I changed my first flat tire!

I've been cycling almost a year now, and had only a few flats. Luckily, they occurred at home, so I was able to take to the lbs to get fixed. Still, I worried about flats that might occur on the road, where I'd be expected to repair them myself. I've been meaning to take a repair class forever, but never got around to it.

Then, last night, I was pumping up my tires for the race tomorrow morning, and realized there was a bulge in the sidewall. I didn't really like the tires (Conti 4 Seasons) anyway and had hoped to swap them out with my others (Vittoria Open Corsa Evo). I wanted to take the tires to the lbs, but realized all of the shops were closed and would not open in time tomorrow morning.

So, I decided last night was as good a time as any, and started googling about how to change a tire. I got my front wheel off (a huge accomplishment at the time) and read about using tire levers. After much wrestling, the Conti tire came off and I moved onto getting my Vittoria tire off it's rim. That one was harder. Then, I got the Vittoria tire back on the rim and realized it wasn't holding air. Took it back off. Checked the tube, realized there was a huge hole in it, and got my spare tube. Got it on, but I think the valve is too short, or has a hole too. That tire is still not holding air. I think a different tube might help.

By 10pm, I was on a tire swapping rampage. I managed to get my rear tire off (the chain made it tricky!) both bikes, checked the tube, and installed the Vittoria tire on the new rim. Got it back on the bike.

So, after work today, I'm off to the bike shop and hoping they'll be able to install a new tube. At this point, my fingers feel raw from all of the pulling to get the tire on the rim, so I'm willing to spend five bucks or so to get it done. Then, in a few days, when my fingers heal, I'll get new (cheap, durable) tires for my old rims, install them, and hopefully be finished with this for a while!

Definitely an awesome feeling though. When I think back to this time last year; I didn't know how to: pump tires (or even that you were supposed to), shift gears, use clipless pedals, take the wheels off, fix a flat, etc. Now, in the last week, I've learned how to: swap saddles and pedals, fix a flat, take front and rear wheel off (and put back on!), etc. So cool. :D

AwRIGHT :D Fixing a bike yourself is so cool, and so empowering. It's your bike, and you know how it works!

Way to go!

Very nice! I'm myself am headed to the shop for a new spoke :( Let's hope my maintenance manual guides me well in this first attempt at spoke replacement!

Excellent! It is so wonderful to gain some basic bike knowledge.

congratulations!!! i am still dreading the inevitable first-flat-tire (fingers crossed it won't be anytime soon) but i am finally more prepared and have levers and a spare tube.

While at your lbs, see if you can get someone there to show you how. Bike mechanics have great tricks that will make it much easier and faster. My guy showed me exactly how to hold the wheel, and where to start pushing, how much air to put in the tube, and a bunch of other little things that make changing a tire less stressful.