Do you think it is improper to turn a road bike upside down to change a puncture? I ride with a group of skilled cyclists and a newcomer turned his bike upside down to remove the rear wheel. Needless to say, heads turned.........

Somewhere Giovanni is screaming, “Mio Dio!!!”

IMO it is improper to turn the bike upside down. Why?
It scratches the saddle. Maybe this doesn't matter to some, but it'll ruin a good leather saddle.
If you ride classic brakes not wrapped under bartape, it bends the cables, and they have a memory.

As mentioned it's hard on the saddle and bars and can cause fluid loss and air entry if the bike has disc brakes. But, then, it wasn't my bike so I don't care what that guy did to his.

I'm seeing rim brakes and unless that grass is really sharp, the saddle is in no danger.
Their bike Their call.

who cares? it's his bike. I would love to do it that way, like I did in the 70s, but my bikes have stuff on the bars that would hit the ground before the bars, so I just lay my bike down. side note: if you know exactly where the puncture is like w/ a thumbtack you don't even have to remove the wheel from the bike. keep the bike anyway you like, get 1/2 the bead off, sneak part of the tube out, patch the hole, sneak it back in, get that part of the bead back on, & inflate!

I would never do that, but that guy's fork is already messed up,

so it might not matter much.

Back in the days when men were men and bike frames were steel, the brake cables used to stick up making it possible to kink the housings if you tipped your bike upside down. If I ever owned a bike as nice as that Pinarello I think I'd turn it upside too just so that everybody could read the brand label on the down tube.

I flip mine all the time, unless there's a handy tree with a branch that's just the right height to hang the saddle nose on.

Unfortunately they're rare around here

I always do it like this if there's a soft surface nearby (to avoid damaging de seat). I remove the Garmin first though.

The bike only touches the ground with the seat and the rubber grips.

Have been doing this for years and I have never damaged the bike nor had problems with hydraulic brakes (just make sure you don't press the brake lever with the bike upside down).

It doesn't bother me. For some things like adjusting the DR it usually won't work. For a tire change, why should anyone care. I suppose some might be thinking how they heard it's so bad for hydraulic brakes, but as far as I know that is only some of the early ones or maybe certain types.

Heads probably turned just to see what was on the underside of the downtube, or whether or not his water bottles were leaking.

I agree that it is perfectly ok if you are very experienced at changing a puncture that way, although it is an uncommon method. But he gave the impression, as he also fumbled removing the tire from the rim, that he was doing it that way because of inexperience. I think this method lends itself more to the inexperienced and recreational cyclist.

I'd be concerned about debris getting into the delicate, complex, and expensive brake/shift levers when upside-down.

If you're with a group, have someone hold the bike while you remove the wheel. Then lay the bike on its side, derailleur side up, while you deal with the puncture. Then have someone hold the bike while you re-install the wheel.

If you're by yourself, it's not that much harder. Lay the bike on its side to remove and reinstall the wheel.

I've always flipped mine. But the are all Rim.
Never even considered not flipping a disc, thanks for the pointer.

Barry

I wouldn't flip the bike. I hate flipping bikes. Especially if you are in a group you can easily have someone help you hold the bike if absolutely need be.

What you hinted at is an old way that was done years ago when cruiser bikes with balloon tires were ruling the streets, it's a way an adult taught me when I was 8 years old how to patch a tube without taking the wheel off. All you do, if you know where the offending hole is, i s to remove half the bead with the hole in the center area of the half, then you pull out about a quarter of the tube, again the hole should be in the center, then patch and reinstall. I still do it this way, with a road bike it's a bit more difficult than it is with fatter tires, but it can still be done,
!

I do this all the time - I’m not having my RD or crankset sit on the ground, regardless of what anyone says. Are you supposed to remove/install the wheel with one hand while holding the bike up with the other? Bollocks to that

+1. Can't believe some think this is such a heinous thing to do. The bike in the OP's photo looks like it's on dry grass. Probably the best type of outdoor surface to do this on. Disc brakes maybe not a good idea. A saddle or brake hoods sitting on the grass without a rider on it compared with your sweaty arse and grubby hands rubbing away on them for thousands of miles. No comparison.

Coming from the sane mountain bike world and not the nutty road biker world we flip them

And that is with hydraulic disc brakes OMG!!!!!!!! The whole flipping hydraulic disc brakes being bad thing is way WAY over blown. Yeah you might not want to store them upside down for long periods of time but a few mins won't hurt anything. Even if you do end up with spongy brakes from doing it you just squeeze the lever 3 or 5 or 10 times and they fix themselves 95.87% of the time.

Even on roadie rides I don't remember ever seeing anybody get a flat and not flip their bike to change it, I know I always have. Never had a pure roadie make any weird comments when I have had to change a flat. All my mountain bikes run tubeless now so the bike that has been flipped the most to change tubes is the road bike and it is also the only one that has 0 evidence of being flipped, no scratches from it. If anything I would give you an odd look for not flipping it since it makes everything so much easier.

I use my portable, inflatable, dehydrated iWorkstand. Fits in a tiny Lezyne Road Caddy saddle bag.

Unless hardcore roadies are watching. Then I just flip the bike upside down. I don't like people asking about my workstand.

I never lay a bike on the drive side, the pedal keeps the crank safe. Wheel removal and installation is easy, just the way you described it.

But its your bike, do as you wish.

Use another rider as a bike stand?

MTBer also, flipping would mar my thumbies :-)

I can see under-the-chainstay U-brakes needing flipping on the trail, however.

Can't believe a rider cannot hold the bike with one hand and remove a wheel with the other!
Rubber side down only please.

Park your bike in the flowers next time....THEN take a picture.

=8-)