CardiacKid

I was in my car the other day when I came across a 40 something couple standing on the side of the road next to their matching Ruby/Roubaix bikes. I slowed and asked if they needed help. There is always that moment of regret when the person responds, yes. I went ahead and pulled over to find that the woman had a flat tire. Luckily they had a spare tube and pump. They admitted that they were clueless how to change the tube, though. I went ahead and started to help change it. The next thing I knew, they had wandered off. Apparently, they had no interest in learning to change a tube.
However, the worst part was that the chain on this otherwise spotless bike was filthy. I didn't have any gloves or even a rag in my car. I had to go home and clean the grease off my steering wheel.
Please, if you don't want to fix your own flats, at least try and keep your chain clean.

tornado

You're nicer that I am. In that situation, I'd have instructed them how to do it. I wouldn't have done it for them.

palesaint

Amen to that. I'm usually a nice guy and would have offered help also. However, I'm fairly patient and would have politely asked them to remove the wheel and I would encourage them to learn how easy it is to pull a tire/tube without any tools. Then I'd have them mount and inflate. If they just refused to take part in repairing their own bike, I'd probably do it. Then I'm sure I would post something here.

I must admit, my chain is pretty filthly right now. I think I'll go clean it right now.

Doid23

And when they came back from wandering off, they found that I also had wandered off, without finishing fixing their flat.

Well, that's how the story would have ended if they wandered off on me

jkizzle

screw that, when i made the mistake of not knowing how, i rode back anyway, stopping frequently to pump. luckily my wheels are cheap and heavy, and didnt bend a bit.

haimtoeg

You are way too kind.

CardiacKid

The question is: if you are going to do a good deed, is it better to do the good deed the person wants or the good deed that you want. These people were obviously used to being waited on. It was easier to just fix the flat, earn my brownie points and get out of there. The next time, hopefully there won't be a Boy Scout around.
The first thing they asked was if they could borrow my phone to call the bike shop to come out and fix it. I got a good chuckle out of that. They had a phone, but they couldn't get service where we were.

barba

I would have walked away when they did.

dcbikeguy

fixed

NameGoesHere

+1

LIUser22

+2, both of them

Bike enthusiast

Well.... It should be

Why take one when you can have two????

ZeroPt99

You should have let the air out of both bikes, and just sat down indian-style on the ground and pretended to cry. When they came back to discover 4 flat tires and a bawling samaritan, you could have just quickly stopped crying and gotten in your car and driven away.

That would not only teach them not to leave their bikes unattended around a stranger, it would be mean. I think it goes without saying that God wants you to be mean to clueless rich people. I'm going to assume they are rich because it's easier to be mean to them that way.

njkayaker

One "pays" for the kind of help you provided by paying attention and learning how to do it. It's the lesson that is the favor. The fixed-flat is a bonus (and secondary). I would have nothing to do with someone not interested in learning.

lenexatokcmo

If they didn't know how to fix the flat or how to take care of their chains it might be a stretch to assume that they knew how to go about taking the rear wheels on and off.

BigUgly

Reminds me of the old saying..."No good deed goes unpunished."

pseudobrit

It's times like this where you're left between feeling like a good samaritan or a sucker who's been taken advantage of.

There's a difference between "could you help me with this?" and "could you do this for me?" When the distressed are two healthy adults, you've been taken for a sucker.

alanfleisig

I also had wandered off ... with 2 brand new Specialized Rubaix. (Or at least that's how the story would end if it was me.)

By the way, isn't "Rubaix" already plural? What would the plural be: "Rubaix'x"?

TRaffic Jammer

You done good and the Karmic Boomerang continues to swoop through the air.

waterrockets 

Why did you touch the chain?

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


Oh, and +1 to providing the needed charity, not the charity you're interested in. If you've ever handed out sack lunches to needy people, you learn this pretty fast. You can't go in expecting people to be loving you for life or something. You have to go in wanting to help -- if you don't want to help, don't offer. Good on you for finishing the job.

Nothing wrong with being annoyed by their behavior though -- I know I am

urbanknight

+1 Teach a man to fish...

Same here.

0_o

You did good...true these two ******s were undeserving of the help you provided them, but it was still nice of you to do that.
Maybe karma will bite them in their buts for walking away. It would be sweet if the next time they ride their bikes to star bucks that both of the bike wound up getting stolen from. Then for both of them to end up getting sick off their , non fat , dry , 1/2 decaf 1/2 normal shot , mocha cappuccino.

Machka 

If you can't fix a flat .......

....... you shouldn't be riding a bicycle.


I can't remember NOT knowing how to fix a flat.

Funny thing this past summer ... I was seated on the side of the road casually changing a flat when a guy in a pick-up truck pulled up and asked me if I needed any help. I told him I thought I had everything under control. He asked if I had tire changing equipment, and I told him I did. He asked if I knew how to change the tire, and I told him I did. Then he asked if I had a cell phone in case something else went wrong, and I told him I did.

He laughed and said, "Well, you're more prepared than I am! (meaning I had more equipment to help myself than he did) I'll leave you to it!"

-----------------

As for the OP, I would have started talking through the tire changing process ... giving instructions, and giving commands. Instructions like, "The first thing you do is ..." and commands like, "Here, hold this" or "OK you can pump it up now"

jrobe

The most important things to have in the bike bag is a pair of rubber surgical gloves. They are great for changing tires without getting greasy hands. You can buy them cheap by the box at any Walmart, drug store, etc.. I even keep a few pairs in my car for changing a car tire if needed (not to mention that they are useful for multiple other dirty jobs at home).

Machka 

Yes, and also baby wipes. I carry baby wipes everywhere - in my backpack when I go to University, in my handlebar bag when I cycle, and when I had an office, I had a box tucked in a drawer.

Baby wipes have many uses, but a particular cycling-related use is that they are amazing at getting grease off things ... your hands, the bicycle, etc.