Fifty Plus (50+) - Which way up?

For many years I have ridden MTB's and have enjoyed the ritual of flats on offroad rides on a regular basis. No problem as puncture repairs are dead easy. Loosen the brakes and turn the bike upside down to take the wheel out. Dead easy and the bike doesn't fall over. Now I have noticed that road riders do not turn the bike over to reapir flats. Very good reason for this as turning the bike over and the Brifters finish up getting scratched or filled up with mud whilst resting on the ground.

I have tried keeping the road bikes the right way up to take out the wheel and I am not having success. First of all I am trying to hold a bike upright with one hand and take the wheel out with the other. And then what do I do with the bike while it has no wheel on and the derailler and crankset do not like touching the ground.

So what do you roadies do when you have a puncture? Pray that there is a handy tree to act as a bike stand or clean the bars when you get home?

Turn mine upside down and lean against tree or lampost if there is one. I usually take at least one decent plastic bag out with me on rides. Handy to sit on if it is damp, can be used to carry stuff if I want to stop and take secure items with me. So I can also use this to cover saddle or bars in upside down position. Reminds me of when I was fixing a puncture with bike leant up against a post in the middle of Spain. I finished the job and heaved the bike upright. When I tuned around there was a queue of curious people behind me. I had inadvertently used the local bustop and a queue had silently formed behind me. At least it was a bit of entertainment while they were waiting.

Jim

Toss the rotten thing in the mud and swear at it ... the last flat I had was in pouring rain, after riding about 40km in said pouring rain and about 2km from home - tossing the sodding thing in the mud felt appropriate at the time :rolleyes:

Richard

When I get a flat on the road bike, I just lay it down on the left side, no big deal. As for the mtb, flats are pretty rare around here. Stapfam, have you or any of your friends used tubeless tires? Do you think tubeless would be less flat-prone? Are you getting pinch-flats or is it thorns?

Remove the wheel when holding the bike upright. I tend to use my foot to remove the wheel with a gentle tap.
Lean the bike on the ground, transmission side up.
Insert the wheel holding the bike up. There is a knack of placing the axle inside the chain-line then pushing the bike down.

Tandem or single road bike: Remove wheel, lay bike down on shoulder of the road. Slap in fresh tube and pump it up. Pick up bike, insert wheel and be off!
Repeat as necessary . . .

Tandem or single road bike: Remove wheel, lay bike down on shoulder of the road. Slap in fresh tube and pump it up. Pick up bike, insert wheel and be off!
Repeat as necessary . . .

Now thats what I call an experienced Rider- And I do know how long you have been riding!!!

Most of our offroad Flats are due to thorns but once a tyre gets worn- it is usually a flint cutting a small hole into the carcase. We don't get snakebites nowadays as we know the pressures required to stop the rim causing it but We also know the tyres and the pressure required and it is different from tyre to tyre. I use Panaracer Fire XC's on the MTB and Tandem. 50 psi F & R on the MTB and 60 on the Tandem. At one time I tried Continentals on the Tandem and we were getting rear Snakebites. Took 75 psi with them and at that pressure- No Grip. There is a difference in wall construction with the Fire XC's that they advertise and it works.

As to Tubeless- Never tried them but from talking to other riders- they are up to standard of the Fire XC's but the same problem with low tread and Flints.

My biking valet's are typically right there with a new wheel and they snap it right in for me - NOT.

I unclip the dashboard (speedo and GPS), Flip it over and I think you can take it from there.
My concern is not the brifters but scratching the displays of the instruments.

In theory one can (and sometimes I do) remove the wheel with one hand and hold the bike upright with the other, and if you and the bike are in good balance, and the stars are in the right alignment, it is possible to have the bike rest on the forks and stay upright on its own balance.

Fix tire, attempt to put wheel back on seated correctly. Swear. Swear again, get wheel in forks, try to get it seated. Finally some success, put weight of bicycle on wheel, turn wheel, find that the wheel scrapes the brakes. Readjust QR's, bicycle away!

I flip the bike. If there is a handy 2x4, thats nice. But when it comes to flats, I'm practical. Bikes are made to be ridden, that means they will get scratched and dirty.

I Knew it was tempting Fate but went for a quick 25 miles late this afternoon and got a front flat. No problem on this as Take the wheel out and it will stand on the Forks. Only had two road punctures and both have been on the front. I tried to follow my usual practice of patching- but could not find the puncture. Checked inside the tyre and nothing there so new tube and max pressure I could get on the Blackburn Mammoth- Got to get a Mini Morph for the road bikes.