Improved quality of life

Beekeeper

🍯Honey Monster🍯
Aug 6, 2019
1,745
2,194
Surrey hills
It was recently documented that cycling on a mountain bike in rural areas is one of the best ways to lift mood raise spirits.
I’ve only had an EMTB for a few weeks now but it’s great fun plotting routes on my phone using an OS map and then getting out there to explore places on my doorstep which I never knew existed. Hills are no longer an issue.
I’ve only got a hardtail and yes I probably would have enjoyed a FS bike more but I’m new to this game and the HT was going for a song and I’m loving it. Even fixing punctures gives me a sense of achievement. My puncture fixing time started at 13 hours and my Personal Best is 40 mins now?. Roll on the weekend!
 

Zippy

New Member
Aug 5, 2019
20
31
Wiltshire
Completely agree with you, except the OS map rarely matches what is on the ground IME!! Still, has given me some good exploring opportunities and I now know I can lift the bike over wire fences!
 

Beekeeper

🍯Honey Monster🍯
Aug 6, 2019
1,745
2,194
Surrey hills
I just bought my first EMTB Friday on impulse & am looking forward to getting out for exercise & to enjoy the trails around me!

You will probably find as I did this weekend that wherever you take the bike, people will flock around and ask all sorts of questions about it.
This is obviously the next big thing and we are ahead of the game here.
 

Greny

New Member
Aug 18, 2019
47
32
Sw France
It was recently documented that cycling on a mountain bike in rural areas is one of the best ways to lift mood raise spirits.
I’ve only had an EMTB for a few weeks now but it’s great fun plotting routes on my phone using an OS map and then getting out there to explore places on my doorstep which I never knew existed. Hills are no longer an issue.
I’ve only got a hardtail and yes I probably would have enjoyed a FS bike more but I’m new to this game and the HT was going for a song and I’m loving it. Even fixing punctures gives me a sense of achievement. My puncture fixing time started at 13 hours and my Personal Best is 40 mins now?. Roll on the weekend!


I use cyclemeter pro , great app. Computer and gps in one :)
 

Frankieboy

Well-known member
Jan 14, 2019
293
225
Basingstoke
Even fixing punctures gives me a sense of achievement. My puncture fixing time started at 13 hours and my Personal Best is 40 mins now?.
If you want to reduce puncture repair time even further try adding some slime to your inner tubes; 100-150 ml in each depending on wheel / tyre size. I know I’m tempting fate, but I haven’t repaired a puncture in 12 months.
 

Beekeeper

🍯Honey Monster🍯
Aug 6, 2019
1,745
2,194
Surrey hills
If you want to reduce puncture repair time even further try adding some slime to your inner tubes; 100-150 ml in each depending on wheel / tyre size. I know I’m tempting fate, but I haven’t repaired a puncture in 12 months.

How do you add it to a tube with a presta valve? do you need to remove the core first?
 

Frankieboy

Well-known member
Jan 14, 2019
293
225
Basingstoke
How do you add it to a tube with a presta valve? do you need to remove the core first?
Yeah, you can buy a valve removal tool quite cheaply from your lbs, eBay etc. The bottles come with a tube attachment for adding the slime, but I bought a 100ml syringe for better accuracy. I’ve also added some to the spare inner tubes (I’ve never had to use) I carry in my backpack.
 

Frankieboy

Well-known member
Jan 14, 2019
293
225
Basingstoke
Alternatively, you could go tubeless which I’ve also done on one of my bikes, primarily because the rims and tyres were tubeless ready. It’s dead easy If your rims / tyres are tubeless ready. There are plenty of threads on here covering what you need to do.
 

Zimmerframe

MUPPET
Subscriber
Jun 12, 2019
13,791
20,481
Brittany, France
You can also buy tubes with slime already in. This is probably the cheapest and easiest option. Cheaper than buying the small sealant packs or a large one and a syringe.

I think if you buy new valves/valve cores they normally come with the removal tool (it's a little plastic block) I suspect a bike shop would give you one for free, they must throw dozens in the bin..
 

wepn

The Barking Owl ?
Jul 18, 2019
1,006
1,145
AU
It was recently documented that cycling on a mountain bike in rural areas is one of the best ways to lift mood raise spirits.
I’ve only had an EMTB for a few weeks now but it’s great fun plotting routes on my phone using an OS map and then getting out there to explore places on my doorstep which I never knew existed. Hills are no longer an issue.
I’ve only got a hardtail and yes I probably would have enjoyed a FS bike more but I’m new to this game and the HT was going for a song and I’m loving it. Even fixing punctures gives me a sense of achievement. My puncture fixing time started at 13 hours and my Personal Best is 40 mins now?. Roll on the weekend!
So true - if only doctors wrote prescriptions for a Cube or a Kenevo or a Nicolai...I have no doubt they would be more effective medication in many cases.
Punctures - go tubeless, put Stan's sealant in & get a new Stan's Dart Tool. I'm thinking maybe 60 seconds until you're rolling again. That's my kind of anti-depressant!
 

Beekeeper

🍯Honey Monster🍯
Aug 6, 2019
1,745
2,194
Surrey hills
You can also buy tubes with slime already in. This is probably the cheapest and easiest option. Cheaper than buying the small sealant packs or a large one and a syringe.

I think if you buy new valves/valve cores they normally come with the removal tool (it's a little plastic block) I suspect a bike shop would give you one for free, they must throw dozens in the bin..

I can’t seem to find a tube with slime already in for a 29 x 2.6 tube. The largest ones I’ve seen are for 2.2 and I’m worried this might explode if I pumped it up to 30psi in a 2.6 tyre.
 

Zimmerframe

MUPPET
Subscriber
Jun 12, 2019
13,791
20,481
Brittany, France
I can’t seem to find a tube with slime already in for a 29 x 2.6 tube. The largest ones I’ve seen are for 2.2 and I’m worried this might explode if I pumped it up to 30psi in a 2.6 tyre.

Probably wouldn't explode as the tyre would be holding it in place .. tubes normally only explode if the tyre is significantly damaged. It would be stretched more, so would be ever so slightly thinner ..

You seem reluctant to do the tubeless ? Your user name's not "really really old car dude", so your car is probably tubeless and you drive that at more than 25kph . I presume .. as your user name isn't "no traffic in front again today dear".

Hopefully, your wheels are already taped - just check that with cube/bike shop. You've already had tubes in, so the tyre is the right shape and the tape will have been nicely pressed into place.

Remove your tube. Pop in a new tubeless valve - or if you can't get any, it is possible to cut one out of an old inner tube - but this is less than ideal. Tighten these up, but not stupidly tight. Get tyre on as much as possible, whilst leaving it unfitted in one section. Pour 100-120mm of sealant in carefully. It will flow with the tyre, so at this point, it's pretty difficult to splash out by accident. Pop the tyre on the rest of the way. Now the most difficult bit - you probably need a compressor to give it a fast squirt of air to get the tyre to sit against the rim - unless you're really lucky. Have the wheel so the valves are at 3 o'clock or 9 o'clock. Sometimes you need to remove the valve core so that air can flow in faster, otherwise the air just flows round the tyre. Pump it up to a decent pressure. Swill the wheel around so fluid has been everywhere to hopefully seal any little gaps. Viola. Sometimes it's worth going for a short ride to make sure it's had fluid all around. Sometimes it's best to leave it overnight to seal any tiny holes, it can often loose pressure over the first night and you'll need to check the pressure in the morning.
 
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