Had my first flat tyre...

[Easytigers]

Just as everyone else said...gets easier with practise. I would spend an invaluable 30 mins having a go at getting the tyre on and off so you know what to do. Also a few pearls people have shared with me or I've learned on the way:
1. Always check the inside of the tyre for sharps before replacing the tube (otherwise won't be long until you're doing it again!)
2. Spend a minute double checking that the tube isn't caught between the tyre and rim before inflating
3. Check the tyre wall isn't split (went through both my tubes and a friend's before we realised what the problem was!)

 

[jefmcg]

The actual tyre seemed to have untucked itself at one part and I prised it back into the rim.

This shouldn't happen. I'd be concerned that your rim is bent.

35,000 and quite a few punctures: I've never had a tyre come off a rim. In fact, I've never heard of it happening unless the wheel was damaged.

 

[Ticktockmy]

Hard to say how many miles you get between punctures, depends on where you are cycling and what tyres you are using, and sods Law, I rode 6500 + miles down through Africa and no punctures, I rode a couple miles in Crawley and rode over a small piece of flint and punctured and that was on Schwalbe Marathon XR's. It Sods law in operation. As to repairing Punctures, practise and practise, don't just practise repairing the inner tube, practise removing the wheel and replacing it after the repair. on a normal bike If you are changing the inner tube, 10 minutes, if you have to repair your inner tube 15-20 minutes.

 

[Levo-Lon]

It sounds like you had a soft tyre ,so as you cornered the tyre came off the rim..
get a friend or bike shop to show you..i tought my wife as we often go in different places where we cycle.
so learning to fixthe puncture is a good thing to learn..

or get a bike repair book? And have a read..you girls are good at instructions..unlike us men lol

 

[boydj]

First rule of puncture avoidance is to make sure your tyres are at the correct pressure. A track pump with a gauge is a most useful tool in this regard.

 

[vickster]

[QUOTE 3814401, member: 259"]When will they ever learn? [/QUOTE]
I LOVE white bartape!

 

[fossyant]

Get yourself down to a Decathlon if you have one. Their tyre leavers are great, as are their cheap tubes for two for £3. Using these on my commute.

 

[400bhp]

Not frequent. I commute 25 miles a day and I've had two in the last 6 months due to glass.

you will now have one tomorrow now

 

[ColinJ]

I am probably averaging 1,500+ miles between punctures.

It helps if you keep an eye out for broken glass, potholes etc.

Punctures really should not be a big deal. Most can be avoided, and most of the others can be easily sorted out. The only ones that are a real problem are the ones where the tyre is severely damaged, but that is pretty unlikely if you watch what you are doing.

 

[Ihatehills]

I'm guessing that the puncture sealing stuff ( slime and the likes) isn't any good as no one is mentioning it?
I used some when I had a puncture in my rear wheel a few years back, and I fitted a tube with it already in to my front, and have had no problems.

 

[buggi]

I've had less than 10 in 13 years and other than this year I've cycled an average of 3000 miles per year. As said, youtube is a great help, practice at home first and you will soon realise how easy it is. I've changed more for other people than I have for myself and I didn't have a clue the first time it happened to me. A cyclist came to my rescue, it didn't even occur to me it might happen! LOL

 

[howard2107]

They used to scare me - I'm ok now, I just have to do everything slowly and logically to avoid getting frustrated! Practice does make it easier as you can remember what you did last time. The worst thing is getting filthy hands from the chain (if a rear puncture) and the tyre/wheel, so carry gloves and babywipes...especially if you have white bartape!

Get yourself a box of the blue disposable gloves, and keep a couple of pairs with you. If you want to get free disposable gloves like i do, grab a few next time you fill the car up with fuel. I am probably the reason why my local Morrisons runs out of these things on the diesel pump regularly.

 

[Cannondale Lady]

Great idea. I suggested tweezers to hubby for his repair kit for getting thorns or glass out there but he looked at me like I was an alien!

 

[slowmotion]

As others have said, there's a whole skipload of good advice on YouTube. My only tip is this....when taking the tyre off with levers, use three spaced about three inches apart. Get all three of them under the bead......and then hook the other ends down onto the spokes. If you insert one and hook it down before inserting the next one, you will just find that the second one is harder to get under the bead....and so on. It's completely obvious but it took me a couple of years to work it out.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Great idea. I suggested tweezers to hubby for his repair kit for getting thorns or glass out there but he looked at me like I was an alien!

Well said: I've got a pair (that are not used for eyebrows lol) of tweezers I take in my tool bag