Today my father would have been very proud of me and I really miss him for the umpteenth time. Today I managed to take off the front wheel, take the tube out and put it back on again after filling air etc. I remember, when we got Fulka's old bicycle for our house in Deoghar he had wanted me to learn to take off the wheel and repair punctures (in those days street side mechanics fixed a flat without taking off wheels). He gave me the money to buy a pump and rubber solution and the necessary wrenches. Because our house in Deoghar was about 2 miles from the nearest bike repair shop, if it was open at all, his logic was we should be self sufficient.
I never managed to learn it. The pump was so bad it was impossible to pump anything with it. In those days things used to be very difficult and tools were really really bad in our country. In short, nothing worked unless you knew some ingenuous fix for it. For example, to make a pump work we would need to place a small piece of cloth over the valve and then fix the pump nozzle for a snug fit. Those kind of things.
Today, at age 53 I finally simulated the entire process that I would need to do if I had a flat on the road. I meant to learn it for a long time and I felt immensely empowered by this apparently simple achievement. Of course putting the tyre back on over the rim wasn't easy. But I managed to do it. Of course I will need more practice to get it right without a fuss on the road but I will get there. There is no rocket science involved in it. I did struggle a bit to put the tyre back but I kept telling myself, "if the illiterate tyre repair guys can do it, I should also be able to do it." And in the end I succeeded, which is what matters.
The youtube videos all say you should mildly inflate the tube first, wrap it around the rim and then put the tyre on. It did not work for me. Period. It might work later. I will try it later. The first evening it did not work for me. I finally did what our street side mechanics do. I took all the air out of the tube, set it against the inner wall of the tyre and then set it against the rim after inserting the valve through the whole.
After this I inflated the tube with my Park Tool mini pump. I pumped in as hard as possible and then engaged the wheel back to the bike. I checked the pressure with the gauge of my floor standing pump. It read 30 PSI - dangerously low. If I ride with such low pressure on the road I would soon get a pinch puncture. I will have to work out a trick to pump in more air with the pump. It is supposed to be capable of pumping in 90 PSI air into any tyre. Let me see if this claim is true. I think I have to have the valve closer to the floor, which gives me better leverage to put more pressure.
To fix a flat you need two items really. A couple of tyre levers (well, I have three - again from Park Tool) and a pump. And of course a spare/new tube. Nothing else. If you want to repair the puncture you would need a patch. But I guess I would leave that for doing at home.
You first take the wheel out from the bike. I had already learnt it and with wheels with skewers/quick release it takes a few seconds. After this you use the levers to release the tyre from the wheel. Next you take out the tube after taking off the cap and the lock nut at the base of the valve.
The only thing that I did not do is not put the new Maxxis tube in. Incidentally, I found my wheel has a nice orange coloured liner to protect the tube from pinch flats.
I never managed to learn it. The pump was so bad it was impossible to pump anything with it. In those days things used to be very difficult and tools were really really bad in our country. In short, nothing worked unless you knew some ingenuous fix for it. For example, to make a pump work we would need to place a small piece of cloth over the valve and then fix the pump nozzle for a snug fit. Those kind of things.
Today, at age 53 I finally simulated the entire process that I would need to do if I had a flat on the road. I meant to learn it for a long time and I felt immensely empowered by this apparently simple achievement. Of course putting the tyre back on over the rim wasn't easy. But I managed to do it. Of course I will need more practice to get it right without a fuss on the road but I will get there. There is no rocket science involved in it. I did struggle a bit to put the tyre back but I kept telling myself, "if the illiterate tyre repair guys can do it, I should also be able to do it." And in the end I succeeded, which is what matters.
The youtube videos all say you should mildly inflate the tube first, wrap it around the rim and then put the tyre on. It did not work for me. Period. It might work later. I will try it later. The first evening it did not work for me. I finally did what our street side mechanics do. I took all the air out of the tube, set it against the inner wall of the tyre and then set it against the rim after inserting the valve through the whole.
After this I inflated the tube with my Park Tool mini pump. I pumped in as hard as possible and then engaged the wheel back to the bike. I checked the pressure with the gauge of my floor standing pump. It read 30 PSI - dangerously low. If I ride with such low pressure on the road I would soon get a pinch puncture. I will have to work out a trick to pump in more air with the pump. It is supposed to be capable of pumping in 90 PSI air into any tyre. Let me see if this claim is true. I think I have to have the valve closer to the floor, which gives me better leverage to put more pressure.
To fix a flat you need two items really. A couple of tyre levers (well, I have three - again from Park Tool) and a pump. And of course a spare/new tube. Nothing else. If you want to repair the puncture you would need a patch. But I guess I would leave that for doing at home.
You first take the wheel out from the bike. I had already learnt it and with wheels with skewers/quick release it takes a few seconds. After this you use the levers to release the tyre from the wheel. Next you take out the tube after taking off the cap and the lock nut at the base of the valve.
The only thing that I did not do is not put the new Maxxis tube in. Incidentally, I found my wheel has a nice orange coloured liner to protect the tube from pinch flats.
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