MikeyBoyAz

had a few flats over the years, just a few months ago I had a tube roll off my clincher (sad) and burst on a turn. I might have over inflated, but that experience left me pretty edgy for a few weeks at least. Always double double checked my PSI and quick releases before I left the house. As time went on I felt better.

Good luck getting over the ick.

banerjek

That is what normally happens. Every few years, I'll find myself in a situation where I really need my reflexes to do the right thing and they consistently do exactly what I hoped they would. So I often wind up feeling like a total badass where many people would be traumatized. But once in a long while, something gets in my head. 12 years ago, a friend of mine was killed on a highway I rode regularly. Even though it was his mistake and I wasn't even there, I developed a fear of cars and had to get off the bike entirely for two months.

Having to mellow out a high speed shimmy is the least fun I've ever had on a bike that didn't result in a trip to the hospital. At least when you have to lay the bike down and get road rash, you feel like you have some control over the outcome. I am absolutely paranoid about headsets and I've adopted a lopsided descending crouch that touches the tube nonsymetrically from both sides. I've never had a shimmy since but I'm always looking for the faintest signs.

kv501

If tire failures are your main worry, have you considered tubulars? Less flat-prone to begin with, but in the event you do have one it will be much, much more manageable.

I realize tubulars are a big commitment and most people don't ride them just for safety reasons, but if it's something that is making you consider not riding anymore it might be something to at least consider.

banerjek

I don't really have a tire issue problem per se -- I was just trying to wrap my mind about how to relax when stupid stuff gets in your head. No good can come from feeling anxious -- decisions aren't as good and there is a tendency to overreact.

The faster you go, the more you trust things won't change. That doesn't make going fast a bad idea, it just means your head needs to be in the right place. And that's more fun as well as being safer.

indyfabz

I was going to suggest a few tokes to mellow him out.

CliffordK

I just plan on getting all my flats where it is flat, straight, and level. And when it is sunny and warm out too.

Ok... so plans don't always work out. I do hit a few hills, but very little of my riding is maneuvering through tight downhill curves, and I don't ever remember getting a flat on a curve that seemed to present a danger to myself. I think I did roll a sewup that I hadn't properly glued down at least once, but started gluing down my tires better, and I still don't think I crashed that time.

My experience is sewups (tubulars) are more flat prone than clinchers. I don't know about the new tubeless, but I wouldn't choose sewups for the purpose of reducing flats. Of course, I haven't had sewups for quite some time.

This spring I returned to a mountain that I hadn't been on for 20 or 30 years. I think as a teenager, I just went down it wide-open. As an adult, I will admit touching the brakes a few times (one of my brakes also broke on the descent, adding to the feeling of a need for caution).

However, my first time down the mountain, it would have been mid summer, perfectly dry, with enough traffic that any debris would have been thrown off the road. This late spring ride the surface spots were wet, with no cars, so there was always the risk of gravel and debris on the corners so prudence was good.

I can't ever remember having my tires slide out from under me on a hard corner. I don't want it to happen either, but perhaps it means one has more traction that might otherwise be expected.

Anyway, I don't have to get to the bottom first, I just want to get there in one piece.

kv501

I don't think I'd agree with that...

That issue aside, the main safety benefit of a tubular in the event of a flat is that they 1) stay on the rime and 2) are manageable when it happens.

If you're descending at high speed and blow a tube/clincher you are going to eat pavement. A tubular will stay on the rim and give you much more ability to stay upright. They are also very rideable after a flat as long as you don't corner hard or get aggressive.

woodcraft

One of my worser crashes BITD was from rolling a tubular on a fast descent.

It was a spare not properly glued so my own stupidity, & the tire didn't actually flat,

....so never mind.

JerrySTL

Back in 1993 I was hit by a car pulling out of a Wal-Mart close to my home. It took a few years to get over the apprehension of riding through that intersection and even similar intersections. Now it's a great intersection as the Wal-Mart moved out and it's just an empty building with little traffic.

I've also had the 'death wobble' happen to me a couple of times while going down hills fast. Being a clyde on reduced spoke wheels caused one while having a loose headset plus wheels needing tensioning caused the other. If you have experienced such a wobble at 40+ MPH, you know what I'm talking about. Clamping the knees do the top tube didn't help. Hitting the brakes made things worse, much worse. What finally worked was popping a small wheelie! On a skinny tired road bike while doing nearly 50 mph! Now I start getting on the brakes at 30 mph and don't let myself go over 35-40 mph.

Six jours

I actually quit road riding for good a few months ago, mostly because of all the "hit-from-behind" deaths we've been experiencing in my neck of the woods. Back when I felt like I could control most of the risks of road riding - like getting hit in an intersection - I was confident enough, but I don't figure I've got much of a say when some jackass on a cell phone ends up in the bike lane.

Good luck to you, anyway. You've always seemed like a competent cyclist, from what I've read. Doesn't seem like there's any real reason for you not to have your head on straight here.

djb

along with the comments on not running your tires with too much wear, regular close inspecting for embedded tiny bits of glass or whatever is always going to be good, as you really know what shape your tires are in.

for regular riding this will always mean less flats, but pretty important if you regularly hit high speeds. I try to do this as much as I can, probably should do it more often.

also, when you run over suspect stuff, taking 1 min to brush off your tires is always going to be worth it, to get at stuff before it gets more embedded in the tire.

being very attentive to the road surface and debris too, all this stuff is about all we can do, so along with not worn tires, we can try to reduce the possibilities of stuff happening like you experienced.

banerjek

I've always liked to push my own limits as well as those of my equipment. One of my favorite parts of riding is feeling the edges of control. Especially in bad conditions, these edges are very subtle. Here's a shot from my commute a couple weeks ago. And yes, I did make it without falling (though I really hate ice). Ironically, the day I fell on a curve was the first day that the ice was gone and conditions were decent. I treated a corner as if it were just wet, but slow melting of ice with garbage on top had deposited hydrocarbon slime on the surface. That and I'd been so sick of riding slowly for several days straight that I was chomping at the bit for some speed.

I'm not quite up to full bore yet even if the cars can't touch me -- I've been taking the curves a couple mph slower than in the past and feeling my way back up.

djb

can relate, had motorcycles and was the same, did some racing which was fun just because on a track you can more safely get to the actual limit of tires and dragging undercarriage stuff than on the street--repeatedly going through same corners, no obstacles outside of corners, no debris etc etc. And when you make a mistake, there are not sign posts and walls to hit when you toss it into the weeds, plus medical help there too.

Here in Canada, driving cars involves a certain number of months driving in winter conditions, with all the varying traction that comes with the weather, and the next 50ft of road in front of you, just like with down hill skiing, you constantly have to evaluate the traction that you have, so yes, I enjoy what you describe. Your issue with your tires though are a diff matter, its the stuff we can control (well mostly, cant always see and avoid debris that can cause a flat, even with a new tire)

but yes, as you say, "these edges are very subtle" and can change from one second to another, but that is part of the fun.

re your ice shot, I dont like commuting once ice starts up because Ive fallen a few times on ice losing the front end, and holy crap it happens fast. I am somewhat comfortable with sliding on two wheels, but when you lose the front on ice I find you dont have time to react at all, its so fast. I guess with studded tires its diff but Ive never been into winter commuting, narrower roads, not great visibility for car drivers with snowy windows, all the gross slush, the salty slush being hard on a bike etc etc.

bruce19

After I broke my neck cycling on 7/24/13 and had C1 & C2 fused I asked myself if I still wanted to cycle. The answer (actually it wasn't much of a question) was an immediate "yes." Then, as I was healing, I began planning my "reentry." I was also encouraged that I had lost 15 lbs post surgery. The first week in Nov. of '14 I did a 20 mi. rail-trail with friends and a week later did a 30 mi. road ride. I had no doubt I would be OK and I was. It happened. I healed. I moved on.