Changing Flat Tires

Written by: Tech.Robin
Friday July 11th, 2008

Got a Flat? Need to get ‘er fixed? Never fear! It’s really quite simple. Just follow this guide along with these wonderful images.

Removing the Tire

1.First after removing your wheel from the bike frame, you will want to remove the pressure from your tire. You can do this by letting the air out from your inner tube through the valve.

2. Once your tire is void of air you will want to slip the thin end of a tire lever (Any other thin object will work, using a plastic will keep your rim scratch free.) in between the tire and the rim.

3. Your tire lever is now in between your rim and tire, you will want to pull down and using the hook end, secure it to the nearest spoke. (This is where having a tire lever is useful; other objects may not have a hook, so you will need to hold it there with one hand while following the next step. You can find tire levers at any bike store and even at a local Wal-Mart or Canadian Tire.)

4. Now you want to move over a few spokes and repeat step 3 with a second tire lever. This should give you a gap between the tire and the rim. If you feel it is big enough, skip step 5.

5. Repeat step 3 with a third tire lever.

6. At this point you can go in two directions; you can remove the first tire lever and repeat step 3 a few spokes after the last tire lever. Doing this repeatedly will pry the whole tire off the rim. Or you can use your hands to pry the tire away from the rim using the gap you made.

Replacing the Inner Tube

1. Remove the inner tube from your tire. You can either save it to patch later, or patch it now. Buying a new one is always better, but patching will save you money in the end. (Patching sets are sold at bike stores and even at a local Wal-Mart or Canadian Tire.)

2. Take a look in your tire to see if there is any obvious cause of the flat, such as a stone or piece of glass.

3. Using a bike pump, fill your new inner tube with a few pumps of air. (This makes the tube a little easier to work with, don’t fill it too much! Only one of two pumps.)

4. Place the inner tube back into the tire.

Putting the Tire Back on

1. Now it’s time to get that tire back on the rim. You need to find the valve on your inner tube and the hole for the valve that’s in the rim.

2. Put the valve through the hole and pull the inner tube and tire over the rim.

3. Work your way around the wheel with your fingers, pushing the tire into the rim. Do this on one side only to start. (Watch your inner tube, make sure it is NOT being pinched by the tire.)

4. Once you are done, you will want to work on the other side, turn the wheel around.

5. Going around the rim, push the tire into the rim with your thumbs. Once you get to the end it will become taut, and harder to push. (Your tire levers can help you here too.)

6. Put your tire back onto your bike frame and secure it. Reinstall breaks (This isn’t necessary for disc brakes) Reinflate the tire to recommended pressure (Noted on the side of the tire.)

Special thanks to eHow