Purchased a Bike

KGhaleon

Yeah, that was a bad day...a really bad day. Watching Wall-E made it all better though.

I didn't drive the bike all week, so after leaving work today(got off earlier due to holiday) I went up to the bike store and got the tire checked out. It had been stapled.

I'm gonna have a stern talk with my coworkers on monday, since the bike was parked in their general area. I bought a small air pump to be safe for now on. The employee's were very nice and didn't charge me labor costs.

Overall, cool day. I rode through Venice and Santa monica again, and had a good time. This week is also Anime Expo in Anaheim.

My friend only wants to go on saturday though.
I'll get a bag which I can throw all my bike stuff in for the rode trips.

ladiesman217

I used to ride a bike when I was in High School and it's not really that fun. Things I hate most is a flat tire, and is really a big nuisance specially if you know someone deflated it deliberately. A staple or any small pointed object tis the favorite weapon of boys who wants to play with you. lol. Problems can happen so don't forget to bring your tools specially a small hammer and pliers to fix a broken chain. Dont forget to wear a helmet, better safe than sorry.

KGhaleon

A week ago I was driving along and my light suddenly went out. I figured the batteries had died, so I swapped them out and turned it on...but it didn't come on. I just thought, "****, hope cops don't see me driving without my lights." I got to work without further problems, and later got a new light.
The new light was $40, and the batteries were about $15 since they were longer-lasting. >_<

Earlier tonight I went and watched Death race(meh, ok movie), and came out to discovery that someone swiped my light. $60 down the drain in less than a week. Curse thieves, I hate them.

I reported it, but I guess I'll be sinking more money into the bike.
For now on, I may take the light off when I park it somewhere or get the kind that come off easily.

RussS

I prefer to run a helmet light and a winky on the seat post. Unclip the winky and clip it to your helmet if leaving the bike.

KGhaleon

On a lighter note, I found it humorous how on my way home I tried to avoid police. I ended up running into 200+ police officers when I rounded a corner, as they were holding some event in the streets. There were tons of cruisers, motocycles, etc. As I slipped through, I prayed that they wouldn't say anything.

KGhaleon

Ack, tomorrow is an important day at work and my bike tires just went flat...BOTH! O_O

Luckily I have a tire pump, this one:
http://www.bikesomewhere.com/bikesomewhere.cfm/product/60/328/15867

though when I attach it and pump, it doesn't seem to be filling the tires. There is air coming out of the pump when I press it in, so I assume it works. I took the cap off and experimented, but I've been trying for 2 hours and can't get the tire to fill up at all.

halp?

roswald

Check the valve's that you're connecting the pump to. There are 2 kinds: Presta & Schrader.

Schrader is a standard valve that you'd find on a car tire and you should just be able to clip it on and pump.

Presta is thinner and more suitable for high pressure tires and needs to be unscrewed before it will allow air into it.

KGhaleon

Yes, it's Schrader. I remove the cap and attach my pump(with lever down/unlocked) and once I get it on good...I raise the lever(locked). I then pump for 10 or more minutes, but the state of the tire doesn't change. Even if I had a bad tire, it would still fill...I would assume?

roswald

Should be the other way around - slide it on with the lever loose (flipped up), then flip the lever down to lock it. That's the way most hand pumps are.

Worst comes to worst, take the wheel off of the bike and let all the air out of the tire. Pull the tire off, and the tube out then just test the tube - if it's got a big slash/hole in it, you'll need to get a new tube.

KGhaleon

I'll take it by a shop tomorrow that I generally take it to, since I get free labor.

Will my bike handle a ride with one tire? The front tire has enough to get me around.

dynamik

KGhaleon wrote:

I'll take it by a shop tomorrow that I generally take it to, since I get free labor.

Will my bike handle a ride with one tire? The front tire has enough to get me around.

I see a guy ride a unicycle while on my way to work all the time. It's not impossible; suck it up!

NetAdmin2436

Maybe your inner tubes have a hole in it. There is an inner tube inside the rubber tire. But yeah, your bike dealer will know for sure. Good plan.

You could also get some rollerblades with Abec 9 bearings. Get good and you can go as fast as your bike, don't worry about stopping....that's overated.....plus it makes it more exciting!

KGhaleon

On the way to work I stopped at a gas station and filled the air in my tire up...but it immediately went flat again.

So I'm at work now(walked 10 miles, gah), and I plan to take it to the bike store on my way home. Guess I know it wasn't a problem with my pump.

LarryDaMan

dynamik wrote:

I see a guy ride a unicycle while on my way to work all the time. It's not impossible; suck it up!

Nice.

For some reason that made me laugh. It could be that I am as wired as a crack fiend after consuming my 4th Diet Mountain Dew at 9:14 am

I saw a feature about St. Paul and the Mayor. Seems like bike riding is becoming big up there, huh?

cacharo

KGhaleon wrote:

On the way to work I stopped at a gas station and filled the air in my tire up...but it immediately went flat again.

So I'm at work now(walked 10 miles, gah), and I plan to take it to the bike store on my way home. Guess I know it wasn't a problem with my pump.

Hey KG I have to hand it to you. You have handled more stumbling blocks than anyone on this site I can think of in the past year or so. Bike, Car, Job, Home, Money, whatever it is you take it accept the advise given from other members and work to resolve the issue. I think I can speak for many others when I say it is quite relieving to see someone asking for help, taking the advise given, and not blaming the cause on anything other than life. Keep doing what you are doing, work hard, and your luck will turn around. The posters only looking for pity should really take note.

dtlokee

cacharo wrote:

KGhaleon wrote:

On the way to work I stopped at a gas station and filled the air in my tire up...but it immediately went flat again.

So I'm at work now(walked 10 miles, gah), and I plan to take it to the bike store on my way home. Guess I know it wasn't a problem with my pump.

Hey KG I have to hand it to you. You have handled more stumbling blocks than anyone on this site I can think of in the past year or so. Bike, Car, Job, Home, Money, whatever it is you take it accept the advise given from other members and work to resolve the issue. I think I can speak for many others when I say it is quite relieving to see someone asking for help, taking the advise given, and not blaming the cause on anything other than life. Keep doing what you are doing, work hard, and your luck will turn around. The posters only looking for pity should really take note.

+1

Keep it up things will get better.

dynamik

LarryDaMan wrote:

dynamik wrote:

I see a guy ride a unicycle while on my way to work all the time. It's not impossible; suck it up!

Nice.

For some reason that made me laugh. It could be that I am as wired as a crack fiend after consuming my 4th Diet Mountain Dew at 9:14 am

I saw a feature about St. Paul and the Mayor. Seems like bike riding is becoming big up there, huh?

You'd laugh even harder if you saw it. The guy is extremely talented though. He just rolls up to the stop light and leans against it while he waits for the light to change; I've never seen him be in a situation where he has to get off it, not once.

Biking is great if you have routes that'll take you where you're going. I'd like to do it, but it would require being on too many busy streets. Then you're always down 4-5 months out of the year because of the cold and the snow.

cacharo wrote:

KGhaleon wrote:

On the way to work I stopped at a gas station and filled the air in my tire up...but it immediately went flat again.

So I'm at work now(walked 10 miles, gah), and I plan to take it to the bike store on my way home. Guess I know it wasn't a problem with my pump.

Hey KG I have to hand it to you. You have handled more stumbling blocks than anyone on this site I can think of in the past year or so. Bike, Car, Job, Home, Money, whatever it is you take it accept the advise given from other members and work to resolve the issue. I think I can speak for many others when I say it is quite relieving to see someone asking for help, taking the advise given, and not blaming the cause on anything other than life. Keep doing what you are doing, work hard, and your luck will turn around. The posters only looking for pity should really take note.

And that's coming from someone who works full-time, goes to college, and has a new set of twins! Well said, buddy

I'm not going to try to be as eloquent as that, but I would like to echo those sentiments as well. You're definitely an inspiration to us all, hang in there.

LBC90805

Biking is fun, keeps you in shape, well mostly, and you get to keep the money you would have spend on gasoline.

Now for your tires, I suggest get a pair of tubes that have Green Slime in them. Seems like you are running into a lot of road debris. Green Slime helped me like crazy and I couldn't have ridden around the sticks in the farm land south of Bakersfield without it. It will save you a lot of walking. I had tires were I had over 30 punctures, damn goat heads!

WHat make and model bike are you riding? In and around L.A. I would just ride a Hybrid or some form of Fixed or Single Speed bike.

KGhaleon

Hybrid single-speed, exactly. I ride 10 miles to work and have to travel quite a bit of road...always running over broken glass and holes. My front tire went flat a month or so ago and I had to get it replaced.

The tires are fairly thin. On the way home after work I'll bus up to Santa monica where I purchased my bike and get the tire replaced. I think it costed me $5 last time. No big deal, it's just getting around without the bike isn't easy.