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Date: 14 Jun 2007 12:15:24
From:
Subject: Goats for goatheads?
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Hmmm . . . Twelve flats in the last three weeks. I wonder why a friend sent me this article? http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/319789_goats14.html Hmmm . . . Goats that eat Washington blackberry (west coast thorn vines, not east coast PDAs): "They suck down blackberry vines like it was spaghetti. I don't understand it, (but) the thorns don't bother them at all." Hmmm . . . Goats, goatheads. Only $450 per day, plus $250 transport, fencing extra. Cheers, Carl Fogel
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Date: 15 Jun 2007 20:40:46
From: Bill
Subject: Re: Goats for goatheads?
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carlfogel@comcast.net wrote: > Hmmm . . . Twelve flats in the last three weeks. I wonder why a friend > sent me this article? > > http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/319789_goats14.html > > Hmmm . . . Goats that eat Washington blackberry (west coast thorn > vines, not east coast PDAs): > > "They suck down blackberry vines like it was spaghetti. I don't > understand it, (but) the thorns don't bother them at all." > > Hmmm . . . Goats, goatheads. Only $450 per day, plus $250 transport, > fencing extra. > > Cheers, > > Carl Fogel I think the 'goatheads' around here would choke even the hardiest of goats. They remind me of the WWII anti-tank barriers where you are going to get stuck no matter what you do. On my mountain bikes even knobbies were useless since the sticker always found the thin rubber between the knobs. I now use thick street slicks and the extra+ thick tubes and haven't had any flats but have a lot of holes in my fingers from pulling the things out. Now I carry an Exacto-knife to pop them out. Bill Baka
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Date: 15 Jun 2007 04:30:40
From: Johnny Sunset
Subject: Re: Goats for goatheads?
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On Jun 15, 1:46 am, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote: > ... > http://i7.tinypic.com/5x47t36.jpg > > Nice 20th-century fossil leaf imprints in the cement.... "Dear Carl" should be aware that the snake is on a concrete surface, not a cement surface. Calling it cement is similar to calling a completed wheel a rim, when it also contains a hub and spokes. A cement only road would be only marginally more useful than a bicycle that had rims, but lacked hubs and spokes. -- Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia The weather is here, wish you were beautiful
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Date: 14 Jun 2007 15:55:17
From:
Subject: Re: Goats for goatheads?
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On Jun 14, 7:15?pm, carlfo...@comcast.net wrote: > Hmmm . . . Twelve flats in the last three weeks. I wonder why a friend > sent me this article? > Carl, have you had similar results with the puncture protection tyres, such as the Marathon Plus. I had no where near your nightmare number of flats, but since i swapped to the Schwalbes, i've only had one very slow flat in the last year (last week) and when i got the tyre off, it turned out to be rim rub from the holes. These goatheads sound enough to make you put on wooden wheels. cheers, Nick.
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Date: 14 Jun 2007 18:17:25
From:
Subject: Re: Goats for goatheads?
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On Thu, 14 Jun 2007 15:55:17 -0700, voltimando@aol.com wrote: >On Jun 14, 7:15?pm, carlfo...@comcast.net wrote: >> Hmmm . . . Twelve flats in the last three weeks. I wonder why a friend >> sent me this article? >> >Carl, have you had similar results with the puncture protection tyres, >such as the Marathon Plus. I had no where near your nightmare number >of flats, but since i swapped to the Schwalbes, i've only had one very >slow flat in the last year (last week) and when i got the tyre off, it >turned out to be rim rub from the holes. These goatheads sound enough >to make you put on wooden wheels. > cheers, Nick. Dear Nick, I use "puncture protection" tires in the sense of Kevlar belts and Slime tubes. (And years ago, "thorn resistant" thicker inner tubes and Mr. Tuffy plastic tire liners.) But not in the sense of tires with sidewalls thicker than goatheads: http://i18.tinypic.com/2gtpxd2.jpg http://i16.tinypic.com/44td0dx.jpg I'm just grumpy right now, since the flurry of flats in the last three weeks is due to the mowers running over ancient goathead beds and spewing long-since harmless thorns onto the highway, along with sharp bits of rusty iron: http://i17.tinypic.com/662cbw6.jpg It doesn't look sharp enough to puncture a tire, but the left-side end went right through a Kevlar belt at over 30 mph on a downhill. Fortunately, the state highway department is fixing things by applying several miles of chip seal this week on what looked like a perfectly good highway that they paved a few years ago. And this is a sharper staple, about an inch long, cunningly worked _through_ the tire in two spots in the middle of the picture: http://i9.tinypic.com/5xsbmg1.jpg The staple is hard to see, but it's the mess in the middle, flanked on either side by Slime drops oozing out the usual holes in the tire. Off to test tires before the sun sets! Cheers, Carl Fogel
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Date: 14 Jun 2007 22:02:23
From: * * Chas
Subject: Re: Goats for goatheads?
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<carlfogel@comcast.net > wrote in message news:ccl3735akltskbrg9i9e3eb51ap9av86qi@4ax.com... > On Thu, 14 Jun 2007 15:55:17 -0700, voltimando@aol.com wrote: > > >On Jun 14, 7:15?pm, carlfo...@comcast.net wrote: > >> Hmmm . . . Twelve flats in the last three weeks. I wonder why a friend > >> sent me this article? > >> > >Carl, have you had similar results with the puncture protection tyres, > >such as the Marathon Plus. I had no where near your nightmare number > >of flats, but since i swapped to the Schwalbes, i've only had one very > >slow flat in the last year (last week) and when i got the tyre off, it > >turned out to be rim rub from the holes. These goatheads sound enough > >to make you put on wooden wheels. > > cheers, Nick. > > Dear Nick, > > I use "puncture protection" tires in the sense of Kevlar belts and > Slime tubes. (And years ago, "thorn resistant" thicker inner tubes and > Mr. Tuffy plastic tire liners.) > > But not in the sense of tires with sidewalls thicker than goatheads: > > http://i18.tinypic.com/2gtpxd2.jpg > > http://i16.tinypic.com/44td0dx.jpg > > I'm just grumpy right now, since the flurry of flats in the last three > weeks is due to the mowers running over ancient goathead beds and > spewing long-since harmless thorns onto the highway, along with sharp > bits of rusty iron: > > http://i17.tinypic.com/662cbw6.jpg > > It doesn't look sharp enough to puncture a tire, but the left-side end > went right through a Kevlar belt at over 30 mph on a downhill. > > Fortunately, the state highway department is fixing things by applying > several miles of chip seal this week on what looked like a perfectly > good highway that they paved a few years ago. > > And this is a sharper staple, about an inch long, cunningly worked > _through_ the tire in two spots in the middle of the picture: > > http://i9.tinypic.com/5xsbmg1.jpg > > The staple is hard to see, but it's the mess in the middle, flanked on > either side by Slime drops oozing out the usual holes in the tire. > > Off to test tires before the sun sets! > > Cheers, > > Carl Fogel How did you get the goathead snakebites so far up the sidewalls? Chas.
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Date: 15 Jun 2007 00:46:31
From:
Subject: Re: Goats for goatheads?
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On Thu, 14 Jun 2007 22:02:23 -0700, "* * Chas" <verktygjunk@aol.spamski.com > wrote: [snip] >How did you get the goathead snakebites so far up the sidewalls? > >Chas. Dear Chas, You probably mean the goathead in these pictures: http://i16.tinypic.com/44td0dx.jpg http://i18.tinypic.com/2gtpxd2.jpg One theory involves paranoia and ninjas lurking in the rabbit brush, equipped with goathead blow-guns and willing to use them. A slightly more plausible explanation involves delusions of grandeur and leaning over in turns like this: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/images/tiretest.jpg Well, not quite that far, but you get the idea. All I know is that when I looked at my rear tire the next day, there was that damned goathead, daring me to pull it out of the sidewall. As soon as I yanked it out, the tire began hissing. I usually spot couple of goatheads like that one every year, but on my front tire, stuck in the sidewall and spinning around undamaged. No flat tire today, just this fellow cleverly using the expansion seam for extra traction to make a U-turn and writhe off between my feet when I tried to grab him: http://i7.tinypic.com/5x47t36.jpg Nice 20th-century fossil leaf imprints in the cement. I'm hoping that the needle-sharp metal wire that I brushed off my rear tire was just harmless debris picked up from the garage floor. The tire's still holding pressure five hours later, so maybe I'll get to ride tomorrow without fixing a slow leak. Cheers, Carl Fogel
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Date: 15 Jun 2007 09:11:20
From: * * Chas
Subject: Re: Goats for goatheads?
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<carlfogel@comcast.net > wrote in message news:unb473doce9dq6f7220hqaeb432iu518n4@4ax.com... > On Thu, 14 Jun 2007 22:02:23 -0700, "* * Chas" > <verktygjunk@aol.spamski.com> wrote: > > [snip] > > >How did you get the goathead snakebites so far up the sidewalls? > > > >Chas. > > Dear Chas, > > You probably mean the goathead in these pictures: > > http://i16.tinypic.com/44td0dx.jpg > > http://i18.tinypic.com/2gtpxd2.jpg > > One theory involves paranoia and ninjas lurking in the rabbit brush, > equipped with goathead blow-guns and willing to use them. > > A slightly more plausible explanation involves delusions of grandeur > and leaning over in turns like this: > > http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/images/tiretest.jpg > > Well, not quite that far, but you get the idea. > > All I know is that when I looked at my rear tire the next day, there > was that damned goathead, daring me to pull it out of the sidewall. As > soon as I yanked it out, the tire began hissing. > > I usually spot couple of goatheads like that one every year, but on my > front tire, stuck in the sidewall and spinning around undamaged. > > No flat tire today, just this fellow cleverly using the expansion seam > for extra traction to make a U-turn and writhe off between my feet > when I tried to grab him: > > http://i7.tinypic.com/5x47t36.jpg > > Nice 20th-century fossil leaf imprints in the cement. > > I'm hoping that the needle-sharp metal wire that I brushed off my rear > tire was just harmless debris picked up from the garage floor. The > tire's still holding pressure five hours later, so maybe I'll get to > ride tomorrow without fixing a slow leak. > > Cheers, > > Carl Fogel I guessed that maybe you were riding in the dirt. Those old dried up goatheads are worse than the green ones. We used to make and sell "Sticker Flickers" that looked like these: http://www.bikeman.com/content/view/307/47/ We made ours from very soft wire so that they could be easily bent to position them and match the contour of the tires. The surgical tubing we used was the most flexible available. A lot of folks pooh poohed these but they had tried the stiff commercially available tire savers that didn't work as well as ours. Down in NM we had a goathead problem just as bad as yours. I picked up numerous goatheads and saw them flicked off of my front tire without going through to the tube. It seemed like many times they didn't puncture on the first rotation of the wheel. I ran Clement Paris-Robaix and Del Mundo sewups at 85-90 PSI much of the time on my road bikes. Our Sticker Flickers didn't provide much protection against glass or metal but they worked on goatheads. Chas.
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