How long does it take you to change a flat on the roadside??
- Thread starter SWEETRIDE4ME
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Fill the tube and place it near your face or lips while your search for the hole. Your skin is sensitive enough to feel the air. Works every time. If your girl friend is with you, ask her if you can use a sensitive area of her body to locate the .....ElPerro said:
Works every time.
I have my share and several others share of flats, like 10 to 15 per year. I commute year round and most flats are during the wet winter months. I take from 8 to 15 minutes to change a flat on the road. I carry a pump and 2 spare tubes. Luckily most flats are slow enough to get me home before I notice the flat. Some tricks I have learned:
Take your time…
Install your tire so the name of the tire manufacture is aligned with the valve stem.
After removing the wheel do a quick inspection to attempt to find the culprit.
You have to find the location of what caused the flat, and if still in the tire remove it and mark the tire with it’s location.
Find it or not, remove the tire and tube. If you must use tire tools watch pinching the tube. It happens here just as often as when remounting.
Not found, run your fingers (protected by a cloth or full finger glove) around the inside of the tire to try to find the cause. I prefer the next method
Or pump up the tube and attempt to find the hole. Pumping up the tube, real large, is usually the easiest. When you find the hole, reference it’s location from the stem to the tire and attempt to locate the problem in the tire.
In most cases the cause is no longer in the tire. If it is tempered glass you may have to look for the embedded glass from the outside. Remove it….
If you must, patch the tube.
Put enough air in the new/patched tube to round it out and place it in the tire.
Observing direction and tire manufacture name, mount one side of the tire and insert the stem.
Insert the other side bead then add a little more air. If you have to use tire tools don’t pinch the tube. Per BungedUP try without tools.
Pinch the tire all around to seat the bead. You will feel and hear it as it seats. On some tire/wheel combinations this is the most important step.
Pump up the tire. Unless you have a pump with a stand you can place the head of the pump against a post or tree and get more air into the tire with less effort.
CO2 is for experts. If you want to use them and you are not an expert, get a case of cartridges and practice until you are. I have watched too many use all their cartridges and then accept my pump to get them going.
superclimber: I have found the new tubes with extra long stems must have the entire tire removed. For me it is easier and faster this way. The speed patches have been good enough to get home on but do not last and must be replaced with a good glue patch.
If a blowout from a large cut, you can use a dollar bill folded to block the hole enough to get you home. This is usually cheaper then the boots you can buy. Use less pressure and ride easy. No spare tube and hole/s to big to patch, I hope you: are on a club ride, have a cell phone, are on a bus line, or close to home.
Ride with someone or ride club rides until you feel safe riding alone. Ride leaders usually have spare tubes and a pump. Larger rides have SAG support.
Phil Lux
Take your time…
Install your tire so the name of the tire manufacture is aligned with the valve stem.
After removing the wheel do a quick inspection to attempt to find the culprit.
You have to find the location of what caused the flat, and if still in the tire remove it and mark the tire with it’s location.
Find it or not, remove the tire and tube. If you must use tire tools watch pinching the tube. It happens here just as often as when remounting.
Not found, run your fingers (protected by a cloth or full finger glove) around the inside of the tire to try to find the cause. I prefer the next method
Or pump up the tube and attempt to find the hole. Pumping up the tube, real large, is usually the easiest. When you find the hole, reference it’s location from the stem to the tire and attempt to locate the problem in the tire.
In most cases the cause is no longer in the tire. If it is tempered glass you may have to look for the embedded glass from the outside. Remove it….
If you must, patch the tube.
Put enough air in the new/patched tube to round it out and place it in the tire.
Observing direction and tire manufacture name, mount one side of the tire and insert the stem.
Insert the other side bead then add a little more air. If you have to use tire tools don’t pinch the tube. Per BungedUP try without tools.
Pinch the tire all around to seat the bead. You will feel and hear it as it seats. On some tire/wheel combinations this is the most important step.
Pump up the tire. Unless you have a pump with a stand you can place the head of the pump against a post or tree and get more air into the tire with less effort.
CO2 is for experts. If you want to use them and you are not an expert, get a case of cartridges and practice until you are. I have watched too many use all their cartridges and then accept my pump to get them going.
superclimber: I have found the new tubes with extra long stems must have the entire tire removed. For me it is easier and faster this way. The speed patches have been good enough to get home on but do not last and must be replaced with a good glue patch.
If a blowout from a large cut, you can use a dollar bill folded to block the hole enough to get you home. This is usually cheaper then the boots you can buy. Use less pressure and ride easy. No spare tube and hole/s to big to patch, I hope you: are on a club ride, have a cell phone, are on a bus line, or close to home.
Ride with someone or ride club rides until you feel safe riding alone. Ride leaders usually have spare tubes and a pump. Larger rides have SAG support.
Phil Lux
hahaha...nice.
i've never had a flat on the road. not really any thorns here. i've change far more flats on the mtb tho'. i never carry tubes either. i just patch it, wait a few minutes, and then comes the arduous task of pumping it up. i know i know....wahhhh.
i've never had a flat on the road. not really any thorns here. i've change far more flats on the mtb tho'. i never carry tubes either. i just patch it, wait a few minutes, and then comes the arduous task of pumping it up. i know i know....wahhhh.
I have recently bought one of those CO2 tire inflaters and that cuts the time to change a flat in half because you don't spend 5 minutes pumping up that tire also it has to do with the kind of beed you have on your tire. if you have a wire one you can do it in less than five minutes but kevlar is harder to work with.
I had my first flat on my new bike... a tack.
I have slicks on ... and haven't even checked the air in my tires cause it has presta valves on it... and I could never figure out how they work. (until I got on the web and realized that the valve can stick and that's why no air goes in....lol)
I was approx 3K from home... and I had a spare tube in my pack... and my pump... and I fully intended to change it on the road...
But good thing I didn't... cause my spare tube was a schraeder valve that wouldn't even fit in the hole in my wheel.
I'da been plenty PO'd if I'd gotten the tube out and couldn't get the other one in...lol
Anyway.. I ended up walking the 3 K home cause the tube would not hold air. Not a big deal.... and I learned all about preta valves in the comfort of my workshop.
So newbies... take note... make sure your valve is free and that leeetle nut is unscrewed... ;o).. and make sure you screw it back down after.....
I have slicks on ... and haven't even checked the air in my tires cause it has presta valves on it... and I could never figure out how they work. (until I got on the web and realized that the valve can stick and that's why no air goes in....lol)
I was approx 3K from home... and I had a spare tube in my pack... and my pump... and I fully intended to change it on the road...
But good thing I didn't... cause my spare tube was a schraeder valve that wouldn't even fit in the hole in my wheel.
I'da been plenty PO'd if I'd gotten the tube out and couldn't get the other one in...lol
Anyway.. I ended up walking the 3 K home cause the tube would not hold air. Not a big deal.... and I learned all about preta valves in the comfort of my workshop.
So newbies... take note... make sure your valve is free and that leeetle nut is unscrewed... ;o).. and make sure you screw it back down after.....
I can't believe all the gripes about reinflating. The (a?) solution is the Topeako Mountain Morph. 80 strokes to 130psi with my 23mm Michelin Pro Races. Although it's a frame pump, it works as a floor pump so little risk of tearing the valve/tube junction. Takes one minute.
A little heavier than a CO2 cartridge, so leave it at home if you're racing!
A little heavier than a CO2 cartridge, so leave it at home if you're racing!
ElPerro said:
Take the tube and inflate it a little bit. Either the whistle or the feeling of escaping air upon your hand will tell you where the problem is.
For the record I use a mini pump so the actual pumping takes longer than the tube replacement. I also carry a patch kit as well. The worse thing is the grease on your hands after a rear wheel change....not mine cause I keep my drivetrain real clean....but if you assist others.
A clean chain and cassette makes an annoying flat less annoying.
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