Fixing a puncture or replacing inner tube when dirty

[Milena]

If I am cycling in the rain on gravel and have lots of grit etc all over my bike and my tires, how do I safely open my tire to replace the inner tube or perform a repair?

I'm assuming no grit dirt etc must go into the inner part of a tire right? Which is surely impossible if the tire is filthy?

 

[Punkawallah]

Not had this problem, any puncture repairs of a muddy tyre would incur a cleaning cost. I’d suggest that the need to get home would trump any potential damage to the tube/wheel, where you could dismantle, clean, and re- assemble?

 

[MichaelW2]

Find a puddle or long wet grass.

 

[vickster]

Carry an old cloth too? And get the most puncture resistant tyres you can for your uses (stock ones on budget bikes are usually poor in this respect). Keep your tyres pumped up optimally too

 

[Milena]

Not had this problem, any puncture repairs of a muddy tyre would incur a cleaning cost. I’d suggest that the need to get home would trump any potential damage to the tube/wheel, where you could dismantle, clean, and re- assemble?

What do you mean incur a cleaning cost? What are you talking about?

 

[ColinJ]

If I am cycling in the rain on gravel and have lots of grit etc all over my bike and my tires, how do I safely open my tire to replace the inner tube or perform a repair?

I'm assuming no grit dirt etc must go into the inner part of a tire right? Which is surely impossible if the tire is filthy?

I had that happen on Sunday. Just be really careful not to get any grit in there. My puncture was probably caused by sharp grit from a very mucky country lane penetrating the tyre so obviously any left inside the tyre would be pretty disastrous!

Find a puddle or long wet grass.

I used a handful of wet grass to wipe my tyre!

Not had this problem, any puncture repairs of a muddy tyre would incur a cleaning cost. I’d suggest that the need to get home would trump any potential damage to the tube/wheel, where you could dismantle, clean, and re- assemble?

Are you really suggesting riding home on a flat tyre rather than fixing a puncture?! I was over 2 hours ride away on a healthy bike. I don’t think my wheel would have survived that distance so it would have meant £150 for a replacement wheel, £20 for a new tyre, £4 for a new tube and then £20+ for a taxi and/or a very long walk with the wrecked bike!

I prefer not to repair tubes outdoors so I carry 2 or 3 spare tubes, but I also carry a puncture kit in case of bicycle Thornageddon!

 

[presta]

I'll be interested to see what others have to say, as of all the countless punctures I've had, only two have been in the rain. Each of them was in a sunken lane with nowhere to get off the road, and only 20 mins walk from a hostel with a nice dry bike shed to work in, so walking was the obvious option. I always carry a spare tube so that I'm never needing to get a patch to stick to a wet tube, and I think I'd probably sacrifice some water from my bottles to rinse the wheel before starting work. I did repair a puncture in horizontal sleet once, but the bike wasn't dirty at the time.

 

[Milena]

Carry an old cloth too? And get the most puncture resistant tyres you can for your uses (stock ones on budget bikes are usually poor in this respect). Keep your tyres pumped up optimally too

How do I know what's optimal?

As for tires that come with the bike, I bought a carrera crossfire 3 new.

Also is the added weight of higher puncture resistance a concern?

 

[ColinJ]

I am repairing Sunday's punctured tube today, plus another which I punctured a couple of weeks ago.

When I do my local cycling loop I don't carry spares or tools because I could walk home with the bike faster than repairing a puncture, which I would fix in comfort once I got back.

 

[Milena]

So what happened to me is I rode my bike in the rain on a gravel path. Bike got very gritty.

2 days later I checked the bike. Bit of surface rust on the chain and cassette.
Rear tire totally deflated. Front tire fine.

Took it to my local bike shop for a wash and possibly puncture repair. Likely it's a puncture. He doesn't do puncture repairs, he replaces the inner tube. £20.
I don't have a puncture repair kit nor levers to open the tire.
And given the bike was dirty and gritty I didn't want to attempt it myself nor wash it myself and risk grit going into the tire etc.
Plus I'm not even sure how to correctly clean a bike.
There's so much debate it seems on correct methods and precise specifics. What I'm fearful of, is removing lubrication from bearings... Don't know where those are or what they are, it's just what I've found from research, and other components/parts of the bike. The issue is I don't even know the anatomy of a bike nor what parts not to clean certain ways etc and what things to use.
It seems so so much more complicated than washing a car.

The wash at the bike shop is £12.

Bought the bike in June this year. Or maybe July. Can't remember exactly.

Didn't ride for a few months after getting tendinitis in my wrists. The grips rotate by themselves. I think that's the main thing that caused it.

I'm 174cm, 72kg, male, bike is a MEDIUM Carrera Crossfire 3.

I'm lucky the tire didn't deflate while riding. I would have had to walk 7 miles home with the bike in the rain, totally drenched in the cold.

 

[presta]

I don't have a puncture repair kit nor levers to open the tire.

You'd be well advised to get them and learn how to use them, as punctures are an inevitable part of cycling. It's not a difficult job.

Plus I'm not even sure how to correctly clean a bike.

People make more of it than it really is.
A bucket of soapy water and a brush will do for non greasy bits, but your chain and gears will last longer if you clean those occasionally too. For the gears a brush with some solvent, degreaser or chain cleaner is better than nothing, but you can do a better job of it if you remove the chain. People have various favourite tools for getting into awkward places.

What I'm fearful of, is removing lubrication from bearings

The rain will do that for you. You will need to re-lubricate the transmission if you clean it, and occasionally if you don't. Cleaning gears is easy because they're exposed, but other bearings are not that difficult, there are plenty of videos on You Tube to show you how. Bearings that need occasional attention are wheel, pedal, steering and bottom bracket, along with cables, brakes and gear change linkages, but nowhere near as often as the gears.

I'm lucky the tire didn't deflate while riding. I would have had to walk 7 miles home with the bike in the rain, totally drenched in the cold.

It'll happen sooner or later if you aren't able to deal with punctures yourself. (That said, Anne Mustoe cycled round the world unable to mend punctures, but I wouldn't count on being as unbelievably lucky as her.)

 

[Big John]

I don't ride with a club these days but when I did there were many in the group who couldn't tie their shoelaces let alone repair a puncture but they knew they'd be looked after by the ride leader because he was a bike mechanic. Everyone took a spare tube, tyre leavers, CO2 or a minipump and if they punctured the ride leader took over, fixed the puncture with the riders own kit and away we went. One of the advantages I guess of group riding. There's no way I'd leave the house without my bag of bits. If cycling is your hobby then punctures, as well as 'mechanicals', are an every-ride risk you take and you should be able to sort yourself out when sh1t happens. If you can't then be sure you carry a phone, have someone on hand to rescue you and know where you are so they can find you.

 

[fossyant]

You just shove in a new tube. You'll get mucky hands if you have rim brakes. Never had an issue changing a tube in rain and muck, just mucky hands.

 

[vickster]

I don’t much like fixing punctures on the road. For £18 a year (no claims bonus price), I have ETA rescue to pay for a taxi to get me home or at least to a convenient station (or bike shop). However, I do carry pump, levers and tube

 

[vickster]

How do I know what's optimal?

As for tires that come with the bike, I bought a carrera crossfire 3 new.

Also is the added weight of higher puncture resistance a concern?

Not on a 15kg+ Carrera Crossfire.
look at the psi range on the tyre and assuming you’re not very heavy or very light, go for the middle