because I'd like to believe there are others out there who have the same personal code of conduct? Or maybe I'm being just a wee bit sanctimonious.

Ride on, ride on.

It was the 80's

Carol was rummaging through old photos, and dug up this little blast from past. Brings back memories:

• Notice the large glasses and the mustache. Sorry, it was the 80's.
  
• Notice the suspenders. There was no excuse for that.
  
• Notice the hands on brakes and the frantic grin. Had just learned to ride the rollers, and was nervous
  
• This was my first ever "racing" bike. It was a mid-70's Raleigh Super Course, a decent touring bike that I incrementally upgraded with Campy Record parts.
  
• The wheels were my first-ever wheel build. They were 700c tubular (the frame was for 27" wheels -- so had extra long reach Dia-Compe brakes), Arc-en-Ciel (I believe) rims on Campy Record hubs, and probably cheap Clement Concorde tires. I trued these on the frame, and they truly sucked.
  
• Though it's hard to tell, it's set up as a fixed gear. The common wisdom back then, from the Mike Walden school, was that the first 500 miles of each season were to be on fixed gear, preferably < 60 gear inches. Made sense for southeast Michigan, where most of our hills were highway overpasses.
  
• The shoes were Brancales with wooden soles and nail-on cleats. They were also one (U.S.) size too small, but they were all I could get. So, riding in the winter was absolute torture. When I finally bought a pair of right-sized Duegi's (50 Euro) from Multigear, my feet thanked me.
  

The caption reads:

Ted Diamond of the University of Michigan Bicycle Club (far left) [ed: wish they'd keep my politics out of it!] uses a set of rollers to show how easy [ed: easy, my ass!] it is to ride even if there's snow outside

Would A Friend Let A Friend Buy A Redline?

Most of us work in software, many in testing or engineering, so we know how hard it is to get something right, and how much work is involved in quality. I have a lot of respect for someone who puts a product out on the line for daily use and abuse, and I don't feel comfortable panning a brand for an occasional quality or design defect.

But what gives with Redline, and by association, Seattle Bike Supply?

• Earlier this year, SBS was recalling Redline Conquests for faulty forks.
  
• I know three Redline Conquest owners (including myself), and all three of us have had our frames break (in exactly the same place).
• This month, SBS is recalling a mountain bike because of frame integrity issues.

I don't know what SBS's role in this is, or their relationship to the Redline brand and to the manufacturer. Does SBS purchase the frame & components from various sources, assemble them, and slap the Redline stickers on them? Any elucidation would help. I am ignorant.

Normally, I wouldn't hold it against a company for recalling products; in fact, I'd view it favorably, as a sign of being a conscientious citizen,

But in this case, I wonder whether SBS should continue distributing bikes.

Gotta love Cipollini

If you haven't read this little gem of an interview with Mario, you should.  Whether you agree with him or not, you've got to love his passion!  I have to agree with the observation that much top of the heap these days (with some exceptions like Vinokourov and Cancellara) seem to be relatively subdued in competition.  Is it the money?  Or is it as Mario suggests, a result of human evolution towards hermaphroditus?

product review from a product review hater

"Don't upgrade your ride, ride up grades" --Merckx

Great quote. I'm exceedingly tired of all the shills with their holiday 'reviews', trying to get you to buy another thing instead of just getting out the door.

I'm also discouraged by how stupid my bikes look this time of year: covered in fenders, lights and batteries and wires, and layers of road grime. (This from a gutter bunny not at all known for his elan.) Old broken-clavicle ache has me sporting a rear rack on my commuter, arrgh.

Nonetheless, I just got a rear blinky that I love--the Radbot by Portland Design Works. It should help keep me alive, as it's intensely bright (and wheel suckers will be blinded!) It's not a DiNotte, but was $18 at MEC. (Some reader will show their Maple Leaf and point out that the BLT Ultra Wazoo DX is brighter for a few bucks more, but supporting a US manufacturer right now makes me happy.)

OK, that's it for my product review career...

Living Dangerously

This spring, I injured myself gardening. Last week, I injured myself sitting down. I've got to stop this high-risk behavior. Maybe I'll take up sky-diving.

Sigh. But am still riding. Have been doing 100+ minute sessions on the trainer. Riding and stretching backward over a Swiss ball really help ease the pain.