craneplaneguy
10 kW
Long story short, I was getting some rim strikes on my Montague folder I carry in the airplane, about 3 miles up a remote trail in Montana. So I stopped and added (I thought, based on the amount of strokes I pumped) some air pressure with my trusty manual pump. Got another strike a few minutes later, repeated, eventually realizing my air pump was broke and instead of adding air I was subtracting it, call it a math problem, sounds stupid as hell but by the time I figured it out, the tire was way too low to ride.
I had a spare tube, and a patch kit, but without air??! I briefly considered blowing it up using my incisor teeth and lung power, but decided that was crazy talk, and then came to grips with the fact I was out a ways, it was getting very late on a very hot day, I'm an old fart, and was pretty much screwed. So I put the tire back on and started humping down the trail, trying to remember why I had opted to leave my 52 volt LUNA electric pump in the plane instead of taking it on the ride, weight savings I guess. I mean why take two pumps!
After one hell of a long walk, and back home in my shop, I started thinking.....: get one or two of those little CO2 cylinders IN ADDITION to taking a high quality air pump, whether manual or electric. I had also screwed up when I zip tied my spare tube to under the seat, my tool kit didn't have a small pair of dykes, I did have a Leatherman type tool with cutters, but they were like a needle nose, the cutters were in a ways. I had a knife also, but the zip tie was a heavy one, and tight, so it was real tricky using either tool without ruining the new tube. This was all time and effort wasted before I realized I had no way to blow it up anyway! I reattached my spare tube this time with para cord and a truckers hitch knot, next time I won't waste 10 minutes trying to get the damn thing off, while also risking a puncture. The para cord is always handy stuff to have around anyway, much handier then a slit/used zip tie. The heck of it was, I had 29 AH of fully charged battery on board (which added to the fun once I started pushing the bike out) and a working e pump, but not with me, lesson learned.
I had a spare tube, and a patch kit, but without air??! I briefly considered blowing it up using my incisor teeth and lung power, but decided that was crazy talk, and then came to grips with the fact I was out a ways, it was getting very late on a very hot day, I'm an old fart, and was pretty much screwed. So I put the tire back on and started humping down the trail, trying to remember why I had opted to leave my 52 volt LUNA electric pump in the plane instead of taking it on the ride, weight savings I guess. I mean why take two pumps!
After one hell of a long walk, and back home in my shop, I started thinking.....: get one or two of those little CO2 cylinders IN ADDITION to taking a high quality air pump, whether manual or electric. I had also screwed up when I zip tied my spare tube to under the seat, my tool kit didn't have a small pair of dykes, I did have a Leatherman type tool with cutters, but they were like a needle nose, the cutters were in a ways. I had a knife also, but the zip tie was a heavy one, and tight, so it was real tricky using either tool without ruining the new tube. This was all time and effort wasted before I realized I had no way to blow it up anyway! I reattached my spare tube this time with para cord and a truckers hitch knot, next time I won't waste 10 minutes trying to get the damn thing off, while also risking a puncture. The para cord is always handy stuff to have around anyway, much handier then a slit/used zip tie. The heck of it was, I had 29 AH of fully charged battery on board (which added to the fun once I started pushing the bike out) and a working e pump, but not with me, lesson learned.