How To Repair A Bike Flat Tire

What to Do About Fixing a Flat Bike Tire While out on a Ride

July 15, 2022 0 Comments

It's a nightmare scenario for any cyclist: You're halfway into a 50-mile ride when yous all of a sudden brainstorm to feel your wheel rumbling against the pavement. Yous pull off to the side to examine your tire, and your fears are confirmed. It'south a flat.

Now, if you had come up prepared with the right supplies and experience fixing a flat bicycle tire, this would merely be a minor nuisance. Merely as it is, yous have neither, and now you're stuck 25 miles from your car with no like shooting fish in a barrel way to go back.

Virtually likely, yous'd like to avert this situation. And, since your chances of evading a flat tire are slim to none, it's best to prepare yourself for the inevitable. Here over again, our friend and cycling mentor Coach Darryl comes to salve the day.

What Causes Flat Tires?

Outset things first—let'due south become our terms directly.

"Everybody calls it a flat tire and it isn't," says Omnibus Darryl. "It's really a flat tube." Unless you're riding the rare tubeless road bicycle wheels or a fat-tired mountain bike, you're going to be changing the tube on the inside of the tire, non the tire itself.

And then why practice these tubes become apartment with that protective layer of thick safe tire around them? When road cycling, Darryl notes, the culprit is ordinarily a construction staple or wire, though sometimes it can exist glass, a rock or just a big bump.

You're most probable to have to gear up a flat bicycle tire — or rather inner a apartment tube — when it's getting old, later on the first i,000 or two,000 miles. Every bit your narrow road tires vesture downward, the contact surface (where the tire touches the road) expands from a narrow point to a surface roughly 30% wider than information technology was. This wider contact area makes it that much easier to pick upwardly a sharp object from the road. The tire also grows thinner, providing less of a protective barrier for the tube.

Occasionally, though, you can go a bad tire or tube (or you lot put the new i in wrong — nosotros'll get to that). If that's the example, you'll know it quickly, probably on the first ride. For this reason, Darryl recommends giving yourself a x-day lead time to effort out new tires before a big ride.

Come up Prepared

Cycle flats are a fact of cycling life. In fact, you may become more than than one on a long ride. Darryl once had half dozen in one 25-mile ride. So, yeah, Coach always comes prepared.

He recommends bringing ii spare tubes on a 30-to-45-mile ride, a 3rd if y'all're going more than 50 miles, and a fourth if y'all're going over 100. You can stow these last 2 in your jersey pockets.

Beyond the tubes, you should besides bring several CO2 cartridges that yous tin can utilize to refill your tire in a matter of seconds. Without these, you're cranking a hand pump 200-plus times for several minutes. Aye, that's as exhausting every bit it sounds. If you're already invested in a long ride, you do non want to expend actress energy fixing a flat wheel tire.

Do bring a hand pump as a backup, along with two valve adapters for your CO2 tanks and two tire levers (minor plastic "tire irons" for prying the tire off the rim).

eight Steps to Changing Your Apartment Tire

With the correct equipment and a picayune know-how, you can change a flat wheel tire and be back on your bicycle in 10 minutes. Hither's the pace-by-step guide.

1. Take the Cycle Off

This should be the easy part, equally about wheels these days are quick-release or through-beam (depending on your brake type). If your flat is on the back, though, be sure to modify your gear to the smallest cog, furthest from the bicycle frame. Your derailleur will naturally leap to this position when you remove the chain, so that's where you want it to exist to make it easier to get the chain dorsum on the cycle when you're finished.

two. Carefully Split up the Tire From the Bicycle

Once you lot have the bike off the cycle, permit any remaining air out of the tube and then it'southward easier to disassemble from the rim. With the air out, you'll need your tire levers to remove the tire.

Starting at the reverse side of the valve stalk, carefully use the pointed end of a tire lever to pry the tire and tube loose from the rim. If you come across any resistance, employ a 2nd tire lever most iii inches from the first, then pry at both points.

Every bit it begins to separate, slowly movement the tire lever around the tire, gently prying as you lot go, until you accept the tire completely removed from the bike.

3. Pull the Tube Partially Out

Before you completely remove the flat tube, you lot need to notice the pigsty. Otherwise, the object might nonetheless exist in your tire, prepare to puncture your new tube when you lot get back on the bike.

Starting furthest from the valve stem, pull the tube out of the tire all the way, leaving just 2 or three inches on either side of the valve. Once you notice the hole, you can then line it upward with the tire to see if the crusade of your apartment is yet lodged there. Finding the crusade is essential to ensure you lot gear up your flat bike tire once from the initial cause.

4. Detect the Hole and Remove the Culprit

With the flat tube hanging partially out, use a manus pump to accident it upward but enough to hear where the air is leaking. If you have problem hearing it, put your hand or your face close to the tube to feel the air seeping out. Darryl notes that, if you're fairly certain that a bump was a cause, rather than something sharp, you lot can skip this step.

When yous observe the hole, line it up with the tire to notice the culprit and remove it. In about cases, Autobus Darryl says the tire will be ready to concord a new tube. In the rare instance that you have a damaged side wall, though, you can use an onetime slice of tire or even a folded dollar bill to cover the hole and prevent the new tube from forcing its way through and going flat. This isn't a replacement for a new tire, mind you, only simply plenty to become you home or to a bike shop.

5. Remove and Replace the Tube

Later on you're certain there'due south nothing left in your tire to ruin your new tube, y'all can completely remove the erstwhile ane. Earlier yous brainstorm to put the new tube in, accident it up just enough to requite information technology its normal shape. This will go on it from getting twisted or folded when yous seat it inside the tire.

In one case it'due south partially blown upwardly, get-go by seating the valve stem where it fits, then work your way around from both sides of the valve to get the tube all the mode inside the tire.

six. Put the Tire Back on Your Bike

This is the hardest part of repairing a apartment wheel tire. You'll start at the valve once more here, pushing it up from the inside of the tire then that it pushes the tire higher than it would usually be on the road. This volition requite yous enough clearance to get the tire effectually the rim first at the valve stem.

At present work your way around from both sides of the stem so that you'll finish at the farthest point from it. Those last 8 inches or so are going to be the about difficult, and Darryl recommends keeping your gloves on and using your palms (not your thumbs) to button the tire onto the wheel. The easily are far stronger than the thumbs, and the gloves will protect your palms.

Although some people employ their tire levers to get those last few inches around, Coach Darryl cautions against this because you can inadvertently pinch your tube in the process.

7. Make Sure the Tire is Seated Properly

It's important non to blitz past this part and start bravado up your tire. Slowly examine all the way effectually the bicycle on both sides, looking for whatever sign that the tire isn't seated right. At that place should be a ridge about one/8 of an inch abroad above the rim all the fashion effectually. If this is too far out at any point or you see any tube sticking out around the edges, you lot demand to adjust the tire.

8. Inflate and Check Again

Again, this is where those small CO2 cartridges will come in handy to save you fourth dimension and endeavour. But be careful — these cartridges fill your tire so quickly that it's easy to overfill and pop your tube. (Keep in listen, as well, that you'll probably need to refill the tire once again when you become home, since the smaller CO2 molecules will leak out more quickly.)

Attach the cartridge to the adaptor valve (the piece that connects it to the valve on the wheel), screwing it all the fashion in. Position the valve on your wheel toward the basis then you can employ pressure to the valve and not leak whatever CO2. Then tighten the other cease of the valve adapter all the mode onto the valve on the tire.

Unscrew the tank just enough to release the CO2 into your tire, while holding your paw on the tire to check the pressure as it fills. (The tanks ofttimes have more CO2 than will fit in your tire, and so you tin can popular your new tube if yous're non conscientious.) As soon as your tire is full plenty, tighten the tank back down to cease the air menstruum.

Give everything one more than bank check to make sure the tire is seated correctly with no tube sticking out. If everything looks good, put your wheel back on your bike and yous're ready to ride.

And, finally, try the process of fixing a flat bike tire from the comfort of your habitation earlier you attempt it on the road. Information technology's best to get used to the procedure before you lot observe yourself threatened with sunset or bad weather.

Yous can discover more insights from Double-decker Darryl over at his website .

Source: https://selleanatomica.com/blogs/homepage-blog/what-to-do-about-fixing-a-flat-bike-tire-while-out-on-a-ride

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