A "princess" changes her own tires & tubes :D

My husband says I am high maintenance :confused: Ok, I admit that I can be :o and usually I ask him to do these kind of bike maintenance things. It's not that I can't do them, it's more of not *wanting* to do them. I'm sure some of you can understand that. Because of that I'd never changed a tire or tube and finally decided to bite the bullet last night and try it, figuring he could help me out if I got stuck. I realized it's totally not rocket science ;) The hardest part was making sure that the bead was seated properly, but I eventually got it. It's a messy job but I feel so empowered now, LOL. If I get a flat tire I'll be able to fix it on my own and not have to call in my "prince" to save me :rolleyes: :cool:

Congrats!

Good job! :D

I'm married to a very good automotive mechanic, so you can imagine how "helpless" I am!

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Originally Posted by beccaB

I'm married to a very good automotive mechanic, so you can imagine how "helpless" I am!

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Haha, yeah. DH is also "helpless" when it comes to painting, gardening, and the like. So I figure it balances when I ask him to do car or bike maintenance for me.

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Originally Posted by beccaB

I'm married to a very good automotive mechanic, so you can imagine how "helpless" I am!

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Oh geez, it's just the opposite for me! I've had to convince DH I didn't marry him just for his Snap-On tools and instruction/supervision of all my mechanical work! (On the motorized vehicles anyway, he's useless with a bici. :cool:)

Anyway, great job Heif! And (as you'll no doubt learn one day soon) changing a front flat isn't even really messy (provided it isn't raining). :p If you're riding in your work clothes, you can always jam a pair of disposable nitrile gloves into your seat pack for those rear flats and chain drops. I keep a pair in my motorcycle tank bag, but never bother with the bici.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Oh geez, it's just the opposite for me! I've had to convince DH I didn't marry him just for his Snap-On tools and instruction/supervision of all my mechanical work! (On the motorized vehicles anyway, he's useless with a bici. :cool:)

Anyway, great job Heif! And (as you'll no doubt learn one day soon) changing a front flat isn't even really messy (provided it isn't raining). :p If you're riding in your work clothes, you can always jam a pair of disposable nitrile gloves into your seat pack for those rear flats and chain drops. I keep a pair in my motorcycle tank bag, but never bother with the bici.

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The gloves are great idea. Part of my commute is through a section of field and it had been mowed down the other day. I got tons of grass cuttings stuck in my rear derailleur and had to stop and dig them out before I continued on. My hands got covered in grease and dirt. If I'd had a glove that wouldn't have been an issue. Thanks for the suggestion :)

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Originally Posted by Heifzilla

Haha, yeah. DH is also "helpless" when it comes to painting, gardening, and the like. So I figure it balances when I ask him to do car or bike maintenance for me.

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That's so true! My DH can't cook... well, he can cook eggs, does that count? Tonight, I was busy making a salad so I asked him to cut up a store brought already roasted chicken. Well, he didn't cut it with a knife, he tore it into pieces with his hands! :D Then he asked me how I always get the chicken cut up in such nice looking piece... LOL Oh my goodness... he's good at fixing my bike but he ain't cooking for me anytime soon :)

I have changed my own punctured tubes before, and I know how. But when u're surrounded by men and they all seem to be 'tsk tsk'ing your efforts sometimes I'd rather just be the princess and let them finish the job.

case in point.

some weeks ago, on a group ride, I had 2 flats. AT THE SAME TIME. We were... 5 mins from home, and this was after the post-ride drink at the coffeeshop etc.
Thus when i had the flats i was surrounded by.... 8 men, including one who is my dad (and does most of the changing tubes, inflating tyre pressure etc. My brother gets called when daddy is not around... ahhhahhaha) I didn't just leave it there, so I was trying to work on one wheel while my dad worked on the other (so that we'd be faster coz all the rest were just standing there waiting for us) But the guys kept hounding me, telling me what to do, how to do it, just hovering over me. I was so stressed out, i broke my tyre lever........ One of them tried to take over from me when stuffing the tube into the tyre, but he ran the tyre lever around so fast it pinched the tube, so we had to redo it.. (i shut my mouth and didn't say anything.) It was just highly stressful. coz some of them were just standing around and teasing me about how dirty my bike was etc.

in the end i just let everyone do the job and played the princess. at least it was something they could understand how to react to...:o

when i went home i cleaned my bike. hehe

I've had both kinds of experiences recently.

One where the men pounce on my seat pack and wheel when I've barely had a chance to unclip, change my tube in no time flat, and everything's great.

One where all that happens as above, but they put the tire on backwards. :p

One where they stood around admiring how quickly I changed my tire - but distracted by their attention, this time I put the tire on backwards. :rolleyes: Luckily, this time it was the front tire so I just flipped the wheel around. It's still on there that way, waiting for another front flat so I can put the tire on the right way without taking it off for no other reason. I tell them it's good for the hub to get unwound by running in the opposite direction for a while. :cool:

I find the little disposable gloves that come with do-it-at-home hair dye/highlighting kits work GREAT to stuff in a seat bag. I never have to be greasy and grimy in the event of a mechanical issue!

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Originally Posted by deeaimond

he ran the tyre lever around so fast it pinched the tube,...some of them were just standing around and teasing me

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That's extra funny, because they'd have made fun of you for using the lever to install the tire "girl style" if you'd been the one to do that.

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Originally Posted by buddha_bellies

Tonight, I was busy making a salad so I asked him to cut up a store brought already roasted chicken. Well, he didn't cut it with a knife, he tore it into pieces with his hands! :D

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Oi, so what's wrong with tearing up chicken with your hands??
:D j/k. I loathe eating chicken and biting down on gristle or something, so I will tear up chicken to make sure it's all pure meat. But I do get mighty messy doing so.

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Originally Posted by Loraura

I find the little disposable gloves that come with do-it-at-home hair dye/highlighting kits work GREAT to stuff in a seat bag. I never have to be greasy and grimy in the event of a mechanical issue!

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Not all men like to get their hands greased up and grimy...like my dearie. If there are disposable gloves, he will use them. Of course, gloves aren't always around when changing bike tubes, tires. Which he does on mine.

And this is someone who used to be a part-time farmer (100 acres) and is mechanically inclined up to a certain point (but not like becca's DH).

Latex gloves are as great for boning chicken as they are for changing tires.
(Use a clean pair, though.)

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Originally Posted by shootingstar

Not all men like to get their hands greased up and grimy...like my dearie. If there are disposable gloves, he will use them. Of course, gloves aren't always around when changing bike tubes, tires. Which he does on mine.

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I pack rubber gloves in my saddle pack:eek::rolleyes:
There is nothing worse than being hot and sweaty on a ride AND to have dirty hands.

And early in our marriage, at one of Silver's family reunions on the gulf coast, there was shrimp in abundance...but I had never peeled a shrimp:eek:. So, I asked Silver to help me out...and she explained that she would peel me one shrimp for every two of hers...I learned to peel shrimp that day:cool: