Sunday, April 25, 2010

4 24 2010 Glue Job

Today I decided to head over to the track after the gym. Couldn't have picked a worse day to test out my Cane Creek Sprint 85 wheels, winds were south at 17 mph gusting to 22 mph at around 4 pm.

Did one flying 200 meter and it was a scary tentative ride, could only manage 13.19 seconds in a 108" gear. I definitely have to get used to having a very deep V rim on the front. I was also not too confident with the glue tape holding the tire on. I didn't want to lean too hard in the turns with an uncertain glue job. I used Tufo extreme tape with Vittoria tires, seems like Tufo extreme tape is not entirely compatible with all brands of tubulars, the tape is essentially made for gluing Tufo tubulars and could be a hit or miss with other brands of tubulars which might be made with different materials.

The uncertainty stemmed from the push test (trying to push the tire off the rim) and crackling sounds coming from the rear wheel. I was told by the ever experienced National Champ, Andrew LaCorte that the sound came from the tire moving around on the rim. This was very unsettling, but not as unsettling as the time when I rode my brand new Bianchi five years ago on the track without realizing the tires were not glued on to the rim, they were just on by tire pressure. I simply assumed that since the bike was new and came from the shop, that everything would have been ready to go. For now the Cane Creeks will be shelved until I get the glue job sorted out. Back to the trusty old Mavic Ellipse clinchers for the flying 200 and match sprints on the prairies of Kissena.

It is always prudent to test out new equipment under relaxed conditions, rather than doing it on race day where you not only endanger yourself but others. One can't be too cautious about double checking to make sure every tire is glued on properly, every nut and bolt tightened, every pedal is seated tightly, every chain is greased and in good condition, especially in the opening week when some bikes are fresh off the shelf and riders are a little bit rusty.









No comments: