Cycling Info - changing a flat, wheels and tires
Tire info
The tires are your primary safety device. Primary because good tires can save
your body and helmet from an impact.
Tire info
The tires are your primary safety device. Primary because good tires can save
your body and helmet from an impact.
Tire info
- Where is the tread on Road Bikes - they have no tread because the rounded
design does not hydroplane. Best to get as much tire as possible on the road
surface, the knobby bike tires are very slippery on the road, especially when
wet. - How often should the pressure be checked - every time you go out
- Cuts in sidewall or nylon showing - replace the tire. A tire failure can be
catastrophic to the rider
1. Can a tire be changed without tools?
Changing a tire without tire tools depends on the wheel. Yes it can be done with
certain wheels because I have done it a number of times with Mavic wheels. When
a wheel is designed this way it makes for very fast easy road fixes. The tire will
come right off the rim when air is out of the tube and putting it back together is
about as easy. I also have wheels that make bike mechanics with special tools fight
with the tire, the wheels by this manufacturer could be 701c not 700c.
Problem is you won't know what kind of grief your tire / rim combination is going
give you until you need to change a tire. If you have a difficult combination, on a
decent day it can be a real pain and in a heavy rain - well, you want to throw the
bike into a ditch.
2. Spare Tubes, patches?
It is always good to have spare tube and patches even on supported rides like MS
rides. Not only are you stuck waiting for support to show up, sometimes support
staff runs out of tubes and then you are stuck putting bike into sag wagon for the
ride back.
3. Tubes?
Make sure the stem on your backup tube is correct for your wheels. Road bikes
had different length valve stems, length of stem depends on construction of the
wheel.
4. Use of tire tools?
Try to avoid using tire tools to put the wheel back on. Some tricks exist for pushing
the tube between the tire and wheel rim to get the tube inside the rim using the tire
tool. I will see if I can find a good pic tutorial on the web.
5. The tube came out of the tire sidewall!
Failures in the tire wall can be fixed by sticking a folded dollar bill between the
inside tire wall and tube. Contrary to popular belief, $20 dollar bills don't work any
better than $1 dollar bills. A failure in the tire wall causes the tube to pop through
the tire - a new tube will just blow up if it is not contained in the tire by something.
Came in from a group ride where the back tire had about $40 or so holding it
together and the mechanic was told to keep whatever they found.
6. Reduce flats
check your tires for embedded junk (e.g. stones, glass). Sometimes something
small embeds itself into the tire and over miles the object pinches the tube (as tire
rolls across pavement) and causes a flat. If it is raining, more likely to happen
because objects stick to the tires, then are driven into the tire.
Changing a tire without tire tools depends on the wheel. Yes it can be done with
certain wheels because I have done it a number of times with Mavic wheels. When
a wheel is designed this way it makes for very fast easy road fixes. The tire will
come right off the rim when air is out of the tube and putting it back together is
about as easy. I also have wheels that make bike mechanics with special tools fight
with the tire, the wheels by this manufacturer could be 701c not 700c.
Problem is you won't know what kind of grief your tire / rim combination is going
give you until you need to change a tire. If you have a difficult combination, on a
decent day it can be a real pain and in a heavy rain - well, you want to throw the
bike into a ditch.
2. Spare Tubes, patches?
It is always good to have spare tube and patches even on supported rides like MS
rides. Not only are you stuck waiting for support to show up, sometimes support
staff runs out of tubes and then you are stuck putting bike into sag wagon for the
ride back.
3. Tubes?
Make sure the stem on your backup tube is correct for your wheels. Road bikes
had different length valve stems, length of stem depends on construction of the
wheel.
4. Use of tire tools?
Try to avoid using tire tools to put the wheel back on. Some tricks exist for pushing
the tube between the tire and wheel rim to get the tube inside the rim using the tire
tool. I will see if I can find a good pic tutorial on the web.
5. The tube came out of the tire sidewall!
Failures in the tire wall can be fixed by sticking a folded dollar bill between the
inside tire wall and tube. Contrary to popular belief, $20 dollar bills don't work any
better than $1 dollar bills. A failure in the tire wall causes the tube to pop through
the tire - a new tube will just blow up if it is not contained in the tire by something.
Came in from a group ride where the back tire had about $40 or so holding it
together and the mechanic was told to keep whatever they found.
6. Reduce flats
check your tires for embedded junk (e.g. stones, glass). Sometimes something
small embeds itself into the tire and over miles the object pinches the tube (as tire
rolls across pavement) and causes a flat. If it is raining, more likely to happen
because objects stick to the tires, then are driven into the tire.
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