I’m kind of digging that tire lever Norman was using on his Campy Bora during IM Hawaii. Anyone know who sells them?
Yeah, gotta get one of those…it was working so well for him…
Yeah, I could use one of those for my car, that boy was clueless on how to change a flat!!!
Let me first say that I do respect Norman Stadler, but jokes aside, a puncture with a subsequent tubular change should take 2 - 3 minutes, max. This is the one thing about this whole unfortunate episode that I really don’t understand. Why is it that he could not get the tire off? It’s a commonly known fact that you leave a bit of the tire unglued across from the valve. This way you can start to get the tire off farirly easily and quickly. From there it’s pretty straight forward. At this level, it just seems strange to me that this escalated into a major problem when it should have been relativly minor one.
Fleck
From my experience there will always be a bit of glue and a bit of adhesion on that small section. I just don’t put any fresh glue on a 2 - 3 cm strip across from the valve. It will always be a bit sticky there, but it wont be bonded as strongly as the rest of the tire/rim that has the fresh gluw on it . Once you get that little bit off, the tire should peel off fairly easily.
Fleck
That’s exactly what you do. I’ve learned this after having some of my tubulars nearly impossible to peel off. I also learned INSTEAD of paying a high price for rim cement and get just a small tube of it, I now go to my hardware store and buy 3-M contact cement which works just as well. For about the same price as that small tube of rim cement, I get a large can which lasts me several years and many many glue jobs.
1-2 inches of no-glue will not cause your tire to fall off, so no glue on the rim and tire makes sense.
Stadler, having never had a flat in a race, glued the entire thing. Then, I believe, he received a second flat on his replacement clincher. A 2gram razor blade may have saved his race.
my 2c. - Turq
Maybe the problem this year was that he was not carrying any tools on his bike. If you look at all the pictures from last year, he had a small tool bag under his seat. This year I did not see any tool bag on his bike.
The problem is that belly button tattoo. It put too much chick in him and now he forgot how his mechanics. Yes that is wrong and sexist but I am a jealous lout.
Stadler did not glue his own tires. I was told that there was a gap left opposite the valve.
IMHO I think several things happened. First, Norman was not having the day he wanted initially on the bike, then as things start getting better he flats, he runs into some problems changing flat and panicks, finally gets flat changed and knows he has to ride the bike of his life at this point. Second flat occurs, bee sting, total meltdown. It seems like he had heeped tremendous pressure on himself to uphold his championchip win of last year and that only compounded things when the crap hit the fan. After seeing his reaction to dropping out I have nothing but respect for him. It is obvious that it meant the world to him. These guys are human and obviously want to win. Good luck next year. I am sure he will be better off because of the lesson learned.
Mahalo,
Matt
Amen, you put a lot of pressure and expectations of yourself when your going for a championship. I have been fortunate to play for a little league state championship and JV football state championship and lost both. The emotions just get to you and you crack in front of everyone. From the fans point you may look weak but it’s just seems like the entire season was hinged on that one game. Watch any championship game from a kids league game to pro sports and you’ll witness the range of opposite emotions.
Hi,
it Normann! Who are you? Who told you that? Yes, i didnt glue my tire on-it was a bike shop in kona and the left no gap opposite the valve. I also had a spear tire and gas with me but i lost it after the first flat. It was my decission to dnf and it was for a reason. the funny thing is that nobody cares if you dnf! If the Pros dnf so many talk bad about that. years ago i walked four hours and even then so many talked shit about me! People talk shit about Simon Lessing now-he is a 5xWorld Champion and one of the greatest athletes in every distance over the past years. Your biggest wish is to be only one day Simon, Peter, Tim…but no, you talk stupid thinks and have no idea what it means to be in this situation. Years ago i woul go crazy after reading that, but now i smile and see that we are interresting for you guys, because you spend so much time to post all the grap. It was not a good day for me, i did some things wrong, but its my race! Wish you a great off season and a great 2006
NS