How long does it take you to fix a flat?

[RolliePollie]

Today it took me...30 minutes!!!

That seems like a long time to me. I wasn't hurrying...I was taking my time...but still, 30 minutes?!?!? Is this because I'm still a tire newbie? Do I lack basic skills? Why does it take so long?!?!?!

Walking to a picnic table in the shade added a few minutes. And of course, digging multiple goathead thorns out of my tire with my Leatherman was kind of time consuming. As was cleaning the blood off of everything because my finger was bleeding (not sure what I cut it on). And then there's the dreaded "am I ever going to get the last 4 inches of tire back on this bleeping wheel?!?!" and the ever-popular "I am never going to get enough pressure in this thing with this bleeping frame pump!"

Heavy sigh.

Did I mention I hate goathead thorns?

[velogirl]

my record is 1:14. it was a flat changing contest. I got 2nd overall ad tops for he women. the winner was 7 seconds faster than me. I figure my little girl-hands should give me at least a 7 second handicap, right?

road-side, a rear flat takes me about 3 minutes.

the more you practice, the faster you will be!

[Grog]

If I am in my basement with all my tools, putting in a new tube (not patching), know the cause of the flat, and use the floor pump, less than 10 minutes.

The following add time:
- Unknown cause: I've had shards of glass hidden in the layers of rubber of the tire, and mysterious flats that were only explained by putting the inflated tube in a bit sink full of water to see where it was losing air;

- Patching the tube

- Inflating with a mini-pump (CO2 is faster though, as long as it works).

- It's on the road side and it's raining and/or cold

- It's on my commuting bike (I don't have a quick release on the back wheel)

- It's on my commuting bike (the rear brakes are harder to undo because they're under the rack and it's awkward to reach them)

- The tube is hard to pull out of the tire (also more of a problem with my commuting bike).

So: it can add up to 30 minutes easily if there are lots of issues. But I try to keep it around 10 max.

[crazycanuck]

Road bike..takes me about 15min..I'm madame slow & hate the last bitty section..urgh.

Mtn bike-shorter amount of time..ahhh..so much easier.

[shellkay1212]

"My" LBS mechanic - can do it in just over SIX SECONDS!!! That is nuts!

[7rider]

What Grog said (minus the part about no quick release on the back wheel).

[gnat23]

"My" LBS mechanic - can do it in just over SIX SECONDS!!! That is nuts!

...I'm guessing that he's not checking the inside for leftover glass or any of THAT slow stuff.

-- gnat! (I'd rather put in the extra time to make sure I don't get another flat 30 seconds later, personally...)

[SadieKate]

"My" LBS mechanic - can do it in just over SIX SECONDS!!! That is nuts!

It is obvious that this contest was not set up for a real world environment and had to have had a special staging. For instance, think about the time for pulling the wheel off the frame, locating the source of the flat, pulling a new tube from your pocket or bag, and re-inflation - none of which can be eliminated in a real world application.

The Tour of Missouri on Versus showed a rear wheel change for Mark Cavendish as Phil commented that it should take only 9 seconds to swap wheels from the support car.

So, I say, "so what?" to his 6 seconds and it sounds like hyperbole. You sure it wasn't 60 secs or more?

[Jiffer]

My husband can fix a flat in a few minutes. Me? Well, it depends on the front or back, first of all. I did my front tire in about 5 to 7 minutes in my garage with my regular tire pump. The back tire takes a bit longer and I've done it out on the road more than once, but had a friend to help. I also had a C02 cartridge, which puts air in lickidy split quick. I'd say 10 minutes to do the back wheel out on the road, assuming there are no strange circumstances that make it take longer.

[IGGY]

Today it took me...30 minutes!!!

That seems like a long time to me. I wasn't hurrying...I was taking my time...but still, 30 minutes?!?!? Is this because I'm still a tire newbie? Do I lack basic skills? Why does it take so long?!?!?!

Walking to a picnic table in the shade added a few minutes. And of course, digging multiple goathead thorns out of my tire with my Leatherman was kind of time consuming. As was cleaning the blood off of everything because my finger was bleeding (not sure what I cut it on). And then there's the dreaded "am I ever going to get the last 4 inches of tire back on this bleeping wheel?!?!" and the ever-popular "I am never going to get enough pressure in this thing with this bleeping frame pump!"

Heavy sigh.


Did I mention I hate goathead thorns?

Well, first of all. YOU are changing YOUR OWN tires. Which, let's face it, until I started riding, I had no idea what was involved. My husband did the first while I watched, I did the second while he watched, and I did the third by myself and it took me 30 minutes in my driveway. (Luckily all were slow deflates, so I could do it at home.)
The guy at my LBS is so fast, I called him the "flat wrangler". He almost fell over and said, "man, I"m gonna use that one!"
I signed up for a bike maintenance course, and I"m hoping to improve. Until then, just changing my own is good enough for me! Seriously.

[RolliePollie]

Well, first of all. YOU are changing YOUR OWN tires. Which, let's face it, until I started riding, I had no idea what was involved. My husband did the first while I watched, I did the second while he watched, and I did the third by myself and it took me 30 minutes in my driveway. (Luckily all were slow deflates, so I could do it at home.)
The guy at my LBS is so fast, I called him the "flat wrangler". He almost fell over and said, "man, I"m gonna use that one!"
I signed up for a bike maintenance course, and I"m hoping to improve. Until then, just changing my own is good enough for me! Seriously.

Thanks Iggy...this makes me feel better. I am proud of myself for being able to fix a flat on the road by myself. It's not like the process is hard...the concept is pretty basic...but I have teeny tiny weak little hands and it's just SO HARD to get the tire off, back on, pumped up, etc.

I bet if I really hurried and tried really hard, I could do it in 10-15 minutes. But I don't want to get a flat just so I can try to get faster.

[gingerale]

I can do one in about 20 mins, assuming I don't have any major problems with it. I really hate, though, when I get one on my back tire vs. my front. It's a mental thing for me, I know, just because I know I have to mess with my chain/derailer, etc. And, of course, every 2 out of 3 flats seem to be on my back.