Commuting - Tips on changing back tire flats

Well - after riding the whole season without a flat, the feeling of getting a flat is ever present. Now that I have purchased a new Bianchi with the real narrow tires and the new valve system (presta?) Im alittle concerned about changing the back wheel. Im a new rider to commuting and have never had to confront the issue. My question is this: Should I practice this routine at home to see how to work the chain and such. Should I have the bike upside down on the bars and seat while changing? Ive change my front on my older bike, but the not the back. Any insight would be great - thanks!

Presta valves new? I think that they have been around for about 70 years, 50 at the very least. Anyway, if you don't already have quick-release skewers, I would suggest getting some.
It would be pretty nigh impossible to remove a wheel with the bike standing up, but you gotta be careful to not damage the saddle when it's setting upside down. When you pull the wheel off, it helps to pull the derailleur back, to give it clearance. When re-installing the wheel, there is always a little tab on the derailleur cage for you to push, making re-insertation easier.
Of course, you will need tyre irons and a patch kit, too. Make sure that the wheel is centred before you tighten the QR skewers, too.

Yes, I would practice changing flats at home, Its not hard, and shouldnt take very long to change a flat. But if its raining, windy, or dark, changing a flat tire becomes quite a pain! The more practice, the better you will be when you need to change the tire. The first time you change your tire, it may take you 15min, by the tenth time, you may cut that time down to just a few minutes.

If you can, shift to the small cog before removing the wheel. It makes reinsertion a little easier. With just a little practice you can pretty much get the wheel off and on without having to touch the chain

Originally posted by nikos
... Im alittle concerned about changing the back wheel...

Nikos,

The biggest difference between front and back is dealing with the chain. Here's the technique I use.

- Shift the rear derailer to the smallest cog. It'll make wheel removal and installation easier.
- Most decent bikes these days have a small peg on the inside of the right seatstay, which is put there so you can park the chain when the wheel is out. Lift the top of the chain (with your fingers or a tool like a screwdriver) and hang it over this peg.
- Flip open the quick releases for the brakes and wheel.
- With the bike still upright, lift the frame with your left hand, then twist the rear derailer backward with your right. Once the derailer mechanism has cleared the cogs on the rear wheel, the wheel should come free of the dropouts.
- Maneuver the wheel free of the chain and back it out of the frame. Lay the bike down chain side up.

With the wheel out of the frame, flat repair is the same as it would be for the front.

Installation of the wheel is pretty much the reverse of removal, with one extra item of detail: if your bike has horizontal dropouts, pull the wheel back until it hits the stops and make sure it's centered inside the stays before you close the quick release.

I tend to remove the tube from the opposite side of the cassette. I don't know whether you should anyway, but it keeps the tube away from your oily/dirty cassette. It has become a force of habit now anyway.

Does that make sense?

Hi Nickos, just adding to those great tips above.
To speed up tyre removal- front or back try this. Some tyres are a bit looser on the rim so you may not need irons at all. First remove the wheel.
The method is- starting with the valve up push the tyre inwards and around to the other side of the wheel- use moderate pressure. If the tyre is a loose one you will be able see that the tyre has lifted enough for you to twist it over the side of the rim!!!
Not all tyre/rim combinations will work but if they do you save a small amount of time and on a commuting ride sometimes this helps.
Regards, sillystorm. :D

Always remember that if you can tell where the puncture is you probably don't need to take the wheel off the bike at all. Just pry the wheel off the rim for a few inches around the puncture, pull out the tube, patch, reassemble, pump and go.

Yes, practice at it. In addition to practicing your skills, you need to see if your roadside repair equipment is any good at all:

1. Many frame pumps are not very useful, but you won't know this until you try to use them. Those that don't have hoses on them are difficult to use to fully inflate an inner tube and you can damage the valve stem with them. (I use the Topeak Road Morph, and I'm very pleased with it. It costs more than the typical frame pump, but it's worth it, because it works just like a real floor pump. I can fully inflate inner tubes quickly with it.)

2. If you don't have a quick release wheel, you must know if the wrench or other tool that you select will actually let you get the wheel released.

3. You need to know whether you'll lean towards just replacing the inner tube or repairing the inner tube. If the latter, there are lots of bad repair kits out there. Many repair kits include metal scratchers inside of sandpaper, and those metal scratchers easily tear holes in the inner tube. Also, I would suggest staying away from the self-adhesive 'glueless' patches - they don't stick very well.

4. You really have to know what combination of tire levers or spoons will work for you. My tires tend to have a tight bead. (The bead is the part of the tire that tucks beneath the rim, and often is very stiff.) I find that tire levers that can be held in place on the spokes work great for removing the tire, but nothing beats a spoon for forcing the bead back into place.

Test your tools. It's the only way that you'll know if they work.

Great insight on trying the tools out. My frame pump is very difficult to use. I just got done taking out the back wheel - I was surprized how easy it was. The Utegra gear is very nice - it just popped out and the chain stayed tight. I had this idea that the chain would be flopping all over the place. One question: my frame pump is now set up for the presta valve, is it just a matter of opening up the screw(on the valve) and inserting the pump and clamp down and go to it? Im gonna need to get a tire gauge before I test, and a regular pump that has the presta option. thanks for all the tips. Its easy to hop on and hope for the best, but Im realizing I dont care to learn on the side of the road.

Presta valves can often be a pain. They will sometimes stick when the tyre is inflated, so you must push them first, to break the seal. Sometimes they seat for so long that they become permanently stuck, and are then useless.
Don't unscrew the nut more than about 1/2 way when you use a pump-the little bolt can bend. When you finish filling the tyre, screw the nut back on. You can also use the "dorknut", if you are worried about the tube shifting. Valve caps on presta valves are often not used on road bikes.
Some better tubes (mostly latex racing tubes) and the better tubular tyres have removable cores. These were once common, but are now quite rare. They are also quite fragile. If you get a stuck valve, you usually need to replace the tube today.
For smaller tyres, a presta gauge will not work well, since you will need to drain a significant amount of air in order to get a decent reading. Always over-inflate, then bleed carefully down to get the correct pressure.
Presta valves are a bit easier to inflate, since you rarely lose significan pressure upon removing the pump, unlike a schrader valve. Also, presta valves don't leak nearly as much air as schraders do.

Some modern racing rims are very thick and aerodynamic, so need extra-long Presta valves. When you buy replacement tubes, be sure to get the correct type. If your rims take a normal sized valve , with the threaded lock-ring, use that type. The extra-long valves flop around in a normal rim, and can bend easily.

Always carry a spare tube, and use that first, before attempting to patch. Be sure to remove the cause of the puncture (glass etc) or you will puncture your spare, and have to patch by the side of the road. I carry some self-adhesive patches, but always use a conventional patch kit at home; these are better and cheaper.

Its a good idea to get a floor pump with a pressure guage. Silca is a good standard model.
For everyday rides/commutes, a small mini-pump is a good idea. Its difficult to get up to full pressure, but it will get you home OK. Full-sized frame pumps (eg Zefal HP-X) are better for touring , when you really need better performance from a carry pump.

I just purchased a topeak morph with gauge. I deflated my tires and repumped with ease. However, the psi reading on the gauge was around 50, my tires were well full - however the reccomended psi is 100-120. Is there something Im missing on the reading or the need for adjustment?

This thread is full of very useful info.

The only things I can add would be to pay attention to your brake release to facilitate the removal and installation of the wheel. Always remember to reset it. If you forget to set it and your brakes are way out of adjustment, you could find yourself with no brakes at that wheel. Always test the brakes upon rolling away from a repair or adjustment.

Carry a couple of inches of old tube slit down the middle to line a tire with a blown out side wall. Be careful, if the side wall is extremely damaged, it may be safer to make a call to get a ride rather than chance a tire failure at speed.

I second the advice to carry a spare tube at all times and patch the damaged one at home. I carry a tube rolled up in a sandwich bag, with a few shakes of baby powder in it, wrapped tight with a rubber band. It'll cut your time way down.

You'll find fixing flats will become second nature with time.

You probably figured out already that when you turn your bike up-side down, it often destroys your brake cables that are attached to your handlebars.

Hi All,
I always carry 2 tubes with me. I know a bit of over kill maybe but you may run into someone as I have before that went out in the boonies without a spare. Do you realize how much a tube can go for in that situation?? (Kidding) .
I use a tire tool to aid in removing the tire but never to put on back on . With a bit of practice you can change a tire without using any tools. I always carry a ball of cotton in my kit as its the best for running around the inside of a tire to find those very tiny things you just cannot see.

Hammer til they puke! *S*

Dudley

Originally posted by Bikinguy
............. I always carry a ball of cotton in my kit as its the best for running around the inside of a tire to find those very tiny things you just cannot see. ....

Dudley

How are you using the cotton ball?

Hi sorebutt,
Before putting in the new tube I take the cotton ball and run in around the inside of the tire. It will snag on anything no matter how small. Even if I see a big piece of something and remove it I always give it the cotton ball treatment to look for the very small objects.
By the way I saw the post on your new seat . That type will work for awhile but the padding will shift and it will become unconfortable. You will eventually go to a hard seat.

Ride Safe....Dudley

That cotton ball is a great idea if you travel through some of the rougher parts of a city. Your tyres can get spiked by discarded hyperdermic needles, not something you want to search for with a bare hand !!

MichaelW,
Man, that's one rough part of the city.
Sounds like you need tire liners.

Being anal about my bicycle, I would add that you want to line up the label on the tires with the valve stem and toward the drive side. This is an industry standard to which some tires (mostly those with treads) are designed, it keeps the proper direction of the tire forward, and it helps locate the valve stem when in a hurry (flats in races suck!).

Another thing it does is helps narrow the area to look for penetrations. To explain: if you get a flat when you remove the tube, you can pump it up to find the hole (and patch if you don't have a spare tube). Once the hole is found you want to see if what made the hole is still in your tire. You can guesstimate the distance from the valve stem compare it to the distance away from the label and then check that general area on the tire. This can avoid the dreaded multiple flats syndrome.

L8R G8R:D

I commute through some similarily scary areas of my city. I actually changed my route to avoid a certain corner after the third homicide in a year at that location (2 in the daytime). I usually commute on a Cannondale, which every junky knows stands for "crack for a week" at the local merchaindise fence's place. The last thing I want in such a neighborhood is a puncture. With the Specialized Turbo Armadillos on my touring bike, I can ride right over hypodermic needles, broken crack pipes, busted colt 45 40oz. bottles, metal scraps, thumbtacks, you name it, and never get a puncture!

Originally posted by a2psyklnut
Being anal about my bicycle, I would add that you want to line up the label on the tires with the valve stem and toward the drive side

Yup, that's anal alright.

Are you an accountant by trade? I bet you have a really clean kitchen.:D

Changing tube is not hard but I have made some scraches to the saddle and handlebars at first. I always carry a pair of sugical glove and a spare tube (and tire levier and a pump) with my commuting equipment and I strongly recommend the gloves.

probably scrubs his gear cogs every week, too!:D
seriously, that is a good idea, one which I have used in the past, but one which is often forgotten while remounting a tyre on the side of a road, during a rainstorm. Tubulars, on the other hand, don't have this problem. they have problems of their own, though.

I almost hate to admit that I, too, center the valve stem on the label. :o However, I put the label on the non-drive side as that seems to be the way my Conti Ultra 3000s want to face. And I do clean my chain and cogs pretty much every other week. And I am a CPA. But the way I care for my bike is not reflected elsewhere. You can't even see the top of my desk! My bikes just get way better treatment than anything else in my life. Well, except my wife and daughters, and they might even argue with that. :D

Da Rainman

My bikes just get way better treatment than anything else in my life. Well, except my wife and daughters, and they might even argue with that. [/B]

Aren't women so jalous? They always compete for attention with anything else in your life. Yet, they grant themsleves the right to compare how much you care about them vs the bike (or work etc) "You care more about your bikes than me.... blah blah blah sob sob" but you are never given the right to actually compare and list the pros and cons of each "well, I can talk to you and not to the bike but then again the bike has no mother and you...." ;)

As a matter of fact, my kitchen is usually always spotless, and it does get used! However, that's about it, oh yeah, my tools must each be wiped down after each use and put in their proper place. My friend asked me why I didn't take a magic marker and outline my tools on the pegboard. WHY? I know exactly where each one goes, and if a tool isn't in the right spot, then I know someone has been using it. You mean, not everyone else is like this? This isn't normal behavior? Wow, that explains a lot.

I learn sooooo much on this forum.

L8R G8R:D

Specialized Turbo Armadillos on my touring bike, I can ride right over hypodermic needles, broken crack pipes, busted colt 45 40oz. bottles, metal scraps, thumbtacks, you name it, and never get a puncture!

I'll second that. I've worn out 2 sets now without even a slow leak. I also use liners and thorn-resistent tubes, but I check the tires often and nothing's even made it through to them.

Thorn resistant tubes with these tyres is a waste of money, amd added weight, to boot! Actually, you should either go for lightweight racing tubes, or else buy the next size down; they are that good! A lot of people (worry-worts, mostly) see a few cracks in the red latex sidewall coverings (common with armadillo's), and conclude that the bead is coming off. Hogwash!!! I'm actually going to buy a couple more in my size (27" x 1 1/4) while they still have them!