Here's a cut away of a Clincher Tire

This is the cut away of a Tubular Tire

In order to determine if a tire needs to be replaced, take a damp rag and wipe the tire down. This will enable you to view the rubber clearly. Take the wheel in your hands by the axel and spin it at arm’s length while looking over the tire as it spins. Does it have a flat spot in the middle or is it egg shaped? If there is a flat spot, it needs to be replaced. Flat spots indicate a reduction of rubber on the tire and make it easier for thorns, etc. to get thru. Check the tire rubber for cuts and abrasions. Cuts are normal but if you can see your inner tube thru the tire, it needs to be replaced. Next, take your finger nail and scrape the sidewall of the tires. Does the rubber or material flake off? If so, your tires are suffering from dry rot and should be replaced immediately. Try not to replace your tires any sooner than 2 weeks before a big event. You want to give the bead of your tire time to stretch on the wheel. If you replace your tires the day before an event, you may be in for bad surprise if you flat. It may be very difficult to disengage the tire bead from the wheel as it hasn’t had time to stretch out.

As far as recommendations for tires go, I prefer Continental tires for quality and durability. If you need a good flat protection tire with lots of durability, I’d recommend the Continental Gatorskins. For everyday use with good flat protection, I’d recommend the Continental 4 Seasons tire. The Continental 4 Seasons offer great durability and cornering with some flat protection. For pure performance, hands down, I recommend the Continental GP4000 , the Vredestein Fortezza TriComp , the Zipp Tangente or the Michelin Pro Race 3. All four of these tires have incredible handling, minimum weight with some flat protection. Keep your tires happy and they’ll keep you rolling.

Whenever I see someone riding with rear hydration system I always make a mental note to see what water bottle cages they are using and I keep an eye on them. Mostly to see if the bottles are going to stay in place or bounce out. I never ride too close because I know what can happen. I have seen it at so many races/rides. One of the points I always try to get across regarding rear hydration and water bottle cages is the more surface area on the cage the more likely they will be able to hold the bottles in place. Lighter is not always better. People are always worried about weight. Their focus is on the wrong attribute of the product. The more contact the cages can have with the water bottles, the more friction they can cause, the more likely the bottle is to stay in place. Now let me tell you that if you are going to just go riding on bumpy roads all the time, there may not be a cage for you regarding your rear hydration system. There are certain products that were specifically designed to work with the rear hydration, like the XLAB Gorilla cages. This cage has quite a bit of surface area to create a great grip. It is a TriSports.com favorite.

XLAB Gorilla Water Bottle Cage

In addition to keeping your hydration needs in place, you can also keep a spare tire, CO2, Inflator, Vittoria Pit Stop on your hydration system. Some of the systems allow you to put a cycling bag(s) on it.

Whichever hydration system you use, be it front, rear or even down tube, make sure it works for you. Do the research to see if it will be something you can live with. If you want to talk to someone about it, TriSports.com Customer service, 1-888-293-3934, are great knowledgeable people to speak with. They can set you up with some great kits with everything you need for a race.

6.5mm Rim Center Drop

5.0mm Rim Center Drop

Obviously the first rim would be easier to change. A wider drop area in the rim will also influence how difficult your rim is to change tires.  I have owned both extremes and I can tell you any time I shop for a wheel set in the future the drop center of the rim will be a major consideration.  The type of rim strip can also play a role.  Cotton rim strip is thicker than most synthetic rim strips, therefore it takes up more room inside the rim making the tire more difficult to change.  Plastic strips are stiff and often don’t conform to the rims contours and also take up excess volume in the rim.  Another equipment variable is the tires you use, generally speaking a wire beaded tire will be more difficult to install than a Kevlar beaded tire.  Big surprise the Kevlar tire is also more expensive, but worth the money when it comes time to changing your flat!  Finally, I leave you with a video on how to change your flat tire:

White Lightning Chain Lube

The chain has the most exposed surface area of any moving drive train component your bike has. A petroleum based lubricant will only attract dust and dirt like a magnet to your chain which causes the lubricant to lose viscosity and cause premature wear. A waxed base lubricant will not lose viscosity and will actually flake off some excess. To properly lubricate your chain, shift your bike into the small/small combo (high rear, low front). Place the lubricant over the high gear and spin the cranks backwards as all links are coated. A very critical step is often overlooked here and that is that after 15 minutes, you take shop towel, wrap it around the lower part of the chain and hold the rag in place. Spin the cranks backwards and you’ll see all the excess lubricant on the rag. If you omit this step, the grime will build up and your shop will charge you more for cleaning it. Now, petroleum based lubricants are to be used but only one drop at a time. You can place one drop at all the pivot points of your front and rear derailleurs, as well as the pivot points on your brake calipers (taking care not to drip any on the brake pads). Proper lubrication of your chain and components will result in a smoother working bike.

On to the instructions: Today we’ll be packing a customers Custom Guru Road Bike which had some clip on Aerobars. The first step is to mark all of the important measurements with either sharpie or tape before beginning the disassembly.

Remove the Wheels & Skewers, Pedals, Handlebars (at the stem faceplate), Saddle & Seat Post, and Aerobars (on a Tribike you can probably leave them assembled but with the Road Bars there is too much height). You might have to remove your Front Brake and Rear Derailleur depending on the bike and box, in this example I chose to do both.

Lay everything flat to figure out the best position in the box, then wrap everything in bubble wrap or towels.

 Lastly lay down a sheet of bubble wrap over the secured bike (a cardboard sheet helps too); then carefully place your wheels on top paying attention to the axel to make sure it isn’t near the frame. *Make sure to put the plastic axel covers on the wheels to prevent them from puncturing the box or frame.

 Tada! Finished!

Most bike shops will give away cardboard bike boxes and packing materials for free. Here at TriSports.com we have a $100 bike build/packing fee which includes initial assembly when your bike arrives at the shop and then an excellent packing job to get it home safe when you’re ready to leave Tucson.

You cant really over pack a bike; as long as it fits in the box then throw whatever soft stuff you’ve got in there to take up space. It’s a pretty simple process but if you are the least bit uncomfortable packing your bike by yourself then its worth taking it to a shop and paying. Nobody likes a $5k bike with a hole in it! Good luck!

The aftermath of road shrapnel

Dollar Boot instructions:

1. Take dollar bill and fold in half.  Then fold in half again (yes, smarty pants, fold it in quarters).
2. Take the now folded dollar and place over the slice in the tire.
3. Put tube without holes back into tire.
4. Inflate tire and limp it on home!

Here's the Dollar Boot at it's best!

You can use all kinds of items to boot a tire.  As I said, one time this happened mountain biking and the gash was huge (i.e. George Washington couldn’t help us).  To make the boot, we pulled out the good old Leatherman, sacrificed a water bottle and made the boot out of plastic (and followed steps 3 and 4 above).  

Keep the rubber side down….and see you on the roads and trails!