Biking fun

[miltan]

Today, I had my first flat tire. As I was pulling out of the bike rack area at work, I heard a fairly steady thump, thump sound. I looked down and thought to myself, "You know, I'm pretty sure that my rear tire isn't supposed to stick that far out to the sides at the bottom." So I stopped, and took a better look. Yup, definitely flat. I hadn't

Comments

[cpandar]

I tore mine at the valve stem the other day. I'm pretty sure it was because I screwed the stem on too tight (you know that little nut that holds the stem in place at the wheel). But I doubt you were stupid enough to pull that one off.

I'm glad to hear you passed the flat change with flying colors. You didn't mention them, so I don't know if you already have some, but I'd definitely recommend getting some tire levers. They make it ridiculously simple to put the tire back on. Arun says they're not necessary, but I can think of a time when he changed both his tires, we rode about 3 blocks, then he had two flats. So don't listen to him.

I don't know if this is the way you did it, but I usually leave one side of the tire on the wheel the whole time, stick the tube in the inside of the tire, and then use the levers to close the other side. Works really well for me.

Anyway, congrats again. That's a sweet freakin multi-tool.

[ericflee]

i have to agree with arun.
i find that it's faster to change the tire without them, and i used to occasionally get pinch flats because of the tire levers.

milind, you also didn't mention how black your hands were after changing the tire. that's my favorite part of working on my bike.

[miltan]

Yeah, my hands were completely black. Luckily, I was changing the tire just outside the building where I work, so I was able to go inside afterwards and wash up.

[miltan]

The multi-tool comes apart, and each half has a tire-lever on it, so I used those. I only used them to get the tire off the rim, though, not to get it back on.

[arun_wright]

i think i just find it faster without the tire levers, but then again, i have a lot of practice after working in a bike store for 2.5 years (you'd be amazed at how many people bring their bike in when it has a flat).

chethan's covered one cause of a tear near the stem, another could be, though rare, overinflation. people rarely overinflate tires (especially since it's written on the side of the tire what the max pressure is) but it happens. on low-quality tubes, they're likely to burst around the stem because that's the weakest part of the tube.

it could also be from having the tube slightly misaligned, so it's putting pressure on the stem because it's coming through the hole in the rim at an angle. your best bet is to just make sure the tube is aligned correctly, that little nut isn't screwed down tight (i don't even let mine touch the rim, it's really there to help with inflating/deflating), and you're always running the right tire pressure.

but good job! you get a gold star!