In the Light of Experience

Having done three trips in the last year, I've learned and formed opinions about equipment and the set-up of my bike. I blogged about my impressions in the previous post and closed by mentioning three changes I was intending to make to my tyres, puncture protection and the way I carry my smartphone and use it for in ride navigation. Here's what happened next.

Puncture Protection

Having experienced two punctures in three trips, I decided to get a bit radical in pursuit of a solution. I don't fancy tubeless. It sounds great until the damage is too much for the self-sealing capability and you have to change the tyre. As I understand it from friends who ride tubeless, you really can't repair damage like this  and changing the tyre, your only option, is very hard. I know at least one person who uses an air compressor in the procedure and still finds it hard. 

You absolutely need to be able to repair on a bikepacking trip, even when in the middle of nowhere so Keep It Simple applies and I'm staying with my old-fashioned inner tubes, carrying a spare tube or two and a puncture repair kit.

Whilst researching, I happened upon the Tannus Armour product which sounded very much worth a try so after reading about them I took the plunge and ordered two for a price of £65. Not cheap but if it could make punctures a rarity, a bargain.

They arrived and I studied the fitting instructions and watched the official video. It all sounded straightforward so I took the front wheel off the bike, removed the tyre and inner tube and proceeded to try to fit the Tannus Armour insert inside the tyre with a smaller inner tube as specified by Tannus.

To be honest, the whole thing was a complete and utter nightmare. I found it impossible to fit the Tannus Armour. Not without damaging things anyway. You need so much force to get the damn things on. And in the process, the first time I tried, I caused the base of a spoke nipple to shear off. After fixing the spoke (days later after ordering the replacement spoke nipple online), I tried again and this time just couldn't get the tyre with inserted Tannus Armour back on, not without a massive struggle with tyre levers which scratched my wheel up and it turned out, pinched and tore the inner tube in three places. 

The Tannus video shows the installation procedure but using a very wide MTB tyre which I'm sure must be much easier to work with (but beware... it may still be very tough). 

In the end I have to say I hated this product. The idea is all well and good but unless fitting gets easier, for me it's a non-starter. I sent the product back and got a refund from Amazon. 

Horrible. Avoid unless you like stress and damaging your bike. 

Tyres

Everyone had their own opinion on this and it's hard to make a completely objective decision based solely on empirical data. Considering puncture protection claims, reputation and weight, I went with Continental Ride Tour 37-622 tyres which I'm hoping will give decent puncture protection (I don't expect miracles) and be reasonably fast rolling. They're on the bike and ready for the next trip in a few weeks time!

Smartphone Holder

The frame bag with transparent sleeve I'd been using just wasn't waterproof despite the manufacturer's claim that it was (I've moaned about this enough so I'll leave it there!). After reviewing options on Amazon, and with not a great deal of science in the decision making, I bought a handlebar mounted Inroserm Bike Frame Bag Waterproof product. It's yet to be road-tested so we shall see whether this was a good choice or not.

It's easy to adjust the position but it doesn't feel like there's much resistance so I have a feeling it may move in-ride due to bumps and vibration. Hopefully I'm wrong about this.

It's otherwise unobtrusive though and very easy to unclip from the mount without removing the phone from the sleeve so you can carry it with you when you park the bike and pop into a shop.