The Pulaski County Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge will open with fanfare Sept. 28-Oct. 1. This is the 10 th in a series of weekly columns to help cyclists prepare for the Big Dam Bridge 100 bike tour Oct. 1. Training schedules are online at www. arkansasbicycleclub. org.
There is no reason to let a flat
tire end your ride or delay you
for more than about five
minutes. The only way to learn to change a flat is to do it two or three times. Practice at home so you can take it on the road. First get the tire off the rim. Take off the nut that screws over the stem of the tube and snugs it to the rim. Most tires stay on the rim because of a wire bead at the tire’s edge. The wire bead is slightly smaller than the edge of the rim, and this difference keeps the tire securely on the rim. This same difference can make the tire hard to get on and off.
Pinch the tire edges to the middle of the rim and make sure all air is out of the tube. The middle of the rim is deeper than the edge, and this extra room will always let you pry the wire bead over the edge of the rim. Pry with a tire lever. Never use a screwdriver. A tire lever is designed to work without hurting the rim.
Sometimes you need to use one tire lever to hold the bead up and another to move the tire off the rim. To do this, pry the tire edge up with the lever and loop the lever’s hook around a spoke to hold the bead up. You’ll see how this works when you start to do it. Slip the other tire lever under the bead next to the first one, and push it around the tire to strip the tire off the rim. It comes off quickly after the first few inches. Only take one side off the rim.
Pull the old tube out of the tire. Look for the hole in the tube. A “snake bite” is two small holes on both sides at each edge of the rim, caused by the wheel’s hitting a hole or curb and pinching the tube against the edge of the rim. Check the rim for damage.
If you have a single hole, look for a nail, wire, bit of glass or similar pest in the tire and get rid of it before you put in a new tube.
Pack your extra tubes in sandwich bags with a bunch of baby powder. Baby powder will help you get the tire back where it belongs. Put the stem through the rim and screw the threaded nut down a couple of turns to hold it in place. Push the new tube into the tire all the way around so that it is back up away from the edge of the rim. Sometimes it helps to put a little air in the tube to pack it in, but make sure all air is out when you reseat the tire.
When the tube is out of the way, push the side of the tire back over the rim. The first three-fourths will go on without any problem, and then the bead will stretch taut over the rest of the edge of the rim. At this point, pinch in the part that is already back on the rim so the beads are in the middle of the rim. Then hold the unseated part with the heel of both hands and brace the seated part of the wheel against your belly or your lap. This gives you the leverage to roll the remaining part of the bead over the edge of the rim.
The baby powder will help the rubber slide over the aluminum, which probably has grease and sweat on it. Bear down; this takes strong hands.
If you cannot do it by hand, then use one hand to hold the bead on the rim at one end where it is not yet seated, and with a tire lever pry the bead over the edge of the rim from the other end back toward your first hand. It will be really hard to move and then will jump and snap over the rim. Some tires are easier to get back on the rim; some rims and tires are a bad combination. You will quickly learn whether your combination is easy or hard to seat.
Find out before you are frustrated on the road.
When the tire is back on the rim, look under the bead all the way around and make sure the tube is not visible. Then pump about 15 pounds of pressure and check again to be sure the tube is not pinched under the bead. If it is good, fill the tube to riding pressure.
Pumps can be more trouble than the tire and tube. Pumps that use carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) cartridges work for some people but not for me. I find the cartridges expensive, unreliable and more trouble than they’re worth. You can get a hand pump that lets you get real air pressure in your tube. The best is a Topeak Road Morph. It is like a grownup pump, but small enough to attach to the bike or stick in a jersey pocket. Your bike shop carries them. Jess Askew III, a member of the board of directors of the Arkansas Bicycle Club, can be recognized by the pump sticking out of his jersey pocket.
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