really need to know how to put an inner tube in

[sarahpink]

I got caught short today. luckily these very friendly cycling lads came passed me all stopped and helped me along the way. fitted a tube for me too thought it was lovely of them. luckily where I cycle too is full of cyclists


its not the first time either. got a puncture in my front tyre, had no inner tube. i stopped carrying them as the times I have had a puncture they have been pointless as haven't had a clue what to do. luckily i have a friend who is retired and takes pleasure in rescuing me. the 2nd time I had a puncture I went in to the lbs and said look i need to know how. so bless him, he spent 30 minutes with me showing me how to do it, I managed to get the tyre of was a bit tricky, put the tube back, but then the problem came of getting the tyre back on

. I just didnt have the strength and me and mr bike shop guy came to the conclusion that I don't have the arm muscles.he suggested this stuff that you can put in your tyres so you can cycle home even if you've had a puncture then take it back to the shop and they can sort it out. anyone tried it?



other options is to go and build up my arms in the gym

,
carry inner tube with me in the hope a friendly cyclist will help me out
rely on my friend to rescue me.
or try and try to bloudly well do it myself

anyone else had this problem?

 

[marinyork]

What tyre levers do you use? I found it virtually impossible to change tyres without tyre levers, thumbs and arms just ache a lot, when I got some tyre levers it was just about possible and has slowly improved.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

get marathon pluses then it won't matter. if you do get a puncture with them on, chances are the tyre will knackered anyway, it takes quite a lot to puncture them.

 

[Tigerbiten]

I've only one arm, so changing tyres/inner tubes is "FUN".

Marathon pluses are very punture resistent but if you do get one they tend to be harder to get off and on.

I would always carry a spare innner tube, someone will help you if you look helpless enough ..........

If you want to try to learn to change tyres, one idea is to see if your LBS has an old dead wheel & type you can use.
That way you can try at home where its warm and dry, without taking your working bike apart.
There is a knack of getting the bead of the tyre in the wheel well oposite where your work which helps get the last little bit on.

Luck ..........

 

[Grasen]

don't know what tires you use
don't know what rims you have

but if you do a search you will find threads on which tire / rim combination are easiest / hardest to work with


besides that I would say it is NOT brute strength that is required, but skill.
so sit at home on a long winters night and practice, practice and practice.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Sarah... naughty girl!
Carry spares and know how to use them if you're gonna venture far from home, p*ncture repair and replacing inner-tubes is a skill best practiced at home.
Tyres are often hard to get back on the rims, try a VAR tyre lever to make things easy:
Available from these guys, makes re-fitting a cinch.

http://www.bikeplus.co.uk/

 

[youngoldbloke]

+1 VAR lever, as well as a good pair of levers, such as the Bontrager ones, to get the tyre off. Carry 2 spare tubes.

 

[gf1959]

I also live in Devon,punctures were the bane of my life,luckily i never got one too far from home.
These days on the hack and main bike i have a combination of continental gators and duraskin,since fitted not a single puncture,that's over a year now.

 

[Roll on]

Like others have said, you don't need to be strong. You need tyre levers, and METAL ones if you can find them. Then it's just leverage for the last section of tyre. It's a case of prising it into place, not brute force. But it can be tricky and frustrating for even the most seasoned cyclist!

Good luck.

 

[youngoldbloke]

You need tyre levers, and METAL ones if you can find them.

- but be very careful, metal levers can really mess up your nice alloy rims. I prefer solid plastic ones. The metal ones with a plastic coating can be OK but the plastic can split away from the metal if faced with a 'difficult' tyre.

 

[PpPete]

I know some are more difficult than others....but I've yet to find a tyre I can't put on with thumbs, and maybe a "roll" with the gloved palm at the end, and no it doesn't take a whole lot of arm strength either. The secret is getting the bead in to the well of the rim. Take a look at the video on the Spa website. For getting tyres off, the Park Tools levers are very good.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Like others have said, you don't need to be strong. You need tyre levers, and METAL ones if you can find them. Then it's just leverage for the last section of tyre. It's a case of prising it into place, not brute force. But it can be tricky and frustrating for even the most seasoned cyclist!

Good luck.

No never metal ones, they can damage rims are are of no great benefit over good quality plastic ones, fine and inexpensive.

 

[sarahpink]

thanks for all the replies, this is probably a silly thiing to say, but I have tyre levers don't know what make, apart from they are pink

, ive just put some new tyres on as my old ones were completely worn, and got some michelein pro 3 race you guessed it in pink

i didnt have any punctures for about 6 months and think it was only because my tyres were nackered.

think will carry inner tubes with me, and play the damsal in distress:

 

[Fab Foodie]

thanks for all the replies, this is probably a silly thiing to say, but I have tyre levers don't know what make, apart from they are pink

, ive just put some new tyres on as my old ones were completely worn, and got some michelein pro 3 race you guessed it in pink

i didnt have any punctures for about 6 months and think it was only because my tyres were nackered.

think will carry inner tubes with me, and play the damsal in distress:

NO .
Whilst PR3s are God's own tyre and have quite good P*ncture resistance for a lightweight tyre, they will and do P*ncture and you need to be able to swap-out a tube at the least and check for spikey bits still in the tyre. It's a cycling fundemental ig you're going further than the paper shop. Sod's law dicatates that P*nctures will arrive at the least convenient time and place and you could be stuck a while. It's pretty easy and takes a few minutes with practice.
PR3s are hard to get on and off many rims, the VAR will help get that impossible last bit on if you don't want to make your fingers bleed.

 

[e-rider]

you need a VAR tool - even whimps can re-fits tyres using a VAR - £7 well spent in your case!