17. Changing a bike flat tire
Today, well:
Here’s how to change a flat tire on a bike:
Identify that you have a flat tire. I actually skipped this step, and instead had my friend Max get a flat tire for me :-). So I can’t speak to how this feels. He tells me it’s quite obvious.
Flip the bike over and remove the wheel. Most bikes stand up on their seat + handlebars. Once you flip it over like this, you can remove the wheel. Depending on the type of bike you have and how your wheel’s attached, this might be different for you. For us, it was as simple as unscrewing the bike axle (the rod that the wheel spins around), removing the chain (it was the rear wheel), and then fiddling it off.
Remove the tire from the wheel. A bike tire has two components: an inner tube that inflates with air, and an outer layer that rides along the ground and is much tougher. It’s okay to have a small scratch in the outer layer because it doesn’t hold any air. The inner tire is where punctures can cause problems.
Removing the tire from the wheel is no joke. Both the inner tube and outer layer are taught with the wheel. It’s not easy to get underneath the tire to get it removed. Here’s a trick we learned: get under the outer layer in one spot with a lever (see pictures below) and then slide it along the wheel, loosening the tracks before trying to remove the tire. We spent far too long trying to out-muscle the tension in the tire instead of loosening it in all places before proceeding.
Identify the problem with the old inner tube. Next, you want to identify where the old inner tube burst. Normally I wouldn’t tell you to waste energy looking at problems you can’t fix, but if you find where the inner tube broke, you can find where there might be a small rock or piece of glass in the outer tube. This is another mistake we made. We didn’t do this, and sure enough there was a small piece of glass still in the outer layer.
NEW TIRE INSTALL:
Fill your new inner tube with a small amount of air. I hope you have a new inner tube with you (we did). Filling it with a small amount of air makes it easier to get back on.
Place one track of the outer layer on the wheel. The outer layer has a “track” on both sides that help it maintain tight contact with the underlying wheel. To begin getting the new tire on, place one side of the track of the outer layer onto the wheel.
Put the inner tube inside the outer tube, on the wheel. Ensure the air valve with the inner tube matches the hole in the tire dedicated to that purpose.
Now the hardest part, put the second track of the outer layer on the wheel. Just to level set: you are now fiddling with a very light wheel. You can’t grab onto anything because the spokes are small and fragile, and you can’t grab onto the center of the wheel. The tire used to be completely taught with the wheel and so the tension on the tire tracks are very high.
To solve this, you could use the tire levers again, but you risk puncturing your new inner tube. Try to avoid this.
Instead, distribute the tire evenly on the wheel. Place that second track on the part of the wheel that you can. It will now be taught, but outside of the wheel (which is a problem). To solve this, fiddle that outer tire along the wheel. There’s some “hidden” slack that usually gives you just enough to secure the second track — and the entire tire.
Place the wheel back on the bike, and reattach the chain. Do the reverse for how you got it off.
Test the wheel, breaks and gears. Assuming all is good, you’re ready to ride again.