Most importantly, I need to prep Walden to tackle the elements. His lights have developed cataracts and need to be polished. The most pressing issue is that he needs new shoes - up front in particular, his front passenger tire is balding. Based on the wear, I suspect it’s scrubbing due to alignment issues. The steering doesn’t pull to one side but the tread is really worn on the outside of the tire.
I knew it was pretty low for a while, but seeing as I wasn’t sure if I’d be doing this into the winter - figured I’d go until I couldn’t. When Darren pointed it out as we worked on Walden…I agreed, it needed to be replaced (it’s down past the wear bars).
The cheapest new fronts I could find are around $215 for a pair mounted (courtesy of Crappy Tire)…so naturally I started to inquire at used tire dealers. No joy - so after an afternoon of putzing around Abby…I decided it probably could wait a little longer while I sourced some tires (I have a bad habit of agonizing over larger purchases).
I set course for Vancouver and hit the warp button.
Fast forward to me hanging out in a parking lot near Ikea killing some time. I decided to inspect the tire further to see just how much time I actually had.
Sticking my head into the well, I was immediately greeted with bare belt. Shiiiieeeet.
I noted earlier that the spare had plenty of tread and that despite it’s age is unknown - it would be better than the tire currently on there (I need to check the date of manufacture today).
Luckily changing tires is one of the few manly man skills I possess. My first day with Evenrude (my Firefly) - I had tread remove itself on the highway. In fact, my first reaction to seeing the belt this time around was “Aaahhh, that’s not THAT bad”. Evenrude was a loveable but derelict shit box and had old tires…He lost more tread off another tire later on the way to a date. I was late and performed what I felt was the fastest tire change in history.
It’s been a while but I still got it - I swapped the spare onto Walden in a Staples parking lot. It was a good opportunity to try my Joby Gorilla tripod (the magnetic/flexible kind). I’d recommend opting for the magnets - I’m not sure how often I’ll utilize them - but they are really handy when you do (sticks to Waldens fenders nicely).
Pictures of the operation:
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