Punctures & Friendly Passers By...

[Dan Ferris]

Good Evening,

Firstly, i am glad to be back on the bike and looking forward to contributing more on these forums.

This weekend, two rides and two punctures which is quite annoying. I think the second one was my fault for not getting the debris from the first puncture out of the tyre entirely but that's something to learn in the future.

Yesterdays puncture was fine to change between myself and the person i was out cycling. However today i was out on my own and for the life of me i could not get the tyre back onto the rim. I tried everything, little air in the tube, no air in the tube, using one tyre remover but i could just not do it. Thankfully a fellow cyclist stopped in his car and offered to help and between the two of us within 5 minutes it was back on.

So my question - is there a technique i can practice getting the tyre back on the rim? I used two tyre levers in the end and the other guy had a but of wood in his car which we also used but i cannot carry something like that around with me. I have had a look on youtube and other threads to see if there is a 'knack' to it but i cannot see what i was doing wrong. Is there any additional tools i could buy to carry with me? I have a 60 mile 'sportive' next weekend and currently quite nervous about getting another flat.

Additionally, i have a micropocket silver pump which takes about 2 weeks to pump the tyre up. Any other recommendations out there for me?

Thanks in advance!
Dan

 

[uclown2002]

Var Tyre Lever
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/1612...ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108

 

[Supersuperleeds]

You should be able to put a tyre back on without any levers.

Follow this method, you don't need the straps he uses.

 

[screenman]

That video as discussed before has a few faults in. Valve last for me and in nearly 50 years never needed straps.

Best way to get good at something is practice, at home in the warm, not out on the road in wind and rain.

Tyre off tube out, tube back in tyre on 10 times and you will not need help again.

 

[John the Monkey]

Some tyre/rim combinations are a bugger, and there's not much you can do about it.

My favourite tyre levers for stubborn tyres are the ones shaped like the Schwalbe logo ( http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b0s72p1044 ) which laugh in the face of the removal of Brompton tyres, even.

Pump wise, either;
Specialized Air Tool Road (I have the old silver version - hopefully they've not messed it up) cheap, reliable,
Topeak Road Morph G (spendy, but does high pressures and has a gauge, if you're not confident in your thumb sensitivity)
A proper frame pump like the Topeak Road Master Blaster (cheapish, proper size, but may not fit on modern swoopy ovalised frames).

Any of those will do a ride continuing (rather than limping home) pressure fairly easily.

 

[Tim Hall]

John the Monkey, he speaks the truth. And another vote for the VAR tyre lever. Practice at home in the warm and dry. In the field have something to eat before you tackle the puncture, for two reasons: (1) gets the blood sugar level up, so aids concentration (2) it might be the last time you have clean hands for a while.

 

[Dan Ferris]

Thank you all for your suggestions. I was worried about using the levers incase I pinched the tube but so far it seems to be remaining inflated.

John and uclown thank you, I shall see how quickly I can get those delivered. My current ones are entry level from decathlon so maybe not the best designed.

I guess I just need some more practice and be thankful in two years my first puncture.

 

[gwhite]

That video as discussed before has a few faults in. Valve last for me and in nearly 50 years never needed straps.

Best way to get good at something is practice, at home in the warm, not out on the road in wind and rain.

Tyre off tube out, tube back in tyre on 10 times and you will not need help again.

The tyre being replaced in the video is a Marathon Plus tyre and no matter how many times you have done it, replacing it will always be a swine.

I'm not sure what the faults are you mention but the guy in the video is vastly experienced and for many years built wheels for Spa Cycles. What he doesn't know about wheels is not worth knowing.

 

[annirak]

This is probably wrong, but it's worked for me; corrections appreciated. It's partly taken from the instructions that came with the Michelin Pro 4 SC foldable tyres, partly from what I've seen other cyclists do, and partly what works for me.
What I do is:

• Seat one whole bead of the tyre
• Put a little air in the tube so that it's round but floppy
• Insert the tube valve-first
• Push the tube into the tyre, starting at the valve
• Make sure the tube is as far over the rim as I can
• Seat the second bead by hand, starting at the valve stem
  • For this part, if it's 25C or narrower, push the valve stem into the tyre to get the bead to seat
• Once the bead is too tight to seat by hand anymore, get out the tyre levers
  • Turn the lever so that the hook you normally use for the bead is facing the rim
• Repeat until the tyre is fully seated:
  • Move the tyre lever as close to the last seated part of the bead as possible
  • Push the tube in with the lever
  • Hook the lever over the rim
  • Use the lever to lift the bead over the rim wall
    • If this is hard to do, move the lever closer to the seated part of the bead and try again
  • Gently wiggle the lever out
• Deflate the tube
• Push the side of the tire in with hands and make sure the rim tape is flat and the tube isn't visible
  • Rotate the tyre all the way around, repeating the above, starting at the stem
  • Do one side at a time
• Finally, inflate to full pressure

 

[mrandmrspoves]

The tyre being repl aced in the video is a Marathon Plus tyre and no matter how many times you have done it, replacing it will always be a swine..

Totally agree, trying to put Durano tyres back on my 451 20inch wheels was a complete nightmare and out on the road on a cold wet day was almost impossible. I resorted to carrying a can of tyre sealant with me - which worked great as a get me home solution.

In the warmth of my garage, I have this.........

 

[Dogtrousers]

While we're on the subject do other people do what I was taught as a yoof? That is: Maker's name over valve stem, and a little arrow on the inner tube indicating direction of rotation (drawn with the wax crayon from the puncture kit - or a ballpoint). This enables you to locate the pointy thing in the tyre if you have located the hole in the tube.

I just ask because no-one seems to mention it these days. (Although now people will probably point out a zillion posts that mention it that I didn't see. A bit like when you hear a new word for the first time, it repeatedly starts cropping up)

 

[John the Monkey]

While we're on the subject do other people do what I was taught as a yoof? That is: Maker's name over valve stem, and a little arrow on the inner tube indicating direction of rotation (drawn with the wax crayon from the puncture kit - or a ballpoint). This enables you to locate the pointy thing in the tyre if you have located the hole in the tube.

I just ask because no-one seems to mention it these days. (Although now people will probably point out a zillion posts that mention it that I didn't see. A bit like when you hear a new word for the first time, it repeatedly starts cropping up)

Yes, although the arrow on the tube is new to me (I just keep the tube in the same orientation until I've found the hole).

If the labels aren't in the same places on both sides of the tyre, I match on the side the rim sticker is readable from.

 

[raleighnut]

Another vote for the VAR tyre levers and the Topeak road morph both have served me well for years.

 

[Dan Ferris]

Thank You all for your replies.

I went out on another ride Monday - punctured. However i think that was actually my fault that i had pinched the tube in my haste to get it back on again.

Luckily, during the day Monday i purchased a new pump and some different tyre levers. Along with following :

• Seat one whole bead of the tyre
• Put a little air in the tube so that it's round but floppy
• Insert the tube valve-first
• Push the tube into the tyre, starting at the valve
• Make sure the tube is as far over the rim as I can
• Seat the second bead by hand, starting at the tube
  • For this part, if it's 25C or narrower, push the valve stem into the tyre to get the bead to seat
• Once the bead is too tight to seat by hand anymore, get out the tyre levers
  • Turn the lever so that the hook you normally use for the bead is facing the rim
• Repeat until the tyre is fully seated:
  • Move the tyre lever as close to the last seated part of the bead as possible
  • Push the tube in with the lever
  • Hook the lever over the rim
  • Use the lever to lift the bead over the rim wall
    • If this is hard to do, move the lever closer to the seated part of the bead and try again
  • Gently wiggle the lever out
• Deflate the tube
• Push the side of the tire in with hands and make sure the rim tape is flat and the tube isn't visible
  • Rotate the tyre all the way around, repeating the above, starting at the stem
  • Do one side at a time
• Finally, inflate to full pressure

From puncture happening to me riding off with a smile - 10 minutes. So, i feel a lot more confident now. I am looking to get some new tyres as the ones that are on are the standard Giant tyres.

Thank you all!

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Topeak pocket rocket here & one thing to develop to make tyre fitting easier is strong thumbs