The Knights Helping Knights Pantry is a student driven program at the University of Central Florida with the goal of assisting students through financially tough times. Donations that are either brought to the Pantry or are left in one of our 15 drop boxes on campus are provided by faculty, staff and students. Student organizations, departments and individuals on campus also organize food drives that benefit the Pantry.
These guys are awesome. After work, I got to my bike to discover my back tire was completely flat. It had a slow leak, so I was able to pump it up enough to make it to their shop. I got there 10 minutes before closing and they were able to fit me in. They replaced my tube and picked all of the glass shards out of my tire. Awesome customer service and they saved me from having to do this myself in the dark and the cold.
The best type of bike for exercise depends what level of rider you are and whether you would rather ride on trails or on the road. There is a type of road bike that is called a “Fitness Bike,” and features a lightweight frame and narrow tires, but do not have a drop handlebar. This may be the best type of bike for someone who intends to ride regularly and strenuously on the roads. If you plan to do a lot of trail riding, the best bike for exercise would probably be a mountain bike. For a person who uses bikes for transportation and exercise, but doesn’t go off-road, the hybrid bike build is a good type of bike.
I chose to test these four levers after eliminating everything out there that’s not appropriate for a roadside emergency kit. That includes metal levers. They’re durable, but according to touring cyclist Ramona Marks, “Metal tire levers are trouble. It’s possible to rip your tube even with the plastic ones if you’re not careful, so metal is out of the question, and you don’t want to put pressure against the wheel rim with a metal lever.”
Road riders need lightweight, tiny tools that can fit into jersey pockets. A lot of those items are made of carbon fiber, which is lighter than aluminum. Other iconic trappings of road riding, like CO2 cartridges and spandex outfits, are also geared toward minimalism, but all of that downsizing comes at a cost. Commuters don’t have to be as concerned with weight, so unless you covet something specific, don’t spend the extra money.
First, I researched. I looked at Amazon’s top-rated products and their user reviews. Then I consulted Bicycling magazine, Gear Junkie, Bike Radar, Outside, and the occasional bit by Lennard Zinn via Velonews. I also found some worthwhile discussions at Bike Forums. Then I spoke with four experts, Ramona Marks, Scott Karoly, Cari Z, and Alison Tetrick, riders from all across the spectrum, who tour, repair, and race.
A good patch will stick to your tube enough to keep air from leaking out. A great patch will act like a second skin and actually strengthen the tube where it’s applied, flexing and stretching with the tire. After 36 hours of testing, our official endorsement goes to the Rema TT 02 Touring Repair Kit. Its patches do everything other patches do, just better. The edge of the patch is also ruffled, which provides more edge surface area to bond—that’s a good thing.
It’s both surprising, and not, if you think about it. The way I’ve usually seen it happen is first the rear tire goes flat, then the front one. My theory is that both tires went through the same pile of glass/thorns/metal bits and they both picked up junk. the reason for the flat occurring on the back first is because there’s more weight on that tire, so the offending article works its way through the tread more quickly.
We are a full-service bike repair shop. From fixing a flat tire to packing a bike to a comprehensive tune-up, we can have you road-ready in no time. Estimates are always free: Bring your bike in and we'll recommend what repair and maintenance we think needs to be done. Many services such as flat tires and accessory installations can be done while you wait.
Patch kit: Patch kits are easy to use, light and compact, and if you get more than one flat on a ride (it happens more than you’d expect), it can save you when you’ve already used your spare tube. Plus, on a rear wheel, patching a tube can be faster than replacing it, as you can often do this without removing the wheel at all. Another upcoming post is going to show you how to patch a tube.
