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Wheels, Tyres and Brakes / Re: Schwalbe Supreme failure

« Last post by martinf on Today at 08:41:21 AM »

Quote from: UKTony on October 14, 2026, 08:51:36 PM

Apparently, bank notes make good emergency tyre boots to prevent the inner tube bubbling out of a tear in the sidewall. Not tried it myself.

I'd heard of that one, but except on short local rides I generally have my touring tool kit with the canvas tyre boot and piece of lightweight tyre.

I don't think a bank note would have been any use for the times I have had a ruptured sidewall, generally the tyre carcass distorts and I feel a "thumping" while riding due to the bulge. The only thing that has (mostly) worked for me once that has happened is to reduce tyre pressure as much as possible and hope that it is possible to get home, or to a bike shop, before the rupture gets too bad to ride on.

But some kind of tyre boot made from fairly strong material can work to prevent a damaged sidewall (as in the photo posted by Jul) from rupturing.

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Not quite the same problem, but I did recently get caught out on a short ride when I only had my minimalist toolkit - I had a puncture, put the spare tube in and found out that the spare was punctured (or maybe perished around the valve). No puncture repair kit in the minimalist toolkit.

So I cut a fairly long section out of the spare tube, slit it lengthways, wrapped it around the puncture in the original tube and pumped up the tyre. That was good enough to get me home and the tyre wasn't yet completely flat the next morning.

So after that I added a small puncture repair kit to my minimalist toolkit.

General Technical / Re: Brooks saddle

« Last post by martinf on Today at 07:57:19 AM »

Quote from: jul on October 14, 2026, 01:52:45 PM

After to have tighten little the s
crew, the leather tor..

Is it normal ?

No. The rivets are very rusty, it looks like that saddle has been left outside in the rain for a long time.

I still have the first Brooks B17 saddle I bought in 1977. I mistreated that saddle by using too much neatsfoot oil too often, so it got soft and I stretched it more than I should have. The second photo shows where the rivets at the front have left a gap, the third photo shows how much I tightened the adjustment nut.

And the leather has worn so much that it is hardly possible to see the Brooks logo stamped on the side. But it is still rideable after 46600 kms, though not so comfortable as my other Brooks saddles.

It has been ridden "a lot" in the rain, but I nearly always use a cover (often just a plastic bag) when I leave the bike outside in rain, even for short stops. And as I used to use a traditional cycling cape, it rarely got completely soaked while riding. When it did get really wet I nearly always (not always possible on a long tour) made sure it dried out properly before storing the bike, to the extent that I (very occasionally) took it off the bike and brought it into the house to dry.

My other Brooks saddles have been treated differently. I use a wax designed for care of leather boots (Nikwax or similar) on the saddle top about once every three months, depending on use. Plus very occasionally on the underside.

I still use neatsfoot oil bought from a horse accessories place, it probably has some kind of fungicide as an additif. Just a small amount on a rag to wipe saddles on the bikes that aren't getting used much in winter (mainly my wife's bikes), this is to stop or cure mould forming.

The B66 Champion I bought in 1987-1988 is in better shape than my first Brooks saddle, despite having been ridden for over 70000 kms.

Wheels, Tyres and Brakes / Re: Schwalbe Supreme failure

« Last post by jul on Today at 07:35:09 AM »

Thanks for the feedback.

Wheels, Tyres and Brakes / Re: Schwalbe Supreme failure

« Last post by UKTony on October 14, 2026, 08:51:36 PM »

Apparently, bank notes make good emergency tyre boots to prevent the inner tube bubbling out of a tear in the sidewall. Not tried it myself. A Google search will give you AI info and YouTube vids.

General Technical / Re: Brooks saddle

« Last post by Andre Jute on October 14, 2026, 07:57:38 PM »

Quote from: hendrich on August 19, 2026, 02:31:59 PM

Quote from: Andre Jute on August 15, 2026, 07:47:16 AM
If you're worried about the appearance of your clearly neglected saddle, buy some neat foot oil from your local saddlery (more £$%^&* horses), pour the contents of the can into a baking dish or a bowl large enough to take the saddle and soak first the top and then bottom in the neat foot oil, 10-20 minutes per side.

This could be useful some day. When you say top/bottom, does that mean you are first putting the whole top half of the saddle in oil and therefore also soaking the underside? After both sides are done, the entire saddle has been submerged in oil. After that, do you wipe off excess oil... and then let dry for a few days?
Thanks, Mike

edit, our saddles have always received TLC, just thought this soaking might be good to know about.

Apologies for the delayed reply, Mike; I somehow never saw your post.

I used a large shallow baking tray because my B72 is the third largest of all the Brooks saddles and that tray was the only one it would fit. So my saddle wasn't completely covered by the liter of neat foot I bought. I turned the saddle to get complete coverage, including the raw edges of the leather.

Even if your saddle is smaller and you have a deep enough dish, and enough neat foot oil to cover the saddle totally, some part will still touch the bottom of the dish, so give it ten minutes, turn the saddle and put it back in the neat foot oil for another ten minutes to ensure even coverage. Let dry for 24 hours, then polish only the top, not the underside or the cut edges.

Soak it in neat foot oil once, then never again.

Once a year, or perhaps twice a year if your bike is often exposed to the elements, wipe only the top with a thin layer of Proofide* or neat foot on a cloth, let stand overnight, and polish with a clean soft cloth.

*Americans have a similar leather wax with a good reputation from vintage times forward, the name of which now escapes me. I used four small tins to rejuvenate the leather seats of a barn find Citroen DS until the stitcher of choice could make me new covers, and sold my spot on his waiting list to an impatient collector because the seats were pretty good after polishing and, as a matter of fact, at a show my car got a highly-commended with the patina worth a special mention, while his car was condemned for being over-restored!

Wheels, Tyres and Brakes / Re: Schwalbe Supreme failure

« Last post by martinf on October 14, 2026, 04:18:53 PM »

Some of the tyre carcass threads are cut on that tyre, I reckon it will eventually fail with a ruptured carcass. So I would replace it, so long as I could find a decent replacement.

On tour, if no good tyres are easily found, I would put a big patch on the inside of the tyre and hope that it lasts till the end of the tour. I still have some of the big rectangular patches that look as if they are made of tarred canvas, these used to be included in puncture repair kits in the 1970's.

I suppose the modern equivalent is something like this :

https://eu.restrap.com/fr/products/tyre-boot-kit?oc=FR&_su_rec=K6rF_pVYdOCxN9WXFE2z4xPmt3A-qF5lXjM6zg_wpFOFtjPLZMkdqXqPpaolNWlFLNAtR-7394hUgue8xJ8-osOekDmr8mIgFtFfpfMnggOPKlb3RoejAcZfGIp-cEgLMI2JokGS7Yu4uuPgGOBCxYGa_FHvVQFf56GEkQAFyqBBeHH_bPO2xqQWUJ3BY-HAKAFp_LzDrPBnXoTeXIKeUF98SBym29k6EnAJDsmjkKUP5fjYOi3wFetE3yVoaN9q6neSjClVrWDPxd3uHA&_su_rec_id=c28ca80a-9e0d-4aff-b6ff-f7698a6cd283-1791989603

Another method is to use a section of a lightweight tyre as a patch. I have an 11 x 6 cm piece of a Kojak tyre in my touring tool kit, the idea is that if I get a really deep cut in the tread area I can glue this patch inside the tyre and (hopefully) be able to ride to the nearest bike shop, garage or supermarket that stocks a 26" tyre.