Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiired

[ailbhe]

I took the tyre and inner tube off the trike, put the rim tape on, and found it was over 18" short. Jeebus. Then I put the tube and tyre back on and started pumping, put the cap back on the valve, realised I needed to pump some more, and couldn't get the ruddy cap back off.

We came in and I washed the girls' feet.

I need to get the tyre done so that we can go to the dentist and maybe ERAPA later on. And I need to get more rim tape. Gah. I hope the inner tube survives the trip to the bike shop. I wonder if gaffa tape would help?

And I'm in acute discomfort, also.

Ho hum. Need to put on a load of laundry, load the dishwasher, pack a nappy bag and a packed lunch, and get the girls into the trike. Joy.

Comments

[sam-t.livejournal.com]

My guess is that your inner tube wouldn't survive without rim tape. Don't know whether gaffer tape is a good idea (the glue tends to stick around, and I'm not sure what it would do to the inner tube) but some sort of temporary barrier between the spokes and the inner tube is probably necessary. Maybe you could double over gaffer tape so that there's only a tiny bit of glued surface to stick to the rim?

[ailbhe]

O god I am losing the will to live trikewise. This would be SO MUCH EASIER if Rob had done it but Rob had never repaired a puncture or replaced an inner tube before so he couldn't do it all without close supervision and instruction. Waaaaaah.

I'm also annoyed at the bike shop for selling him a roll of tape without enough to cover the rim of the wheel, when they also sold him the INNER TUBE with the SIZE on it. Duh.

[sam-t.livejournal.com]

Sounds very frustrating - sorry! Maybe you could ring the bike shop to tell them off and also get suggestions for temporary solutions - their opinion is probably worth more than mine, and yes, they should have sold you the right amount of tape.

Have you got a local bike recycling project or something that would teach basic bike repair skills? A recycling project might give instruction in return for a bit of labour.

[micheinnz.livejournal.com]

YES totally brilliant idea. It was their fuckup, they get to fix it.

[naath.livejournal.com]

Lack of tape can be a major hazard (well, to be honest, mostly it's a major hazard if you are playing with the spoke tension) - definitely should go right up the FIX IT NOW list, plus it's going to screw up the inner tube. Bike shop are completely thick to have sold you an inner tube of the right size with rim tape of the wrong length!

Gaffer tape should not be used as a replacement for rim tape, however putting gaffer tape around the innertube is plausible (but means taking the damn tire off again).

[micheinnz.livejournal.com]

Gaffa tape would probably help but (as you already know) it's not a permanent solution.