Bikedoctor

Tutorial – How to Change a Flat Tyre

Whether you are on the trail and have pinch-flatted your tyre, have ran over some broken glass, or have an old tube with a slow leak, knowing how to change a tube quickly and painlessly it is an imperative bike maintenance skill to have in your arsenal.

Items Required

• Tire Levers
• Frame Pump
• New Inner Tube
• Nail Clippers (Optional)

Steps

1. Turn bike upside down so it is resting on the saddle and handlebars. Open brakes for easy removal of the wheel from the bike.
   
2. Place spoon end of a tire lever under the bead of the tire. Connect the hook end of the tire lever to the adjacent spoke. Repeat this with the second and third tire levers, using the spokes nearest the one you attached the first lever to. The middle tire lever should fall out from under the bead of the tire, indicating that enough of the bead is off the rim to allow easy bead removal of the rest of the tire. Careful not to remove the tire from the rim entirely.
   
3. Pull the inner tube out of the tire. Inflate the old tube with sufficient air to listen and feel for air escaping from the puncture point. Once the puncture is located check the corresponding spot on the tire. Use the valve hole on the rim and the valve on the tire as a reference point to determine the puncture point on the tire.
   
4. Carefully slide your fingers along the inside of the tire, feeling for glass or any other foreign object which could have caused the puncture. Use the nail clippers to remove any foreign objects that you find.
5. Inflate new tube with just enough air to give it some shape and insert the valve into the valve hole in the rim. Start by pulling the bead of the tire over the tube at the valve, then insert tube into remainder of tire. Using your fingers only, hook the bead of the tire onto the rim. You may have to push the tube inside the tire as more of the bead hooks onto the rim.
   
6. Place both thumbs together and push and roll the bead onto the rim. Move your hands over slightly and repeat until the entirety of the bead is on the rim.
   
7. Inflate tire with a little air and check that the tire bead is even all along the circumference of the wheel. Push the bead in or pull it out accordingly, until the tire is placed evenly around the rim. Inflate the tire with a little more air and check the bead again to make sure it is even. If the bead is even, fully inflate the tire and put the wheel back onto the bike. Spin the wheel to make sure the brakes aren’t rubbing. If they are, adjust accordingly.
   
8. Turn your bike right side up and away you go!