Re: [RBW] Re: 55 cm Platypus on Amtrak

[Leah Peterson]

Hi Friends,  I looked at your excellent photos and posts in between patients at work today. I’m really, really hoping not to have to take off the front wheel or hang the bike. I’m aiming to just part it somewhere and tie up with John’s straps if need be. BUT, I thought it best to practice tonight. The thing is that every time I try to do anything mechanical, some little hiccup will get me stuck and then I go running to the shop. What I wouldn’t give for a mentor nearby!  First up: refreshing sealant. It’s going to be in the 80s, and I’m nearly due for more sealant. The front tire went fine. I have got it down to where I don’t spill a drop of sealant. I even manage to keep the sealant out of the valve stem. The front tire went fine. Then came the rear tire. For the first time, I heard a small “pop.” What was that? I poured in my sealant and went to reinflate. Nothing but hissing and bubbling out the sides of the tire. I bet this is what they call the bead unseating, I thought. I started to panic, but I figured if it could so easily be shifted out of whack, it should be easy to shift back. Pump air, spin tire. Repeat. I heard another “pop” and the tire began to reinflate! I spun that tire a bunch of times, hoping the sealant would SEAL and it did!  Next, I had to undo the front brake. They are new Paul brakes, and when I looked at the noodle, I couldn’t dislodge it the way my old V brakes worked. Then suddenly, I found that joint in the Paul - it’s really clever, isn’t it? I had never even noticed it. Got that released, and unplugged the dyno. Then I went to pull the front wheel. That was also easy. Then I put the wheel back on and got the dyno port and the silver wing of the skewer all lined up how I like. Ok, great. Pulled the bike from the stand and SQUEEEEEEEE. Brakes making horrid sounds. I remembered someone telling me I could pull on the brake noodles and it wouldn’t move them, so the only other thing I could think of was maybe I didn’t seat the wheel in the dropouts? With the bike on the ground I loosened the wheel and bounced the tire. Re-did everything and no more noise!  Tire is holding air and dyno is working. Stoked. STOKED over here. Putting dinner on and then packing the Backabikes. Will see about getting the bike up on the rear wheel later! This is such an adventure! L On Jun 12, 2024, at 12:46 PM, aeroperf <dorem...@comcast.net> wrote: German stations typically have less than a quarter that many bikes. But most European local trains let you “roll on, roll off”.  Here’s a shot crossing northern Spain, with straps. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/HbITA9JmOC0/unsubscribe. To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/0bc1e2a4-18fd-441a-9b21-5aadb5ea65c8n%40googlegroups.com. <AcrossNorthernSpain.JPG> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/8ACB36F8-4C90-45A5-AF6E-395846741A66%40gmail.com.