Monthly Archives: February 2020

Puncture: Wheels

There is a fact when riding a bike that is considered a handicap for some people and an opportunity for some others as these last put into practice what they have learned. Traditionally, this issue has been usually presented when riding on a surface clogged with tacks and crystals. Of course, I am referring to punctures.

Punctures constitute a headache for some cyclists. Putting aside how to repair them, which I will talk about in the future, this post is dedicated to wheels that are able to avoid them. You can find two solutions for them in the market: Flat tyre, and gel wheels.

On the one hand, the flat tyre makes impossible to puncture a wheel. The absence of air inside it allows you to ride on tacks without any problem. Moreover, most flat tyres are made with long-lasting materials as they work for thousand of kilometers. On the other hand, the gel wheels incorporate a gel material inside them. This material vulcanizes in contact with air, hence the puncture is automatically repaired. In fact, biker does not usually realize he or she has a puncture after finishing the ride. However, this wheel should be changed after a high number of punctures since the gel quantity reduces after every puncture.

Furiosos ciclistas

Furiosos ciclistas (https://www.furiosos.cl, in Spanish) is a Chilean bike group that aims at promoting the bicycle use in the urban scenario. Bikeactivists compose it and fight for their legal and cultural recognition, increment in security when riding, teaching other stakeholders in the streets, improving human health, creation of bike infrastructures and crashes reduction.

They propose specific points to reach these targets: Planning, design and engineering, promotion and education. Why have they chosen bicycle as the ideal issue to manage them? Bikes are efficient, economic, environmentally friendly, accessible, allow progress towards human contact, and human health. Back in 1995, this group began as a yield to the dominant abuse of motor-based ways of transport, what they call Imperio Motorizado Sin Freno (Non-brake, motorized empire, in English). Notice the Chilean humor.

You can read posts and watch short videos about different aspects related with urban cyclist on its website. Subjects range from activities and highway education, to the Critical Mass and bike-tourism, including both national and international news as it comes to bikes.