A Cyclist’s Life in Tenerife (Canary Islands)

Just when life seems too oppressing to continue, along comes this nifty little invention. In 15 years of perusing bike products, this is the first bike rack I’ve ever seen that made me want to voluntarily attach it to my own personal bike; most of them all look like identical taiwanese copies with equal ‘functions’ (normally you’d have to pay me to mount one). One look at the Pletscher ORION however makes me want to mount a set of slicks, slap on a rigid fork & embrace the life of a commuter! (more…)

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Hello blog readers,

You might have noticed that I haven’t written many new articles in the past fortnight. That’s because I’ve been working behind the scenes on a few new simultaneous projects. One of them is called “www.bikenode.com“, a new global cycling links directory. It took almost a full day to crete the Bike Node logo… hehehe. Anyway-

The aim is to make it “the fastest growing cycling link directory for the global cycling community”. The idea is to help generate exposure for us little guys. Whatever. But the good news is that I am now taking link submissions. So please feel free to add any appropriate cycling-related links to “http://www.bikenode.com”. It’s easy & it’s free!

There are still a few features I’d like to add, such as an email confirmation of link submissions, an info page, and an easy way for you to add reciprocal links with & without the Bike Node logo (to encourage activity within the directory, reciprocal links are not mandatory but are HIGHLY appreciated).

If you want a bit of extra exposure, a featured listing (highlighted & placed at the top of each category) costs a one-time fee of only 5$ and will result in more traffic to your site. I’ll also ensure that links are added to the directory in a timely manner if you choose a paid link.

If you feel that an appropriate category isn’t listed in the directory yet, you can also suggest new categories for the directory by commenting below.

Thanks,
Les

Tags: Spoke Bed, News Reel, That's Business, Sales Pitch, Ride the Volcano!, Learning Curve // 1 Comment »

I must admit that before I moved to Tenerife, I really didn’t fully understand this whole mountainbiking phenomenon. I mean, why would anyone intentionally choose to ride a bike on dirty, bumpy surfaces, in the middle of nowhere? They’re heavier than road bikes for a start. MTB drivetrains wear out quicker. Complex suspension components demand more maintenance. And obviously, they’re much slower than road racing bikes.

The primary reason, I believe, is to escape from traffic, other people and civilisation itself. It’s the single best form of transport to get you out in the wilderness and away from society. (more…)

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A while back I sent out a Newsletter, which you can read here in case you missed it. One of the sections went as follows:

Send your photos & win!
If you’d like to appear on the Guestbook Page, please send me any photos you may have taken while cycling in Tenerife. High-resolution photos are preferred, in any format. I’d also love to hear any comments to include as testimonials… The best photo sent in wins a free T-Shirt!

Anyway, that was last month. This month, the best photo has been chosen & hence the winner decided. Judging the competition was a piece of cake, since only one person bothered to officially enter! (somewhat like another promotional flop of mine… I guess that’s what happens when a Scientist organises these sorts of things…) Sure I had other photographs on file from existing clients, but like they say: “you’ve got to be in it to win it”. Nevertheless, I think you’ll all agree that the photo on the left is worthy of the title. I particularly like the perspective and composition of this photo, and also the fact that it isn’t taken from a normal location.

CONGRATULATIONS CLAUDIUS FUCHS OF HAMBURG, GERMANY!! You sent in so many excellent photos, it wasn’t easy to choose between the best ones. You definitely deserve a free T-shirt!

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I’ve tried and tested many seatposts over the years in all price ranges. The only purpose of a seatpost is provide support for the saddle & to offer simple adjustments of the saddle (vertical & horizontal seat position plus saddle angle). Some seatposts costing hundreds of dollars do not even meet these simple requirements! (more…)

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Is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) simply an extreme degree of hyperactivity, brought about by many complex contributing factors? We’re stimulated (visually) by television and seemingly limitless internet possibilities. Outwardly, we appear to have adapted in various ways to this fast pace of life. But what happens to our brain when we stop all this fast-paced internet work and shutdown our computers and gaming consoles? Our brain continues to run wild at this high pace. Our minds continue to race overtime; not accustomed to stagnating, we dwell & obsess over the tiniest of problems merely for “something to do”. Is this something we have control over?

Could a lack of excerise combined with overchoice & overstimulation actually compound certain mental disorders in the early phase of development? In an ever-increasingly stressful world, we’ve simultaneously reduced the amount of excercise we receive! We drive everywhere, use mobile devices, remote controls, pre-packaged “lazy foods”, etc. Although most of us still continue to defer exercise. This is a recipe for disaster. Could this be a simple link to many of today’s current mental disorders? (more…)

Tags: Science Simplified, Vida Enigmática // Add Comment »

With the petrol prices rising, the energy crisis looming, and the state of the environment deteriorating, I thought it was time to compile a list of zero emission vehicles (ZEVs). First I’d like to say that I’m pretty pissed of that the internal combustion engine is still with us today. I remember when the Australian government told us about 15 years ago that they’d be “phasing petrol cars out”. Phasing them out my arse…!! Anyway, it is my hope that one day, the combustion engine will become just as unpopular as analogue electronic equipment now has, and that zero emmissions vehicles will be treated like the new wave of “digital” equipment. I hope that people will laugh at things like exhaust pipes in future. Fuck hybrid vehicles altogether I say… they’re like dual VCR/DVD drives.

Note that I haven’t included hybrids or alternative fuels in this list, as all of them still emit greenhouse gases. I also haven’t included any prototypes, impractical or uneconomical cars. The majority of these production cars you can buy TODAY, the remaining few that aren’t are slated for production within about a year, so you can at least reserve with a deposit. I encourage you to leave a comment if I’ve ommitted any ZEVs from the list: (more…)

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Our current civilisation is growing at an exponential rate. But anyone with an ounce of common sense knows that exponential growth in a finite space is a physical impossibility. So I sometimes wonder how many people this planet can support. (more…)

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If there’s one thing that has plagued or doomed all human civilisations, it their blatant ignorance during the time in which they prosper. But if you look back on some former civilisations, history reveals they only made relatively minor mistakes (as far as their long-term survival was concerned).

It’s no secret that most people in today’s advanced societies live greedy, unsustainble lives. We directly contribute to the destruction of the planet, and we’re under the false impression that things will never change. When something as simple and uncontrolable as the weather bites back, we’re stunned. Speechless, until the moment we are able to forget and resume our old ways…

The trouble with our society is this: we are well aware that we change the environment on a “small scale”. For example, we build roads & cities. We cause local deforrestation. We pollute rivers. So we can see clearly enough that what we are doing also affects the surrounding ecosystem negatively. But then when we move up to thinking about the global scale, our thought patterns are no longer logical. But many of us simply do not accept that our home, the entire planet Earth, is in jeopardy. We either quickly change the subject, ignore it altogether, or go into a major case of denial. It’s a problem of scale, which our puny minds cannot yet comprehend.

So I put this to my readers: if we can accept that we as a society are changing things on a local scale, and we can also grasp the fact that humans now populate every single country (albeit some regions denser than others), why can’t we accept the inevitable conclusion that we are also collectively changing the entire face of the Earth, on the global scale? (more…)

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The main road TF21 to Las Cañadas is currently receiving an upgrade around the Aguamansa region, for a distance of approximately 300 metres. That brief section is currently not sealed. I feel obliged to point out that beyond the cafe’s in Aguamansa, the road to Mt Teide resumes as normal (just in case cyclists think that the horrible road surface continues the whole way up). It is possible to bypass around the workzone, but it is not marked as an official detour. (more…)

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This budget model fork can be had for as little as €120, so it is not intended for downhill or competition use. The model we tested boasted 120mm of travel, although at the softest setting, only about half of that was effectively utilised (even after a substantial break-in period). (more…)

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Many famous names in professional cycling come to Tenerife, including Lance Armstrong, Marco Pantani and Miguel Indurain. A longer list of professional cyclists that have trained in Tenerife can be seen here.

Tenerife is one of the seven Canary Islands, a volcanic island chain belonging to Spain. Tenerife is located in the Atlantic ocean, about 250km off the African coastline (Western Sahara).

Tenerife, the world’s third largest island volcano, is an ideal training destination for serious cyclists as there are several continuous 2300 metre (7000 ft) ascents which commence from sea level. Mt Teide, rising to 3718m can often be seen rising above the surrounding terrain.

Many professional cyclists choose to train in Tenerife during the winter season when the rest of Europe experiences much cold temperatures. The Canary Islands are generally regarded as the Sothern-most part of Europe; Tenerife’s local climate is obviously a lot milder than what the European mainland experiences, even despite the mountains. So much so, cycling in Tenerife is possible all year round.

Professional cycle training camps are often based at Las Cañadas in the centre of Tenerife. El Parador, the only hotel allowed within the entire El Teide National Park, is located at an altitude of 2100m. From here, cyclists are able to become accustomed to high-altitude training within the surrounding volcanic crater; the elevation in this region always exceeds 2000 m.

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To date, there have been 185 “special edition” Google logos, which can be seen here. I, like many people, use Google to perform internet searches almost daily. I missed a lot of other trivial logos shown previously. So here’s my chance to comment on this one before it’s too late! (more…)

Tags: Mental Anguish, Vida Enigmática // Add Comment »

I recently watched this video of an elephant drawing a ’self portrait’. I was amazed. I was also amazed at some of the responses this video provoked on youtube. It really opened up a can of worms. People on one side were saying how cool it was, others were protesting everything from to “stop animal cruelty!” and “it’s a robot hoax” to “he’s following the outlines”. I’m sure this has already been said, but is this any different from the way that some humans paint by numbers? (more…)

Tags: Inspiration., Vida Enigmática // 2 Comments »

- A typical Spanish breaksfast consists of an expresso coffee … and that’s often all there is to it.

- The main meal is usually served between 1:00 and 2:00pm in the afternoon. This is sometimes accompanied by a first course consisting of soup. Three course lunches are the norm for the all-important weekend family get-together.

- Parsely is the mother of all herbs in Spanish cooking. I’m willing to bet that more parsely is consumed in Spain than all other [cooking] herbs combined.

- Spanish rarely eat outside their homes (or at least here in the Canary Islands). The proper place to eat is in the kitchen, while the dining room is sometimes just left for show.

- For some unknown reason, if you’re sharing a plate of food, especially tapas, the fork is left resting perpendicularly on the edge of the plate, with the pointy side curving down. Don’t ask me to explain this strange custom. (more…)

Tags: Island Life // 1 Comment »

Whenever I see this following video clip, I’m simply amazed at the intricacy of each animation scene. This is one of those things I look at and place into the “I couldn’t do this any better not even in my wildest dreams” category. I haven’t had the opportunity to see the movie yet though. Apparantly they’re remaking Akira into a live action film in 2009. I don’t see how they can do better that this though. I would have been blown away had I seen this at the time it was released when I was 11.

Akira is a 1988 Japanese animated film set in a neon-lit futuristic post-apocalyptic Tokyo in 2019. Akira is regarded by critics as one of the greatest animated films ever made. One of the reasons for the movie’s success was the highly advanced quality of its animation. At the time, most anime was notorious for cutting production corners with limited motion, such as having only the characters’ mouths move while their faces remained static. Akira broke from this trend with meticulously detailed scenes, exactingly lip-synched dialogue — a first for an anime production (voices were recorded before the animation was completed, rather than the opposite) — and super-fluid motion as realized in the film’s more than 160,000 animation cels.

Tags: Mental Anguish, Inspiration. // 2 Comments »

Most motor vehicle accidents involving cyclists happen at dawn and dusk. The reason for this is that there are more commuters out there on the road at these times. At the same time, the road visibility is far less than during the day, so the chances of being hit are relatively high. I’ve taken the opportunity to gather together some very interesting products aimed at increasing your safety while riding at night.

(more…)

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So, you’ve decided to Self Publish? For many months, I’ve considered turning parts of this blog (Vida Enigmática) into a book but I’ve often wondered how to do this. I recently discovered the website Wordclay, a DIY online self-publishing wizard which provides you with a step-by-step guide until your manuscript is a complete, self-published book. The steps to self-publishing through Wordclay couldn’t be easier. So if you’re interested in publishing your own book, that’s a great place to start the ball rolling. (more…)

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As a former postgraduate research scientist, science is one subject I’m qualified to reflect upon. I completed my Doctorate in 2005. The way I look at it, current research science is a system of reliable information harnessing, data processing, followed by speculative interpretation based on well-founded principles & intense scrutiny by fellow peers. It is a method of education for an entire community of very eager-to-learn people. (more…)

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Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) is a mental disorder of which the primary symptom is the inability to concentrate. While the symptoms are widely accepted, the causes are disputed. Conventional studies of this disease have focused on brain’s ability to produce dopamine, food additives such as colourants, genetic research and environmental factors (including alcohol, in utero tobacco smoke and lead exposure). Meanwhile, the actual treatments are even more controversial, ranging from medication (including stimulants and anti-depressants), to counseling and behavioural therapy.

But recent studies describe a new form of ADHD treatment; how strenous exercise can reduce the symptoms of ADHD, without the need for medication: (more…)

Tags: Mental Anguish, Inspiration. // 1 Comment »

If you’re reading this, the chances are that you want to manage your own website with a dedicated url address. Even though your internet service provider (ISP) may provide a free hosting service, a dedicated url domain name and web hosting package is the way to go. Before you can do anything else, one of the first steps you’ll need to take is to choose a web hosting company, register (purchase) a domain name from them and also select a web hosting plan (they store your files on one or more of their web-servers). Note that the web hosting company is usually different from your ISP. (more…)

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All cyclists know that cycling can be an expensive hobby, but it doesn’t have to be. Bicycles are the most efficient form of human transport that we know of. But if you’ve started to spend ridiculous amounts of money in this sport, you might want to re-analyse the situation; if you’re flaking out loads of cash on all the latest training gizmos and whatnot, is it such an environmentally friendly sport after all? Where does your money actually end up? What do those recipients do with it? Consumers don’t tend to weigh these things up enough before purchasing something. I think I became a semi-retro-grouch when I turned 30 last year. So without further delay, here are a bunch of easy ways to help you save your hard-earned money: (more…)

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This is a special guest article written by Jonathan Donnelly of Northern Ireland. Late last year, he hired a road bike with us for 6 days here in Tenerife, successfully scaled the 2300m climb to the base of Mt Teide and was then keen to try out a mountainbike for the first time in his life! This is an amazing story because in April of the same year, Jon was a self-confessed computer gaming addict tipping the scales at 103kg. Thanks for the inspirational article Jon!

-Dr. Leslie Brown

Inspiration Part 1.

In my area of the world the authorities that be are mad keen to get you active! A while back there was this campaign called Go walking, it’s the thing to do… to get fit, lose weight, de-stress.

With facts and figures about how much you can lower your risk of heart disease etc. it all looked very boring and did not appeal to a Gladiator like me killing mad mosters that drop purple gear with my super powers in my virtual world (google ‘world of warcraft’).

Go walking, it even had a theme tune, and a spin off called “highway to health”. The problem with walking is unless you change your scenery often it gets rather boring I know I did loads of it ’til i was SICK of it.

It seems to me like a form of exercise that i term, “just for the sake of it”. Or “I have no sport I’m good at so I’m gonna walk for exercise” and “I’m too fat to jog”. (more…)

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The most important thing to remember if you haven’t ever cycled in mountainous terrain is APPROPRIATE GEARING. I can’t stress that enough. The best gearing for climbing are the following options:

1) 53/39/30 chainring with 12-25 cassette

2) 50/34 chainring with 12-28 cassette

3) 53/39 with 12-32 cassette

All of these choices provide what I call “the magic 1.2 low gear ratio” which will be perfect for climbs ranging from 5 - 10 or even up to (more…)

Tags: Ride the Volcano!, Learning Curve // 1 Comment »

For those of you who don’t know “ni papas” is a Canarian expression which literally translates as “not even potatoes” but really means “nothing” (I suppose because if you’re not even collecting potatoes, there’s nothing left). Usually it’s tacked on the end of a sentence; I’ve heard it used in the following phrase by my driving instructor: “Cuando hablan Inglés no entiendo nada, ¡ni papas!”. (When they speak I don’t understand anything, nothing!)

Normally I don’t bother translating local Spanish news because Pamela of www.secret-tenerife.com does such a fine job. But since we here at Tenerife-Training actually live on a combined potato/grape/orange farm, this story is right up my alley so I feel compelled to cover it.

In the North zone of Tenerife potatoes have been grown and harvested for at least the las two centuries. On April 24th 2008, there was a heat wave & the combined strong winds then wiped out up to 80% of production in the worst hit region of Benijos. The entire zone known as “Las Medianías” in the North of the Island was affected, especially the La Orotava valley. The losses vary between 70 and 80% of a normal harvest. These damages have been caused by the dehydration and defoliation of the plants. (more…)

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Welcome to the third installment of “making a bombproof reliable bike”. Here I’m going to provide further tips on how to maintain your bike so that you can rely on it to get you through not just the best bike rides, but all of them. Don’t forget to read Part II: The Drivetrain and Part I: Wheels & Tyres.

1. Listen to your bike! Remember that a noise-free bike is what to aim for. If a bike clicks, ticks, creaks aqueaks and groans it’s trying to tell you something…. something like… “lube me!” or “I am badly in need of adjustment!”. And it’s surely going to get worse and you increase the chances of component failure (for example breakage or seizure of parts).

2. If a part requires a special tool, pay attention to it! The worst bicycle failures are those which force a rider to stop and call for some kind of backup or a lift back home (either your partner, your parents, or you leg it to the nearest train station). Quality parts -properly maintained- rarely break. If you want a reliable, durable bike, avoid what we call in the bicycle industry: “stupid light parts”. So in most cases, you’re only prevented from continuing your training ride because the mechanical breakdown requires the use of special tools which you aren’t able to carry. Virtually every part on a bike requires a unique tool. For example, cranksets require an 8 or 10mm allen key to fix and are fairly heavy; spokes require a spoke key; pedals require a 15mm spanner, cassette lockrings require a cassette lockring tool; bottom brackets require their own tools. Unless you are planning to do solo-touring, it’s not practical to carry everything with you to cover all of these contigencies. Fortunately, there is one thing you can do to prevent these parts from loosening… and that’s simply to tighten them up sufficiently in the first place! Then remember to check them periodically.

3. Lubricate (almost) everything! Grease should be applied to ALL fastener threads. Lubricate all other and contact points such as saddle rails, seatpost clamps, seatpost shafts, cleats, etc, with an appropriate lubricant (either oil or grease depending on the application). Obviously don’t lubricate anything that could cause you to lose control of the bike (for example: where the stem touches the handlebars and steerer tube)

4. Become an “instant fixer”. When you’ve locate the source of a problem,  don’t procrastinate by delaying bicycle repairs. Fix it as soon as you can and it will never bother you again. Then there’ll be one less thing to go wrong in future.

5. Wrap your bar tape well. Wrap the bar tape tightly around the handlebars. Don’t use less than 3mm overlap on the outside radius of bends otherwise the handlebar underneath will begin to show after some use. The 6″ pieces of sticky tape that come with all cork tape kits are the most useless things to reside on planet Earth -they don’t stretch enough, they don’t stick and they’re not long enough either. Sometimes they’ll unravel as soon as your back is turned. If you decide to use these anyway because they look nice, know that the cork tape is practically guaranteed to unwrap as soon as your handlebars get wet (with sweat or rain). If you’re smart, follow this advice: you’re a hundred times better off throwing the stock tape in the bin & using PVC electrical tape in their place. If you really want to make the bar tape secure, get the 1/2″ wide PVC tape, and wrap it around 3 or 4 times the bars. Two wraps is not really sufficient; 5 or more wraps and the tape will bulge and look funny. If you have a mountain bike, the oldest trick in the book is to spray some hair spray inside the handlebar grips; you’ll find they’re much easier to slide on & they stay put once the ‘glue’ dries. (more…)

Tags: Learning Curve // Add Comment »

Before I continue with this story, I wish to make it perfectly clear that I am in no way humouring this subject. On the contrary, I’m attempting to highlight this afflictive social dilemma, thereby drawing attention to it. In fact, the popular notion of that “Lemming commit mass suicide” is a misconception. It’s not helped by lemming cartoons such as the one shown here. I can almost guarantee that I’ll get more exposure by tying this sad story in with Lemmings, if only because “Lemming Suicide” is a much more popular search term than “Innu people of Nitassinan, Davis Inlet  in the Labrador-Quebec peninsula, eastern Canada”. But the real focus of this article is that some human cultures and communities are more prone to suicide than others, especially when entire societies are relocated. I will speculate about this further in future articles. (more…)

Tags: Mental Anguish, Vida Enigmática // Add Comment »

I recently bought a set of braided stainless steel brake lines made by Goodridge. I’m using Hayes Nine HFX HD disc brakes with the more recent G2 calipers. Unfortunately, one part was missing from the new kit that I bought online from chain reaction cycles in the UK, so I had to go down to the local bike shop (Gofis Bici) and get a suitable replacement part (luckily they had the Goodridge spare parts kit handy). (more…)

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I must admit that I’ve overlooked the needs of triathletes lately. In many respects, Tenerife would be an ideal location for European triathletes looking for triathlon training zones. Apart from several swimming pools & gymnasiums around the local resorts, there are many ocean swimming spots dotted around the coast. We have great weather all year round, and don’t forget the legendary 2300m climb to the base of Mt Teide!

I have one medium/large triathlon frameset which I could either rent out as a triathlon bike or sell. This has dedicated tri geometry, 650c wheels and could be equipped with a set of time-trial aerobars.

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Tags: Sales Pitch, Ride the Volcano! // Add Comment »

For me, the ITM forged Lite Luxe stem is as close to perfection as I could want. It’s forged and therefore has smooth lines. It has reversible graphics, meaning you can flip the stem around to get a higher reach. It uses a face plate with a 4 bolt clamp; the socket head bolts require a 4mm allen key. By using M5 bolts with 4mm heads instead of 5mm sockets, the tendency to over-torque the stem at the handlebar clamp is reduced. The M6 bolts at the steerer clamp use 5mm heads to prevent slippage on carbon fibre fork steerer tubes. These two bolts oppose each other to help distribute the clamping force & they don’t stick out and cut your knees like some other stems. It’s available in the most common sizes: 90, 100, 110, 120 and 130mm lengths with either a 26.0mm clamp or a 31.6mm clamp for oversized handlebars. The finish of the stem is also very durable. It’s available from as little as 25 or €30.

It’s nice to be able to use the same bar/stem/seatpost combination. Cyclists consider consistency a nice bonus, especially when they are Italian bicycle parts. Therefore, I’ve reviewed the bar and stem together as siblings. Unfortunately I can’t say too many good things about the ITM Lite Luxe wing shape bar. It’s a budget-priced semi-ergonomic aluminium alloy bar. Or rather, it’s a standard bar with flat tops. As most of you know, in recent years, the number of handlebars available on the market has exploded. Try a few and you realise that the shape of your handlebars becomes a very personal choice, just like saddles. Unlike saddles however, your hands can’t really adjust to a handlebar like your arse can adjust to a saddle. If a handlebar doesn’t feel right to begin with, it never will.

With that in mind, in comparison to several other bars that I have tried, the flat tops do not extend far enough outward where the bar curves forward towards the brake shift-levers. I really like to use flat tops, I think they’re a natural step in the evolution (or refinement) of a traditional round bar. Flat tops encourage you to place your hands on them. But because the bars are essentially round where I normally place my hands, I found myself wanting to hold the bar quite a bit closer to the centre position than what I am accustomed to. The flats extend almost all the way up to the stem - but I’ve never seen a cyclist hold their bars with their hands adjacent to the stem (you can’t get enough control of the bike). The double grooves underneath are pretty shallow also. If you’re still keen on buying this bar, remember that the width of ITM bars are measured outside to outside. I’d reccomend the FSA wing pro handlebar instead, which is in a similar price point.

Tags: Spoke Bed // 2 Comments »

The second newsletter will be sent out on Monday the 18th of May at 9:00 Greenwich meantime. How’s that for precision? I promise you that the second newlsetter will be much more proffessional than the first attempt. You can subscribe to the NEW newsletter below! 

Unfortunately, the old subscription list was lost when the software I was previously using crashed so if you wish to unsubscribe you can do that here as well. There’ll also be an unsubcription link at the bottom of all future newsletters. Please also accept my apologies if I’ve annoyed you in any way.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER:

Tags: News Reel, That's Business, Sales Pitch // 3 Comments »

A lot of people don’t patch bicycle inner tubes anymore, which I think is a little bit sad. Generally speaking, it’s better for the environment to repair rather than replace, so that’s reason enough for me to continue patching tubes. I am sure that the sale of a small patch kit along with extra patches more than offsets the environmental cost of yet another replacement innertube.

I have a strong hunch that most people who buy new tubes don’t know the correct procedure to use when patching an innertube. Maybe what happens is that they tried to repair a tube when they were a kid & failed miserably. I’ll admit that despite 10 years of biking experience, I never really bothered with patching tubes until fairly recently either. It’s not that I lack time - it’s that they’ve never worked for me in the past, because no one taught me the proper technique. I have had limited success with glueless patches (park ones are the best by the way). But if you follow this detailed guide, you can repair your punctured bicycle tubes the old fashioned way (using glue and patches) so they behave just like new.

Before I get started, why di