On Sunday, July 7, 2019 at 3:42:06 PM UTC-4, Ralph Barone wrote:
Chalo wrote:
What good is riding the tire without getting flats, if you have to spend
more time fooling around with it than if you were getting lots of flats
in a conventional system? You're trading the chance of a small
inconvenience for the certainty of a larger one.

If your riding time is scarce and precious, but basement lurking time is
plentiful, I guess I can see the appeal. You probably won't have to mess
with it while you're on the trail. But you will have to mess with it,
both when installing the stuff and again every so often when you take out
the curds and whey-- and that's true even if you didn't get any punctures at all.


Some people like to fiddle with the hardware, and some like to just use it
and not think about it. With guitars, I’m a hardware fiddler, so I ditched
music and went into engineering. A friend of mine posted a picture of
himself adjusting the valve lash on his BMW motorcycle and I had to think
back to the last time I ever had to do that (1988?). I also think we all
have different levels of how much we are willing to pay for an incremental
performance improvement.

.... Or for an irrelevant or negligible performance improvement. And we definitely
have different judgments on the benefits vs. detriments of performance
improvements.

Why would I go to tubeless tires? I'd have to invest a bundle and learn a new
maintenance drill, but for what? To reduce my few flats per year to "few minus
one"? To reduce my rolling resistance, when I'm usually the first or second
rider to finish a ride? (Tip: Ride with old folks! It's easier!) Why would I
switch to a much lighter bike? I'm usually first or second to the top of a hill,
even on the tandem. (See the tip above.) Why would I switch to disc brakes? I
don't do that much riding in the rain, and anyway I've never once gotten in
trouble by my rim brakes being inadequate.

I understand that there are people who want whatever the advertisers are
promoting most this year. Some do it because of the "art" value of the
(supposedly) top technology. ("I've got the finest bike!!!"). Some may do it to
beat their buddies to the next telephone pole. Have at it, if you like. But
that's not what most of my riding is about.

What I don't understand is people who don't understand that some of us don't
give a damn about three fewer pounds, or one thousandth less rolling resistance,
or magical handling that only cognoscenti can detect.

Why not just ride the bike?

- Frank Krygowski