13 Février 2012

FN: 6

Encyclopedia Abe and the Mystery of the Perpetually Flat Tire

I love my bike. It’s amazing. It’s a Trek 3300 with Shimano components, Boutanger tires and rims, and a front fork by Rock Shox. No, it’s not the finest thing money will buy, but it’s damn good[1]. And here in Africa – the land of the crappy Chinese one speed – it’s definitely the Maserati of bicycles. It gets me where I want to go, and it does so with speed, efficiency, verve, and damn good looks.

But even the best bike still needs air in the tires to work properly. And that’s a condition that’s harder to maintain here than you might think.

It’s a three-part problem. First, almost none of the roads are paved. Second, there’s no trash collection. Third, it never rains except during the monsoon, when it REALLY rains, so instead of getting a nice soaking there’s a lot of runoff – that naturally flows down the roads and leaves them heavily rutted. Consequently, every road has a kind of open gutter running down the middle of it, wherein all the loose trash tends to accumulate. Of course, metal is heavy so it doesn’t always make it into the rut. As a result, the roads are something of an obstacle course of old razor blades, used sardine cans, nails, rusted wire, and ten thousand other tire-hating sharp things that you can never see but can always be depended to run over.

Maybe that’s harsh. Maybe I’m being too critical. But let’s just say that, based on the performance of my sturdy rubber tires, there’s not enough money in the world to pay me to go barefoot in this town.

Since I’ve moved to site, I’ve had no less than 15 flats. I’ve patched tubes, patched tires, replaced tubes, replaced tires, and even broken a pump. I’ve run out of patches twice, used up all my rubber cement once, and tried experimenting with using motorcycle tubes – they’re heavier and they slightly throw off the wheel balance, but they’re much more durable – just to try to be able to go a few more days in between patching and pumping. Hell, if there were a god of flat tires, I would consider sending a goat his way, just to have some rest.

Seriously: hardly a day goes by where I don’t have tire issues of some sort. Usually it’s the back tire, but right now it’s the front – and I’m sure that some day soon it will be both, just for variety. Try though I may, I just cannot seem to keep air in my damn tires. Most days, this is just an annoyance, but when it’s über-hot or I have to go meet with a promoter on the faaaaar (read: 12k away) side of town, it’s more than just an irritation. Then, it seriously compromises my ability to do my job.

So…how can I keep my tires from going flat so often? It’s a mystery that I’m dying to solve. If anyone has any clever tips for how to keep my tires alive just a little bit longer, I’m down. I’ve got good tires, and I’ve got tough tubes. I can’t stay off the roads, and I can’t ride less. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[1] In fact, I wish I could buy it and take it home with me. And if it turns out that I can, I will. I love my bike that much.