How To Fix A Puncture On A Bike

Fixing a puncture on your bike is an essential skill for all cyclists to learn. Alex runs step-by-step through the process of using a puncture repair kit to patch up a punctured inner tube. This video includes steps on removing your wheel and inner tube, as well as helping you locate the puncture itself.

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0:00 Intro
0:13 Tools
0:46 Remove the wheel
1:08 Remove the inner tube
2:38 Inspect your tyre
3:26 Locate the puncture
3:59 Apply a patch
6:04 Refit the inner tube
6:56 Refit the tyre
9:03 Practice makes perfect

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punctures suck but the great news is fixing a puncture is not actually a big deal so in this video I’m going to show you how to repair a punctured inner tube this is a skill which I think all cyclists should be able to do and in order to do this job you’re going to need a handful of things you’re going to need one or two Tire levers a puncture repair kit which is generally going to consist of a small piece of abrasive paper some kind of adhesive or Vulcanizing solution and a selection of different size patches you’re also going to need a pump if you’re at the roadside that’s going to be a mini pump and if you’re at home chances are that’s going to be a floor pump you also have the option of just using some self-adhesive patches to try and make life that little bit easier the very first thing you’re going to need to do is remove the Wheel from your bike and ensure it’s fully deflated now if you struggle removing the rear wheel from your bike you simply need to shift into the smallest sprocket at the back and then pivot the rear derailleur backwards out the way to Aid removal using your hands push the entire bead of one side of the tire off of the side of the rim into the central wheel well on Modern tires this can take quite a bit of force take in your one tile lever place it in and underneath the loose bead of the tire you can then lever the tire up and over the edge of the wheel rim now you can then push and Slide the tile lever round to one side this is going to allow you to remove the rest of the tire bead from the wheel rim if the tire is a particularly tight fit and you feel like you’re unable to just push your one tire lever to the side that is where your second tire lever comes into play Release the first tie lever whilst keeping it in underneath the tire bead take your second tie lever place it under the tire bead similar to the first but about five centimeters further along on the wheel Rim leave that tally one down lever your second tie lever down and at this stage you should have released more of that tire bead and are able to push your other tire lever around the wheel rim to release that tire bead this will allow you to get hold of the inner tube and remove it from the tire when it comes to removing the valve if it has a little lock nut installed here undo that with your hands and then you can push the tire to the side push the valve up at the same time as pulling it out carefully inspect the tire next to make sure that the objects which cause you to have a puncture in the first place isn’t still in there you can do this by gently sliding your hand around the inner surface of the tire if you find any large Cuts or holes in the tire that’s likely to mean that the tire is going to need replacing and a trip down to your local bike shop to get a new one small thornholes or small tiny little cuts from a small Stone say chances are they’re going to be okay if you feel unsure that there’s a small hole in the tire and you don’t want to leave it you can simply put a little bit of tape over the inside or you can also patch the inside of the tire using the same process as what we’re going to talk through next when it comes to repairing the inner tube with your inner tube removed next thing to do is actually pump the inner tube up this means we are going to be able to locate the sight of the puncture so good bit of air in there I can already hear where it’s leaking from enjoy the sound of that um yeah there it is this inner tube definitely wasn’t punctured before we started filming this video anyway once you’ve located the puncture site you can keep your finger on top of it and deflate the inner tube fully again take your puncture repair kit and then inside empty the contents out that’s going to allow you to get your abrasive paper and lightly scuff up the area around the puncture site if you’re going to use self-adhesive patches you can just take one place it over the puncture site apply pressure for a minute and then you where you go ready to install your inner tube into the tire now if you’re using a repair kit such as this you need to scuff up an area larger than the patches that you’re going to use so these for instance and then when it comes to applying the Vulcanizing solution you again have to apply Vulcanizing solution to an area which is larger than the size of the patch you’re going to use now we need to give that a minute or so to dry whilst we’re doing so we can take our patch which we’re going to use and when that has dried we can peel the foil backing off of the patch remove it with this little clear bit just like so you can pretty much tell when the Vulcanizing solution has almost dried because it loses its glossy bit and goes to a duller matte finish locate the puncture site and get your patch to sit centrally over the top that’s like this when you’ve got it in place firmly press down to ensure that all of it is in contact with the inner tube and apply pressure for a minute carefully peel this top protective cover off next making sure as you do so you’re not peeling off the patch off of the inner tube as well it can be a little bit tricky and sometimes in the past I have just left that protective cover on and it’s been installed as it is so take your pick between the two it’s looking like it’s good to go I’ve put the tiniest little bit of air pressure into the inner tube to get it to hold its shape And now when it comes to reinstalling our inner tube into the wheel first point that’s cool is the valve so we can push our tire back so Slide the inner tube through the valve hole in the tire push that firmly in place and then we’re working our way by lifting the tire up and over our inner tube so that’s the first section done then we’re gradually going to work our way all the way around the wheel rim pushing the inner tube up into the tire and over the wheel rim like so so up and over up and then over work our way all the way around now that we’ve got the inner tube held inside of the tire we can start working our way all the way around the tire to put the tire bead back onto the wheel Rim a general rule of thumb is to start opposite the valve and then finish at the valve as you’re doing so it’s kind of like just the reversal principle of what we did to take the tire off so we’re pushing the tire over the rim bead with our hands and getting it to sit down and into that Central wheel well you need to do a larger section at a time to start with and that should then get the tire to stay in place and then work your way all the way around the tire it’s best practice here to avoid using any Tire levers even if the tire is tight to get on that way you reduce the risk of pinching the inner tube between the tire lever and the wheel rim and then causing you another puncture which you’ve then got to go back and repair so work your way around using your thumbs and you can go opposites if you like all the way around to meet at the valve now when you reach this point this little section here which remains in some cases is going to be particularly tight to get over that wheel Rim Edge if that’s the case double check that the rest of the tire is loose and sitting in that Central wheel well that way you’re going to generate some additional slack in the tire bead to make life here a little bit easier then firmly push with your thumbs there you go tie it over make sure the valve sat in correctly you can just work our way around the tire double checking that the inner tube isn’t caught or exposed anywhere at this stage all we need to do inflate our tire up to your normal pressure which you run your tires at front and rear are going to be a slightly different pressure install the wheel back into your bike quick check that everything looks fine spin the wheel around make sure the tire is beaded and seated correctly and Away you go and that’s it job done oh wait it’s going down I’m only kidding um best advice that I can give for repairing punctures is like anything in life practice makes perfect and whilst it might seem like a bit of a complicated process once you’ve done it once or twice it will all kind of come fairly naturally do practice it at home before you end up stuck out on the roadside though scratching your head wondering what to do and that’s it it really is as simple as that I hope you found this maintenance video helpful and informative if you have let me know in the comments section down below give this video a like subscribe to UCM Tech and if you have any future maintenance videos you’d like to see let me know in the comment section down below as well right I’m out of here data