Touring - How do you deal with your loaded bike while changing a flat tire?

If you're KM's from a bike stand, do you carefully lie the bike on its side or do you have a different solution?

No I carry my bike all the way back home on my shoulders so I can put it in the stand.:rolleyes:

I will lie my bike down, non drive side, in the grass. If its my front that flatted I lean the rear wheel up against a tree or guardrail.

Dont eat your breakfast if it smells like pee...and thanks!

dont ask silly questions and expect a serious answer without some friendly sarcasm first.

I remove the panniers and then simply remove the wheel just as I would on my other bikes if I get a puncture whilst out riding. I don't use the work stand at home either for punctures.

On my last tour, the Chasing the Dirt tour I got two punctures in the tyre fitted to the Extrawheel Voyager. Life is easy with the Voyager. I just removed the panniers, lifted the trailer up and removed the wheel. With the last puncture I simply fitted a new tube then when I got up the road to a river with water in it (not that common here) I found the hole and fixed it so I had the tube as a spare again.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-dbu0Gh-kIdg/UGQpS50GIhI/AAAAAAAAEPw/ro5ChEDdSt8/s550/P8250501.JPG

Andrew

dont ask silly questions and expect a serious answer without some friendly sarcasm first.

What's silly about the question the OP asked? It's an age-old issue for a loaded bike.

In this case, I laid the bike down on the rear pannier, derailleur towards the ground, and removed the wheel horizontally. Having the derailleur down meant the chain was supposed to swing free of the cassette, although the theory doesn't quite work as well in practice. The Thorn's dropouts also are a tight fit for the hub, which doesn't help.

The picture was taken outside the Bordeaux railway station about two weeks ago.

I've used all sorts of other methods, and the rear wheel is by far the most challenging if you run rear panniers.

I've left the panniers on, and lifted the bike off the wheel, then propped it against a post or tree, which is not particularly good for the chainring or rear derailleur. I've removed the panniers and done the same. I've turned the bike upside down, but then that requires protection of the seat and shifters if on a gravelly surface.

None seems to be quite satisfactory enough. And I do use a stand at home when changing out wheels and tyres.

Actually it is a good question. I have read where folks do all kinds of stuff in this regard. I am always kind of amazed when folks quote extremely long repair times and say what an ordeal it is. When asked they describe a long process that includes removing the panniers.

Me, with my fully loaded pannier setup, I lay it on the non drive side pop the wheel off fix the flat and am usually under way again in 5-10 minutes depending on how hard it is to find the offending object in the tire. On rare occasion the delay can be longer, but usually not.

With my lighter rigs with dry bags instead of panniers, I most often do the same, but have also on occasion inverted the bike and set it on the bars and saddle.

I am not a fan of kick stands, but the two legged stands look like they can work well as a work stand.

If there's two of you, it can be a bit easier too ... one can hold the bicycle while the other removes the wheels. And then lay the bicycle down.

If you go the pannier removal method, which I have in the past, it's not that time consuming. It shouldn't take anything more than about a minute to remove a pannier.

I am not a fan of kick stands, but the two legged stands look like they can work well as a work stand.

I haven't used mine in the context of a puncture but it has been handy for other bike maintenance such as lubing the chain.

Andrew

If you're KM's from a bike stand, do you carefully lie the bike on its side or do you have a different solution?

Often, on any of the bikes, I just lay it non driveside down. A tree branch to hang the bike from the saddle's nose works well also.

Brad

I have cantilever brakes and I pretty much need to remove the panniers to release them. The one time I tried to do it without removing panniers was a real cluster, so to speak.

I have cantilever brakes and I pretty much need to remove the panniers to release them. The one time I tried to do it without removing panniers was a real cluster, so to speak.
Really? I have a hard time picturing the bags as being in the way of that. Is that the case for you with front, rear, or both? On any of the setup I have used my panniers have never even been close to the brakes on either front or rear. I never ran extremely large panniers though, so maybe that is the difference. Or maybe with non-low rider front racks?

I have cantis but have no problem removing the punctured wheel with the luggage in place, driveside up (to prevent damage and contamination of the chain).
I have horizontal dropouts and usually re-insert the wheel uninflated.

Take care with fluids, esp fuel bottles in your panniers.

I have horizontal dropouts and usually re-insert the wheel uninflated.

Heh. The leader of our small x-country tour group once spent 30 min. trying to put his rear wheel back in place after changing a flat and inflating the tire. A couple of us rolled up and immediately saw that he had not opened the QR of his rear brake. He was able to remove the wheel with the flat but bot replace it with an inflated tire. The guy was a complete dolt. We had him fired and replaced.

One mistake I made once was positioning the wheel's QR in such a way that the rack interfered with opening it. Fortunately, I was able to rotate it without having to remove the rack. Never made that mistake again.

.... have also on occasion inverted the bike and set it on the bars and saddle.

Inverting the bike with all equipment attached is my preferred flat repair method. It also provides a chance to check spoke condition and adjust spokes and /or rear derailleur as needed. I also support a tarp for shelter with the bike in this position. This also is anti-bike theft deterrent.

Inverting the bike with all equipment attached is my preferred flat repair method. It also provides a chance to check spoke condition and adjust spokes and /or rear derailleur as needed. I also support a tarp for shelter with the bike in this position. This also is anti-bike theft deterrent.

I got a flat on my last trip going over some glass. The way I fix a flat is the same way I always do.

1) Remove water bottles and front handelbar bag.
2) Pick up bike and stand it on its saddle and handlebars. When you don't have panniers this is easy.
3) Remove wheel, remember to open up the brakes.
4) Remove inner tube and save for possible future patching.
5) Check tire for sharp things. remove any sharp things.
6) Install new tube and inflate the tire a bit.
7) Put wheel back on and finish inflating tire, remember to close brakes........
8) pick up bike and put on 2 wheels again.

I remove all the panniers and handlebar bag and turn the bike upside down. It really isn't a tough thing to do.

It takes about 30 seconds to unload the bike.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy112/Doug64_photos/Bike%20Trips/Flat-2.jpg

It takes about 30 seconds to unload the bike.


+1
We all know how to fix a flat... Lay the bike down, stand it on its seat and handlebars, lean it against a tree... What difference does it make? Whatever works for you.

Unload it, turn it upside down, fix the flat, reload it if rear. Nearly always. If front, lie it on side loaded. Rarely. Tire wires 95% of time. When not on tour, always turn it upside down.

I remove all the panniers and handlebar bag and turn the bike upside down. It really isn't a tough thing to do.

Same here. I can pop all my ortliebs off in about 10 seconds. No big deal.

Trying to remember .. minus fast removal QR bags and not going hyper-light, kit.

if using forethought? open the axle QR, lay the load down on the left,
Der side up. tire will already be flat, don't need to open the brakes.

mend puncture/replace tube, re istall wheel .. without inflating it first
so You still don't have to open the brakes .. then inflate the tire..
stand the bike up, reach down and close the QR on the wheel.

I normally don't even take the wheel off....pop the bead on one side of the tire,remove tube,locate hole,patch tube,check tire for crap,insert tube,push tire back on rim,pump it up.

If the tube is real bad,then I remove the wheel/tire.

Unload it, turn it upside down, fix the flat, reload it if rear. Nearly always. If front, lie it on side loaded. Rarely. Tire wires 95% of time. When not on tour, always turn it upside down.

I may be Captain Dashboard, but I'd rather lay the bike on its side than risk screwing up all the things I've got on the bars -- headlight, speedo, brifters. But a flat isn't worth more than a concentrated huff of annoyance, except maybe when it's getting ready to rain.

Doug, I strongly recommend loosening the wrist velcro on your right arm, that hand doesn't look good. Gives me the tingles just looking at the photo.

(hope your trip went well)

just whip of the panniers drop out the wheel lay bike on its none drive side fix puncture fit wheel then panniers job done.
dont turn the bike upside down no need and besides you would never turn your car upside down to fix a puncture :thumb:

I usually just disconnect the brake transverse wire, pull off the right rear pannier (takes 10 secs and makes it easier for me to deal with the RD and chain), pull off the wheel and lay the bike down on the nd side.

Lay the bike on it's side and have at it. In more than one case where the cause of the flat was obvious I don't even bother removing the wheel, just pull the tire loose at that point, pull the tube, patch, stuff it back in, re-seat the tire, pump it up and go. I use the same technique on my city bike, where removing the bolted on rear IGH wheel is really a challenge.

Aaron :)

Lay the bike on it's side and have at it. In more than one case where the cause of the flat was obvious I don't even bother removing the wheel, just pull the tire loose at that point, pull the tube, patch, stuff it back in, re-seat the tire, pump it up and go. I use the same technique on my city bike, where removing the bolted on rear IGH wheel is really a challenge.

Aaron :)

Yeah that is a good way to go in some cases. I too typically do that when the location of the puncture is obvious. Otherwise I usually take off the wheel and swap tubes, patching later in camp.

just whip of the panniers drop out the wheel lay bike on its none drive side fix puncture fit wheel then panniers job done.
dont turn the bike upside down no need and besides you would never turn your car upside down to fix a puncture :thumb:
Ant, what yer talking about, I turned ye ol Robin Reliant over regularly, admittedly most of the time not planned, but it was handy nevertheless to get at the front wheel. They don't make em like that anymore!

I simplify the problem before I ever leave home. I don't use rack/pannier(pain in the a$$e$). I use a backpack and that takes care of the problem to start with. I leave the backpack on and turn the bike upside down, take off the tire, and change the tube. I lay the tire on its side with my foot under the 'upper' portion of the wheel and pump up tire, remount and leave. No problem whatsoever.

I'm going to be sweating if I'm riding the bike, who cares if my back is sweaty. The backpack serves multliple purposes unlike rack/panniers. Why use something that seves one purpose only when something that can serve multiple purposes is readily available? I did a 2800 mile trip and used the backpack and would/will do it again. After having 8-9 flat tires on the trip, I can say I never had any kind of concern with changing tires.

Ant, what yer talking about, I turned ye ol Robin Reliant over regularly, admittedly most of the time not planned, but it was handy nevertheless to get at the front wheel. They don't make em like that anymore!
no bother turning that upside down djb :roflmao2:

i can't understand why you would turn the bike upside down, (major hassle):rolleyes:
why not just fit a new tube fix the puncture when your at the camsite.

I've always left my bicycle right way up when I remove a wheel to change a tire. Then one day, a well-meaning friend tried to help me change a flat. First thing he did was to turn my bicycle upside down, and then stood back so I could remove the wheel. I found it very difficult because everything was upside down!

well it depends where i'm at if on side of road where there is a street sign that has holes the length of the pole i install a i hook on it and take my ratchet strap and suspend the flat tire in the air and remove the tire and fix it and replace or if around a low hanging branch or chain link fence tie one side of ratchet strap to tree or fence and other to bike and ratchet it up that way no unloading and you can check everything before putting it down on the ground

Maybe silly isn't the right way to refer to the question, but come on, this one does beg the question of how people that ask these kinds of questions make their way in the world. If it were qualified with something other than the workstand it might make sense. There are issues with brakes and gear clutter, or dirt. Maybe there is a great application for a double kick stand. But I think I can figure out how to lay the bike down on it's side. Sometimes one can hitch it on a fence.

In Doug's pic, looking at the other bike, Seems as though everything is accessible for removing the rear wheel without touching the panniers. Maybe having too nice panniers is a problem. There may be a market for bike sized footprints that one can lay the bike on. I have to admit I don't much like inverting my bike onto the leather saddle.

Not buying the backpack thing. There is no logical reason to wear a pack on your back supporting all the gear weight on your back, when the bike will carry it for you. Does your bike have a seat? Or do you stand all the way while riding with your pack on your back. There might be situations like bike combat troups/hunting/policing, where having some gear on your person at all times makes sense. But certainly carrying the gear on your back so as to make changing tires easier would not.

I think the diversity of answers illustrates the worth of the questions. There is no "right" way to do it.

And don't tell me in normal conversation, you all don't chuck in an irrelevancy, such as the bike stand in this case (as if the OP of anyone is going to be looking for a bike stand on tour to change a flat).

A sense of humour in changing flats is always useful, although mine disappeared the day before yesterday when a lousy (new) BBB tyre pump pulled yet another valve out of a tube (the pump head simply won't easily let go of threaded Presta valves).

rowan i find that can happen even with the best of pumps, there must be an easy solution tothis problem maybe a wee bit of grease on valve so as it slides out easy, but yeat a sense of humour is always good.:thumb:

rowan i find that can happen even with the best of pumps, there must be an easy solution tothis problem maybe a wee bit of grease on valve so as it slides out easy, but yeat a sense of humour is always good.:thumb:
Thread-less stems would be the answer if more universally available. I just insist on a pump that comes off easily though since I seem to have a hard time finding presta tubes with unthreaded stems.

Oh and by the way one tip that works with at least some pumps... release the lever on the pump head and then loosen the part that presses down on the rubber parts before pulling the head off. On most pumps that allows an easy removal.

Not buying the backpack thing. There is no logical reason to wear a pack on your back supporting all the gear weight on your back, when the bike will carry it for you. Does your bike have a seat? Or do you stand all the way while riding with your pack on your back. There might be situations like bike combat troups/hunting/policing, where having some gear on your person at all times makes sense. But certainly carrying the gear on your back so as to make changing tires easier would not.

You can have your rack I'll stick to the back. I've seen numerous times and even a few I know could easily happen where the back is much better. I was in Hagerstown, MD on the recent trip. Thank God I didn't have a rack. I would have had to sit in the traffic jam I was caught up in due to I-81 being closed in both direction and traffic was rerouted through town on US11. The crazy stuff I was doing would have been no fun/not possible with a rack. There are reasons why quite often you see bike couriers using packs and not racks. You never know what is going happen. You can sit in traffic for hours or you can keep moving, especially when your pressed for time anyways. I kept moving.

I don't have to worry abotu getting to a nice scenic spot and wanting to get off the bike and go for a hike around this scenic location. When I lock up the bike I can leave it and not have to worry about coming back and finding someone has slit my panniers and stole my equipment, the equipment is on my back, not on the bike.

I'll take the sweat, and lose the lack of security/manuverability(sp?). When you need it you need it. Not to mention it sure does make fixing a flat tire much easier when you don't have all that extra weight on the bike. I can fix the flat with gear in 5-10 minutes without rushing it. I guess I have gotten used to doing things upside down. I don't think I would be able to do it with the bike rightside up.

You can have your rack I'll stick to the back. I've seen numerous times and even a few I know could easily happen where the back is much better. I was in Hagerstown, MD on the recent trip. Thank God I didn't have a rack. I would have had to sit in the traffic jam I was caught up in due to I-81 being closed in both direction and traffic was rerouted through town on US11. The crazy stuff I was doing would have been no fun/not possible with a rack. There are reasons why quite often you see bike couriers using packs and not racks. You never know what is going happen. You can sit in traffic for hours or you can keep moving, especially when your pressed for time anyways. I kept moving.


Sorry, but I don't understand this at all. In all the cycling I've done (on tour, on randonnees, recreationally, etc.), I can't say that I've ever been held up in a traffic jam. If the traffic has become particularly heavy in certain section of a town, I hop off the bicycle, push it up onto the sidewalk, and walk. Usually 1-2 blocks down the road, the traffic will have cleared enough for me to feel comfortable riding again.

Or I just go to the next parallel street and ride there.


And I've used a backpack too ... for my 13 km RT commutes it was fine. For my 70 km RT commute ... I wore a backpack once and vowed never to do it again. I used a trunk bag or panniers for the rest of my commute. It's not just the sweaty back ... it's the pain and fatigue. No thanks.


As for the time it takes to change a tire ... we're on tours, not doing randonnees or races. There's no time limit for our day's ride. Who cares if it takes 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes. It can be a good chance to take a break from riding. :)

Rowan has used the time waiting for ferrys or riding on trains to fix flats. There's not much else going on just then anyway.

I think the diversity of answers illustrates the worth of the questions. There is no "right" way to do it.
.

Actually, it demonstrates the silliness of it...in a way.

I think I have learned stuff from this thread. And so, we hope, has the OP. And sometimes the sensible question doesn't lead anywhere, so I am not questioning the actual intelligence of the OP. Plus if he really didn't have a clue how to change a tire without a repair stand, or whatever, then he asked the perfect question. All that said, I referred the question to my non-technical wife who could be dropped anywhere on the globe near a Sally Ann, or a dump, and come out riding on tour within half a day. She broke out laughing, and her next question relative to what I described, was "what is a repair stand". So I am not going to go all Marshall Dillon over the guys who had a quick laugh. The fact that there are no stupid questions doesn't rule out funny ones.

+1 Machka.

The bottom line is that carrying a pack on your back is always more work than not. And carrying a pack on your back does not rule out parking it on your rack. So do the math. It is also the case that carrying a pannier does not rule out the possibility that you can carry the pannier on your back. The issue is why would you carry it on your back when you don't need to. That is like walking through the supermarket carrying the cart of groceries when you could roll the cart. It might be great exercise for some, but more efficient, not likely.

I think I have learned stuff from this thread. And so, we hope, has the OP. And sometimes the sensible question doesn't lead anywhere, so I am not questioning the actual intelligence of the OP. Plus if he really didn't have a clue how to change a tire without a repair stand, or whatever, then he asked the perfect question. All that said, I referred the question to my non-technical wife who could be dropped anywhere on the globe near a Sally Ann, or a dump, and come out riding on tour within half a day. She broke out laughing, and her next question relative to what I described, was "what is a repair stand". So I am not going to go all Marshall Dillon over the guys who had a quick laugh. The fact that there are no stupid questions doesn't rule out funny ones.

Noted.

I've asked plenty of silly (or even stupid) questions in my life -- if you don't know something, that's the easiest way to find out. But there's also nothing wrong with a little sarcasm in response, and around here that's par for the course.

</diversion>

The bottom line is that carrying a pack on your back is always more work than not.
I think it depends on how much you are carrying. I find that a few pounds on the back is fine, but 30 pounds would not be for me. I carried maybe 2 or 3 pounds in a pack on the ST and hardly noticed (I have carried more than that in jersey pockets at times in the past). I liked that the pack automatically stayed with me when I went into a store or whatever. On a later tour I carried that plus a water bladder, hose, and bite valve. That was more noticeable but still OK. The ice in the bladder felt good on my back in the heat.

I could probably carry all my gear on my back reasonably comfortably when going with a base weight of ~10 pounds or less, but even with that light of a load I prefer to have some of it on the bike.

I could see an eyelet that is delicately attached to the dropout with two big panniers pressing into them while the bike is laying on it's side might lead to a stress fracture over an eyelet that is more integral to the dropout.

Sorry, but I don't understand this at all. In all the cycling I've done (on tour, on randonnees, recreationally, etc.), I can't say that I've ever been held up in a traffic jam. If the traffic has become particularly heavy in certain section of a town, I hop off the bicycle, push it up onto the sidewalk, and walk. Usually 1-2 blocks down the road, the traffic will have cleared enough for me to feel comfortable riding again.

Or I just go to the next parallel street and ride there.

And I've used a backpack too ... for my 13 km RT commutes it was fine. For my 70 km RT commute ... I wore a backpack once and vowed and vowed never to do it again. I used a trunk bag or panniers for the rest of my commute. It's not just the sweaty back ... it's the pain and fatigue. No thanks.

As for the time it takes to change a tire ... we're on tours, not doing randonnees or races. There's no time limit for our day's ride. Who cares if it takes 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes. It can be a good chance to take a break from riding. :)

When you have a stretch of interstate highway closed down, both directions, due to a fatal car accident it can back traffic up for miles on end. I didn't know my way around Hagerstown so I pretty much didn't have much else of an option. I just learnt to think and ride like a bike courier. I was weaving in and out of traffic, avoiding tall curbs(high enough I know my pedals would have struck the curb if I tried to pedal a complete pedal stroke while up near the curb), etc for 5-6 miles at least. It didn't help I didn't hit town until just before evening rush hour and wanted to get clear of town and up into Pennsylvania before sunset. Didn't make it as far as I had hoped thanks in part to the traffic jam.

I will fess I did notice soreness in the rear end on the first two legs of the trip. On the last leg of the trip, the longest one, I never noticed it at all. I was very surprised to not noticed any soreness anywhere. I guess when you give something a chance long enough the body adapts and you won't have any problems with it anymore. Kinda like the arm/neck problems I had earlier this year when the body still wasn't use to do so much riding. After I got the body broken in I lost all the arm/neck trouble that I had dealt with. It hasn't been back since.

I guess you have to get lucky enough to have flat tires occur at the right spot at the right time. Since my flat tires were more often than not occuring midday in the middle of nowhere I pretty much had no other choice than to deal with them when/where they occured. Now for patching tubes, yeah I typically waited until the evening to take care of that, but when you get the flat you have to deal with it where you get it unless you also want to run the risk of having to deal with rim trouble.

I guess I ride a bit more while on tour than most people. My average mileage per day was 108 miles. My longest day while on the trip was 172.18 miles. My worse day with flats was 146.3 miles. Fortunately the second of the two flats came at the very end of the day around 10PM. Turns out...I think, the real problem in the first place wasn't the tire rather it was the wheel. I think I ended up with a 'burr' on the wheel that was rubbing holes in the tube. Definitely a different situation I had never had to deal with before.

I wasn't riding your typical touring mileage. I was a bit pressed for time, more ways than one(total trip length and amount of daylight available) since I don't have a headlight and prefer to be off the road by sunset. Their were several times toward the end of the trip when I was getting into town after sunset and by the time I got supper and found a place to camp for the night it would 10-11PM before I would ever get to the campsite and then I would still have to setup the campsite before going to bed. Yeah, not your typical tour.