Alex Moll

The latest (Spring 2013) of Bicycle Quarterly has a favorable review of Scott's handiwork. Jan must've liked them well enough, as he's now selling them via Compass Bicycles website. Kinda wanna say "'bout time" - but think it's good that Jan took his time with a long term review, and also came up with his own JH-Compass Spec.

I gotta say that the all brass model with the longer surgical tubing is super quiet. But for the all-weather daily use, the SS wire will definitely last longer. Also, for the way JH mounted his (on the low end of the rear fender - under the BB,) the shorter surgical tubing would help keep the wire in contact with the tire.

Good on ya' Rootboy!

Cheers,
Alex

Lascauxcaveman 

A link would be helpful >> https://janheine.wordpress.com/2012/0...f-tire-wipers/

Or two >> https://janheine.wordpress.com/2013/0...-spring-issue/

Or three? https://janheine.wordpress.com/2011/0...ng-flat-tires/

(I'm nothing if not helpful)

whatwolf

Woo! Congrats Scott!

zandoval 

Nice... And deserved...

eschlwc

huh. sorta looks like my old ... i wonder if i can use my old overbite retainer from high school. i'm sure i've kept it for exactly this type of application...

rootboy 

Thank you Alex! The link above is for an older review Jan did but I suspect the review of my units will be on the website after the periodical has been released for a while. Hoping Jan will send me a copy of the Spring issue.

By the way, he tested the new prototype too, with stainless steel wipers, which he said lasted a lot longer than the brass version. Said he wore through the brass ones fairly rapidly. That guy must ride a lot. I havent heard from any of my customers that have worn through theirs yet but Jan's tests lead me to think I will offer an upgrade to any of my previous customers who would like a set of the stainless steel "legs". Send me a PM if you'd like.

Thanks to Jan once again for giving me the opportunity.

Cougrrcj

I've had the tire savers on my Fuji since I bought it in '76! Yes, they wear out - but they're actually more effective when they have worn to a sharper edge that skims across the tread surface. For maximum effect, they should touch the tire on the entire contact patch plus some going up towards the sidewalls - since larger pieces of road debris will still puncture the tire in that area. I bend them to fit my tire's profile. The 'legs' are not technically made out of surgical tubing, but rather clear plastic/nylon tubing. The tension that the wire exerts on the tire can be adjusted by bending the mounting bracket slightly. If the wire is bent to the profile of the tire, a lot of force is not necessary. The wires do wear out - but I have made replacements out of broken stainless spokes.

Mine are mounted to the brake mounting bolt. the front one mostly hidden by the fork... I don't have fenders, but if I did, I'd probably mount the rear saver to the chainstay cross brace aft of the bottom bracket - using the same screw as the fender attachment. For the front with fenders, I have no idea... I'm sure I could 'Rube Goldberg' something that would work...

My rear tires wear twice as fast as the front, so I'd guess that I have most of my weight on the rear tire. It would follow that therefore I would have a much greater propensity for flats on the rear tire, from both the greater force exerted between the tire and the ground and the fact that the tread is usually thinner because of the faster wear.. However, in practice the incidence of flats is about the same, front to rear.

Do tire savers work? Well, they do grab some debris out of the tire before it can work it's way through the tire to cause a flat, but probably only about half the time. Some objects are just too sharp and pierce the tire immediately. In my own case riding on the same roads with and without the savers, bear that out. The fact is that I get fewer flats than I used to.

rootboy 

Coupla quick notes in response, Cougrrcj. I still have a couple of pairs of the old steel ones like we used in the 70's on our tubulars. Not sure about back then but I do indeed use surgical tubing in my modern interpretation. Seems a bit more resilient than what they used back then, perhaps. More flexible maybe but with enough spring to give a nice light ride on the tire. Standard version I mount like you've mentioned;


pics courtesy Drillium Dude.
And here is how I use my fender version, design courtesy Alex Moll who turned me on to this based on some old, British ones he has.



But Jan ordered his fender sets built to mount directly to the fender using some 5 mm bolts....
though I was a bit hesitant to drill holes in these fenders. He mounted the front one up top, out front on the trailing edge of the fender. Not sure I would do that but I suppose it's the logical place for pulling stuff off rather than pushing it. I've seen them mounted on the leading edge of the front too, down under the down tube.

southpawboston

Congrats, rootboy! To get the notice of JH himself is no small feat! Looking forward to reading that issue when it comes out!

I've got a set of RB tire savers on my Mercian (set up with fenders) and no flats yet...

rootboy 

Thank you Southpaw!

I'll take a stab at this, Bici. There's no on and off. Mounted up like shown in the pics, they rub gently on the tread of the tire and remove offending debris stuck in the tire before it has a chance to rotate more than once and drive deeper and thus, puncture your tire. In theory, anyway.

There is some difference of opinion on how well they work. I'm in the camp that thinks they help.

auchencrow

It's not surprising that Jan H found a new accessory to market. I've not seen the equivalent offering anywhere else but here on C&V,
and in addition to Jan's, I've heard other testimonials from some very credible sources as to the real-world efficacy of tire savers.

Anyone running tubulars on their bikes would be especially ill-advised to go without a set of rootboy's tire savers:
- While there may be a few survivalists among you who enjoy patching an inner tube on the side of the road , I doubt that ANYONE
relishes the prospect of patching their sew-ups, or replacing them, given the expense.

Johnonaschwinn

Congratulations. I dig mine

RubberLegs

Cool Stuff! This old Nishiki Mixte I recently acquired has some OLDIES....need to replace the tubing, it has lost it's spring...

rootboy 

If your material measures 1/16th, Rubberlegs, lemme know and I'll send you a couple of pieces of tubing.

RubberLegs

That would be awesome... I will have to check it...it is at my in-laws, my M-I-L is riding it.

qcpmsame 

I'll chime in and repeat that Scott deserves the recognition for his tyre savers. I got two pairs a few years ago and they craftsmanship is really great. The brass units look so classy and their engineering is superbe. I'll definitely get a copy of that magazine and read the review. Congratulations Scott, well done.

Bill

Velognome 

Congrats Rootboy!

Italuminium

Nice! After suffering two flats in two consecutive rides caused by sharp stones slowly biting their way through the tire I think I'm ready for a set myself

rootboy 

Thanks guys,
I'll try this PDF attachment. Hope this is OK with Jan. He swore me to secrecy before the issue came out but now that it is, I suppose it's OK.
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&p...5To7zFXxoflAEw

auchencrow

I can't view it, and get a temporary(?) Google 404 (server) error when trying to download a copy from this link.

ThermionicScott 

That's great, rootboy!

top506

What do you use for tubing? I have a pair that came with my Lotus but the tubing has stiffened up over the past 30-odd years.

Top

rootboy 

Hmmm. I can open it from this thread, Auchen', but, not being very proficient on computers, I'm not sure what to do to make it better.

rootboy 

Howdy Top. It's the old deal where if I told you I'd have to shoot you ....

I use surgical tubing. 1/16th ID. 3/16ths OD. My brass and steel are both 1/16th stock so they fit perfectly in the ID.

top506

Okey-doke. I'll have them back on the Lotus in time for the CCRT ride. See you there?

Top