road bike nightmare!!

[macker71165]

Hi all! having rode a bike for the last 6yrs nothing special just commute to work and back 6miles 5 days a week on a trusty cheapish alloy mountain bike i was getting a bit envious of them speedy road bikes that pass me by from time to time! anyway in may my son came home from doing service in afghan and
bought me a raleigh equipe road bike pretty light bike compared to my mountain bike 700x 28c tyres butterfly gear shifters i know its not ya chris boardmans or the like but i was really pleased!!!!! hang on i cant pump the tyres up with my hand pump of to halfords i go!.. ya need one of these floor pumps they said!! 120 psi it says on my tyre so i go ahead and buy it! and it works a treat! whoosh!!! i could take them mountain bikes on the straights i was loving this! hills were a breeze! then it happend a flat tyre..so i try and repair it but the heavy psi blows the patch off!! so i get a new tube and try to fit it!! f&*k me how do ya get the tyre back on? you tube to the rescue they make it look easy 2hours later all is good and back on the road!
wk 2 just get home feels a bit strange check my tyre another flat curse my luck i purchase another tube really hate having to struggle with getting these tyres on pheww at last 1 hour that took! bear in mind i did all the checks ie tyre for glass thorns every thing good! wk 3 flat have to walk home from work cos the pump i got is too big to carry around! hey have you tried them slime tubes they stop punctures a fellow cyclist suggested so i get myself some! back wheel good front wheel tube exploded green slime every where! grrrrr am getting to really hate road bikes!! now i get myself a normal tube 2hours trying fix this bike getting to me know!! i inflate the front wheel whoosh it goes back down
another pinch flat! so all in all this is a nightmare experience i know the bike is not the best and cheap by standards but am happy with the frame the gears etc its just the wheels that bug me how do ya stop getting flats?? how do ya get a flippin tyre on easy without catching the tube?? so its back on my mountain bike dissapointed in my first road bike experiance! would hate to go long distance not being confident in my wheels not getting a flat!..phew!!!!

 

[Deleted member 20519]

It's always a good idea to carry an extra inner tube with you along with some puncture repair kits. If something goes wrong with your repaired puncture, having a tube can save you a lot of time and hassle.

 

[smokeysmoo]

Buy some decent tyres and tubes, and buy some decent tyre levers and you should be fine. Conti Gatorskin tyres are highly recommended, I have them on both bikes, standard on one and Hardshells on the other, and touch wood..........well you know what I was going to say.

I also never mess with patches when I have had flats at the roadside in the past, I always whack a new tube in, then when I get bored I have a tube repairing session

 

[macker71165]

cheers for your reply jazloc! my problem is getting the tyre back on neatly but its hard work on these skinny tyres! they could be my problem with flats!just wonderd how other road bike users cope with the strains of maintaining there road bikes?

 

[macker71165]

thanks smokey! was thinking about new tyres or liners just wanna enjoy my riding! just seems hard work! is there a hand pump capable of the psi on a road bike?

 

[jackthelad]

The learning curve begins

most tyres with new bikes are crap,buy some continental gatorskin tyres or simular with puncture protection
get a co2 pump the refills can be bought on the internet for 40 pence
go on you tube and learn how to fit a tyre by getting the old tyre off etc
put the chain on small front ring and small back ring to give the chain some flex.

if still struggling sign up for the free evans cycle course

once you get the hang of it punctures will become a non issue

 

[smokeysmoo]

thanks smokey! was thinking about new tyres or liners just wanna enjoy my riding! just seems hard work! is there a hand pump capable of the psi on a road bike?

I'd avoid liners, IME they aren't suitable for road tyres, that said you may be OK if you stick to 28's, but I use 23's and they don't fit.

As for pumps, I carry a Topeak Road Morph, it literally works like a mini track pump and does 120psi easily I used to carry a C02 pump, but the Road Morph only takes a little longer, it doesn't require the purchase of gas refills, it means you only carry one item, and it doesn't freeze your hands off when you use it

FWIW when you are re-fitting the tyre make sure it hasn't popped off on the other side of the rim, this can easily happen and make the bead a lot tighter. It shouldn't be as hard your finding it so I'm sure there will be a simple answer, I'm just struggling to think what it might be

 

[macker71165]

thanks for the info jack!..am glad its just a learning curve! :@)

 

[macker71165]

could just be me smoky! thanks for the info tho mate!

 

[smokeysmoo]

could just be me smoky! thanks for the info tho mate!

No worries, and BTW
to the world of CC

PS: if you're unsure of any of the acronyms you will constantly see, like BTW and FWIW, there is a helpful listing HERE

 

[sidevalve]

Just a couple of thoughts, if you're using metal tyre levers then polish the working ends with fine wet n dry 'till they're smooth and shiney [some can be surprisingly rough] and remember to finish at the valve so you can push the tube in away from the rim as you pop the last couple of inches of the bead in. Any old pump will put enough air in to let you get home [carefully] I use a cheapo £1 job so even if I forget it and leave it beside the road it aint no big deal.
With a bit of practice you shouldn't need the levers for about 75% of the bead and off and back on in 15 - 20 mins will soon be no problem [but I hope you don't get any more practice out on the road]!

 

[Pauluk]

Its just practice macker and learning little tricks that make things easier. Initially I couldn't get a tyre back on without levers and it was always a pain to make sure the tube wasn't being pinched. But now after a bit of practice its a breeze, takes me about 15 minutes and that's not rushing it.
As smokeysmoo said, some better tyres may be a good idea to reduce the incidents.

 

[macker71165]

thanks a lot for getting back guys! i have only been using my hands to get the tyre on and been using plastic levers to get the tyre off! but you have all give me confidence that in time it will be a breeze to do! but am gonna get me some tyres as of now!! thanks again guys!

 

[macker71165]

just a quick one guys my tyres are 700x28/32c can i replace these with different size tyres if i wanted too? ie 700x 23 etc.. dont really understand these numbers and why so many diffarent ones on road bikes?

 

[macker71165]

also are these any good?.http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-Conti...cycling_bikeparts_SR&var=&hash=item19d05e3120.