Wasatch Crest to Mill D - Trip Report 7 28 09

[Sombeech]

We had another good turnout, I think 13 of us :2thumbs:

The downside is I think we had about 7 collective flats, plus a slow leak (mine)

We ended the night at Hooters for some grub and Karaoke.

enough jibber jabber, here are the pics and video.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liOZoUN17yM

[DiscGo]

Any body puke going up puke hill?

[accadacca]

What a great ride. Epic trail! We need to add this trail into the rotation more often.

I did make puke hill! That was me changing two flat tires...we had 7 flats total between the 12 of us. Crazy! That must be a record. :eek2:

[tallsteve]

2 words: Tubeless, Flat Attack!

[accadacca]

Yeah. I do run Mr tuffies, but that only stops the thorns. Both of my flats and all the others I believe were from snake bite. You really have to make sure your pressure is up on this trail. There are lots of sharp rocks. Also having some good tread on your tires will only help this effort. I think I just get lazy and never check my air pressure. :wallbash:

[devo_stevo]

2 words: Tubeless, Flat Attack!

Tubeless= :2thumbs:
Flat Attack=not so much.

I have found that the slime for ATV tires works far better than the Flat Attack. At least that's what has worked best for me.

Looks like a fun ride. One of these days I'm going to get down there and ride that one.

[blueeyes]

:lol8: 7 out of 12 that is kinda funny!

[tallsteve]

2 words: Tubeless, Flat Attack!

Tubeless= :2thumbs:
Flat Attack=not so much.

I have found that the slime for ATV tires works far better than the Flat Attack. At least that's what has worked best for me.

I've put 800+ miles on my tubeless setup with Flat Attack since April and have not had any problem whatsoever. No flats, burps, bubbles, or bulging. Works like a charm. Heavier than Stans but it doesn't dry out or need to be changed as often and won't disintegrate tires. But, whatever works for you, keep using it!

[Deeps]

I went along for my first trail ride ever. Prior to this, my mountain biking experience consisted of commuting Chicago's Lake Shore Drive and College Hill in Providence, Rhode Island in the early nineties.

I dusted off my vintage 1991 Purple Diamond Back Topanga the night before. Pulled off the smooth tires and put on the original bumpy ones. I knew enough to buy new tubes (thanks, Scott) but was surprised when the dry as beef jerky side wall blew when airing up the bumpy. Quick trip to REI (I know, I know) and I had two of the cheapest tires they had. Putting $45 in for tires and tubes was about $45 more than i should have spent on this bike.

At the trailhead, I started to worry about what I had gotten myself into when every other bike had front shocks and most had rear as well. I was surprised I could climb the first incline out of the parking from the top. Low gear was my friend, and I did really well as long as I could keep my butt on the seat. Any standing up to get more power only caused my rear wheel to lose traction and spin. It wasn't long before I was walking the bike.

I considered turning around during the monster down climb. I thought about walking back up and taking the road back down to the car. I quickly reconsidered and committed to finish the route, even if it meant walking the bike the entire way. Luckily, it didn't and the trail was rideable again soon after the dark thoughts.

Puke Hill? Should not have had McDonald's for before the ride. I had eaten early enough for the food to be well seated, and I kept everything down. However, sorry about the consistent wicked bad gas everyone.

The views were great when I wasn't dodging gopher holes in the trail. The hard pack was nice, and after overcoming my initial difficulty keeping the bike on trail I was able to cruise these pretty well. Bigger rocks, loose rock, and the erosion logs in the trails were tough. My toothpick arms and wrists took the brunt of it. My wrists hadn't felt that fatigued since death gripping the steering wheel of a U-Haul across windy Wyoming nine years ago.

The bike's lack of suspension combined with v-brakes and my wife's too-tight helmet only kept me slightly behind everyone else. Unless I was pushing the weighty monster up a hill. Then I was more than slightly behind. But I had a good time and would definitely do it again, if allowed. Thanks everyone for having me along.

[devo_stevo]

I've put 800+ miles on my tubeless setup with Flat Attack since April and have not had any problem whatsoever. No flats, burps, bubbles, or bulging. Works like a charm. Heavier than Stans but it doesn't dry out or need to be changed as often and won't disintegrate tires. But, whatever works for you, keep using it!
:2thumbs: Awesome. I figured that stuff had to work for someone. I must just have bad luck with it I guess.

[devo_stevo]

Oh and Deeps, good job on getting that bike out of the garage. :2thumbs:

Where are the pictures though. You took some great ones in the canyons.

[Deeps]

Where are the pictures though. You took some great ones in the canyons.

Thanks. Not knowing what I was in for and fearing an over the handle bars attack I chose last minute to leave the D-80 in the car.

I didn't even have time to whip out the iPhone on the ride. There were a few sun-through-the-trees moments at the end that I considered but I was falling behind and allowing larger group pass. The funny part is every time I would let several of them pass they would wipe out within 100 yards and I would pass them. The last 2 miles were an awkward game of leapfrog.

Overall I'm glad I didn't haul it on the ride. All of the shots would have been butt shots...

[theking648]

deeps you rock!!! just remember real men ride hardtails but supermen ride rigid bikes. you got more guts than i do.

[live2ride]

Looks sweet, Work is killing me being crazy busy but I guess I can't bitch about that, I brought my bike etc but couldn't leave. I am gonna try again next week to get out!

[Sombeech]

Should not have had McDonald's for before the ride.

I have told myself many times in the past.

And I will tell myself again many times in the future. :mrgreen:

[Luce]

Besides all the flats this was a great ride last night. I would like to see us do this one again before we run out of these long summer days.

I would be up for a weekend ride down to the bottom of Mill Creek as well sometime soon if anyone is interested. A few of us did it on July 4th and had a great time.

[Sombeech]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liOZoUN17yM

[Deeps]

Great video! Makes me want to do it again, Justin.

[Sombeech]

Thanks. I actually thought about recording my own soundtrack for this one. I had the guitar and microphone out, but it was just taking too long. :haha:

I'm trying to just whip these videos out as fast as I can.

[Deeps]

Thanks. I actually thought about recording my own soundtrack for this one. I had the guitar and microphone out, but it was just taking too long. :haha:

I'm trying to just whip these videos out as fast as I can.

I can relate. I still have a pile of video to edit down from the Zion Bogleyfest. It's all ripped to the computer, just not edited into something watchable.

[Sombeech]

I can relate. I still have a pile of video to edit down from the Zion Bogleyfest. It's all ripped to the computer, just not edited into something watchable.

Yeah, I've got a folder called "Videos to Edit". It's pretty full.

I've learned to get the video edited and published within 24 hours or else it will sit for a long time. I used to spend a week on a video, now it's about 2 hours. I wanted to get all of the good footage, but you just have to make those painful video edits and cut out a lot of the good stuff still - just so it can make it to youtube.

[biophase]

What kind of helmet camera are you using on these videos?

[Giant Warp]

2 words: Tubeless, Flat Attack!

Tubeless= :2thumbs:
Flat Attack=not so much.

I have found that the slime for ATV tires works far better than the Flat Attack. At least that's what has worked best for me.

Looks like a fun ride. One of these days I'm going to get down there and ride that one.

I have a UST Kenda that has had ATV slime in it for a year. Every place there is a hole there is a large wet spot with small spit bubbles coming out. The tires will not hold air any where near as long as my other tires with Flat Attack. The ATV slime is also much more runny. I am guessing that since you do not weigh very much that you do not have any holes your tires yet. Not to say the slime would not get you home in a jam, just that Flat Attack will plug better.

[devo_stevo]

While it is true that Slime dries up eventually, I have had much better luck with it than with Flat Attack.

I had a hole in my tire hat wouldn't seal about a month ago. I replaced the Flat Attack with Slime and it's been good ever since then.

I know it works for a lot of people and that's great but it hasn't for me. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

[Giant Warp]

First I would like to say that if something works better for you than stick with it. There may be an explanation as to why the slime worked better in your case. I posted some pictures so people won't think I am just trolling you. The Flat Attack is on the left and the ATV slime on the right. If you notice the left is like wet fiberglass insulation. The right has big chunks of what looks like pieces of rubber. The slime says up to 1/4" and the Flat Attack is mostly 1/8" to a possible 1/4" in some situations. Maybe the hole in your tire was just too big for Flat Attack. If that is the case than I would suggest putting a tire plug in the hole for a more permanent repair. The ATV sealant may hold for a while but it is just one big jump from being blown out when the tire rips a little more.

[Sombeech]

What kind of helmet camera are you using on these videos?

I've been using this setup for a year and a half
http://www.bogley.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11636

[devo_stevo]

First I would like to say that if something works better for you than stick with it. There may be an explanation as to why the slime worked better in your case. I posted some pictures so people won't think I am just trolling you. The Flat Attack is on the left and the ATV slime on the right. If you notice the left is like wet fiberglass insulation. The right has big chunks of what looks like pieces of rubber. The slime says up to 1/4" and the Flat Attack is mostly 1/8" to a possible 1/4" in some situations. Maybe the hole in your tire was just too big for Flat Attack. If that is the case than I would suggest putting a tire plug in the hole for a more permanent repair. The ATV sealant may hold for a while but it is just one big jump from being blown out when the tire rips a little more.

The hole that I had in the tire was from a goat head. Nothing big at all but the Flat Attack just wouldn't fill it. I'm wondering if the bottle that I had was old and that's why it didn't work, but this isn't the first time that it has happened to me. I wish it would work for me, I like the idea of supporting a local company and everything, but I have a hard time doing that if I am constantly having to fix flat tires.

[Giant Warp]

I made the mistake one time of moving some Flat Attack from the old tire to the new tire in an effort to save some pennies. That causes all the moisture to evaporate and then it does not flow anymore. I have also found that if you are using larger volume tires (2.3 or bigger) then it is better to add a little more than the recommended amount. Here is an updated picture after letting the sealants dry over night. The Flat Attack immediatly absorbed into the paper and dried out. You can see the Slime has more moisture but doesn't hold a candle in terms of hole plugging fibers, but the slime may be more effective for big holes in an ATV tires.

Some advice I often give to people using "tubes and liners" is to leave the goat head in the tire. The goat head will break off leaving the barb in the tire. It can safely stay there plugging the hole as long as you have good sealant. Never remove a goat head out on the trail or you maybe be pushing your bike back to the car. If you are tubeless, don't remove the goat head unless you position the tire so the goat head is pointed straight down and you waited for the sealant to run down there before removing. Again, waiting until you are home to remove.

If the hole is particularily large, mark a spot on the tire so you know where the hole is. Then, when the bike is parked in the garage, always park it with the hole at the bottom so the sealant keeps plugging it. It will then be ready to ride when needed. I have a mortorcycle tire that has huge hole in it from a nail or something. I marked the tire and used that procedure so it is always ready to ride. Small sidewall puntures can be fixed the same way by storing the bike on it's side so the sealant can flow to an area it would not normally reach.