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Bad exit from work tonight

(11 posts)

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  1. gembo
    Member

    Had invitation to taste some wine sent from Sicily to Balerno at 7pm tonight. Had been down to valvona to buy small dod of cheese for £6.74 to go with it. So, I skipped out about 5.30. Get on bike and start to leave underground car park. Feels very much like a flat back tyre so I stop and confirm. Return to bit where they keep the bike tools, though surrounded in puddle due to leak from above, maybe from the showers? Take wheel off. Cannot get the washer off the valve as stuck on with salt. Chap gives me some wd40, still no joy. Cycling officer's advice sought. He suggests trying to repair without taking tube out. But can't find hole in half light. Do find large gash and separate large shard of glass at separate location on tyre. Cycling officer then suggests cutting tube. But I cannot get the blade of my knife out of the handle ( very small but very sharp knife Opinel brand). I resort to violence and just pull the valve out ripping it from the rubber. Fine. Get spare tube out. It won't inflate. Can't find its puncture either. Put tyre back on without tube and push up to the bike service shop. Buy new tube, put it on in shop. All good, they have nice pump. It is now 6.35pm have to phone and cancel wine tasting. Still on the plus side, Hannah did give me a chocolate digestive to help me on my way. Also playing Bob dylan in shop which was quite soothing given my frustrations.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  2. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Hope the cheese was good. I'm a Laguiole kind of guy. Madame IWRATS swears by Opinel. She says tomate I say tomato.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  3. wee folding bike
    Member

    I don't fit the lock nuts on valves for just that reason. They get corroded in the winter and don't come off.

    I also carry a wee set of Mole grips in the winter in case something needs encouragement.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  4. gembo
    Member

    Cheese is a marzolino rosso which is ewe's milk and one of the only vegetarian cheeses valvona sell. It will keep until Saturday. I did try my wee monkey wrench but was wary of the spokes. Mole Grips better I did also dismantle the work's big pump and then was unable to mantle it back together (just the nozzle which seemed too narrow for Presta, which is not good in a pump nozzle)

    The coffee I bought was immense ( first pot, law of diminishing returns thereafter). The quince jelly from tip tree, up there with my own bramble, of which a new batch from juice I froze in the autumn on the go this weekend

    Posted 9 years ago #
  5. wingpig
    Member

    It was Def Leppard last time I was there. I then remembered noticing that I don't usually notice what music bike shops have playing.

    I found and tried a few different forgotten mini-pumps from my boxes of bits when putting my bike back together and noticed one with a very narrow nozzle, which is why I always put the valve locknut on to have something to push the nozzle against.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  6. twinspark
    Member

    The screw nut things on the valves? Yes I've twice (Doh!) made the mistake of thinking with the tube really inflated that the nut thing was way too loose and snugged it down. Both times I was lucky to be carrying a small set of pliers when I needed to remove said tubes because of a flat. I now think you're best to snug them up loosely with no air in the tube and therefter ignore that they are "loose".

    Posted 9 years ago #
  7. gembo
    Member

    @wingpig - Hannah took the valve locknut washer off the valve to get the pump nozzle on to the valve. I fixed the work pump this morning but aperture still looks too small in diameter for Presta. First thing is to remove puddle from around the tools else no one will use. Then they need to put longer cables on the tools. I can see why they are attached, to stop thievery but too short to help with bike fettling except in the puddle.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  8. Nelly
    Member

    Gembo,I tend to screw these locknuts down pretty hard and have never had an issue........... until last night when I left work and saw the flat tyre

    Posted 9 years ago #
  9. gembo
    Member

    I blame the council for using salt with too much adhesive. Joking. Cowgate also full of smashed bottles causing slow punctures at the moment and a quite annoying temp traffic light for tiny stretch of road that causes tailbacks. Lad operating it quite cheeky, but I can cope with cheeky, shows you are alive.

    The cheese in the earlier story was quite salty, the Sicilian wine was very drinkable. Seems to be a trend now where wine producers have a web presence and you order it directly from them.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  10. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @gembo

    Are you suggesting that Playmobil City Council have been spreading salty Valvona and Crolla cheese on the roads as a de-icer or have I misread? The chipwrapper will go bonkers.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  11. gembo
    Member

    Yes thanks IWRATS, that sums up nicely what I am saying. But remember on the plus side if the bike service feels like extending empathy to the punctured commuter this is done via a chocolate biscuit. Also access to ginormous vat of orange swarfega

    Posted 9 years ago #

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