Guys have asked about Vittoria Pit Stop on this forum and in PM’s to me.
We carried it and used it in the real world. Here is a look at how it works and our experiences with it:
http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/Vittoria-Pit-Stop.shtml
Thanks for that Tom,
How long before the Felt DA review goes up by the way ?
Cool, thanks Tom. I have a couple of these and it gives some peace of mind.
It’s a big job (the DA review). We have to find out how the thing fits and try to get some miles on it too. That is a bit of a problem for me since I don’t ride the 56cm frame size we have (that is the only size available right now and will be for another two weeks).
One of the fellas who works here has taken over the test piloting of the bike and will do the ride analysis- the actual flight testing of the bike. The good thing about that is I am hoping to show some photos of the bike on the road- something you don’t see when I am the only one working on the review since I am also the photographer.
We have some additional ideas for a bike shoot just as a visual thing- that may or may not pan out.
At any rate, we are working our tails off on this. It is a complex review because there are new things on this bike and we are trying to sort out what is real and what is just technical fluff for the sake of fluff. How do we tell if the Bayonet front end *really *does anything? I mean, we aren’t going to a wind tunnel and even if we did I’d suggest that isn’t entirely conclusive.
It’s a tough balance trying to create this but we’ll do our best. Look for it next week I think (hope…).
Tom,
You say it works will all the valve extenders you tried. How about a crack pipe?
Also, when you talk about it sealing punctures from thorns, small pieces of glass, etc., did you remove those things in every case before using the VP or did you ever try just shooting in the VP and going. The reason I ask is that, sometimes what caused the puncture is hard to detect from the outside of the tire and, in a race situation, you might miss a little piece of metal car tire belt or a small thorn … or you might not have the means to remove it.
Thanks,
.
Aw phooey. No, we didn;t try it with a disk wheel inflation adapter for the review. One of our customer used it and told us it worked but it leaked out and they only got about 50 psi in with all the leakage.
We’ll try it…
In the case of each of the punctures except for one we had downtown (the worst one) we didn;t have to remove the object that caused the puncture. It pierced the tire/tube and fell off. The one bad one we had on a ride downtown we used two cans of Vittoria Pit Stop to seal and inflate once we pulled a hefty chunk of some sharp object (looked like dark beer bottle glass) out of the tire. The tire held long enough to get home- about 25 minutes at about 17 mph. We were pretty much limping home on it by then.
Tom
Another good article. Keep them coming. Thanks
Propane? Really? So, is your tire explosive until it deflates?
tom, if you were to do an ironman on clinchers what would you take with you?
Thanks,
Dan
www.aiatriathlon.com
Well, you asked a straighforward question so I’ll spare you the mention that I would probably never risk doing Ironman on clinchers…
If I were to have a lapse of common sense and do Ironman on clinchers I would use absolutely new tires, the most flat resistant I could find weight almost notwithstanding, shoot some TUFO sealant in there and carry a can of Vittoria Pit Stop and be sure I was current on my prayers before race day.
My tire of choice would be something like Continental Gatorskins or some such flat resistant belted thing.
All the best Sir.
Thanks Tom!! I was really hoping this product would work as advertised. I am definitely going to carry this at races this year. Seems like a no brainer: faster to fix, lighter overall weight and no need to carry a spare tubbie thus helping with bike aerodynamics. Another great public service by Bikesports Michigan!!
Good article Tom. Thanks!
When I do my solo 5+ hour training rides,its usually on roads that are a bit desolate,so something like this would be great to have along.
Do you know how long an unused can will last before ir loses pressure/expires?
<I would use absolutely new tires, the most flat resistant I could find weight almost notwithstanding, shoot some TUFO sealant in there>
Tufo sealent/Gatorskin tires? I’ve used both,on my training rides and the weight/rolling resistence is huge.I cant imagine doing an Ironman with that setup.
Tom, thanks for the info - it’s very helpful to me as I’ve just joined the tubular world!
Follow up question: If you were doing 1/2 iron or Oly on tubies (or a 50 mile training ride, for that matter), then what would you carry?
If I were on a training ride I’d carry Vittoria Pit Stop. In a race I use TUFO’s with their brand tire sealant inside and I don’t carry any spare whatsoever.
Have you ever had a flat that the TUFO sealant didn’t take care of?
(look into your crystal ball) What would you think about topping off with co2 to get the pressure over 100psi?
By the way, nice review. Keep them coming. Thanks!
Just to offer a counterpoint…
In my one opportunity to use PitStop on a real flat on a real ride, it didn’t work. I originally posted the report here:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=1005272
I can’t account for why it didn’t work as the hole was no larger than 2mm. Maybe I got a bad batch of the sealant or something. What’s the shelf life of this stuff anyway?
Especially not there. Too heavy.