Uncle Dick's Bead Slip Review

Last Fall I was sent several tubs of Uncle Dick's Bead Slip to try out. It's an organic blend of non-toxic ingredients that you apply with a brush to a tire's beads and it is supposed to make things go easier. I shared the tubs with a couple of the mechanics at the shop where I work and I also took one home to use on some of my home shop projects. Now four months down the line, I have some impressions on this unique product to share.

My personal experiences have been all pretty positive. The application part of the product is a bit tedious, but if it works, (and it does that very well), it saves you a lot of wrangling with the tire, fussing with over-airing up a tire, or whatever other post-tire mounting gymnastics you may have to employ to get the beads to seat where they should on a rim. The thing is you have to remember to use it! There were a few times I just went about my business only to recall that I had this stuff to use on stubborn tire/rim combinations. You see, you don't need to use the Bead Slip all the time.

We have used it mostly on "stubborn" set ups that include cheap nylon casing tires, (see image), steel rims, and some tubeless set ups. All of us at the shop have said we'd get more Bead Slip once we run out to do repairs with. It does save us time in the end with the difficult set ups mentioned. At my home shop, I mostly just use it for the tubeless set ups and it has made getting tires to mount, seal and set up correctly easier. I would definitely make it part of the home mechanic's tool box. Plus, when the tin is empty you can use it to store small parts! (Or maybe make a trick bikepacking stove. I haven't tried that yet!)

Note: Uncle Dick's sent over the Bead Slip product for us to try at no charge and we were not paid, nor bribed or this review. I strive to present honest thoughts and opinions throughout any review.

Uncle Dick's Bead Slip Review

Last Fall I was sent several tubs of Uncle Dick's Bead Slip to try out. It's an organic blend of non-toxic ingredients that you apply with a brush to a tire's beads and it is supposed to make things go easier. I shared the tubs with a couple of the mechanics at the shop where I work and I also took one home to use on some of my home shop projects. Now four months down the line, I have some impressions on this unique product to share.

My personal experiences have been all pretty positive. The application part of the product is a bit tedious, but if it works, (and it does that very well), it saves you a lot of wrangling with the tire, fussing with over-airing up a tire, or whatever other post-tire mounting gymnastics you may have to employ to get the beads to seat where they should on a rim. The thing is you have to remember to use it! There were a few times I just went about my business only to recall that I had this stuff to use on stubborn tire/rim combinations. You see, you don't need to use the Bead Slip all the time.

We have used it mostly on "stubborn" set ups that include cheap nylon casing tires, (see image), steel rims, and some tubeless set ups. All of us at the shop have said we'd get more Bead Slip once we run out to do repairs with. It does save us time in the end with the difficult set ups mentioned. At my home shop, I mostly just use it for the tubeless set ups and it has made getting tires to mount, seal and set up correctly easier. I would definitely make it part of the home mechanic's tool box. Plus, when the tin is empty you can use it to store small parts! (Or maybe make a trick bikepacking stove. I haven't tried that yet!)

Note: Uncle Dick's sent over the Bead Slip product for us to try at no charge and we were not paid, nor bribed or this review. I strive to present honest thoughts and opinions throughout any review.

Friday News And Views

Welcome to the start of the second to last month of 2013. Now let that sink in for a moment or three.......

 T.I.V10: The registration process for the next Trans Iowa started today. I will be updating the roster later today with whatever names I receive in the digital mail box. If as in years past, the Finishers of Trans Iowas  take maybe around 20 spots, then that would leave 100 or so to split up between the Vets and Rookies. Maybe I'll be surprised and we'll see a lot of Finishers come back. Who knows. One thing is for sure, the Finishers get first take, and Veterans can make sure their post cards come in November 11th-16th. Rookies get their turn starting November 18th, and I bet within a day or two of then the spots will be all gone. See the site here.

It'll be fun to see which folks jump on board this year.  I already know that a fella from Germany is going to try to get in, and I've heard about another Canadian guy that's supposedly going to jump in the mix.  Stay tuned....

26.3lbs of carbon wonder bike.

Beargreased: I got to assemble this crazy fat bike yesterday. A Carbon Beargrease XX1. What a cool fat bike! It really is hard to understand the enormity of those carbon tube shapes until you actually lay your eyes on this beast. The profiles and their size are cartoonishly huge. (Those are technical terms, by the way.)

One minor detail I was glad to see was the use of DT Swiss' excellent RWS through axles. These couldn't be easier to use. Very nice, and the wheels slotted into the frame with zero drama. That isn't always the case with through axle stuff.

And as long as we're talking fat bikes, it seems that many companies are waiting out to see just what the rules will be regarding fat bikes in racing. As in "not in the snow racing" racing. The dividing line seems to be where the wheel standards will go. Many in the industry are thinking that the 170mm rear standard will win out for "racing"/all year usages, and if this is the case, and the governing bodies see fit to declare such standards for racing, the companies in the industry will start developing new rims and components geared to the 170mm type bikes.

This bears watching. More as I hear about it.......

Update On Uncle Dick's:

I've begun to use the Uncle Dick's Bead Slip this past week. Here are my thoughts on it so far....

It adds an extra, somewhat tedious step to tire mounting that you ordinarily do not have. So, "Is it worth the trouble?", is the question here.

My initial response is that it is in certain circumstances. You've got to know when those circumstances are worth it, is all. I've had the benefit of 14+ years of being a bicycle mechanic, so I maybe am a bit ahead of the curve in that manner, but if you are not, here's my advice: Use this on tubeless tires, steel rims, plastic rims, or on really tight fitting tire/rim combos. Everything else is probably a situation where this product really isn't all that necessary. I mean- you could use it all the time, but many times you really wouldn't need to.

Here's a good example of using this product when it makes a big difference: I mounted some new 27 X 1 1/4 tires on steel rims the other day and many, many times this results in a portion of the bead that will not slip up into place on the rim, no matter how hard you try to make it do so. I brushed on the Uncle Dick's on the tire beads and the airing up of these tires went so easily it was ridiculous.

While it did take time to paint the beads with the Bead Slip, it easily paid off in time saved possibly wrenching the tire with a tool trying to coax the bead up into place. What was also noticeable was how the tire actually spread out and took on a fuller profile on that steel rim. Nice!

More on that stuff as I get time with it......

That's a wrap for now folks. Have a great weekend and I hope ya'all get a good ride in soon.

Friday News And Views

Welcome to the start of the second to last month of 2013. Now let that sink in for a moment or three.......

 T.I.V10: The registration process for the next Trans Iowa started today. I will be updating the roster later today with whatever names I receive in the digital mail box. If as in years past, the Finishers of Trans Iowas  take maybe around 20 spots, then that would leave 100 or so to split up between the Vets and Rookies. Maybe I'll be surprised and we'll see a lot of Finishers come back. Who knows. One thing is for sure, the Finishers get first take, and Veterans can make sure their post cards come in November 11th-16th. Rookies get their turn starting November 18th, and I bet within a day or two of then the spots will be all gone. See the site here.

It'll be fun to see which folks jump on board this year.  I already know that a fella from Germany is going to try to get in, and I've heard about another Canadian guy that's supposedly going to jump in the mix.  Stay tuned....

26.3lbs of carbon wonder bike.

Beargreased: I got to assemble this crazy fat bike yesterday. A Carbon Beargrease XX1. What a cool fat bike! It really is hard to understand the enormity of those carbon tube shapes until you actually lay your eyes on this beast. The profiles and their size are cartoonishly huge. (Those are technical terms, by the way.)

One minor detail I was glad to see was the use of DT Swiss' excellent RWS through axles. These couldn't be easier to use. Very nice, and the wheels slotted into the frame with zero drama. That isn't always the case with through axle stuff.

And as long as we're talking fat bikes, it seems that many companies are waiting out to see just what the rules will be regarding fat bikes in racing. As in "not in the snow racing" racing. The dividing line seems to be where the wheel standards will go. Many in the industry are thinking that the 170mm rear standard will win out for "racing"/all year usages, and if this is the case, and the governing bodies see fit to declare such standards for racing, the companies in the industry will start developing new rims and components geared to the 170mm type bikes.

This bears watching. More as I hear about it.......

Update On Uncle Dick's:

I've begun to use the Uncle Dick's Bead Slip this past week. Here are my thoughts on it so far....

It adds an extra, somewhat tedious step to tire mounting that you ordinarily do not have. So, "Is it worth the trouble?", is the question here.

My initial response is that it is in certain circumstances. You've got to know when those circumstances are worth it, is all. I've had the benefit of 14+ years of being a bicycle mechanic, so I maybe am a bit ahead of the curve in that manner, but if you are not, here's my advice: Use this on tubeless tires, steel rims, plastic rims, or on really tight fitting tire/rim combos. Everything else is probably a situation where this product really isn't all that necessary. I mean- you could use it all the time, but many times you really wouldn't need to.

Here's a good example of using this product when it makes a big difference: I mounted some new 27 X 1 1/4 tires on steel rims the other day and many, many times this results in a portion of the bead that will not slip up into place on the rim, no matter how hard you try to make it do so. I brushed on the Uncle Dick's on the tire beads and the airing up of these tires went so easily it was ridiculous.

While it did take time to paint the beads with the Bead Slip, it easily paid off in time saved possibly wrenching the tire with a tool trying to coax the bead up into place. What was also noticeable was how the tire actually spread out and took on a fuller profile on that steel rim. Nice!

More on that stuff as I get time with it......

That's a wrap for now folks. Have a great weekend and I hope ya'all get a good ride in soon.

Friday News And Views

Slippy-Slide!

Tires.You gotta have them. I like tires a lot too, and I've mounted thousands of them in my lifetime as a mechanic on bicycles (14 years), and as a car mechanic, (5.5 years). One thing that I've always thought was missing with regard to bicycle tires versus the car tires I used to mount was the "slippy-slide".

Slippy-slide......that's a technical term! The "real name" of the product escapes me now- if I ever knew it- but it was indispensable for mounting car tires. You slathered on this snotty-goo substance on tire beads with a brush before mounting the tires to rims. Then when you hit the tire with an air compressor, the beads would slip into place on the rim, instead of hanging up part way. Pop-pop! The tires would seat right up every time.

Well, with bicycles, you generally go dry with the tires, and because we typically use higher pressures and lighter components than automobiles, the beads set up without any extra goo involved. But sometimes they do not, and when they do not, it can be a real hassle to get them to "bead up". (Think 27" steel wheels and tires as a for instance.) Tubeless tires are another good place where I have used various substances to help the bead seating process along. All were messy and wet. Now there is Uncle Dick's Bead Slip. 

It's an organic blend of non-toxic ingredients that you apply with a brush to a tire's beads and it is supposed to make things go easier. I just got some samples at the shop where I work to try out. I have only used it once on a tubeless installation just yesterday. I hit the beads with the Bead Slip and mounted up the tire. A blast from a compressor and...........silence. It was eery! I've never had a bead set up so easily and quietly. More research is necessary, but first impressions are that it is good stuff.

Trek's Farley fat bike.

Fat Bike News: 

Trek's Farley is hitting shops now and with only 500 units produced, the model is hard to come by for dealers, in fact- it is impossible to get unless your dealer pre-ordered some. Unfortunately even the extra 500 that Trek authorized to be built are spoken for as well.  (Yes- that equals 1000 Farleys.)

There are frame sets out there to get though, so if you are so inclined, the blue or black colors are supposedly order-able. The frames are hydro-formed aluminum and come with a fork as well.

As confirmed by a Trek employee, Trek did do just what I theorized earlier this year and rushed this out to market just to have product out there to compete with all the others jumping in. That totally explains the Surly rims and tires on the Farley.

Word is now that Trek will have their own tires and rims for 2015, (read next Fall), and will have "several models" in the fat bike line. Interesting...... This certainly means that Bontrager branded fat bike tires are coming, and rims as well, one would think. Bontrager does a great tubeless tire and rim strip for most types of cycling. It would stand to reason that some sort of tubeless tire and rim strip may be in the offing for fat bikes from Trek. I would also predict that it will be Trek, (and very likely Specialized), that will pay for the tooling to get suspension forks for fat bikes from Rock Shox. Next Summer I would bet that much of this speculation will either be common knowledge or disproved. I'm betting it will mostly be true. We'll see......

Surprised....

And finally....

The big surprise for me this season is not that carbon fat bikes are of great interest to riders, but that they are actually selling. But not that they are actually selling, it's that the best ones are selling. The really expensive ones!

While I won't get into numbers here, the shop where I work is selling these things and by "selling" I mean "sold". I gotta say that surprises me a bit. I can't put my finger on it, but there must be a few reasons why this is.

Obviously, fat bikes have captured the imagination of several folks. Of them, more than a few are thinking traditional fat bikes are heavy. (Well, they are, but that isn't that big a deal for many, or to me.) Now with weight reigned in to the point that most 29"er hard tails weigh more than a fat bike of the highest caliber, you have to wonder if that is finally enticing some folks to jump in. That or folks are just all about carbon fiber anything......I don't know. 

Whatever the motivation, a sub-23 pound fat bike with a wide range drive train is pretty unbelievable.  And with regard to the Salsa, you have to believe that it could go lighter with a tubeless set up, and maybe some lighter parts,or what have you. Updated: Word has it that the actual weights of the XX1 equipped Beargrease carbon rigs has "ballooned" to over 24lbs in reality. Still- that's darn light for a fat bike, but don't go get rid of your super-light 29"er hard tails just yet!

Okay, that's a wrap. I hope you all get a bike ride in and enjoy your weekend.....

Friday News And Views

Slippy-Slide!

Tires.You gotta have them. I like tires a lot too, and I've mounted thousands of them in my lifetime as a mechanic on bicycles (14 years), and as a car mechanic, (5.5 years). One thing that I've always thought was missing with regard to bicycle tires versus the car tires I used to mount was the "slippy-slide".

Slippy-slide......that's a technical term! The "real name" of the product escapes me now- if I ever knew it- but it was indispensable for mounting car tires. You slathered on this snotty-goo substance on tire beads with a brush before mounting the tires to rims. Then when you hit the tire with an air compressor, the beads would slip into place on the rim, instead of hanging up part way. Pop-pop! The tires would seat right up every time.

Well, with bicycles, you generally go dry with the tires, and because we typically use higher pressures and lighter components than automobiles, the beads set up without any extra goo involved. But sometimes they do not, and when they do not, it can be a real hassle to get them to "bead up". (Think 27" steel wheels and tires as a for instance.) Tubeless tires are another good place where I have used various substances to help the bead seating process along. All were messy and wet. Now there is Uncle Dick's Bead Slip. 

It's an organic blend of non-toxic ingredients that you apply with a brush to a tire's beads and it is supposed to make things go easier. I just got some samples at the shop where I work to try out. I have only used it once on a tubeless installation just yesterday. I hit the beads with the Bead Slip and mounted up the tire. A blast from a compressor and...........silence. It was eery! I've never had a bead set up so easily and quietly. More research is necessary, but first impressions are that it is good stuff.

Trek's Farley fat bike.

Fat Bike News: 

Trek's Farley is hitting shops now and with only 500 units produced, the model is hard to come by for dealers, in fact- it is impossible to get unless your dealer pre-ordered some. Unfortunately even the extra 500 that Trek authorized to be built are spoken for as well.  (Yes- that equals 1000 Farleys.)

There are frame sets out there to get though, so if you are so inclined, the blue or black colors are supposedly order-able. The frames are hydro-formed aluminum and come with a fork as well.

As confirmed by a Trek employee, Trek did do just what I theorized earlier this year and rushed this out to market just to have product out there to compete with all the others jumping in. That totally explains the Surly rims and tires on the Farley.

Word is now that Trek will have their own tires and rims for 2015, (read next Fall), and will have "several models" in the fat bike line. Interesting...... This certainly means that Bontrager branded fat bike tires are coming, and rims as well, one would think. Bontrager does a great tubeless tire and rim strip for most types of cycling. It would stand to reason that some sort of tubeless tire and rim strip may be in the offing for fat bikes from Trek. I would also predict that it will be Trek, (and very likely Specialized), that will pay for the tooling to get suspension forks for fat bikes from Rock Shox. Next Summer I would bet that much of this speculation will either be common knowledge or disproved. I'm betting it will mostly be true. We'll see......

Surprised....

And finally....

The big surprise for me this season is not that carbon fat bikes are of great interest to riders, but that they are actually selling. But not that they are actually selling, it's that the best ones are selling. The really expensive ones!

While I won't get into numbers here, the shop where I work is selling these things and by "selling" I mean "sold". I gotta say that surprises me a bit. I can't put my finger on it, but there must be a few reasons why this is.

Obviously, fat bikes have captured the imagination of several folks. Of them, more than a few are thinking traditional fat bikes are heavy. (Well, they are, but that isn't that big a deal for many, or to me.) Now with weight reigned in to the point that most 29"er hard tails weigh more than a fat bike of the highest caliber, you have to wonder if that is finally enticing some folks to jump in. That or folks are just all about carbon fiber anything......I don't know. 

Whatever the motivation, a sub-23 pound fat bike with a wide range drive train is pretty unbelievable.  And with regard to the Salsa, you have to believe that it could go lighter with a tubeless set up, and maybe some lighter parts,or what have you. Updated: Word has it that the actual weights of the XX1 equipped Beargrease carbon rigs has "ballooned" to over 24lbs in reality. Still- that's darn light for a fat bike, but don't go get rid of your super-light 29"er hard tails just yet!

Okay, that's a wrap. I hope you all get a bike ride in and enjoy your weekend.....