Tuesday 25 August 2015

Go Round And Round

Jason (finally, ahem) got my bike fixed for me and I brought it home a few weeks ago and started going out for some rides here and there.  I do enjoy biking, even if my cardio is not up to scratch and this town has more hills than I ever notice in my car or walking. 

I'd taken my bike to a bike shop once Jason had fixed it and pumped up the tires but I noticed that the back tire didn't seem to be holding air.

I have a small, not awesome hand pump so I pumped it up at home but when I went out, it felt like my back tire was slipping and when I looked down on it, it was flattening. 

I asked Jason if he'd help me change the tube and went and got a new one.  I wasn't sure it was necessary but figured I'd rather not have a slow leak in the desert if I could just as easily fix it here first.

We swapped out the tubes and went to a bike shop to use the pump and Jason used a gauge to check the pressure and then had me feel the tire.  Hard as a rock.  Seriously.  When I pump up my tires I have them hard.  Ish.  But apparently?  I've been having them far too underinflated.  Since... probably forever.

I never really thought to check the PSI or whatever on my tires and so just kind of pumped them up until they seemed full.  But Jason has shown me that I've probably been riding around 25 whatevers (PSI?) when I should have been between 40 - 60 depending on street vs playa.

D'oh!

I really had no idea, and am curious to see if riding feels better (I always felt like my back tire was "slipping", or trying to fishtail out from under me) or what.  I don't know, I guess I just was always wary of over filling them and them going kaplow!  And, to be honest, I've never really used one of those pressurized pumps before, only my rather annoying hand pump that takes too long and has never, apparently, filled my tires!  Jason said it would probably take half an hour with the pump I have and man, let me tell you, I don't have the patience or stamina for that!

So, yeah.  Check the pressure your bike tires should be at.  If you're a casual rider like me, you may not have thought of it.  You bikers probably already knew that and are rolling your eyes at me.  But hey, at least I know now, right?

Right.