Things You’ll Need:

1. 2 Tire Levers – Tire removal can be done with just one, but two levers makes a hard job easy.
2. 1 New Tube – In a pinch, this can be a patched old one, but beware the slow leak.
3. 1 Way to Inflate the Tire – Floor Pump for home, Hand Pump or CO2 Gun on the road.
4. 25 Practices – Nobody is good at this overnight.

Remove the Wheel

Many modern bicycles come with quick release skewers to make it easier to remove wheels. But a lot of us need to bring along an extra 15mm box wrench to get our wheels off. Fixed gears, cruisers, and older road bikes are all going to require a little more work. Make sure you know which kind you’re riding!

Remove the Tire

Tire levers have two ends. Use the side that looks like a spoon to scoop up under the edge of the tire. Then, use the other end that looks like a hook and stick it behind a spoke. This will hold your place and give you time to pick up your second tire lever. Repeat the same process as the first lever. Now, if you have yet another lever, feel free to use this one as well. Most of us will barely have two, but you can play leap frog with the levers, slowly pulling up more of the tire’s bead. After enough of the tire is lifted up, you can swipe the lever along the bead of the tire, quickly removing the rest.

Pull out the Tube

Be careful of glass, thorns, etc. that might still be lurking there inside the tire. Mark which way the tube comes out if you have a pen. This will help you not to be confused about which side is which when trying to find the culprit for your flat.

Find the Culprit

See if you can find the hole in the tube. If you have a floor pump handy, inflate the tube to about the size of a cucumber. This will expand the hole in the tube large enough for you to find it easily if you listen closely. If you don’t have a pump and you only have a CO2 cartridge, don’t waste the cartridge, just be careful about the next step. In the event that you have that pen from before, make a circle around the hole. Now, by matching the tube up to the tire, you can find exactly what caused your flat.

The Usual Suspects

Reinstall the Tube

Start by inflating the tube a little so that it can hold its shape. With presta valve tubes, you can simply inflate them with your mouth. Don’t waste the CO2! Now, place the valve of the tube through its destined hole in the rim. Next, lift the tire up over the tube and begin stuffing the tube up into the tire. You may have to stretch the tube a little to get it up around the rim but you should be able to knead the tube (kinda like bread) up into the pocket made by the tire.

Remount the Tire

Starting opposite the valve stem, begin by rolling the bead of the tire up into the hook made by the rim. With both hands, working in opposite directions toward the valve stem, work the bead up onto the rim. The last 1/4th of the tire bead will be VERY tight. When this happens, take out the little bit of air you put in the tube. This will make the bead just loose enough so that you can roll the last bit of the bead onto the rim. Try your best not to use tire levers as this can very easily cut your tube, but if you must, you must. Try pulling both sides of the tire away from the spot we started towards the stem and wiggling yourself a little bit extra room. Practice makes perfect with this. Some tires are NOT easy. For really tight beads or for new tires, try putting the tire out somewhere in the sun for a few minutes so that it can warm up and more easily stretch.

Inflate the Tire

Take your time with this. Sometimes I take more time to inflate my tires than I do to install the tubes in them. Nothing sucks worse than blowing out the only tube you had before you’re even done inflating it. It’s embarrassing and it means you have to take another trip to the bike shop. Inflate to 20 psi and stop to check the tire that the bead is properly mounted. The “mounting line” will show you whether the bead is seated correctly into the hook. This mounting line should be evenly parallel to the rim all around its circumference. Finish inflating the tire to its recommended psi rating.

Reinstall the Wheel

Shift into your highest gear on your rear shifter. This will tell you exactly where to put the chain when guiding it past that pesky rear derailleur. Remember, the cogset goes on the INSIDE of the loop created by the chain. You’ll get the hang of it!

So, it’s not that hard and practice makes perfect! I can remember the time (Not so long ago!) when half the tires I changed went flat as soon as I got back on the road. I’ve had a good few tires blow up in my face, but it happens less and less. The only difference between a good mechanic and a great mechanic is how many mistakes they’ve made, and I’ve made plenty! So get out there and get some flats so you can change them. If you know how to do this, get out there and teach your friends. Or teach me even! The only schooling I ever had was my friends teaching me how to do things!

Have questions? Suggestions? I’d love to hear them! If you have specific “How To” questions, email them to pedalmovement@gmail.com or icheckthisemail@gmail.comand you may just get a video answer!

Happy wrenching,

Bike Guy