Advice on puncture repair

knipper

Hi all finally happened today hopped off a kerb and bang.
Got a puncture on my back wheel.
Tried to fix it but my tyre levers would not budge the tyre.
My bike is only a couple of months old so the tyre may be stiffer?
Ended up walking home and spending an hour getting the tyre off with some screwdrivers I know your not supposed to do that but was the only way.
What a trial.
Put in new tube and all is well.
Anyway was wondering is there something better for taking off the tyres than the plastic tyre levers I have.
Also there is a double puncture on the tube about 5mm long each is it worth repairing or is it likely it will only blow again as there are 2 holes.
One more question tried to pump my tyre with my hand pump but it didnt seem to fit my valve. There was a plastic X in end of the pump this wouldnt allow the valve into the pump. Sorry for the confusion. Hope someone knows what I mean.
I have never used this pump before so never noticed this.normally use footpump.
Sorry for all the questions but don't know any other cyclists to ask.

tomasrojo

Do you have presta valves?



Sounds as if you have a Schraeder connector. You'll need a Presta connector, if your valve looks like the picture above. Or a little adapter you can buy in most bike shops that allow you to use a Schraeder connector with a Presta valve.

A 5mm hole sounds too big for repairing.

You should be able to get just about any tyre off with plastic levers (I snapped a few on Armadillo tyres, but I always got them off in the end). You can still get metal levers, but they're hard on the rims.

knipper

I have a presta connector alright.
I looked up the pump on halfords site and it says it does both valve types.
http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_220353_langId_-1_categoryId_212494
But the valve just wouldnt go into the pump.
Also try as I might I could not get the tyre off with those plastic levers it was even difficult with the screwdrivers!!!
Been on youtube watching others doing it but none of them seemed to have the bother I had getting the tyre off.
At least I know the tube is a write off off for a new spare tomorrow.
Thanks a mill

CramCycle

knipper wrote: »

Ended up walking home and spending an hour getting the tyre off with some screwdrivers I know your not supposed to do that but was the only way.

I still use butter knives in some cases, don't worry about it.

Also there is a double puncture on the tube about 5mm long each is it worth repairing or is it likely it will only below again as there are 2 holes.

Replace the tube.

Look here for more info:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/presta-schrader.html

tomasrojo

Aha!

You need to unscrew the silver knurled part on the end of the pump, take out the plastic bit with the x and rubber valve that goes around it, and rearrange them so they fit a presta valve.

Someone illustrated the process with photos a while ago. I'll see if I can find it for you.

CramCycle

tomasrojo wrote: »

Aha!

You need to unscrew the silver knurled part on the end of the pump, take out the plastic bit with the x and rubber valve that goes around it, and rearrange them so they fit a presta valve.

Someone illustrated the process with photos a while ago. I'll see if I can find it for you.

Completely right, I realised how little sense my post made. Its been a long week.

tomasrojo

CramCycle wrote: »

Completely right, I realised how little sense my post made. Its been a long week.

Well, I still seem to think "hand pumps" are 30cm long and have a hose connector!

It was only when I followed OP's link I realised it was a mini-pump. Oddly enough, I have a mini-pump too. I just can't get rid of that mental image of the old ones.

knipper

Yer not half as confused as I was lads.
Thanks a mil for all the info was thinking of bringing the pump back but thought there was something I was missing alright.
Thank god I didnt they would have laughed me out of the shop.
Would the metal tyre levers be better than my plastic ones for my super strength tyres?

tomasrojo

Metal levers would definitely be less likely to snap. I used them for years. They're ok, but heavy and I seem to recall that they make you more likely to pinch the new tube if you need to use then to re-install the tyre.

CramCycle

knipper wrote: »

Yer not half as confused as I was lads.
Thanks a mil for all the info was thinking of bringing the pump back but thought there was something I was missing alright.
Thank god I didnt they would have laughed me out of the shop.
Would the metal tyre levers be better than my plastic ones for my super strength tyres?

I got cheap metal ones before, plastic ones broke, still using them 3 years later. I'm sure someone will disagree but I think they're great

petethedrummer

knipper wrote: »

Also there is a double puncture on the tube about 5mm long each is it worth repairing or is it likely it will only blow again as there are 2 holes.

sounds like a snake bite puncture. Your tyres are under inflated. A track pump should sort it out.

knipper

If your gonna get a puncture I guess thats the one to get sounds way cooler than a slow puncture anyway.
I'd say you have a point tyres were prob around 80-90psi thats all my footpump will go to.
I thought that would be alright tho as Im only nine and a half stone.
The speed I was doing at the time prob didnt help matters tho!

Highway_To_Hell

Metal ones all the way, I had the plastic ones at one point and just found them harder to remove the tyres with.

BTW you shouldn't use tyre levers to get the tyre back on as this can repuncturing the tube.

petethedrummer

knipper wrote: »

If your gonna get a puncture I guess thats the one to get sounds way cooler than a slow puncture anyway.
I'd say you have a point tyres were prob around 80-90psi thats all my footpump will go to.
I thought that would be alright tho as Im only nine and a half stone.
The speed I was doing at the time prob didnt help matters tho!

80 or 90 should have been ok unless you hit something really hard. Were the tyres topped up recently? The pressure can drop over the course of a few days and may look and feel hard but might be down quite a bit.

ednwireland

i bought some sets of park tools plastic ones and they dont bend !

broke loads of tyre levers before those

(also have a couple of metal ones just in case )

cdaly_

The other thing to do before taking off a tyre is to push the bead off the rim seat all the way around and preferably on both sides. That will allow the bead on the opposite side of the tyre to drop into the rim a bit and give you a bit more room for manouvre with the tyre lever.

funkyjebus

CramCycle wrote: »

I got cheap metal ones before, plastic ones broke, still using them 3 years later. I'm sure someone will disagree but I think they're great

+1 - went through too many plastic ones, i have a set of victoria tyres and they are a bitch to get off. a year and still going.

07Lapierre

cdaly_ wrote: »

The other thing to do before taking off a tyre is to push the bead off the rim seat all the way around and preferably on both sides. That will allow the bead on the opposite side of the tyre to drop into the rim a bit and give you a bit more room for manouvre with the tyre lever.

Using this technique, it should be possible to remove most road tyres without resorting to tyre levers. Where possible, always remove tyres with your hands. Using levers can cause damage to the tube and tyre.

In short, only use tyre levers as a last resort and never use them to put tyres ON.

Morrisseeee

No point starting a new thread, as I have similar Qs, I had my 1st puncture Wed evening, back tyre. I felt a stone 'exiting stage left' and 3 secs later, bam/psssst, I was airless !!
I used the LIDL spray can thingy , it inflates & seals the puncture, but the 'white-stuff' just came buzzing out through the tube & the tyre. On inspection, both tube & tyre have minute tears in them, so...........should I replace both ? or just tube ?
The tyre is a 'Bontrager All-Weather Race' tyre, 2 weeks old.

cdaly_

If the tyre sidewall has a tear it's pretty much dead. Next thing will be a blowout. If it's 'minute' as you say you might get away with it but I wouldn't run that tyre on the front wheel. A front wheel blowout is an automatic crash while a rear blowout just leaves you stranded.

Morrisseeee

If the tyre sidewall has a tear it's pretty much dead.

Yeah, its on the side.
So, looks I'll have to replace the tyre aswell, what should I get ? say from CRC, that would closely match the front tyre.

Morrisseeee

I checked out the Bontrager site to see what kind of tyre I had, I think this is it : http://bontrager.com/model/09182
.........but then I clicked on the 'support' tab, and it says this:

"You'll Love Our Tires. We Guarantee It.
We’re so confident in the performance of the new Bontrager tire line that we’re backing it with a guarantee unsurpassed in the bike tire business. All Bontrager tires are unconditionally satisfaction guaranteed for 30 days from the date of purchase. If you - for any reason - don’t like your new Bontrager tire, return it (along with your original sales receipt) back to the place of purchase within 30 days of purchase date for full refund or exchange. It’s that easy."

So..............I (obviously ) don't like my new tyre !!, but I wonder is it 'that easy' to return it :eek: (surely not :pac:)

cdaly_

Worth a try. Sometimes these guarantees exclude puncture damage but you never know...

Morrisseeee

Thanks cdaly_, I'll ring my LBS now,
Q. is there anything you would recommend from chainreactioncycles.com that would replace this tyre (for a general/sportif type cyclist), or should I replace both, assuming might I have to change the bad one.