ScotiaLass
Guru
- Location
- Middle Earth
I never change a tyre while out riding. I just sit at the side of my bike in a low cut top and look all sad.....
Advice for an unfit & nervous newbie!
- Thread starter dst87
- Start date
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raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
That never works for me, maybe I should have a shave.I never change a tyre while out riding. I just sit at the side of my bike in a low cut top and look all sad.....
OP
OP
dst87
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Falkirk, UK
Thanks for that. Gives me a good ballpark. I'll get a few essentials when I get the bike then build up over time. Some of these things sounds like a lot when you're carrying them on the bike... a pump, puncture kit, spare tubes?? Arne't they bulky and enormous? I suppose they fold up a bit?
I'll be permanently indebted to them for the help they've offered! YouTube sounds like a plan, and I'll definitely be rehearsing some emergency maintenance in the privacy of my own home/back garden. I don't want to look like a total numpty at the side of the road... don't think the AA would help me with a flat bicycle tyre!
I never change a tyre while out riding. I just sit at the side of my bike in a low cut top and look all sad.....
Don't think that would work for me, somehow! I'll give it a go and see what sort of looks I get on the Union Canal!!
vickster
Legendary Member
A couple of spare tubes, tyre levers and small multitool fit in a medium sized saddle pack. Mini pumps generally come with a bracket so can be attached to the bike under the bottle cage. Most are sleek, about 10 inches and sit flush against the frame so really no bother
Halfords tubes for example come shrink wrapped, really not very big. Maybe the size of a smart phone, although rather bulkier. 5 for a tenner too (and I don't think they are any worse than more expensive branded ones)
Halfords tubes for example come shrink wrapped, really not very big. Maybe the size of a smart phone, although rather bulkier. 5 for a tenner too (and I don't think they are any worse than more expensive branded ones)
Nigelnaturist
Guru
- Location
- Pontefract
Tools Aldi are due a bike sale, I have a basic kit from Lidl usually about £20 not the greatest quality, the kit I got 6 or 7 years ago still has useful bits in it, just build from there replacing the poorer bits with better quality ones. The only thing I really had to replace was the chain tool.
Pale Rider
Legendary Member
A puncture is the most overwhelmingly likely breakdown, so you need to prepare for it as advised.
However, by the look of it you are having a hybrid.
They come with wider and more puncture resistant tyres than road bikes, so you could ride for months and not get a puncture.
Well inflated tyres are more resistant to punctures, so I would get a track pump to start with.
It will have a gauge on it, so you can set the tyres to your chosen pressure.
As a big lad, you will be looking at the higher end of the range stamped on the tyre.
About 10psi more in the back than in the front works well.
Pressures should be checked every couple of weeks.
Other things on the bike may break during a ride, but they can usually be bodged or ignored until you get home.
However, by the look of it you are having a hybrid.
They come with wider and more puncture resistant tyres than road bikes, so you could ride for months and not get a puncture.
Well inflated tyres are more resistant to punctures, so I would get a track pump to start with.
It will have a gauge on it, so you can set the tyres to your chosen pressure.
As a big lad, you will be looking at the higher end of the range stamped on the tyre.
About 10psi more in the back than in the front works well.
Pressures should be checked every couple of weeks.
Other things on the bike may break during a ride, but they can usually be bodged or ignored until you get home.
mybike
Grumblin at Garmin on the Granny Gear
- Location
- Not 'emel 'empstead
[QUOTE="Pale Rider, post: 3610688, member: 24609"Other things on the bike may break during a ride, but they can usually be bodged or ignored until you get home.[/QUOTE]
Like the time my rear brake nipple pulled out of the brake lever.
Like the time my rear brake nipple pulled out of the brake lever.
Nigelnaturist
Guru
- Location
- Pontefract
Well done, but this should not be down to luck
Std operating procedure is to carry a spare inner tube, replace the flat tube and patch the tube at your leisure. I usually carried one and stashed one at work. You carry a patch kit for the 2nd flat, which is very rare.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
Or even ...
Carry a spare tube and use that for the first puncture, a spare spare in case there is another one, a spare spare spare to have one available to help out stranded riders, if need be, and a puncture kit in case the spares run out!
Actually, I carry a spare puncture kit too because the original is almost used up.
Lemond
Senior Member
- Location
- Sunny Suffolk
Think about things like safety (hi-viz and helmet if that's what you want, a good set of lights, and maybe freshen up on your road craft / highway code), breakdowns (carry a toolkit, spare tubes, pump and so on), and comfort (cycling gear and creams can work wonders, especially as certain sensitive areas grow accustomed to time spent on two wheels). Remember: No pants with cycling shorts! Cotton absorbs moisture, which then rubs in all the wrong places. In no time at all you can find yourself in a whole world of pain.
Ease yourself into it: I started with two miles every other night for two weeks, then started to increase the distance. It's amazing how quickly your body adjusts. Soon you'll be doing ten miles, and you'll also start to notice how you're doing more in the higher gears. And once you're comfortable at ten miles, you'll probably find twenty and even thirty miles surprisingly doable. And when you get to that stage, see if you can tag along with a more experienced rider, because you'll learn a whole heap more.
In the meantime, you might want to practice removing both wheels and replacing an inner tube in the comfort of your own home. You'll probably find it's not as hard as you think, and you'll be better prepared for when you need to do so on the road.
Above all: enjoy it and have fun!
Ease yourself into it: I started with two miles every other night for two weeks, then started to increase the distance. It's amazing how quickly your body adjusts. Soon you'll be doing ten miles, and you'll also start to notice how you're doing more in the higher gears. And once you're comfortable at ten miles, you'll probably find twenty and even thirty miles surprisingly doable. And when you get to that stage, see if you can tag along with a more experienced rider, because you'll learn a whole heap more.
In the meantime, you might want to practice removing both wheels and replacing an inner tube in the comfort of your own home. You'll probably find it's not as hard as you think, and you'll be better prepared for when you need to do so on the road.
Above all: enjoy it and have fun!
Louch
105% knowledge on 105
- Location
- Kingdom of Kinnard
if you are looking for quiet roads, the area between Larbert and cowie has lots of quiet roads that you can make little loops around.
if you are going to store indoors, I picked the below up from argos, and sit my bike on that in the flat. keeps carpet clean and can clean chain etc on it ( in good time)
http://www.google.co.uk/aclk?sa=l&a...3|rnd:2654171896575716357|dvc:c|adp:1o1|bku:1
if you are going to store indoors, I picked the below up from argos, and sit my bike on that in the flat. keeps carpet clean and can clean chain etc on it ( in good time)
http://www.google.co.uk/aclk?sa=l&a...3|rnd:2654171896575716357|dvc:c|adp:1o1|bku:1
