Tires, tubes and sealant???

I had a good ride yesterday.  Left my house and went down to Palos Verdes and up the switchbacks on Palos Verdes Drive East.  That’s a 2 mile climb so it was a good test.  I got passed on the way up by a group of about 30 or 40 riders all on nice road bikes – much, much lighter than my bike with its load!!  But I got many words of encouragement as they went by – although many of them were probably thinking to themselves – this guy is insane!!  But, it was a 50+ mile ride and I felt good when I got home.

I have already learned a lot and I haven’t even left yet.  The more experienced bike tourers have provided a lot of good information about tires and tubes.  The bane of all cyclists is flat tires!!  So, there are ways to minimize flats.  The picture shows the difference between just regular riding and touring equipment.  The smallest box is a regular tube for my road bike (700-23).  The next larger box is a standard tube for the wider tires on my touring bike (700 x 35).   The box next to that is a special ‘thorn puncture resistant’ tube.  As you can see, it is much larger and heavier than a ‘standard’ tube.  The largest box contains a heavy duty touring tire that has extra thick puncture resistant belts in it.  Hopefully the combination of the thick touring tire and the special tubes will minimize flats.  Some people also advocate using sealant in the tubes themselves.  Our group seems to be split on this issue and I haven’t yet decided what to do about this.

Yes, there is a weight penalty for the heavy duty tire and tube but in my mind, it is preferable to getting flats!!  Only time will tell if it was worth the investment.   I was hoping to get my new tires and tubes on before I head for San Luis Obispo but I’m not sure I’ll get it done.  That said, my current tires and tubes have been great so far so hopefully they’ll make it another couple hundred miles.  Next stop – San Luis Obispo on Wednesday!