blown tire

On Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:52:06 -0700, [email hidden] may have

Quoted message said:

A Nashbar 27" tire from the previous century passed away, probably
none too quietly, while sitting in the garage.

It had been pumped up a week earlier to its usual 90 psi and ridden
gently several times, literally by a little old lady, but it decided
after its last ride that life was just too hard:

http://i12.tinypic.com/6wooh39.jpg

http://i10.tinypic.com/85cwkur.jpg

It didn't look as if the bead crept off the rim, more like dry rot.

One word: Gumwalls.

I see that kind of thing all the time. Bikes that come into thrift
stores with gumwall tires can almost always be relied upon to need a
new set, while blackwalls have a decent chance of being safe to ride
even if they're fairly old.

Note that the black rubber of the tread is still apparently sound.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Werehatrack said:

On Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:52:06 -0700, [email hidden] may have

Quoted message said:

A Nashbar 27" tire from the previous century passed away, probably
none too quietly, while sitting in the garage.

Quoted message said:

It had been pumped up a week earlier to its usual 90 psi and ridden
gently several times, literally by a little old lady, but it decided
after its last ride that life was just too hard:

Quoted message said:

http://i12.tinypic.com/6wooh39.jpg

Quoted message said:

http://i10.tinypic.com/85cwkur.jpg

Quoted message said:

It didn't look as if the bead crept off the rim, more like dry rot.

One word: Gumwalls.

I see that kind of thing all the time. Bikes that come into thrift
stores with gumwall tires can almost always be relied upon to need a
new set, while blackwalls have a decent chance of being safe to ride
even if they're fairly old.

Note that the black rubber of the tread is still apparently sound.

I've had two go recently, one gumwall, one blackwall. Both had been
in the weather for an unknown period of time but still had enough
tread that even though they were perished I decided to use them
anyway. Got a few hundred km out of each before they bulged, in both
instances the case of the tyre tore across the tread, almost down the
centre. I got my value out of them, I've got brand new tyres on
now :-)

Quoted message said:

A Nashbar 27" tire from the previous century passed away, probably
none too quietly, while sitting in the garage.

It had been pumped up a week earlier to its usual 90 psi and ridden
gently several times, literally by a little old lady, but it decided
after its last ride that life was just too hard:

http://i12.tinypic.com/6wooh39.jpg

http://i10.tinypic.com/85cwkur.jpg

It didn't look as if the bead crept off the rim, more like dry rot.

Schwinn Continental ladies'? Suburbans came with painted mudguards IIRC.

The tire fabric has failed although 'dry rot' is an often used misnomer
for nylon fabric. Older cotton tires are coarser material generally and
usually show darkened areas where they have let water into the fabric
matrix before failure. The dry rot fungus is rare in bicycle tires.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:32:42 -0600, A Muzi <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

A Nashbar 27" tire from the previous century passed away, probably
none too quietly, while sitting in the garage.

It had been pumped up a week earlier to its usual 90 psi and ridden
gently several times, literally by a little old lady, but it decided
after its last ride that life was just too hard:

http://i12.tinypic.com/6wooh39.jpg

http://i10.tinypic.com/85cwkur.jpg

It didn't look as if the bead crept off the rim, more like dry rot.

Schwinn Continental ladies'? Suburbans came with painted mudguards IIRC.

The tire fabric has failed although 'dry rot' is an often used misnomer
for nylon fabric. Older cotton tires are coarser material generally and
usually show darkened areas where they have let water into the fabric
matrix before failure. The dry rot fungus is rare in bicycle tires.

Dear Andrew.

A 10-speed with quick-releases and shiny fenders. The down-tube says
"Super Sport"--my guess is around 1972 or so.

The tire was a replacement from Nashbar.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

A Nashbar 27" tire from the previous century passed away, probably
none too quietly, while sitting in the garage.
It had been pumped up a week earlier to its usual 90 psi and ridden
gently several times, literally by a little old lady, but it decided
after its last ride that life was just too hard:
http://i12.tinypic.com/6wooh39.jpg
http://i10.tinypic.com/85cwkur.jpg
It didn't look as if the bead crept off the rim, more like dry rot.

Quoted message said:

A Muzi said:

Schwinn Continental ladies'? Suburbans came with painted mudguards IIRC.
The tire fabric has failed although 'dry rot' is an often used misnomer
for nylon fabric. Older cotton tires are coarser material generally and
usually show darkened areas where they have let water into the fabric
matrix before failure. The dry rot fungus is rare in bicycle tires.

Quoted message said:

A 10-speed with quick-releases and shiny fenders. The down-tube says
"Super Sport"--my guess is around 1972 or so.
The tire was a replacement from Nashbar.

Super Sport's a classy bike!
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

A Muzi said:

The dry rot fungus is rare in bicycle tires.

Dry rot is common in Florida. We have lots of sunshine and heat and
humidity to assist in it's growth. Most bikes are kept inside, but the
ones that aren't or are kept near a window or in a hot storage shed will
get it even if they are ridden regularly.

Quoted message said:

A Nashbar 27" tire from the previous century passed away, probably
none too quietly, while sitting in the garage.

It had been pumped up a week earlier to its usual 90 psi and ridden
gently several times, literally by a little old lady, but it decided
after its last ride that life was just too hard:

http://i12.tinypic.com/6wooh39.jpg

Brake pad looks like it's not parallel to the rim and rubbing on the
tire, though it could be the camera angle.

Quoted message said:

http://i10.tinypic.com/85cwkur.jpg

Look at the sidewall nearest the rim to the right of the 'hole'. No
rubber left on the cords.

I'd check the brake pads as well.

Orin.

On Tue, 20 Nov 2007 09:32:32 -0800 (PST), Orin <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

A Nashbar 27" tire from the previous century passed away, probably
none too quietly, while sitting in the garage.

It had been pumped up a week earlier to its usual 90 psi and ridden
gently several times, literally by a little old lady, but it decided
after its last ride that life was just too hard:

http://i12.tinypic.com/6wooh39.jpg

Brake pad looks like it's not parallel to the rim and rubbing on the
tire, though it could be the camera angle.

Quoted message said:

http://i10.tinypic.com/85cwkur.jpg

Look at the sidewall nearest the rim to the right of the 'hole'. No
rubber left on the cords.

I'd check the brake pads as well.

Orin

Dear Orin,

Oh, don't be silly. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it must be
the camera angle.

1) I didn't notice anything wrong with the brakes when I fixed the
tire.

2) The brake pads have never been adjusted in thirty years or so, as
far as I can tell, much less replaced, so the brake pads couldn't be
misaligned--the tires would have burst long ago.

3) A quick look at the tire, which I kept, shows no circular scar
around the rest of the sidewall, which you'd expect if the pad were
attacking the sidewall.

4) Of course the damaged sidewall is missing material--it exploded.

So experience, logic, and investigation all show that you must be
mistaken and merely raising a straw man, a terrible habit on RBT. I
_know_ beyond a shadow of a doubt that the pad was not touching.

A glance at the brake pad proves that I'm--

Er, never mind what it proves.

If you don't tell anyone, no one will know how far I moved the right
front brake pad down a few minutes ago, before I took this picture:

http://i18.tinypic.com/6jojdvm.jpg

Well, they won't know unless they notice that mark above the nut on
the caliper arm, which shows how the pad was set too high for decades
and how far down I just moved it.

D'oh!

Despite scarcely any braking, the pad finally wore down enough against
the rim so that the unworn part began acting as a lathe on a faint
bulge on the sidewall, without leaving a circular scar on the rest of
the sidewall.

Here's undamaged side of the tire:

http://i12.tinypic.com/6ynsxds.jpg

The thin, regularly spaced white diagonals on the sidewall aren't
brake pad damage.

Here's the damaged side:

http://i9.tinypic.com/8amp2tz.jpg

The less regular, thicker white marks from about 10 to 2 o'clock show
where the brake pad was shaving the tire wherever the sidewall bulged
a tiny bit.

Thanks for the lesson in just how dumb I can be and why we shouldn't
trust so many posts that insist that such-and-so couldn't possibly
have happened.

By coincidence, I read "The Car Guys" last night:

Dear Tom and Ray: I have a 2002 Daewoo wagon. I have owned it since it
was new and have adequately maintained it, and it has just under
50,000 miles on it. Recently my husband checked the oil and added a
half-quart. Before long, I could see white smoke coming from the back
of the car. By the time I parked, the car was smoking profusely. I
opened the hood to find the oil cap missing and oil coating the inside
of the engine compartment and dripping on the driveway.

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my husband put the cap back on
properly. He tells me that the oil cap shot off. What happened? When I
brought it in to the service station (the same guys who have fixed and
serviced it for years), they told me that oil caps are not under any
pressure and will not "shoot off."

What do you think? - Leslie

Tom: Well, Leslie, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that your
husband did not put the cap back on properly.

http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_7492031

Now I feel guilty for snickering at Leslie and her husband.

I checked the other three pads. They're okay, but Andrew Muzi may not
hire me as a summer intern at Yellow Jersey.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Quoted message said:

On Tue, 20 Nov 2007 09:32:32 -0800 (PST), Orin <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

A Nashbar 27" tire from the previous century passed away, probably
none too quietly, while sitting in the garage.

It had been pumped up a week earlier to its usual 90 psi and ridden
gently several times, literally by a little old lady, but it decided
after its last ride that life was just too hard:

http://i12.tinypic.com/6wooh39.jpg

Brake pad looks like it's not parallel to the rim and rubbing on the
tire, though it could be the camera angle.

Quoted message said:

http://i10.tinypic.com/85cwkur.jpg

Look at the sidewall nearest the rim to the right of the 'hole'. No
rubber left on the cords.

I'd check the brake pads as well.

Orin

Dear Orin,

Oh, don't be silly. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it must be
the camera angle.

1) I didn't notice anything wrong with the brakes when I fixed the
tire.

2) The brake pads have never been adjusted in thirty years or so, as
far as I can tell, much less replaced, so the brake pads couldn't be
misaligned--the tires would have burst long ago.

3) A quick look at the tire, which I kept, shows no circular scar
around the rest of the sidewall, which you'd expect if the pad were
attacking the sidewall.

4) Of course the damaged sidewall is missing material--it exploded.

So experience, logic, and investigation all show that you must be
mistaken and merely raising a straw man, a terrible habit on RBT. I
_know_ beyond a shadow of a doubt that the pad was not touching.

A glance at the brake pad proves that I'm--

Er, never mind what it proves.

If you don't tell anyone, no one will know how far I moved the right
front brake pad down a few minutes ago, before I took this picture:

http://i18.tinypic.com/6jojdvm.jpg

Well, they won't know unless they notice that mark above the nut on
the caliper arm, which shows how the pad was set too high for decades
and how far down I just moved it.

D'oh!

Despite scarcely any braking, the pad finally wore down enough against
the rim so that the unworn part began acting as a lathe on a faint
bulge on the sidewall, without leaving a circular scar on the rest of
the sidewall.

Here's undamaged side of the tire:

http://i12.tinypic.com/6ynsxds.jpg

The thin, regularly spaced white diagonals on the sidewall aren't
brake pad damage.

Here's the damaged side:

http://i9.tinypic.com/8amp2tz.jpg

The less regular, thicker white marks from about 10 to 2 o'clock show
where the brake pad was shaving the tire wherever the sidewall bulged
a tiny bit.

Thanks for the lesson in just how dumb I can be and why we shouldn't
trust so many posts that insist that such-and-so couldn't possibly
have happened.

By coincidence, I read "The Car Guys" last night:

Dear Tom and Ray: I have a 2002 Daewoo wagon. I have owned it since it
was new and have adequately maintained it, and it has just under
50,000 miles on it. Recently my husband checked the oil and added a
half-quart. Before long, I could see white smoke coming from the back
of the car. By the time I parked, the car was smoking profusely. I
opened the hood to find the oil cap missing and oil coating the inside
of the engine compartment and dripping on the driveway.

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my husband put the cap back on
properly. He tells me that the oil cap shot off. What happened? When I
brought it in to the service station (the same guys who have fixed and
serviced it for years), they told me that oil caps are not under any
pressure and will not "shoot off."

What do you think? - Leslie

Tom: Well, Leslie, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that your
husband did not put the cap back on properly.

http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_7492031

Now I feel guilty for snickering at Leslie and her husband.

I checked the other three pads. They're okay, but Andrew Muzi may not
hire me as a summer intern at Yellow Jersey.

Not a damning tale. You learned about centerpull brake pad creep without
cosing my company a new tire?
Woo hoo it's like being shot at and missed!
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Tue, 20 Nov 2007 14:18:51 -0600, A Muzi <[email hidden]> may

have said:

Quoted message said:

I checked the other three pads. They're okay, but Andrew Muzi may not
hire me as a summer intern at Yellow Jersey.

Not a damning tale. You learned about centerpull brake pad creep without
cosing my company a new tire?
Woo hoo it's like being shot at and missed!

At that range, he'd have needed *really good* aim.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Anadrew Muzi said:

Quoted message said:

A Nashbar 27" tire from the previous century passed away, probably
none too quietly, while sitting in the garage.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

It had been pumped up a week earlier to its usual 90 psi and ridden
gently several times, literally by a little old lady, but it decided
after its last ride that life was just too hard:

http://i12.tinypic.com/6wooh39.jpg

http://i10.tinypic.com/85cwkur.jpg

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

It didn't look as if the bead crept off the rim, more like dry rot.

Quoted message said:

Schwinn Continental ladies'? Suburbans came with painted mudguards
IIRC.

Quoted message said:

The tire fabric has failed although 'dry rot' is an often used
misnomer for nylon fabric. Older cotton tires are coarser material
generally and usually show darkened areas where they have let water
into the fabric matrix before failure. The dry rot fungus is rare in
bicycle tires.

Besides, "dry rot" does not occur dry. It is only discovered when
dry. It's got to be soggy wet to have bacterial activity. Ancient
organic materials are found in the Sahara with no dry rot. Don't be
"mum" about that either. Tutankhamen knows!

Jobst Brandt

On 20 Nov 2007 23:49:35 GMT, [email hidden] may have

Quoted message said:

Besides, "dry rot" does not occur dry. It is only discovered when
dry. It's got to be soggy wet to have bacterial activity. Ancient
organic materials are found in the Sahara with no dry rot. Don't be
"mum" about that either. Tutankhamen knows!

Eh, dry rot in wood can occur without it having to be sodden. I've
had to replace enough of it in places where it couldn't have been
actually wet. Of course, we're talking about wood in a climate where
the humidity seldom falls below 35%.

Gumwall "dry rot" is a misnomer IMO. I'm pretty sure it's actually a
UV- and ozone-driven degradation of the rubber that's involved. The
gum rubber gets hard, dark, slightly more transparent than when fresh,
and brittle. When such a tire is pressurized with the gum in that
state, the rubber shatters and the cords are no longer constrained to
remain in patterned layers; blowout follows.

In a different material, I have had the urethane shells of dead-blow
hammers literally fragment into tiny pieces while sitting in a drawer
of a tool box, and the butyrate handles of many of my screwdriver
handles have fallen apart while exududing an oily residue that smelled
of acetic acid. Others have developed a white, biologic-looking
coating (on clear plastic whose composition I havent' tried to
establish) but have remained sound for over a decade after the stuff
first began to appear. The latter phenomenon is transferable; if an
afflicted handle is placed among previously unafflicted ones of the
same material, the others soon develop the same problem; this leads me
to believe that a plastic-eating fungus (or some other microbe) is
involved, but it's too small to discern with either of my microscopes.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Quoted message said:

may have said:

Besides, "dry rot" does not occur dry. It is only discovered when
dry. It's got to be soggy wet to have bacterial activity. Ancient
organic materials are found in the Sahara with no dry rot. Don't be
"mum" about that either. Tutankhamen knows!

Werehatrack said:

Eh, dry rot in wood can occur without it having to be sodden. I've
had to replace enough of it in places where it couldn't have been
actually wet. Of course, we're talking about wood in a climate where
the humidity seldom falls below 35%.

Gumwall "dry rot" is a misnomer IMO. I'm pretty sure it's actually a
UV- and ozone-driven degradation of the rubber that's involved. The
gum rubber gets hard, dark, slightly more transparent than when fresh,
and brittle. When such a tire is pressurized with the gum in that
state, the rubber shatters and the cords are no longer constrained to
remain in patterned layers; blowout follows.

In a different material, I have had the urethane shells of dead-blow
hammers literally fragment into tiny pieces while sitting in a drawer
of a tool box, and the butyrate handles of many of my screwdriver
handles have fallen apart while exududing an oily residue that smelled
of acetic acid. Others have developed a white, biologic-looking
coating (on clear plastic whose composition I havent' tried to
establish) but have remained sound for over a decade after the stuff
first began to appear. The latter phenomenon is transferable; if an
afflicted handle is placed among previously unafflicted ones of the
same material, the others soon develop the same problem; this leads me
to believe that a plastic-eating fungus (or some other microbe) is
involved, but it's too small to discern with either of my microscopes.

I agree that the dry rot fungus doesn't affect nylon tires.

We discussed degradation (UV, ozone, outgassing etc) of polymers and
epoxies here, to death, a month or two ago. Much agree these materials
are not stable over multiple decades, most are perfectly useful over a
5~10 year 'life'.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Were's the hatrack said:

Quoted message said:

Besides, "dry rot" does not occur dry. It is only discovered when
dry. It's got to be soggy wet to have bacterial activity. Ancient
organic materials are found in the Sahara with no dry rot. Don't
be "mum" about that either. Tutankhamen knows!

Quoted message said:

Eh, dry rot in wood can occur without it having to be sodden. I've
had to replace enough of it in places where it couldn't have been
actually wet. Of course, we're talking about wood in a climate
where the humidity seldom falls below 35%.

Dry rot is not dry! It is only dry when discovered and that occurs
most often at time of failure when the fibrous elements are dry and
most brittle.

Quoted message said:

Gumwall "dry rot" is a misnomer IMO. I'm pretty sure it's actually a
UV- and ozone-driven degradation of the rubber that's involved. The
gum rubber gets hard, dark, slightly more transparent than when fresh,
and brittle. When such a tire is pressurized with the gum in that
state, the rubber shatters and the cords are no longer constrained to
remain in patterned layers; blowout follows.

I'm not ready to quibble about the various causes of bicycle tire
failures. I am not sure the materials (cords and tread rubber) are as
good as those used for cars. My Continentals have fraying sidewalls
and cracking tread rubber with less than a year old. To make up for
that, they seem to wear slowly for the mileage.

Jobst Brandt

Quoted message said:

A 10-speed with quick-releases and shiny fenders. The down-tube says
"Super Sport"--my guess is around 1972 or so.

I was going to mention that it was a SuperSport, assuming the rims were
stock. The SuperSport was the least-expensive Schwinn model to have aluminum
rims at the time. Nice frame; instead of being butt-welded gas pipe tubing
(Varsity, Continental, Suburban) it was brazed ChromeMoly.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:32:42 -0600, A Muzi <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

A Nashbar 27" tire from the previous century passed away, probably
none too quietly, while sitting in the garage.

It had been pumped up a week earlier to its usual 90 psi and ridden
gently several times, literally by a little old lady, but it decided
after its last ride that life was just too hard:

http://i12.tinypic.com/6wooh39.jpg

http://i10.tinypic.com/85cwkur.jpg

It didn't look as if the bead crept off the rim, more like dry rot.

Schwinn Continental ladies'? Suburbans came with painted mudguards IIRC.

The tire fabric has failed although 'dry rot' is an often used misnomer
for nylon fabric. Older cotton tires are coarser material generally and
usually show darkened areas where they have let water into the fabric
matrix before failure. The dry rot fungus is rare in bicycle tires.

Dear Andrew.

A 10-speed with quick-releases and shiny fenders. The down-tube says
"Super Sport"--my guess is around 1972 or so.

The tire was a replacement from Nashbar.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Quoted message said:

It had been pumped up a week earlier to its usual 90 psi and ridden
gently several times, literally by a little old lady, but it decided
after its last ride that life was just too hard:

(From your original post)

Quoted message said:

1) I didn't notice anything wrong with the brakes when I fixed the
tire.

(Your most-recent post)

Carl: The tire obviously was bad, but I'm surprised that it ever held onto
the rim in the first place. Those rims had no hook for the tire's bead, and
generally weren't safe past about 70psi or so.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Tue, 20 Nov 2007 09:32:32 -0800 (PST), Orin <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

A Nashbar 27" tire from the previous century passed away, probably
none too quietly, while sitting in the garage.

It had been pumped up a week earlier to its usual 90 psi and ridden
gently several times, literally by a little old lady, but it decided
after its last ride that life was just too hard:

http://i12.tinypic.com/6wooh39.jpg

Brake pad looks like it's not parallel to the rim and rubbing on the
tire, though it could be the camera angle.

Quoted message said:

http://i10.tinypic.com/85cwkur.jpg

Look at the sidewall nearest the rim to the right of the 'hole'. No
rubber left on the cords.

I'd check the brake pads as well.

Orin

Dear Orin,

Oh, don't be silly. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it must be
the camera angle.

1) I didn't notice anything wrong with the brakes when I fixed the
tire.

2) The brake pads have never been adjusted in thirty years or so, as
far as I can tell, much less replaced, so the brake pads couldn't be
misaligned--the tires would have burst long ago.

3) A quick look at the tire, which I kept, shows no circular scar
around the rest of the sidewall, which you'd expect if the pad were
attacking the sidewall.

4) Of course the damaged sidewall is missing material--it exploded.

So experience, logic, and investigation all show that you must be
mistaken and merely raising a straw man, a terrible habit on RBT. I
_know_ beyond a shadow of a doubt that the pad was not touching.

A glance at the brake pad proves that I'm--

Er, never mind what it proves.

If you don't tell anyone, no one will know how far I moved the right
front brake pad down a few minutes ago, before I took this picture:

http://i18.tinypic.com/6jojdvm.jpg

Well, they won't know unless they notice that mark above the nut on
the caliper arm, which shows how the pad was set too high for decades
and how far down I just moved it.

D'oh!

Despite scarcely any braking, the pad finally wore down enough against
the rim so that the unworn part began acting as a lathe on a faint
bulge on the sidewall, without leaving a circular scar on the rest of
the sidewall.

Here's undamaged side of the tire:

http://i12.tinypic.com/6ynsxds.jpg

The thin, regularly spaced white diagonals on the sidewall aren't
brake pad damage.

Here's the damaged side:

http://i9.tinypic.com/8amp2tz.jpg

The less regular, thicker white marks from about 10 to 2 o'clock show
where the brake pad was shaving the tire wherever the sidewall bulged
a tiny bit.

Thanks for the lesson in just how dumb I can be and why we shouldn't
trust so many posts that insist that such-and-so couldn't possibly
have happened.

By coincidence, I read "The Car Guys" last night:

Dear Tom and Ray: I have a 2002 Daewoo wagon. I have owned it since it
was new and have adequately maintained it, and it has just under
50,000 miles on it. Recently my husband checked the oil and added a
half-quart. Before long, I could see white smoke coming from the back
of the car. By the time I parked, the car was smoking profusely. I
opened the hood to find the oil cap missing and oil coating the inside
of the engine compartment and dripping on the driveway.

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my husband put the cap back on
properly. He tells me that the oil cap shot off. What happened? When I
brought it in to the service station (the same guys who have fixed and
serviced it for years), they told me that oil caps are not under any
pressure and will not "shoot off."

What do you think? - Leslie

Tom: Well, Leslie, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that your
husband did not put the cap back on properly.

http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_7492031

Now I feel guilty for snickering at Leslie and her husband.

I checked the other three pads. They're okay, but Andrew Muzi may not
hire me as a summer intern at Yellow Jersey.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

Quoted message said:

A 10-speed with quick-releases and shiny fenders. The down-tube says
"Super Sport"--my guess is around 1972 or so.

I was going to mention that it was a SuperSport, assuming the rims were
stock. The SuperSport was the least-expensive Schwinn model to have aluminum
rims at the time. Nice frame; instead of being butt-welded gas pipe tubing
(Varsity, Continental, Suburban) it was brazed ChromeMoly.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Dear Mike,

Yes, it's stock as far as I can tell, except for a silly seat, a
wicker basket, some replaced cables, and the tires.

The red brake pads are original, and show hardly any wear. I doubt
that it's been ridden two hundred miles a year.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

Quoted message said:

It had been pumped up a week earlier to its usual 90 psi and ridden
gently several times, literally by a little old lady, but it decided
after its last ride that life was just too hard:

(From your original post)

Quoted message said:

1) I didn't notice anything wrong with the brakes when I fixed the
tire.

(Your most-recent post)

Carl: The tire obviously was bad, but I'm surprised that it ever held onto
the rim in the first place. Those rims had no hook for the tire's bead, and
generally weren't safe past about 70psi or so.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Dear Mike,

The rider is about a hundred pounds and just rides slowly and gently
around my neighborhood, never shifting gears, so the tires have a
better chance of staying on the rims than usual.

I don't know what the original tires from Schwinn were rated for, but
the replacement tires from Nashbar were pre-2000 and have been pumped
to about 90 psi since then.

But what you say makes sense, so I'll probably go back and discreetly
lower the tire pressures, fore and aft.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Quoted message said:

If you don't tell anyone, no one will know how far I moved the right
front brake pad down a few minutes ago, before I took this picture:

http://i18.tinypic.com/6jojdvm.jpg

Ah, much better camera angle 😉

Orin.