August Riding

[ny biker]

Just remembered a detail from my ride last night -- before the ride, as I was adding air to the tires, I encountered a type of leak I'd never seen before. As soon as I removed the cap from the Presta valve stem on the rear tire, air started to come out, with a pretty loud hiss like you'd hear after loosening the screw and pressing down on the top of the valve. I typically tighten the screw on the stem pretty well after pumping up the tire, but maybe it was a bit loose. I unscrewed it as far as it would go and was able to pump up the tire to my usual 100 psi. When I tightened the screw again it seemed okay. I put the cap back on, screwed it on as tightly as possible. Started to ride. After a mile or so I stopped and checked the tire. It felt a bit springier than usual but seemed okay. I was able to finish the ride (17 miles) without a problem. Then as brought the bike into the house I noticed that the tire had lost quite a bit of air.

I planned to change it right away, well, after eating dinner, but it was late and I was tired. So I will deal with it tonight. I'm hoping the only problem is with the valve stem. I just put the tube in a month or so ago after the tire had a puncture. If it's been punctured again, I think I might replace it. I hate flat tires, especially rear flats.