avosough

Hey folks,

I'll keep it short and sweet. How bad are these tires:
Front:
Back:
I was probably planning on replacing them with Cheng Shin's soon unless there's something substantially better I can get for around $25-30 total. I only ride 0-20 miles a week, so I'm not looking for anything premium.


What's up with this valve? Only the rear tube is like this. My Zefal hp pump fills it up fine, but I don't understand what it is. It seems like a Presta sized Schrader?



Also, I need to clean up these disgusting brake hoods and also re-wrap my bars in a few weeks. I don't want to take off the old ones to investigate because I don't think they'll go back on, but... Is it critical to have hoods on? Do people ever wrap the bar tape around some of the brake lever? New ones are only like $10, but that's $10 I could use.



Thanks!

Stanger

I say replace the hoods but run the tires until they give you trouble. Those hoods are pretty toasted man.

Roll-Monroe-Co

Gruesome! I would say follow your heart on the hoods. How can you even stand to touch those things?

Tires don't look that bad. Though be on the lookout for the sidewall wearing through. If it gets to a point where you can see fibers through the rubber, time to swap.

That valve stem, my friend, is a Schresta, the rare hybrid. No, just kidding. I don't know.

Good luck!

dedhed

Looks like a presta with the center missing.

FlatSix911

The tires are fine ... keep on truckin ...

The valve is a rare hybrid Prestrader ...

The hoods are done, stick a fork in em ...

avosough

I was thinking something like that too, but the pin is definitely different. It is a Schrader, but it's Presta-sized.


The brake hoods look a lot worse in the pictures than they do in real life
Since consensus seems to be that the tires are still rideable, I guess I'll invest in bar tape, hoods, and a non-leaking, normal valved tube instead.

Also, I would want to get rid of the quick releases if I end up taking the bike to school in the fall. Roughly how much should I expect that to cost?

illwafer

my vote is that it is not a schrader. i dont think a zefal hp works with schraders (my hpx doesnt).

i think its a presta and the pin is broken. i never thought about it, but i suppose it would still work.

elcraft

the tire valve is called a "Wood's" or "Dunlop" Valve. See: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_w.html#woods for details on them. If you ever wondered what the skinny little piece of rubber tubing is that came with your nice German-made patch kit, then this willANSWER IT!

Wogster

What you want for school is 2 locks, one like this or this and one like this

The chain or cable goes around a stationary fixed object, then through the front wheel then the frame, it then goes through itself, the free end goes over the end of the U lock which goes through the chain stays, lock side down. This should generally protect your bike about as well as your going to get. A determined professional thief is going to get it no matter what you do to lock it.

cyclotoine

it's not a schrader, it's presta with the pin broken off, seen it a million time... still holds air and still able to pump it up... no worries, replace it next time you get a flat.

ColonelJLloyd 

Yes, I've seen hood-less levers with a few loops of tape around them. They don't look bad. However, your hands would thank you for the $10 you invest in hoods if you're gonna ride more than a few miles at a time.

Iowegian

+1 on the lock. If you remove the quick-releases, you will need new axles and bolts (~$10) plus you will need to carry a wrench to fix a flat. I tried that back in my school days and all that happened was that someone stole my nice Campy 'peanut butter' wrench from under my saddle.

The tires are OK but the rear could be flat prone due to the thinness of the rubber. I'd start looking for tires on sale so you will have a replacement when the time comes, it won't be long if you ride a lot.

I had hoods like that on my commuter, took them off and it's been a year now that I've ridden without them. I don't really miss them at all but I don't ride the hoods on this bike. If you are fine with the 'hoods' you have on there now I would guess you would be fine with nothing at all. Try it and see!