u/BikeSkiADHD-Whole

To dentists/dental pros here: I’m curious how common it is in your practices for adults to get nitrous oxide for relatively quick/simple procedures like fillings? How much do you charge for it at your office? And does it make appointments take significantly longer?

I’ve had fairly significant dental anxiety just about as long as I can remember. Luckily for me it didn’t cause me to avoid the dentist entirely for so long I ended up with any serious problems, and now I go every 6 months, get work done when I need it, and have a relatively healthy mouth where any issues are typically caught early. The extent of my adult dental work up to this point has just been 1-2 small cavities needing filled every now and then.

But despite working on my dental anxiety with a mental health professional, I still get pretty disruptive anxiety for at least a day or two around each appointment (even cleanings/exams). I actually find my anxiety more manageable when actually *in* the chair than before and after because I tend to ruminate on the discomfort of the experience. So I’m wondering if nitrous might not only help me feel more relaxed during, but have more positive/less recollection of procedures afterwards?

And also, I feel like kind of a wimp and pain-in-the-ass patient for wanting to ask for it just for getting a couple of fillings, where getting numb sometimes takes longer than the actual procedure. So I guess that’s why I’m wondering if you have many adult patients in your practices who get it for simpler/shorter procedures.

What tires have y'all liked on your Journeyers? Here are my thoughts and experiences (even though no one asked)...

When I got my Journeyer Apex, I opted for the 650b version because I already had a set of 700c Spinergy GX wheels (which, btw, that had to be one of the world's greatest bike upgrades!). So I have two wheelsets, but I ride most of my miles on my much nicer 700c set and use the 650bs primarily for winter commuting. Also when I got my bike, the stock 650b x 47 Teravail Washburns had an issue, so I convinced the shop to replace them with some Rutlands they had in stock, but I've always been bummed that they were just 47mm since these are my "slow"/heavy aggressive wheels anyway...650b x 47 just looks so tiny in a Journeyer frame! I'm leaving all that potential squish and traction behind!!! But the Rutlands themselves are just what I'm looking for in a more aggressive rough road/trail oriented tire.

After 3 years and a huge recent ramp-up in mileage as I prepare for an event next month, my current daily-driver 700c x 38 Vittoria Terreno Dry tires are about ready for retirement. But man, have they been great tires for what I've used them for: mostly smooth/improved gravel mixed with at least as much pavement and commuting, while holding their own in a few spicier "wish I had my mtb" situations as well! I've liked them so much that I thought about just replacing them in kind, but they are unfortunately hard to find any wider than 38mm, and I wanted to go to around 42 ideally...because I can haha.

In the end, mostly because they had good reviews and I found a deal on eBay, I ordered 40mm Maxxis Receptors, which have a very similar tread pattern to the Terrenos: smooth(ish) in the center for pavement and hard surfaces with knobs on the edge for cornering. I wanted 42 mm, but didn't want 45...and unfortunately apparently most tires aren't made in 42mm anymore? Hopefully they are as good to me as the Vittorias were.

Well, as we all know, bike-related shopping is a slippery slope, and since I was already browsing tires, I decided to see what was going on in the 650b/27.5 world. I have always wanted to find some fatter tires for my 650b wheels, but kept talking myself out of it because it will be years before the tires I have are due for replacement. But then I found Worldwide Cyclery, which sells lots of great tires for $45 apiece and ships everything for free...

For some reason I had in my head that 55mm was the maximum 650b Journeyer tire clearance, which meant that 2.2" tires would really be pushing it...so I decided to limit myself to 27.5x2.1" tires max. That ruled out a lot of the 27.5" XC mtb options. With that limit in mind, I ordered 27.5x2.1" Teravail Rutlands...the wider version of the tire I have now...from Worldwide Cyclery thanks to their stellar prices. Then, today, I started doubting my memory, and for good reason! The max 650b/27.5" tire clearance on the Journeyer, according to the internet, is really 2.25" (58mm)! So I had another 4-5mm to play with. Oh well...I think it is certainly not likely to make very much of a difference.

Anybody actually run tires that big on your Journeyer?

Also, if you're in the market for some lightly used 650b x 47 Rutlands...I can hook you up.