Monday morning, I loaded up my bike and noticed the rear tire was soft. I pumped up the tire and decided to work from home. There was my not-drive-to-work streak to maintain, after all.
Tuesday, the tire felt okay, I topped it off, and rode to work. A long ride during lunch and it was a little squishy on the way home, but I blamed the cold.
Wednesday morning, the tire was soft again. I drove to work and checked the tire in the evening. Still not entirely flat. Hmm…
My technique of fixing things is cleaning them until I discover something amiss. So I cleaned the inside and outside of the tire. I cleaned the rim, its braking surfaces, and even the cogs.1Yeah, the outside of the rim and the cogs were unlikely to cause the flat but I’ve been known to clean parts only peripherally related to possible problems. Still nothing obviously wrong or pointy.
I pulled the rim strip to see if anything prickly was hiding beneath. And a spoke went feral. Somehow,2Actually, breaking spokes is one of the potential joys of being a cycling “Clydesdale.” a spoke head snapped off, allowing the nipple to poke the tube … maybe.
Regardless, the wheel needs to be fixed. Looks like my bike’s going to get some service.3And the car’s going to get a little more use. :-(
- 1Yeah, the outside of the rim and the cogs were unlikely to cause the flat but I’ve been known to clean parts only peripherally related to possible problems.
- 2Actually, breaking spokes is one of the potential joys of being a cycling “Clydesdale.”
- 3And the car’s going to get a little more use. :-(