what's with the bike upside down?

[swee'pea99]

Baffled, me. Always flipped, never damaged. Why wouldn't you?

 

[screenman]

Undo skewer, hold seat post, remove rear wheel. Place wheel on the floor. Now with two hands free gently place bike on its side on the floor. Where would any damage be caused?
Alternatively -bike flipped over, no matter how gently you try to remove or replace the wheel you will scrape the saddle/shifters and you stand a much greater chance of the bike falling over causing lots more damage.

Well explained, but always flipped and never damaged yet. Many people will struggle getting a back wheel out whilst holding the bike in the air, and as a forum giving out advice I always offer up the easiest solution for new cyclists.

 

[asterix]

I'm a non-flipper. Derailleur bikes are pretty easy to fix punctures on. The worst IMO are dutch uprights with 'guards chain, wheel and skirt, hub gears and hub brakes. After a titanic battle to get the wheel back on you then find there's a bit will go back in place only if you take it off again. And it weighs a tonne.

The slickest puncture repair I ever saw was on the etape near Salers. This Brit had a puncture and one of the spectators (French) grabbed his bike and fixed it in three easy movements (or so it seemed). Not sure if it was worth it as the rider looked exhausted and still had the Puy Mary to climb.

 

[tyred]

The only bikes I don't flip are drop barred bikes with the older Weinmann type brake levers where the cables come out the top in a loop.

I rarely take the wheel out either.

 

[snorri]

It's a laugh innit

It's no laugh for serious cyclists.

 

[ianrauk]

Can't be doing with the turning bike upside down business...

 

[tadpole]

I tried that, but I couldn't reach, to fix the puncture. I'm a flipper... it makes sense. Anything else is just like peeing at the urinal with your hands behind your head, saying 'look at me, I 'm a large appendage'

FTFU

 

[dodgy]

Never need to flip the bike except for my alfine equipped bike that is tricky to detach the gear cable if you don't.

I was under the impression it was mainly beginners that flip their bike to mend a puncture. There's more to damage on the top (handlebars, shifters, computers, saddles) of the bike compared to the comparative oily mess under the derailleur. But on reading this thread, it's not just the beginners doing it.

 

[Kestevan]

I've been flipping the bike for ages, never done any damage, and I've no intention of doing anything else.

If this upsets someone else, they are more than welcome to shut-the-f*&%-up.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Try flipping a recumbent!

GC

 

[Dogtrousers]

The only bikes I don't flip are drop barred bikes with the older Weinmann type brake levers where the cables come out the top in a loop.

I rarely take the wheel out either.

Back in the dim and distant, when I was a cherubic young lad and dinosaurs roamed the earth, I used to flip over my flat barred SA 3 speed paper-round bike. But I never flipped over my "racers" (5 or 10 speed dropped bar bikes) because you would get kinks in the brake cables where it came out of the tops of the levers. Habit that has stayed with me.

 

[asterix]

I've been flipping the bike for ages, never done any damage, and I've no intention of doing anything else.

If this upsets someone else, they are more than welcome to shut-the-f*&%-up.

This is great. We have at last found a topic to replace the done-to-death Shimano vs Campag debate. Keep it up lads and lasses, I want 20 pages just for starters!

Personally I always thought flipping the bike was kids stuff.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

mtb & road bike I flip the bike with something under the bars & seat. front light & garmin get removed to protect them.
expedition bike/off-road touring bike is too b****y heavy to flip and being a rohloff hub is easy enough to deal with upright.

 

[Melonfish]

i only like to flip if it's the rear wheel and then only if there's a nice bit of grass to rest it on.

 

[T4tomo]

for the road bike - No flipping just and take the wheel out and rest the bike against nearest hedge / verge etc making sure its not resting on the RD.
For the brompton, thats a differnet kettle of fish if it the rear. firstly use a cab to get you to nearest rail station and home. then its a case of lying it on its side in a carpeted garage to get the rear wheel out.

I used to flip my old BMX over to undo the wheel nuts, but only with a dust sheet or something down to rest it on.