CHRISTMAS has come and gone and many people, often children, received bicycles as presents. A recent incident should be retold so that those new owners do not make the same mistake.
I was at a local cycle shop recently when an irate father was trying to claim that a burst tyre on a fairly new bike should have been replaced under warranty.
I have been in the cycle trade for over 20 years, opening the UK's first mountain bike centre, Action Packs, as long ago as 1981, when most shops had yet to see a mountain bike.
In those 20 years we never wore a tyre out before the bike was sold yet we had many punctures and a few blow-outs that were all caused by customer error. Even so, none of our customers made this potentially dangerous mistake.
What was most dangerous about this puncture was that the owner had already told the shop owner that he had inflated the tyre using a garage forecourt airline, apparently sanctioned by the petrol station owners.
I find this most disturbing as all responsible garage owners should forbid the use of a compressor used for car and lorries to inflate bicycle tyres. Too many people believe that because many bicycle tyres run at pressure much higher than cars or lorries, then using an airline is safe. It isn't!
Many forecourts have a sign next to the airline, warning not to use it on bicycles. The very small volume of air needed to inflate a bicycle tyre compared to a car or lorry means that it will have been inflated and exploded before any gauges or safety valves can operate.
Adrian Hepworth.
Bush Park
Brentor
PS: If any readers want to know what the other causes of punctures were,nearly all avoidable, then I can reply to e-mails at [email protected]">[email protected]. The evidence for each type of puncture such as the one above are easy to spot and distinguish.