My bicycle's inner tube had a catastrophic blowout the other day while toting Monkey-B to the Chinese corner shop in our neighborhood.
Β Β Β Luckily we were only a few minutes from home, because flats in Suriname aren't fixed on the roadside in 5 minutes for 50 cents like they are in Cambodia. After the shotgun blast went off that was my tube exploding, I came to an immediate stop and we abandoned our mission.
Β Β Β After a closer look I realized my brake arm clip had completely snapped, and a shard from it had completely sliced through my tire and popped my tube. This was going to prevent a simple tube patch as the answer to my problem, but a complete new tire, tube, and brake arm clip.
Β Β Β Suriname has all the inconvenience of the USA, but without the ability to order things easily online, so it took me 4 days and 55km to track down a shop with with suitable replacements.
Β Β Β Buying an original Schwalbe tire was out of the question, but luckily the only specialty bike shop in the country had Indonesian and Vietnamese clones of what I needed, so I happily settled for these cheaper options, which came to a grand total of $30.00 USD, not so cheap actually.
Β Β Β Looking at the picture above, it's easy to see the Indonesian company Deli Tire certainly took some design cues from the original German tire. For now we are still without transport because there is a stripped set screw I must remove before being able to remove the rear hub.
Β Β Β I decided to give the bike it's first proper cleaning since I purchased it, and this will make the installation job a cleaner one when I'm able to do it. After sleeping on the problem for a night, I think I will try to track down some JB Weld, apply it to an allen wrench I have, and see if I can get it to fuse to the set screw. If it works, I'll be able remove the screw and this family will be rolling again.
Β Β Β I must say I was a bit upset to see the bike shop that sold me a bike with a stripped screw preventing hub removal. They surely knew this when they sold it to me, but at least I had a delicious meal to enjoy from the lovely @sreypov. A little bit of Ital food put me in a better mood, so I give thanks to the wifey for that.
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Aw man, that stinks in many ways. At least you didn't seem to lose your balance and tumble when the tire popped, which is good, but dealing with stripped screws is just a royal pain in the ass. Good luck! I hope your idea works out.
The rear tire is less dangerous than the front to have a sudden blowout. That being said though, changing a rear tire almost always means discovering several more problems in the process. The Cubans across the street had a file, and we were able to use a Torx wrench to get the screw out.
Once out, the guys filed two sides of the screw, making it possible to reinstall it with a flathead screwdriver. As we are migrants here, I don't want to invest any tools I will only use once, so that's why I was gonna attempt to weld the screw to an allen wrench with some JB Weld. Luckily I avoided this potentially messy solution.
Oh wow that must hurt. I stopped riding bikes because something always went wrong. But in your case it's so incredibly necessary. I really hope you get your vehicle back on the road soon.
I think your wife's cooking can easily soothe a situation like that.
Best wishes to you.
Finally fixed. The Cubans across the street had a few tools I was able to borrow. They are more social and approachable than the locals, plus my Spanish is way better than my Dutch despite living here 2+ years. Meal was on point of course.
Ok. Good luck in fixing that thing. 30 bucks just buying parts? That's not cheap at all bro.
Side note, am imagining the sesame smell from that dish! Well done!
Definitely was a bit more pricey than I'd hoped, but it is a unique tire, 28x2.00, so it's rareness dictates a higher price I guess. The meal was a nice welcome back room (hesitant to call this place home).
I would call any place that house my love ones, a home. I think you're referring to, you're not proud of that place, but I'm glad you have a beautiful family. Cheers buddy. Stay safe.
Kind words my friend, I think I am scared to call this place home because we want to leave so much, and I'm afraid calling it home will somehow magically make us be stuck here longer. It's not a good rational, but I'm not always a rational guy.
Something similar happen to our car while we where returning back from our trip last week. All of a sudden we felt the car was difficult to drive and then we paused to check. We found out that the tyre was badly punctured. And there was no help nearby. It took us almost an hour to change the tyre on our own. It was the first time we did it on our own,l. Normally we just call a guy to do it for us. But we learnt on how to do it so we are now prepared for any emergency.
That is a good skill to have and certainly something good to be prepared for. Another bonus is the money you probably saved versus calling a company or handyman to come and assist you.
I feel your pain. Yesterday I went looking for a company that could fix the rim of my motorcycles front tire. Ended up searching for a replacement but no 19 rims to be found. Back to square one I guess
Geez, bummer! Everybody always says Suriname is a big country, but it's the smallest country in South America, and nearly the smallest population too. You certainly feel it more when you need a simple part for something you would think is not that unique.
It's probably a stupid question, but are there junkyards here? Indiana/Kentucky are full of them, and they are places I used to spend a lot of time pulling parts for my Dad when he was getting started in the used car business. If there are junkyards, I'd sure like to go hunting with you.
Lol.
Maybe your tires are thin, but walking on a bike is a lot of fun.
Once upon a time my tires were thick, but they've worn down so much that a blowout was inevitable. For now we are still walking because I need a few more parts.
Yeah, enjoy your beautiful days with your family there.
Oh man! I'm sorry to hear about this awful incident. Yeah, the moment it blew must have been a shock! Not to mention, being deaf for the next five minutes... Good thing you didn't get hurt when it happened. How did that brake arm break?
Yeah, getting flat tube is annoying, but a slashed tire is a whole different issue. I'm glad you managed to find a replacement. I'd hold on to the old one, to make a couple of boots, just in case. My bike mechanic friends recommended me to carry around a piece of old tire (about 10-20 cm), together with a spare tube. If my tire gets a hole that boot will prevent the tube from herniating out. Not a permanent solution, but it may save one from walking to the next bike shop.
The worst thing about it all, the part that gets me upset, is the stripped screw... which the shop sold to you!!! So that means you can't even take of the wheel to change a tire? That's just so beyond acceptable...! And I bet they don't care about offering follow-up service and maybe help remove it. So I wish you good success and a chilled out mindset removing the screw. (That dish looks yummy, by the way!)
It scared the dickens out of little Monkey-B, but luckily we weren't in the middle of hard turn or anything like that, just casually riding straight at low speed with no traffic.
Definitely good to always care some bits and pieces like you said. I do that here in Suriname and the USA, but in Cambodia it's all too easy to get a professionally done patch for 50 cents. They even start a fire to melt rubber, slide the tube out negating the need to remove the wheel, and then they use a clamp to make sure the patch adheres strongly.
I've had tubes in Cambodia with 14 or more patches before replacing, shame it isn't so easy and cheap here. The user-friendliness of Cambodia is unrivaled.
Just incredible how ideal certain places can be, in certain aspects!
I do not know why but I love the smell that has a new tire, hahaha is a smell of plastic that I like I think it's a little strange taste on my part no hahaha, greetings and have a nice day I like your bike
I too love the smell of a new tire, and new book too come to think of it. After a couple kilometers though, it'll be just as stinky as the road surfaces of Suriname. Thanks for stopping by my friend.
I feel your pain. Yesterday I went looking for a company that could fix the rim of my motorcycles front tire. Ended up searching for a replacement but no 19 rims to be found. Back to square one I guess
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