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Ace is ace
Aug. 25th, 2010 08:49 pmSo I was biking on Boston Ave. through a cold mist with a pound of unrefrigerated fresh-caught pollock filets in my pannier when I heard SHAPssshhhh! "Aha," I said. "That's my rear tire gone flat." I didn't panic, for I was prepared, with a spare tube, tire levers, and a pump clipped to my frame.
It was not until I got the rear tire off that I realized my little pump had, before I'd ever had occasion to use it, lost the nozzle that connects it to the valve on the inner tube. So, hands black with oil and dripping wet, I put the rear wheel back on and humped it a mile to Ace Wheelworks, where they have pumps free for the public. I took the rear wheel off again, installed the new tube, got the tire on, and began pumping.
As I approached 60psi, I heard SHAPssshhhh! One of the guys in the back gave me a celebratory high five and a "Woo!" I said, "Clearly I don't know what I'm doing. What do you charge to change a tube?" ($6 for the tube and $10 for labor.) "Okay. See you in ten."
I ran some errands in Davis, then got back to Ace to find that I actually needed a new tire — the bead had ripped away from the tire in one spot, creating a weak spot (a bicycle hernia, really) that caused both blowouts. "So I didn't screw up the tube change?" I asked. "Nope," the guy said, and asked when I'd gotten the bike. "We might be able to warranty this," he said. I walked out five minutes later with a new tire, a new tube, and zero money out of pocket.
Made it home an hour late. The pollock was delicious. (I used a slightly modified version of this recipe.)
It was not until I got the rear tire off that I realized my little pump had, before I'd ever had occasion to use it, lost the nozzle that connects it to the valve on the inner tube. So, hands black with oil and dripping wet, I put the rear wheel back on and humped it a mile to Ace Wheelworks, where they have pumps free for the public. I took the rear wheel off again, installed the new tube, got the tire on, and began pumping.
As I approached 60psi, I heard SHAPssshhhh! One of the guys in the back gave me a celebratory high five and a "Woo!" I said, "Clearly I don't know what I'm doing. What do you charge to change a tube?" ($6 for the tube and $10 for labor.) "Okay. See you in ten."
I ran some errands in Davis, then got back to Ace to find that I actually needed a new tire — the bead had ripped away from the tire in one spot, creating a weak spot (a bicycle hernia, really) that caused both blowouts. "So I didn't screw up the tube change?" I asked. "Nope," the guy said, and asked when I'd gotten the bike. "We might be able to warranty this," he said. I walked out five minutes later with a new tire, a new tube, and zero money out of pocket.
Made it home an hour late. The pollock was delicious. (I used a slightly modified version of this recipe.)
