JohnMalcolmson said:

Now if only you had gotten your bike blessed Patrick...

https://ilovetheupperwestside.com/hundreds-of-cyclists-to-attend-blessing-of-the-bicycles-at-cathedral-of-st-john-the-divine/

Definitely might help here

I have a bunch of Selle Italia Flite saddles; they're on most of my bikes and I've got perhaps five spares.  As the design is discontinued, I've been learning about how to replace the cover on worn saddles, as i've got three in serious need, and the one on my daily driver needs to be ditched or recovered soon.

So, this one was in need, and as it originally graced my MTB commuter, it seemed like a place to start.  I bought a can of 3M Super 77 spray glue, Barge cement, cobbler's pliers, and tried my hand:



Here's the recovered version



It's not perfect; there are some folds that I wish I could have gotten rid of.  

I think  red one will be next, and then perhaps spend on better leather for the one that's on my main bikes.  

wait, JP, just FYI the design is not discontinued, this model is so popular Selle Italia still makes it. That said, this reskin LOOKS AMAZING!! ALL THE HOTNESS 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

JP - Very cool 

Dave Yang may have some San Marco Rolls he may need recovered

New Campi Super Record EPS finally was unveiled (leaks pretty much were spot on). Goes the way of Sram with totally wireless system, 10 tooth smallest cog, removable batteries (not interchangable), and ditches the thumb shifters.

Oh, its also eye wateringly expensive coming in at about $5,000.00.

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/new-campagnolo-super-record-wireless/

I've spent too much time driving Fiat cars with faulty sensors for everything to ever trust a an Italian wireless groupset, but it looks super cool

My tubeless cycling friends - Do you run tire liners? Also any recommendations for favorite tires, sealant, valves, tools?

New to tubeless here.

I don't run liners.  Then again, I really only ride road, but I've done some rough stuff since converting and haven't had an issue that adding more/different sealant didn't solve.  I do think there's merit to them for something like gravel or MTB.

Tools - Highly suggest picking up an AirShot (https://www.amazon.com/Airshot-1-15L-Tubeless-Inflator-Color/dp/B01BJ4MXQY/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=airshot&qid=1685545507&sr=8-1).  It makes seating the tire 100x easier.

Tires - this depends on what you're riding and what you can reasonable mount to your rims (I'm looking at you GP 5000s...).  I use Vittoria Corsa G2s; mainly because they are easy to mount.  I do find them a bit lacking in durability.

Sealants - I started with Stans No Tubes regular.  Being able to inject sealant through the valve is a HUGE advantage IMO.  It makes the set up smooth and clean.  Overall, it worked ok until I had a major gash and it struggled to hold pressure at road-level (~70psi). 

Switched to Silca for reliability and it's been an OK experience.  Setup was messy AF since you can't go through the valve (something about carbon fiber...) and I do need to be sure to position my valves so they don't get clogged when storing my bike, but so far so good.

Also, if you're running disc, take your rotors off before messing around with sealant.  It helps avoid contaminating the rotors and pads

@GregHoge I don't know if I understand the purpose of the AirShot. Also why is Silca not able to go through the valve? They sell an injector so i'm surprised to hear that.

The Airshot provides a quick burst of high pressure air to help seat the beads of the tire against the rim, similar to when what happens when you inflate a clincher tire after installing a new tube.  In a shop, they'll use an air compressor, but since most folks don't have those handy at home, the Airshot does essentially the same thing.  An alternative is taking your wheels/tires to a shop and asking the nicely if they can set the tires for you.

The injector that Silca sells is just for topping up the sealant liquid.  It doesn't have have their "fiberfoam", which is the carbon fiber pieces that, while making it great at sealing punctures, make it impossible to fit through a valve.

I have a tubeless question for y'all. I got a flat this morning (tiny little pin hole) that isn't wanting to stay sealed above about 55psi. I'm letting it sit for the day so the sealant can do its thing for a bit. If it still won't hold pressure above 55, I'm planning on taking the tire off, putting a small dot of super glue and a boot in behind where the puncture is to really seal it up and then sealing it back up and topping up the sealant. Is this the right course of action or does anyone have a different route to take?

Matt Budofsky said:

I have a tubeless question for y'all. I got a flat this morning (tiny little pin hole) that isn't wanting to stay sealed above about 55psi. I'm letting it sit for the day so the sealant can do its thing for a bit. If it still won't hold pressure above 55, I'm planning on taking the tire off, putting a small dot of super glue and a boot in behind where the puncture is to really seal it up and then sealing it back up and topping up the sealant. Is this the right course of action or does anyone have a different route to take?

That's it.

I've done it, put a boot inside, with some success on cyclocross tires.

The way I went about it was tubular glue (altho normal tube vulcanizing glue or super glue should be fine too) give it a few quick minutes and then... put a piece of tube to over cover the area, and then put some (likely unnecessary) piece of duct tape over it. 

Granted, I mostly ran those tires under 30 psi, so your mileage might vary.

I have used a regular, glue-style bicycle inner tube patch on the inside of my tubeless road tires tires and they seemed to hold great.

The way I see it, tubeless tires are sealed on the inside with some sort of rubber, usually butyl, sometimes, I've heard, latex.  The classic Rema patch was designed to patch butyl and latex inner tubes.  

The thing is wait for the glue to dry before adding the patch.  

update: the boot/glue/sealant combo didn't hold for long. I was able to get about 10 miles out of it before I soaked my buddy, my legs and my bike in sealant. I checked the tire and didn't feel anything sharp, threw a tube in and continued on my journey. About another 10 miles later, it flatted again, so the tire has been replaced and is on the workbench to see if I can salvage it.

Side note, I was doing the American Cancer Society Bike-a-Thon ride on Sunday and the only tire I could get my hands on was a Gatorskin. Cornering on it was awful, but it otherwise provided a pretty comfy ride

@Matt Budofsky

that sucks.  Out of curiosity, I'd love to see what the cut looks like and learn the patch technique you used.

As for Gatorskins, I assume the ride issue is from the casing.  I'd be curious about you dropping 5psi or so and seeing if the ride improves.  

I'll take a picture if I remember when I get home but was surprised it didn't seal. It was a small cut just off center of the tread. I took the tire off, wipe away the sealant and cleaned it as best as I could, put a dab of gorilla glue on the inside, let it dry, then put a park tool tire boot over that. Then on the outside i put a dab of gorilla glue as well.

I think a couple things happened. First, I don't think I let the glue fully cure. It was dry to the touch, but probably needed longer. As far as the boot, I think 1 of 2 things happened. Either there was still a very very thin layer of sealant on the inside of the tire so the boot didn't adhere perfectly or the boot concept plus the high pressure aren't a good mix and because the boot isn't 100% air tight, sealant was forced in behind it which cause it to become a gloopy mess.

Yeah the casing is exceptionally hard- I gave them the ole thumb press before heading out and thought I had plenty of pressure, but then when I used a pressure gauge to double check I was only at like 60psi

I'm not a regular user of Gorilla Glue.  That written, in my experience, GG needs pressure to hold onto whatever you want to bond.  The times I've used it, I've put the item on something that I didn't think would stick to the GG and then the items and then a weight on top of the items.  

To me, contact cement would more likely create a better bond.  With it, you should wait for the glue to dry, often a few minutes, before applying the patch.  Here, too, just to be safe, I add pressure and leave the item for a little while.

Yes, I should have been clearer on my instructions/description above, I grabbed some sanding paper and lightly sanded and cleaned the area where I added the glue, let that dry for a bit and then placed the patch, grabbed a few heavy objects and put them on top of the patch to make sure that adhered overnight. But if even the tube flatted then there might have been more happening that meets the eye.

Had I not been in a rush to fix it I have a feeling it was fixable, but my rushing/being short on time definitely worked against me. But this was another opportunity to fit a tubeless tire and the 5000 STR went on pretty effortlessly and I was set up and airtight in about 8 minutes.

I was in Manhattan yesterday for a bike fit followup and sliced open my tire on the way home just south of Columbus Circle. Must have rode over some broken glass or a razor blade. Didn't feel confident at all that fashioning a boot out of a dollar or something to protect a replacement tube. Was a really big open slice.

Got me wondering, tubeless of course would not have protected this form happening at all, and if I had been running tubeless I would have sprayed 10+ people on the corner where I was with tubeless sealant. With the tube it was a pain in the butt being stranded in midtown, but the mess of tubeless sealant would have made it sooo much worse. With this in mind, I remain unconvinced that tubeless is the move.

Even with my recent tubeless struggles, I still personally think it's better than running tubes. Yeah the sealant can be messy (based on the description of the slice you have, I doubt much, if any, would have sprayed since it sounds like you lost air pressure pretty quickly), but based on my own personal experience and that in the 2 years I've run tubeless on and off road, I've gotten 1 flat that didn't seal (you could argue that technically it did seal because the tire would hold ridable pressure, just not as much as I like running), it's a pretty reliable and functional technology

It's also important to look at whether to switch or not from the lens of what causes the flats you get with tubes.  Pinch flats, small pieces or glass, or a staple: tubeless would make things better.  Sidewall gashes, large tears and such: tubeless might not be for you.

Fascinating

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuotDXUstEE

FYI @Matt Budofsky and anyone else wanting to patch tubeless tyres - Rema make a special kit for patching tubeless and tubed tires that's worked for me.  I have a couple spare if anyone wants one.

https://www.rematiptop.com/products/automotive/tube-repair-kits/tubeless-repair-kits/tubeless-repair-kit-5060160.html

@niallsmart

I was just about to write on this very topic.

I developed a small hole in a Specialized Turbo Tubeless Tire I've been riding since March.  The hole was pretty small but sealant wasn't holding.  

I took off the tire, dried the inside, used a little sandpaper, then the Rema glue for standard tubes, and a standard Rema patch.  It seemed to hold, but then it gave way on a ride and the goo leaked out.

I decided to try again.  This time with Barge cement. Now the patch is holding.  

http://www.bargeadhesive.com/

I've used Barge on shoes and saddles.  

Also on tires:

I'm getting my son's bike ready for his bike touring trip.  He's running Mavic Aksium wheels, and the old tires on there are Vittoria Rubino and Conti Ultra Sport.  both are nominally 23mm and measure out 25mm.  He weighs 110lbs, his bike about 20lbs and he'll probably be carrying less than 40lbs of weight.  He could get away with 23mm tires, but a bit wider would be nice.  Still, as the bike is from the aughts, I don't know if a true 28mm tire would fit.  

I decided to try Goodyear's Eagle Sport bike tires.  They seem to be aimed at the Vittoria Rubino in terms of performance.  The 25mm width tires are advertised as being 240g.  The two tires I have weigh 254g and 266g.  More annoying is that they actually measure a shade under 25mm--I don't know if this means they're "true to size" or narrow.

Guess he'll just need to pump them up.  at 170lbs of rider and gear, I think 25mm tires should be fine, even if I wish he had 1-3mm more cushion.  

Jules said:

JohnMalcolmson said:

Now if only you had gotten your bike blessed Patrick...

https://ilovetheupperwestside.com/hundreds-of-cyclists-to-attend-blessing-of-the-bicycles-at-cathedral-of-st-john-the-divine/

Definitely might help here

Fun Fact: I own this original artwork published in Bike Snob's book.

David Yang said:

Jules said:

JohnMalcolmson said:

Now if only you had gotten your bike blessed Patrick...

https://ilovetheupperwestside.com/hundreds-of-cyclists-to-attend-blessing-of-the-bicycles-at-cathedral-of-st-john-the-divine/

Definitely might help here

Fun Fact: I own this original artwork published in Bike Snob's book.

!!! there is a story here we all need to hear

Ha, nothing interesting, it was a birthday gift since my wife/friends all knew how obsessed I was with bicycles and BSNY blog - I have all his books signed etc..

Someone tracked down the artist and asked if they would sell some pieces and ended up with this one which is super amazing. I have it stored since the move from Brooklyn to Queens, but have it on my list of art to reframe and hang.