It only takes one flat tire ten miles from home to convince the newbie cyclist to carry the tools and supplies necessary to fix that flat while out on the road. The repair kit’s fairly simple: for ordinary rides, you only need to carry a replacement tube, tire levers and a pump. If a cross-country trip will take you miles from the nearest bike shop, toss more tubes, a patch kit and a foldup tire or two in the panniers or trailer. In either case, carrying a couple of paper towels is a good idea.
(1) a tire pump or a CO2 inflation kit
(2) a replacement tube of the proper size
(3) tire levers
It's also a good idea to carry a sheet or two of paper towel and perhaps an emergency tire patch kit
Once you’ve committed to changing the tires yourself instead of calling a friend to pick you up, the next step is to learn how to do the deed. Unlike a car, where you replace the entire wheel, fixing a flat bike tire means replacing the inner tube. You can’t do that without taking the wheel off the bike, so the first step is to remove the wheel.
Step 1: get your tire lever(s), replacement tube and pump off the bike. Place them in a clean spot within easy reach.
Step 2: Loosen the brake caliper -- turn the little lever on the side of the caliper to the UP position (this give you more clearance to get the wheel off the frame)
Step 3: Turn the bike upside down so it rests on the seat and the handlebars.
Step 4: If the flat is on the rear (and most are), shift the chain onto the smallest cog of the gear cluster. This makes it easier to get the wheel on and off.
Step 5: Open the quick-release lever to loosen the axle, and give the nut on the other end of the skewer a couple of spins to loosen the works farther.
Step 6: Lift the wheel out of the frame. On the rear of a multispeed bike, grab the bottom of the derailleur and pull it up with one hand: this lets you lift the cluster out of the chain.
Step 7: Slip the “tongue” of a tire lever under one edge (“bead”) of the tire carcass and pry it over the rim. At this point you may be able to slide the lever around the rim and completely loosen the bead. If the tire’s too tight for this move, hook the lever onto a spoke and insert a second tire lever into the opening this creates. You only need to take off one side of the tire.
Step 8: Remove the keeper nut (Presta valves – the skinny metal ones) and dust cap from the valve. Put them someplace safe.
Step 9: Pull the tube out of the tire carcass. Put the keeper and dust cap back on and lay the old tube someplace clean and safe.
Step 10: Carefully inspect the rubber tire to find the thorn or other sharp object that punctured your tire. Pull it out and throw it far, far away. Run your fingers around the inside of the tire to find anything that’s sticking through the tire. It does no good to put in a new tube if there’s still a tiny nail sticking through the tire!
Step 11: Push the valve through the opening in the rim, then tuck the limp tube up into the tire all the way around the wheel. Attach the pump and give the tube a single shot of air. Put the keeper nut about halfway onto a Presta valve. Get the valve stem as straight as possible before inflating.
Step 12: Push the bead back into the rim. Those last few inches will require the tire levers or, if you’ve done this often enough, strong thumbs. Once the bead snaps back in, use your fingers to squeeze all the way around the tire to make certain the tube is contained within the tire and not sticking out between tire and rim.
Step 13: Put the wheel back on the bike – many lightweight road bikes don’t have enough clearance to allow you to pump the tire up before remounting it. On the rear of a multispeed bike, pull the derailleur up and back to let you slide the cluster into place. Be sure to set the smallest (last) cog on the chain.
Step 14: Tighten the quick-release skewer. To center the wheel between caliper brakes, close the lever on the caliper and squeeze the brake lever before closing the quick-release entirely. Once the wheel is in place, spin it to make certain the rim isn’t dragging on a brake shoe. Shift the chain back to a larger cog.
Step 15: Turn the bike right-side up. Pump the tire up to the proper pressure. You’re done!
Once you’ve put everything away, check the brake before riding away.
Keep the old tube and put a patch on it when you get home. Unless you’re very lucky it is difficult to find a puncture on the roadside, but a basin of water makes it very easy to find a leak. Though bike shop clerks claim you should always replace a tube instead of patching it, this is utter bullshit. If I replaced every tube that’s gone flat on me, my tube budget would be several hundred dollars per year. One year I changed something like forty flats on my two bikes and my wife’s one. I routinely ride on a tube until it’s been patched three times before discarding it.
A word about patches: the old-style kits with a little tube of vulcanizing fluid are best. Park Tools makes a good glueless patch, but Skabs from Slime® have proven pretty useless for me – they leak almost immediately.
The Fix-a-Flat Kit
(1) a tire pump or a CO2 inflation kit(2) a replacement tube of the proper size
(3) tire levers
It's also a good idea to carry a sheet or two of paper towel and perhaps an emergency tire patch kit
Preparing to Fix a Flat
Once you’ve committed to changing the tires yourself instead of calling a friend to pick you up, the next step is to learn how to do the deed. Unlike a car, where you replace the entire wheel, fixing a flat bike tire means replacing the inner tube. You can’t do that without taking the wheel off the bike, so the first step is to remove the wheel.
Step 1: get your tire lever(s), replacement tube and pump off the bike. Place them in a clean spot within easy reach.Step 2: Loosen the brake caliper -- turn the little lever on the side of the caliper to the UP position (this give you more clearance to get the wheel off the frame)
Step 3: Turn the bike upside down so it rests on the seat and the handlebars.
Remove the Wheel
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| Step 4: shift chain |
 |
| Step 5: open quick-release |
 |
| Step 6: lift chain to release rear wheel |
Step 5: Open the quick-release lever to loosen the axle, and give the nut on the other end of the skewer a couple of spins to loosen the works farther.
Step 6: Lift the wheel out of the frame. On the rear of a multispeed bike, grab the bottom of the derailleur and pull it up with one hand: this lets you lift the cluster out of the chain.
Loosen the Tire
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Step 8: Remove the keeper nut (Presta valves – the skinny metal ones) and dust cap from the valve. Put them someplace safe.
Step 9: Pull the tube out of the tire carcass. Put the keeper and dust cap back on and lay the old tube someplace clean and safe.
Change the Tube
Step 10: Carefully inspect the rubber tire to find the thorn or other sharp object that punctured your tire. Pull it out and throw it far, far away. Run your fingers around the inside of the tire to find anything that’s sticking through the tire. It does no good to put in a new tube if there’s still a tiny nail sticking through the tire!
Step 11: Push the valve through the opening in the rim, then tuck the limp tube up into the tire all the way around the wheel. Attach the pump and give the tube a single shot of air. Put the keeper nut about halfway onto a Presta valve. Get the valve stem as straight as possible before inflating.
Step 12: Push the bead back into the rim. Those last few inches will require the tire levers or, if you’ve done this often enough, strong thumbs. Once the bead snaps back in, use your fingers to squeeze all the way around the tire to make certain the tube is contained within the tire and not sticking out between tire and rim.
Reassemble the Bike
Step 13: Put the wheel back on the bike – many lightweight road bikes don’t have enough clearance to allow you to pump the tire up before remounting it. On the rear of a multispeed bike, pull the derailleur up and back to let you slide the cluster into place. Be sure to set the smallest (last) cog on the chain.
Step 14: Tighten the quick-release skewer. To center the wheel between caliper brakes, close the lever on the caliper and squeeze the brake lever before closing the quick-release entirely. Once the wheel is in place, spin it to make certain the rim isn’t dragging on a brake shoe. Shift the chain back to a larger cog.
Step 15: Turn the bike right-side up. Pump the tire up to the proper pressure. You’re done!
Once you’ve put everything away, check the brake before riding away.
Keep the old tube and put a patch on it when you get home. Unless you’re very lucky it is difficult to find a puncture on the roadside, but a basin of water makes it very easy to find a leak. Though bike shop clerks claim you should always replace a tube instead of patching it, this is utter bullshit. If I replaced every tube that’s gone flat on me, my tube budget would be several hundred dollars per year. One year I changed something like forty flats on my two bikes and my wife’s one. I routinely ride on a tube until it’s been patched three times before discarding it.
A word about patches: the old-style kits with a little tube of vulcanizing fluid are best. Park Tools makes a good glueless patch, but Skabs from Slime® have proven pretty useless for me – they leak almost immediately.
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