Ok so I’m about 6 months into bike commuting and the grind is real when it comes to maintenance. Had a puncture on the way to a meeting which led to a long walk both to meeting and home.
I had a spare inner tubes at home (which I’d normally go to a bike shop with) but I thought I need to learn.
Started at 10 pm finished around 2 am.
If I did learn something it’s how to hang the bike without a fancy bike holder thingy (there’s no room for it where I live) but hopefully this can help someone else or at least inspire to keep going.
Managed to get to work this morning thank God and happy riding.
by Icy-Succotash7032
24 Comments
What would you say was the most difficult part?
You’re making this too complicated. Flip the bike upside down onto the handlebars. Don’t fully remove the tire from the wheel; just unseat one side of it and pull out the tube. Even if it’s your first time you should be able to do it in 30 minutes if you do it the right way.
4 hours to replace a tube? Were you really, really high?
That feels about right for the first go. Next time it will only take an hour. And eventually you get comfortable enough to try it in the field. 👍
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqR6nlZNeU8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqR6nlZNeU8)
Hah that bike hanging contraption is hilarious. Over engineering at its finest. Flip the bike upside down so it’s resting on the handlebars and seat. Done.
You gotta start somewhere, congratulations on leaving a new skill. It will take less time in the future. Enjoy the ride!
Edit: learning
Just… Take the wheel off? Or flip the bike over, put a towel under the handlebars if you’re worried about scuffs
The first time is going to be slow.
With some practice you can do that same operation on the side of the road in 10 minutes.
When I first joined a cycling club newbies were gently encouraged to sit in the club house with their front wheel and practice changing a tube, while having a drink and a chat, until they could get it down to a 5 minute job. Other members were on hand to provide tips and advice, and take the piss out of really poor technique. It paid dividends when we were out on the road as a group.
Do you have tire irons/tire spoons? Especially in the cold, I have trouble getting tires on without them. If you don’t have them, warming the tires up just a little can help.
Congratulations! Doing something for the first time is always much harder and more time consuming than it should be. You done good. 🙂
Those poor M5s holding that rack on…
Yeah you are making it waaay too hard. Just flip the bike, shift to the lowest cog (if you have a derailleur) and take the wheel off. Only unseat 1 part of the tire rim, take out the tube and look for punctures and abrasions in the tire. Then replace the tube. This should only take you 15-20 minutes max.
great job! ☺️
I predict it was a tubeless ready tire and rim? They are fucked.
You get better at this. I used to ride to school as a teenager and we would have competitions to see how fast we could fix a puncture (we didn’t have spare tubes just little patch kits). We got it down to under 10 minutes. That was with wheels without qr spindles.
I **hate** changing tubes/tires.
especially fighting to get the read wheel back in.
It’s something I do very rarely and don’t have muscle memory.
I’ve had some troubling tire and wheel combos but there’s no reason it should have taken that long. Also props to your bike stand setup but completely unnecessary, your best friend in getting a stubborn tire off is a good set of tire levers. For your sake ask a mechanic or a friend to help you get past having to go to a shop for a simple flat fix. Good luck!
Just flip it over next time.
Get your bike upside down, it’s free! And if you’re struggling with a tube that’s too tight on the rim, use liquid soap
I prefer working on my bikes right-side-up. My cargo bike would be a disaster if I tried to turn it over anyway 🙂
My late friend who had raced professionally as a domestique, built his own wheels, and restored bikes, used a rubber strap hooked to the seatpost and the handlebars and looped over a hook in his garage to work on his bikes. Not too different than what you’ve got going, except he wasn’t in the middle of a doorway, which looks inconvenient.
You could try flipping the bike over, that’s pretty easy if it works for you.
So you have had a learning experience. Next time it will be faster.
You might want to look at this vid https://youtu.be/emEa4SMClx4?si=OtQWqrOuVvKB675m Tight tires can be a real pain in the, umm, thumbs to put back on the bike. But there are techniques to use.
The lads at GCN have other vids on fixing flats.
Could have saved yourself 3 and 1/2 hours by just looking for a YouTube video on how to change a tube.