After getting the wife to pick me up from a flat I could have just fixed a flat myself and continued to ride....It usually takes me about 12 minutes to fix a flat (pretty slow, I know) but it would take a least a half an hour for my wife to rescue me...

I hope the LBS is giving these guys lessons

Well, I remember my first time changing a tire with no prior information or instruction, it took me over an hour and I couldn't figure out how to put my derailleur back on correctly (now I figure it's easier to just break the chain link and reconnect it? someone correct me if i'm wrong?) so I had to take that in to the LBS.

I'm sure there are people who are equally disgusted at me for taking my car in to have new wipers put on it or the oil changed.

:eek: HOLY CRAP! :eek:

To change a flat:
1. Do not remove derailleur
2. Do not remove chain
3. Do not break chain
4. Do remove wheel
5. Replace innertube
6. Reinsert wheel

You are done.

This should take less than 10 minutes, and requires no tools except a pump, and maybe a set of tire levers. At no point should you ever remove the derailleur, chain, handlebars, kickstand, or anything else.

So, I put my new tubes and tires onto my new wheels, and was ready to roll. I had about 50 miles on the new wheels when I flatted, in the middle of a race.

When I got home I took the tube out and it looked like it had been scratched, and since there was nothing in the rim to puncture it, I assumed that I scratched the tube somehow when I installed it.

I was out of tubes, and since I had to go to the LBS to get some I had them install my new tube. Well a few days later, after 40 miles on the new tube, my tube pops because the tire bead began to unravel and the tube pushed out the side.

So, why did that happen? Is it the LBS's fault?

Sounds like a pinch flat. Are you inflating your tires before these rides? How many psi? How much do you weigh?

I'm curious how you get the back tire off without removing the derailleur?

I'm having trouble understanding why you would have to. I'll try to explain how I do it step by step.

1) Shift to highest gear (smallest cog)
2) Open rear brake quick release (to provide clearance to fit the tire between the brakes)
3) Open the rear wheel quick release lever.
4) Holding the rear of the bike up with one hand by the saddle, push the rear wheel down so that the skewer is several inches clear of the dropouts.
5) Pull the chain off the small cog and around the end of the QR skewer.
6) The wheel is now free. Using the hand holding the saddle, continue lifting until the wheel is no longer between the stays.

Congratulations. Your rear wheel is out. This entire process can be executed in 15 seconds or less with moderate practice.

Although not a popular method, you can patch a tube (the old fashioned way) without removing the rear wheel. Unseat one side of the tire and pull the tube and locate the puncture. No need to remove your wheel.

Of course tube replacement obviously requires wheel removal. The rear wheel can be removed without having to remove the derailleur.

Thats pathetic.

Metrosexuals are ruining traditional manhood.

Here's a link with photos:
http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=100

Basically, if you pull the RD towards the end of the bike, you'll see the opening of the rear dropout. The only thing that blocks the path is the chain, which you can easily navigate your wheel around. The gear shifting step is just to make things easier.


Performance taught me how to put on a tube and tire for my new wheelset. I've never had a flat before then.

I've had my LBS fix a flat once. It was after a group ride, I was tired, I wanted to try tire liners, ... blah blah blah... well, just lazy at the time. :D

What is traditional manhood? just curious

well you can see how mechanically minded I am, thanks for the help

to mwrobe: I wasn't aware manhood required someone to have a mechanically oriented mind, i'm sure plenty of people are rich enough and busy/lazy enough to just have someone do the work for them.

for example, I use computers all the time, but i wouldn't know the first thing about repairing one of them. my fiance builds computers on the other hand and she's always making fun of people who pay money to fix relatively easy things. I tell her that it's not always relatively easy for everyone (as illustrated by the fact that I completely took off my derailleur to replace a flat tire)

Its what men used to be like before the term "metrosexual" became popular.

Aw cmon...this is changing out an inner tube on a bicycle for goddsakes! Grow a pair!

But seriously...my original comment was a gross generalization...and not meant to start a flame war...people do come from different backgrounds and different upbringings...BUT...IMHO...there are a few things that all dads ought show their son's how to do...

Fixing a flat on a bike
Changing the oil on a car
Re-light the pilot on a furnace/hot-water heater
Fix a leak on a drain
Use a hammer to hammer a nail
Use a drill to drill a hole or screw a screw
Patch a hole made in drywall
Change a tire on a car

My list would include a little more...I guess I'm Old World Pollack DIYer at heart.

IMHO...this is true in some cases.

Changing the tire myself takes 1/2 the time of a one-way trip to the LBS, so the whole time-saving thing is out the window for me.

I honestly can't remember when/how I changed my first tire, but I don't remember ever taking it to the LBS.

There are plenty of bike owners, though, who buy their bikes and ride them without any real knowledge of how the thing works, and if it breaks, it's broken and someone needs to fix it. I was on a low-key organized ride once and started chatting with this guy who I'm pretty sure was more impressive that I do all my own wrenching than the fact that I'm a surgeon. We should be happy, because without this demographic in cycling a lot of LBS's would be out of business. :)

Sometimes, I'm frustrated enough by getting a flat that I would happily pay someone to deal with it while I blow off steam for a few minutes. But I can't imagine paying to have it dealt with after the fact.

I remember my first flat, back when I had not a clue about any bike maintenance. Decided I should get the rear wheel off the bike. Turned the bike upside down, saw a skewer and springs holding the wheel in place, so just removed the QR skewer and then removed wheel. (Okay, so I later learned that removing the QR skewer is a waste of time. Oops.) Took out the tire irons the salesman had sold me. Proceeded to pry off the tire and remove the tube. (Okay, so only one side of the tire has to come off. Whatever.) Found the leak, read the instructions on the patch kit, applied a patch. (Okay, so patching later and just using the spare tube would have been faster. Oh well.) Reversed the disassembly process. Pumped up the tube. So it wasn't the most efficient fix of a flat, but it got the job done.

A couple years ago, I was trying to change a tire. Could not get it off the rim. Broke the tire lever. Broke another tire lever. Took it to the shop. The tech said "I don't break levers, because I can remove any tire with just my hands". After an hour of struggle, and four broken tire levers, he told me he was gonna cut the bead with a hacksaw....

Last week I had a tire that would not seat properly on the rim. When inflated to full PSI, it would unseat, and rip the tube. After going through three tubes and using words I've not used since leaving the Army, I took it to the shop. The tech said "Anybody can mount a tire on a rim...even you..."

After struggling (and failing) to get the tire to seat evenly on the rim, he got out a tool that resembles a giant version of the clip used to close a bag of potato chips. He grabbed the tire with the giant clip and worked it, inch by inch, around the rim until the bead was evenly mounted into the rim. Took him ten minutes, using his nifty (and probably expensive) special tool.

But, of course, any REAL man can change any tire in two minutes or less.

Metrosexuals? Cyclists are the original metrosexuals!

We shave our legs, fret about gaining two pounds, wear overly priced Italian leather shoes, and sprinkle our conversations with French words like peleton, poseur, and derailleur.

doing a skinny road tire for the first time can be pretty tough. it took me a while to figure it out, i battled that thing for about 45 mintues straight.

i could easily see someone spending 20-30 mintues on it and just taking it in to the shop in frustration. it's only easy after you've done a few. anyway, yeah, they should really learn how to do it themselves or they're always going to rely on someone else.

I guess people would define manhood in different ways. When I was in the Marines as an infantryman, plenty of them would say that the only real men were the ones who joined a grunt unit. Whenever I was in the hospital working in physical therapy, real men were the guys who were willing to do their 3 hours everyday without complaint. Now that I'm a biker, real men know how to fix their bike themselves

I'm sure part of my mechanical ineptitude comes from not having grown up with a dad, so I honestly feel like any father that is always there helping to take care of his kid is a real man regardless of how much he might know about mechanics.

It's similar to saying real women can cook, clean, sew, and effectively do laundry, and they'll pass that information on to their children. There's nothing wrong with being old fashioned (I certainly am, in my own way) but I don't feel like a man is somehow 'tougher' for knowing the ins and outs of a vehicle/bicycle. They can laugh at me as I sit, bewildered and covered in grease, staring at my drive train, but then I could laugh as they vomit or turn away or get sick in the emergency room. Different strokes, and all that

i know you weren't commenting on anyone's manliness here or trying to start a flamewar but the patronizing condescension I always get from the mechanically oriented always miffs me!

I guess I'm a little more lax. I allow 3 and a half minutes. 4 with a mini pump.

Yes.

As long as it doesn't involve working on cars. :p
I couldn't fix a car to save my soul. However, I take to construction like a duck to water.
Bikes are fairly easy so far.

Perhaps one or two of the guys waiting in line actually had 'fixed' the flat only to have it come back the next ride. If no one has shown you how to (or even just mentioned that you should) look for the glass or thorn that caused the flat. Also getting a tire off and back on isn't that easy if you have no idea what you are doing. In some cases people might even have been cautioned about probelms if you do not do the right thing with a quick release (but not told what the right thing is).

Yup lots of good reasons to have the shop do it. But also lots of better ones to learn for the future.

I'm with you there.........but the problem is, today there are so many dads missing from households....:(