Author: Anthony Robson Read all articles by Anthony Robson | ||
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008 at 10:58 am | ||
Read similar articles: Out and About |
How To Mend a Puncture
If there’s one maintenance skill that you’ll be glad you learned with your bike it’s how to fix a puncture. While some squidgy brakes or a rattling chain will normally last until you’re home, the chances are that sometime in your cycling life you’ll be stranded in the middle of nowhere (or at least a few miles from home) with a (pun warning) rather deflated feeling and absolutely no way of being able to ride any further.
At this point a small puncture repair kit and mini-pump will seem the best investment you ever made. It’s also one ‘skill’ that a lot of people don’t really have, so here’s an easy 5 step plan to getting you on the road again.
1. Remove the Wheel
Okay, seems a bit obvious, but it is possible to fix a puncture with the wheel still on the bike, but when it comes to forcing the tyre off and on the rim the job is far easier without the frame getting in the way. Most modern wheels will be quick release making it easy simply to flip the lever to remove the wheel, but old nutted wheels or allen key fixings will mean you should also carry a spanner or set of allen keys. If you have disk brakes just life the wheel away; with calipers there is a little lever to the side which widens the gap; cantilever brakes (below) need the straddle wire disconnecting

2. Remove the Tyre
The ease or difficulty of doing this is determined entirely by how tight the tyre is on the rim, but the basic principle is the same. Firstly deflate the inner tube. Schraeder valves (car type) just need the centre of the valve depressing; with presta valves (on road bikes) the central part unscrews upwards (not all the way off) and then depresses. Then, with a tyre lever (or spoon with large flat-ended handle – that’s what I learned with!) lift off the tyre on one side.


3. Find the Puncture
There are two very simple ways to find the puncture, and both need a bit of air pumping into the tube first. The hole might make itself obvious at this point, the hissing allowing you to pinpoint exactly where it is. Running the tube past your hand or face you might feel the escaping air.Smaller holes might not be quite so clear, and for this a convenient bucket filled with water will do the job (although obviously if you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere this might be harder to procure). Pop the tube under the water and spin it round – the puncture will make itself known with a stream of bubbles.
4. Repair the Puncture
This couldn’t be easier. Every puncture repair kit will contain the essentials, being: the aforementioned crayon; a bit of chalk; some glue (vulcanising rubber solution); some sandpaper; and the patches.

5. Reassemble
Basically the reverse of the above process. But before you do anything CHECK INSIDE THE TYRE! There is nothing more depressing than going to all of this trouble, then hearing that telltale hiss as you pump the tyre up. Whatever caused the puncture might still be inside the tyre, so go around it (inside and out) to see if anything is poking through.

Happy cycling!
line