“……Just a note to say the blow-out probably wasn't a random chance. It was at the bottom of a hill I hear. If your tyre pressures are somewhere around the max listed on the sidewall before you start the ride, they will be somewhat more at the bottom of a hill.
The function of brakes is to convert kinetic energy into heat energy. Nearly all of that heat energy is transferred to the rim because the brake blocks are good insulators. The rim, with enough hill, has the time it takes to get some of that heat into the air in the tube. Heat and pressure have a direct relationship. The proportion the pressure goes up is the tube-air temp difference over 273 (Kelvin) x the initial pressure. Enough for good bang it seems. (A regular problem on tandems.)
The solution: do half your braking with each wheel, when you can. But beware of using both brakes at the same time. If you do, weight transfer to the front makes the rear lock real easy, and not much happen at the back anyway. If you are on a curve at that time, a dramatic step sideways at the rear is certain, if the rear tyre skids at all. I tell you, it stirs the soul..."
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2 comments:
best headline of all time!!! All your own work or stolen from some newspaper?
How dare you impugn my journalistic integrity. Tonight you will be knocked off your bike and a family of hedgehogs will feast on your fetid entrails.
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