New bikes for old

....yeah....you need Woods valves for that.      ;-)


Seriously, I thought most tubeless cycle valves were pretty standard "Presta" fitting. If your connector was for Schrader valves, I can see the problem you would have. (You can - or at least could back in the day of the old-fashioned cycle pump - buy connector tubes for either).   

(I have Woods valves on both the German e-Bikes. Different construction, but same connector as a Presta. They "seize" in use, and take an awful amount of initial pressure to open them when pumping up - even a track pump struggles sometimes). 

I hate Prestas. If necessary I drill out rims to fit Schraders. Not at all into tubeless either. Modern fandangled nonsense. 😠

...there, corrected it for you.....

I hate alloy components like this. Getting them really tight so often appears to be beyond the recommended torque limit. For the seat post, whilst not as neat I much prefer a clamp.

If it strips and the half into which you are tightening isn't "blind", you might find a good solution is to source a slightly longer bolt, and go through to a nut on the other face. Not as neat, but very effective. 
  

What I actually suspect, notwithstanding any possible pie issues, is that someone has turned the bike upside down while setting it up. This can lead to lubricant travelling up the down tube and contaminating the surfaces of the seat post / down tube.

I'd take the seat post out and thoroughly clean the inside of the down tube and the seat post with dry kitchen towel so that both surfaces are thoroughly "dry" before tightening the seat post clamp any more. As T&E says, you could easily strip the thread by over tightening.

Well, it’s been a nice week for cycling down Vaucluse (Enclave des Papes — John XXII in 1316ish arrived feeling a bit queasy, drank some of the local wine, felt so much better that he bought the town) way, and we have another to come. 7am starts to get back before the heat gets too fierce, but that’s all right as we can pick up breakfast in town on the way back to our little olive-shaded garden.



My tubeless tyres had their first test this morning: there was a strange noise and a little rooster-tail of white juice from the back wheel, which turned out to be issuing from an identifiable hole, although it wasn’t clear what had made it. After maybe 20 seconds it stopped hissing, and a minute’s work with a pump restored the lost pressure. Contrasts well, I think, with Boy1’s front tube, which took a puncture earlier this morning. That required the front wheel off and the full tube-replacement palaver — which, I have to say, he managed with minimal fuss.

Boy2, meanwhile, is cross that his iron-bedstead hardtail is so slow on good and even moderate roads that he’s given up riding it altogether. Disappointing but understandable; I’d be content to match his pace for the sake of an outing, but Boy1 is like lightning on anything smooth and just disappears. He’s now got me thinking of a 700C hybrid I might ride to town at home but that would be fast enough to be his on-road holiday bike. Since he and I are near enough the same size, it might just work — but guess who’d be paying for it!

Thanks Humph. Funnily enough, he’d already done that at home — although even the new tyres look pretty brutal to me. I think it’s more an attitude thing; he’s defined himself as a badass who crashes through the woods, and trundling along tarmac — unless it’s just the short distance he does from home to get to the rough stuff — is just not his style.

Spent a bit of time faffing with our fleet of cheapo Decathlon/Halfords bikes this weekend in preparation for holiday to Vendee next week. We use some forest trails most days when we're out there, and youngest (daughter) struggled last time with the slicks on her hybrid type bike. So I've swapped them for some knobbly jobbies which will hopefully help. They're not full on knobblies, they're kind of knobbly edged, and smoothish in the middle IYSWIM. They came off an old, outgrown bike of my son's which has the same 24" wheels. The rest of us have knobblies already.

Other than that, checked all the lights, lubricated chains, checked box of spares/tools for all necessaries, and we're all good to go. Roof rack and bikes get installed in Friday night, then off on Saturday morning to the tunnel. All car checks also carried out, fluids and that, tyre pressures etc. Then I replaced the knackered mortice lock on the garden gate for extra Dad points. Earned my couple of tins of Beavertown Neck Oil and half a bottle of red with dinner (BBQ, cooked by my fair hand, natch), so I did.