mgarl10024
Über Member
- Location
- Bristol
Hi,
Note: This story will seem common to most of you given the number of miles that you do, but to me this is something new. I've been quite fearful of getting my first puncture for some time now (having started cycling in March) and whilst I diligently carry all my kit etc. I was worried that I'd not be able to fix it. After 6mths / 1415 miles, the fairy caught up with me. The fact I fixed it on the roadside had made me so proud, that I had to tell someone!
Went out for a circular 25-30 miler today. 15 or so miles in, all going well, when I hear "pst....pst....pst" in time with the wheel spinning. I stopped to deliberately coincide with a "pst" and heard a long "psssssssst". Tyre felt pretty flat.
I sighed, then went looking for a bench or something to make the repair easier, but couldn't find one. I flipped the bike upside down on the soft grass so as not to damage anything, and checked the rear wheel for anything obvious and couldn't find the cause. I removed the rear wheel to make things easier (quick release). I then got out my plastic tyre levers and pulled the tyre off the rim on one side (this was tougher that I thought it would be, but I really didn't want to get out the metal tyre levers and make a mess of the rims).
I found the hole in the tube (small, 3-4mm, single straight line), but lining up the valve to the rim and looking back at the tyre, I couldn't find the culprit. I felt inside the tyre carefully and couldn't find the cause either. I think I'd rather have found something then I would have known that I'd cleared it.
I contemplated patching it, but thought I'd put in a new tube and fix it at home (I carry 2 as advised on here). I pumped up the new tube a little to give it shape, then put it in. I then squeezed around the whole tyre to make sure everything was seated properly.
Getting the tyre back on was quite tough. They're Maxxis Overdrive 700x35 puncture resistant (!) tyres. I could get most of the tyre back on except the last bit, but was determined not to resort to the tyre levers and risk puncturing the new tube. I remembered seeing a video linked from here with a guy putting on Marathon Plus tyres by hand and I remembered that he went around the whole tyre pushing it into the very centre of the (not sure of term) groove in the rim - I copied this and it went on a treat by hand! Very proud!
Pumped it up, did the mandatory "tyre bounce" and it jumped back into my hands, so refitted it to the bike and came home slowly for the last few miles.
The only thing that I didn't get right and figured out later was about my pump. I couldn't get a good seal on the presta valve so ended up only getting about 25psi in the tyre (which is why I came straight home). Once home I remembered about the reversable rubbery bit in the pump for switching it between presta and schrader - the pump had been set to schrader because that's what I had on my old bike.
I would also like to thank the slightly older chap who was cycling past and stopped to see if I was alright. He checked that I had a pump and the means to fix it, and even offered help. In the hope that he's reading this, I'd like to thank him. It's chaps like you that make cycling as fun as it is.
Thanks,
MG
Note: This story will seem common to most of you given the number of miles that you do, but to me this is something new. I've been quite fearful of getting my first puncture for some time now (having started cycling in March) and whilst I diligently carry all my kit etc. I was worried that I'd not be able to fix it. After 6mths / 1415 miles, the fairy caught up with me. The fact I fixed it on the roadside had made me so proud, that I had to tell someone!
Went out for a circular 25-30 miler today. 15 or so miles in, all going well, when I hear "pst....pst....pst" in time with the wheel spinning. I stopped to deliberately coincide with a "pst" and heard a long "psssssssst". Tyre felt pretty flat.
I sighed, then went looking for a bench or something to make the repair easier, but couldn't find one. I flipped the bike upside down on the soft grass so as not to damage anything, and checked the rear wheel for anything obvious and couldn't find the cause. I removed the rear wheel to make things easier (quick release). I then got out my plastic tyre levers and pulled the tyre off the rim on one side (this was tougher that I thought it would be, but I really didn't want to get out the metal tyre levers and make a mess of the rims).
I found the hole in the tube (small, 3-4mm, single straight line), but lining up the valve to the rim and looking back at the tyre, I couldn't find the culprit. I felt inside the tyre carefully and couldn't find the cause either. I think I'd rather have found something then I would have known that I'd cleared it.
I contemplated patching it, but thought I'd put in a new tube and fix it at home (I carry 2 as advised on here). I pumped up the new tube a little to give it shape, then put it in. I then squeezed around the whole tyre to make sure everything was seated properly.
Getting the tyre back on was quite tough. They're Maxxis Overdrive 700x35 puncture resistant (!) tyres. I could get most of the tyre back on except the last bit, but was determined not to resort to the tyre levers and risk puncturing the new tube. I remembered seeing a video linked from here with a guy putting on Marathon Plus tyres by hand and I remembered that he went around the whole tyre pushing it into the very centre of the (not sure of term) groove in the rim - I copied this and it went on a treat by hand! Very proud!
Pumped it up, did the mandatory "tyre bounce" and it jumped back into my hands, so refitted it to the bike and came home slowly for the last few miles.
The only thing that I didn't get right and figured out later was about my pump. I couldn't get a good seal on the presta valve so ended up only getting about 25psi in the tyre (which is why I came straight home). Once home I remembered about the reversable rubbery bit in the pump for switching it between presta and schrader - the pump had been set to schrader because that's what I had on my old bike.
I would also like to thank the slightly older chap who was cycling past and stopped to see if I was alright. He checked that I had a pump and the means to fix it, and even offered help. In the hope that he's reading this, I'd like to thank him. It's chaps like you that make cycling as fun as it is.
Thanks,
MG
