I fixed the rim, patched the inner tubes, and reassembled the front tire. I’m very happy with my tires: not a single puncture yet… but they sure are a pain to get on and off!

I also investigated the headset issue. I disassembled the headset, which meant a lot of little parts everywhere (note to self: next time, support the fork before loosening the headset, or do it with somebody else helping). It turns out (grr!) that the noise was not coming from the headset at all but from the plastic-on-plastic stretching of the rear brake cable casing on the top brazon of the downtube as I turn the handlebars and stretch the casing. Why that should be happening now, I don’t know. Maybe the cable got stretched during transport. And of course, my little headset dissection, with the handlebar hanging by the cables, did not help.

I had a hard time getting the headset back together by myself, but I figured it out. I think it’s fine.

Next up: fixing the seat post (I broke a screw on Sunday) and realigning the rear tires.

During the SoCal trip, my front tire went flat in the middle of the desert. I repaired it and all seemed fine.

After reassembling the bike at home this past Sunday, as I was in the kitchen making dinner, I once again heard the ominous “pfffft” sound: the front tire went flat again. I just got around to looking at it, and sure enough, the (big!) hole is in the same location, almost opposite the valve but on the inner side of the inner tube toroid. I checked the rim, and, yep, the rim tape (sometimes erroneously called tire liner) did not cover one of the spoke holes.

The ultimate fix will be to get new rim tape. I’ll try to do that this week. For now, electrical tape over the spoke holes should do the trick. I always carry electrical tape on my bike. I use it to waterproof the top of my seat post and to repair my handlebar tape, which, come to think of it, I’ll need to replace soon as well.

I’m also having some problems with the rear wheel alignment and brakes, so I have to fiddle with that as well. And on top of everything, the headset is making a weird vibration/noise when I turn it, so I’m wary about commuting on the bike until that gets fixed. I think it may be time to get the bike into the shop. It’s been not quite a year since I got it and it’s seen good use. Time for a check-up.