New Wheels

Take a look at my new ride.

Pretty awesome, eh? And it cost 0.2% as much as Steph's new ride. And hers is only a 5 speed, not an awesome 18 speed like mine. My ride uses less gas too.

The goal of this new bike is to use it as my winter bike--something cheap that I don't care how beat up and rusty it gets from the salt and snow and cold. I've already removed the baby seat. Although it weighs about a thousand pounds, I'm planning on converting it to a single-speed too, so I have less to rust out. From riding last winter, I determined even geared bikes are effectively single-speeds once the cables and derailleur springs rust so shifting freezes up. At least this way I can make a conscious decision of which gear to use instead of being at the mercy of whichever gear gets randomly chosen by the road sludge.

Bike to Work

I have to say I love biking to work. Some days like today, I'm struck anew by how much I enjoy peddling in. I just moved in to Steph's parents' place, which is another 3 miles farther from work, and the roads are a little busier. So I've been hesitant, knowing it will take a little longer and I'll have to deal with more traffic. But I hopped on the bike and road in this morning. Oh, it's just such a good feeling to get in to work after having a good workout, not dealing with the stresses of driving and stoplights and freeways. No radio or unnecessary noise to irritate my sensitive just-woke-up ears. Just peace and quiet and riding as fast as I can.

2500

Today I hit 2500 miles on my bike for the 2007 season. Back in March when I first hopped on my bike, I never would have guessed how many miles I would ride. Last year I was excited to break the 1000 mile mark, and I wasn't planning on going much beyond that this year. Then I started training for a century (100 mile) ride, and started a bike-to-work contest, and continued to ride even as the temperature began to drop. So today, here I am, just hopping off my bike in 5 degree weather, bundled up in neoprene shoe covers, running pants, balaclava, and ski goggles, 2504 miles under me....and 10 to go before I get home tonight...and there's still 3.5 weeks left of the year!

Cycling Safety

Thought this was a great point at http://www.bicyclinglife.com/PracticalCycling/VCIntro.htm

"Nobody ever died from not knowing how to play flag football. Yet we spend tax money teaching kids its nuances in gym classes, while bicycle safety is still foreign to most school curriculums." Don Cuerdon

Broken Rim

I can now offer a comprehensive review of my new airfree tires. I think the title of this post says most of it...they broke my rim!

Performance....
I went for a 12 mile ride over lunch Monday. The first thing I noticed was that they felt soft. I wasn't feeling every little bump in the road like I normally do. Since these tires were "120PSI" I would expect them to ride even stiffer than the 105PSI that I normally ride at. So that was the one good thing about the tires--they were a little easier on my arms and rear. Of course, I could just deflate my tires to 50 PSI and get the same effect. That would probably explain why when I looked at my speedometer I was going at least 3mph slower than I felt. I was working hard but only going 14mph. Granted, there was a pretty good head wind...but over the course of the ride, going both into and with the wind, up and down hill, my average speed was 2.5 mph lower than what I've been riding at...and I was working much harder than usual.

And then there's the broken rim. My old conventional tires have given me about 4000 miles with no problems besides a couple flats. Now I hit a bump that shouldn't have been a problem (a typical railroad track I believe) and end up with a cracked rim. Yes, conventional tires probably would have done the same thing if I rode them at 50 PSI. But I have an air pump and can increase the pressure on conventional tires.

Customer Service...
Airfree tires has the worst customer service of any company I have ever dealt with. That's a strong statement, but sadly true. I wish they would place me on hold so I could eventually talk to a person, but no, I have to leave a voice mail only to never get called back. They don't return emails or respond to messages left using their web site. I doubt I will ever be able to get my money back despite their 90 day guarantee...but I will bug them incessantly until they want to give me my money back.

Conclusion...
Do NOT buy tires from airfree. If you really want to get airless tires, go straight to the manufacturer Nu-Teck. And don't get the standard pressures, bump the pressure way up. I'm guessing that the 170 PSI version might start to ride more like a regular road tire...but I wouldn't give them money to try it out.

Tires Are Here

Just a quick update...
My airfree tires finally arrived. I ordered them August 13, and they finally showed up today, September 29. That's just two days shy of 7 weeks, when the website says they ship in 1-2 days and take maybe 2 weeks to arrive. I wrote a dozen emails, called a dozen times, and submitted half a dozen order updates through their website--none of my emails were ever answered, they returned one phone call, and responded 3 times to the website requests (but none of the responses were helpful).

The review.....
Unfortunately I have not had a chance to really try the tires out yet since they arrived 15 minutes after finishing a 30 mile ride. I did put them on and rode around the block. My initial impression is that they feel just like regular tires.

Recommendation......
At this point, I think I would highly recommend the product itself, but would highly discourage anyone from ever doing business with the Airfree Tires company. Go straight to the source Nu-Teck, or a different distributor.

Airfree Tire

After a series of flats on my road bike, I decided to try out Airfree Tires. I saw mixed reviews of them before ordering, but decided to go for it. I am having nothing but annoyance with the company at this point. I ordered my tires over 3 weeks ago, and they have not arrived, despite the claim that they should be there in 12 business days. I have been trying to get in touch with their "24 hour customer service," but getting an answer is like pulling teeth. They tell you something along the lines of "everything's fine" but never actually answer the question. "Our supplier is experiencing delays" was the answer to "When will I get my tires?"

After waiting this long and dealing with this customer service, I'm scared to cancel my order. How long would it take to refund my money???????

For those contemplating buying from them during their big September sale, I'd recommend waiting. I promise to update my blog if the tires ever arrive.