After about a couple of decades, I had one of these moments that was so common in the early days of my life – Bicycle Tyre going bad and getting replaced. Last Friday, I noticed that the tube pressure is giving away. When I pumped air in the tube on Saturday, the tyre gave away, spoiling the tube in that process. This happened with my (precisely, my son’s) four year old bicycle that was grounded for most of these four years. I have been using the bicycle regularly for the past few weeks. Due to the tyres being in deflated state for some time, the lateral edge of the tyre gave away and exposed the tube.
Now, this brought up an interesting situation. I never went for a bicycle tire replacement in about a couple of decades. The only bicycle I owned in US got stolen before its tyres are anywhere close to being worn out.
I took my bicycle to the nearest repair shop. I felt that the tyre and tube are a bit expensive (Rs 175 for the tyre and Rs 80 for the tube) but including replacement, greasing and oiling charges (totaling Rs 40), the total expenses remained under Rs 300. I am back on bicycle by Saturday evening.