If you're wondering what an article about road bicycles is doing in our blog, let me explain.
My passion for 2-wheeled vehicles has never been limited to motorcycles, so when the opportunity presented itself for us to offer the The Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair 2nd edition, by Calvin Jones of Park Tool, I jumped at the opportunity to add their popular bicycle repair manual to our inventory.
I still have and use the 1st edition in my home shop, which has allowed me to work on my own bikes in order to perform maintenance and repairs, while saving me money. As a matter of fact, I also bought (years ago) a small assortment of Park tools so I could properly wrench on my bikes.
Anyhow, a while back I found a product by Park called the Tire Boot. The guy at the local bike shop explained what it did and why it was a good idea to carry a couple in the saddlebag. So I bought a few, and yes, they've come in handy a couple of times. But nothing would've prepared me for what happened last Saturday.
As a group of us rolled down the road, the lead guy failed to see a big piece of metal laying on the road. As he rolled over it, the piece got ejected into the front wheel of the guy who was right behind him, and so on down the line. By the time it got to me, my rear tire hit it just right resulting in a big gash, all the way to the rim!
I managed to stay upright in spite of the blowout and all the noise created by the metal-against-bike-frame racket, but when I saw my rear tire, I thought I'd be walking for approximately 10 miles back to my truck.
I removed the rear wheel and took the tire off the rim. The tube was also beyond repair but I always carry at least one spare tube with me. Tires are a different story. At that point I decided I had little to lose and lots to gain if I stuck a Tire Boot in the tire, but after applying the first patch, I decided to stick a second one considering the size of the cut.
I remounted the tire and installed the rim back on the bike. I pumped about 60 lbs into the tire since I did not want the "patch" to explode. I got back on the bike and carefully rode the 10 miles back to my truck, as improbable as the task appeared to be.
I went back to my local bike shop — where these photos were taken — and ordered several Tire Boots, just to be on the safe side. Needless to say, my bike has two brand new tires, since the front wheel also hit the piece of metal as it tumbled along, and got a nice cut as a warning, I guess.
If you ride a bike, whether a beach cruiser, a mountain bike or, like in my case, a road bike, you know that it is not a matter of "if" but "when" you'll suffer a flat.
The Tire Boot is not a tube patch but, as the name indicates, a tire patch, and one that will work far better than the old dollar bill trick. The way my tire got sliced (not to mention how poorly the dollar is doing as far as value is concered), having a Tire Boot in your toolbag can literally help save the day.
This is the link to the official Park Tool Tire Boot info page.
Special thanks to the folks at D2 Cycling Center in Sanford, Florida for the photos.
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