Karl Erbach saves the day for Dave and son Colin with a cool trail-side tire repair

Around noon on Sunday of the Ride the Keweenaw weekend, Karl Erbach, Territory Manager at Trek Bicycle and I were riding a trail on Brockway Mountain called The Flow, one of the many spectacular trails that are part of the Copper Harbor Trails system.

Colin, Dave, and a trail-side tire repair by Trek territory manager Karl Erbach Trek territory manager Karl Erbach Trek territory manager Karl Erbach with Dave and his son Colin 
About a third of the way down the trail, we came upon Dave and his 8 year-old son Colin from Green Bay, Wisconsin. Colin’s tire was shot: punctured tube and blown sidewall. Karl patched the tube and then deployed a trick I’d never seen before. He used a candy bar wrapper (he said a dollar bill would work, too) to reinforce the sidewall.

Trek territory manager Karl Erbach with Dave and his son ColinIn 15 minutes or so, Karl had worked his magic (he also did a few other adjustments on Colin’s bike).

Dave and Colin were soon smiling on their way back to town, riding 3 miles instead of having to do a tough hike-a-bike.

4 Comments

  1. charlie said:

    I pack a hunk of Priority Mail envelope from the post office for this purpose. Made of Tyvek, so very strong; still light and compact.

    May 28, 2013
  2. Griff Wigley said:

    Great idea, Charlie. I’ll add that to my pack.

    June 1, 2013
  3. Dave said:

    Thanks again to Karl and Griff who stopped to help up out my son’s blown tube and tire. I wasn’t looking forward to walking two bikes down the Flow and back into Copper Harbor! We will both be back for the Fat Tire on Labor day weekend.

    June 13, 2013
  4. Griff Wigley said:

    Hey Dave, I’m thrilled you found your way here and left a comment. Hope to see you and Colin on the trails again.

    June 13, 2013

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