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Cycling: How To Fix A Puncture (Even If You Don't Have The Right Tools) - Life and Style - The Guardian
Cycling: How To Fix A Puncture (Even If You Don't Have The Right Tools) - Life and Style - The Guardian
Nick Mead
Tuesday 3 May 2016 11.51 BST
P
unctures are an inevitable part of cycling, so you need to know
how to fix them. This is a lot easier if you carry spare inner tubes
and a puncture repair kit (patches, sandpaper and rubber
solution), a couple of tyre levers and a pump on every ride.
First, you need to get the punctured tube out of the tyre. Flip the bike,
grab your tyre levers and hook the first one under the bead of tyre.
Push down to lever the tyre over the edge of the rim. Take the second
tyre lever and do the same about 15cm away. This should allow you to
slide one of the tyre levers around the rim, popping out the rest of the
tyre edge. If not, use a third tyre lever.
Once you have one side of the tyre completely out of the rim, you can
pull out the tube, leaving just the area around the valve in place. Check
over the tube to see where the hole is. The easiest way is to pump
some air into the tube, then immediately listen and feel to find where
the air is escaping. If you’re at home you can use a bucket of water,
submerging sections of tube and looking for telltale bubbles.
Don’t forget to check the tyre and remove whatever caused the flat in
the first place. If there’s not an obvious shard of glass, thorn or nail
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Cycling: how to fix a puncture (even if you don’t have the right to... http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/may/03/cycling-ho...
poking out of the tyre, then feel gently around the inside of the tyre
with your fingers. If you still can’t find anything, you can line up the
inner tube with the tyre to get a rough fix on the offending area. You
really want to be satisfied you’ve removed the culprit – there’s nothing
more dispiriting than getting another puncture five minutes down the
road.
Pump a little air into the tube to check the repair is holding, and to
avoid nipping the tube between the tyre and the rim. Push the tube
back into the tyre, and put the tyre back on. If you use tyre levers here,
be careful not to pinch the tube otherwise you risk another puncture.
Fully inflate and you’re off.
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Cycling: how to fix a puncture (even if you don’t have the right to... http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/may/03/cycling-ho...
With your hands at quarter-to-three, and the rest of the wheel held
against your thighs, work both hands round the tyre towards 12
o’clock, pushing the tyre in towards 12, up and back until the bead
pops over the edge of the rim. You can use the heel of your hand to
push harder if you need to. Once you’ve got the first section over, the
rest comes easily, but note that some tyres are tighter than others – and
it’s usually easier with levers.
If the tube has multiple holes, or a big rip, cut the tube in two at the
puncture, using your chain ring if you need to. Tie a knot at both loose
ends and reinsert the tube, pump up and go.
Do you have any essential tips for fixing a puncture? Or have you ever
resorted to tying a knot in an inner tube, or stuffing a tyre with grass? Let
us know in the comments below.
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Topics
Cycling
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