bicycle repair Tip 5 mistakes newbs make when changing flats > Bicycle Repair Tips

 

For new mountain bikers, changing a flat can be a serious learning experience. Even after
years of riding though, I see people making the same mistakes over and over. Let’s look
at a few of the most common rookie mistakes, and how to avoid them.
Most mountain bike wheels are held on with a quick release skewer. I can’t count how
many times I’ve seen people tighten these
like wrenches, completely disregarding the
flipping action of the lever. Not only is
this dangerous, but it’s also unnecessarily
difficult.
Here’s how you’re supposed to do it…
Taking a wheel off is as simple as flipping
the lever, and loosening the bolt on the opposite side just a little . Some bikes need more
loosening than others and some barely need any at all. Reinstalling the wheel is easy
too. Just get everything into place with the lever flipped outwards, and then tighten the
bolt a bit. If the lever is too easy to flip,
tighten the bolt more. If you need to break
your hand off flipping the lever, the bolt
is too tight and needs to be loosened. The
lever should lock into place with moderate force using your palm.
On the topic of taking wheels on and off,
it seems like a lot of people have trouble
with the rear wheel. Why this simple task
can be so hard for some comes down to the
intimidating mechanism we call a derailleur.
Here’s a simple trick…. with your bike
turned upside down, just pull the derailleur
back from the main body, and pull the wheel out from in between the chain. Done. To get
it back in, just pull the derailleur back,
get the cassette between the chain, and mount
the rear wheel again. It’s also helpful
to shift to the highest, or smallest gear
before starting this process.
Changing flats is something many of us learned when we were kids, but some people have incredible
difficulty getting the tire off, even with
levers. Surprisingly, most people don’t
really know how to use tire levers. Did you
know that this hook at the end is actually
designed for something? Yep, you can just hook it to a spoke and then have both hands
free to use the other lever. For really stubborn tires this is a lifesaver.
When putting a new tube in, always check the inside of the tire for thorns, sand, or other
objects which could have caused the original flat. I see people just throw the new tube
in without considering that there could still be a thorn in their tire. This is as good
as not changing the flat at all, so always
double check before you put everything back
together.
Last but not least, Before installing the
new tube, put a little bit of air in it. I’ve
seen people install twisted up, airless tubes, that look like pretzels. This can cause the
tube to get inflated with the twists in it,
and give you a bad time. Blow enough air in
for the tube to hold its form, and you won’t have this problem.
If you’ve made any of these mistakes yourself, it’s all a part of learning. If you’re
a seasoned trail mechanic, I hope you had
a laugh. In the end, it’s better for everyone
to lend a hand and give some tips than to
ride by laughing and pointing. Thanks for
riding with me today, and I'll see you next
time.