puncture repair

minterno

hi guys,i fixed a puncture yesterday on a road bike and when i was putting the tyre back on i pinched the tube and had to start all over and repair it where i pinched it,when i was putting on the tyre the second time i pinched it again and gave up for the day,im only back in the saddle for about 2 or 3 months after about 30 years,nearly 50 now and need the exercise,has anyone got some advice on the subject,its def easier on a hybrid to release the tyre off the rim and put it on again,i also scratched the steel rims of the wheel with the tyre levers and it looks crap,if any one can point me in that right direction that woud be great

DirkVoodoo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntYIITLp90k

- Get a decent track pump for home
- Use plastic levers, I've used steel levers and never found them any easier, they just scratch the rims. In the end it's only cosmetic damage though.
- It's easy to forget to check the inside tyre for anything that may puncture your new tube, make sure there are no burrs on the rim or spokes protruding.
- Make sure the tube is properly seated and try to avoid using levers to mount the final part of the bead.

wersal gummage

dont use any levers when you put the tyre back on.

minterno

thanks for the replys guys,the plastic levers sound like a good idea,but there was no way to get the tyre on without the levers,i had my brother in law with me and the two of us tried and could not do it so we put a bit of washingup liquid on the rim but that only made it to slick for the fingers,i will give it another go after the football,cheers

smacl

Fixed a couple of punctures on my sisters road bike this weekend, on the road, at 80k and 110k into what ended up as 175k of a spin. Never did it before, but getting the thin tyre off the wheel was a bit of of bastr'd, as was getting it on after replacing the tube. Nothing at all like the above video tbh. Second puncture was a repair rather than replace job, but found out a couple of very useful things in the process;

- Pumping up the puncture tube released a little blast of chalk dust out of the hole. Thank you to the genius who thought of putting chalk dust into new tubes, absolute life saver.

- My sister had been told in the bike shop to always put the writing on the tyre beside the tube valve after replacing a tube, which we had done first time out. Tracing the position of the puncture on the tube around the edge of the tyre, sure enough I found a tiny shard of glass at the puncture position, which would have continued to cause more punctures. We had checked the tyre after the first puncture, but hadn't caught the offending shard first time out.

- We both had mini-pumps, neither of which had been used before in anger. Mine worked, hers didn't. I wonder how many people test the kit they buy before the emergency happens? Must check out my spare inner tubes before I go out cycling next time.

No doubt this is all old hat to regular cyclists, so apologies for that. Anyone know of any good books on basic roadside repair for the novice? I read posts from the more experienced folks here repairing punctures in minutes, I'd say we lost well over an hour between the two.

abcdggs

wersal gummage wrote: »

dont use any levers when you put the tyre back on.

Ditto to this, Ive been told by several very experienced mechanics that you shouldn't use tyre levers for replacing tyres.

Although as someone with a climbers build (ie. scrawny arms) i often find it impossible to do this and often try using levers for replacing tyres only sparingly.

biomed32

small bit of washing up liquid on the rim of the tyre, it will go on with much ease then

murph226

sure I always have fairy liquid with me when I'm out for a spin:D

blorg

abcdggs wrote: »

Ditto to this, Ive been told by several very experienced mechanics that you shouldn't use tyre levers for replacing tyres.

That is the ideal but there are some rim/tyre combinations you will not get back together without tyre levers. Using plastic ones and being careful you are less likely to pinch the tube. I almost always use levers to get the tyre back on and I have never pinched a tube in hundreds of re-seatings. I have had blowouts from not checking that the bead was correctly seated before inflating a few times.

rp

blorg wrote: »

That is the ideal but there are some rim/tyre combinations you will not get back together without tyre levers.

The hardest I've ever had to change have been wide Marathons on 26" rims (with levers), then I found this video of someone doing it without levers - some good tips in this. Since then I've never bothered with levers for road bike tyres (23/25C700s) and I'm much faster at roadside punctures since (got thumb muscles like John Cena's biceps too).

DirkVoodoo

rp wrote: »

then I found this video of someone doing it without levers .

Suggested videos: bra fitting.....

minterno

thanks for all the help guys,great vid rp,big big help,cheers

rp

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Suggested videos: bra fitting.....

and notice, she uses neither tyre levers nor fairy liquid.

seamus

blorg wrote: »

That is the ideal but there are some rim/tyre combinations you will not get back together without tyre levers.

And my current MTB wheels can't even take plastic levers, I've broken about 6 of them.

The main way that you puncture the tube with steel levers is because you put the lever in and you push it all the way up to get the beading in - the lever then pins the tube to the rim and when the tyre slots it, the lever may go through the tube. What works for me is to use the lever to lift the tyre over the rim and then use your thumbs to push the tyre off the lever and into the rim - so the lever is rarely above 90 degrees from the rim and so can't pinch the tube.

I'm going to replace my MTB wheels though. I feel spoiled with my road bike cos I can fit the tyre without levers and it's the poxy wheels that make me hesitant to fix up and use the MTB.