Guess what I did today?

[Veronica]

Now I have LOTS of numbers of folks to call in my cell phone. It was really nice to sit and talk with my friend though. But I could probably walk home before a lot of them could come to my rescue.

V.

[Barb]

I put two new tires on my mountain bike this weekend and fixed the direction on my son's tire. Does anyone use those speed changers? I will not ride without one now! They make changing soo much easier.

BTW I am now riding on Kenda Kross tires. Slicks with tread on the edges. They are awesome. I am doing alot of road work and rail to trail stuff to get ready for my rail to trail tour this summer. These tires rock!

[Asphaltgirl]

Must have been a weekend for flats! DH and I started out and 3 miles into the ride, his tire went out....with luck a friend was driving by and picked him up and drove back to the car....I was a good girl and biked back to the car. Went off to the LBS for a new tube--they installed and we tried again-this time got 5 miles into the ride and, yup, his tire again. Unfortunately nobody to drive him back to the car so back I went, on the bike, get the car, pick up the DH. My life as a SAG car! Finally found a piece of glass inbedded in the tire-little upset that the LBS didn't check for it, but it gave us practice on patching the tubes!

AG

[bikerchick68]

way to go Techno! I've become quite proficient at changing flats,,, had 9 in a 3 week period! And 4 of those were AFTER buying a new tire to replace the one that I had 5 of the flats on... AAAACK! I finally gave up and put gatorskins on... I have stopped and helped so many other riders tho, that I feel like roving sag support... I figure what comes around goes around, and someday I'll be helped when I need it!

[SJCzar]

Last weekend I had my first flat on my new bike. It had been many years...20 at least... since I'd changed a flat. I had kept saying that I needed to practice before I got one, but of course I hadn't gotten around to it yet. I had my cell phone and had prewarned my husband that he'd have to come get me if I broke down. I was 12 miles from our cottage and he had just gotten his boat to a favorite fishing spot when he got my call.

I got a nice lesson the next morning from my daughter's LBS mechanic boyfriend (in exchange for help on his college math assignment....he definitely got the bad end of that deal). I took notes and he had me practice each step a few times. I was glad it was on the rear so I know how to mess with the derailler as well. Next rainy Sunday I think I'll go over it all some more so I'm confident I can do it by myself when I need to.

[bluerider]

*bowing* to all those who have fixed a flat. Bravo! I'm waiting for my first. Actually looking forward to it.

[bikerz]

Over the weekend I ended up having to change tires on both wheels due to a bad pump that messed up the stems (is that what the little metal thingies are called into which you pump air?)

No big deal, except I did it without tire levers -- I used the article on this site:

http://www.teamestrogen.com/articles/asa_levers.asp

I really recommend this technique - I found it a lot easier than using the levers - (having had a couple snap on me, and skinned knuckles, etc.). Maybe everyone does it without levers, but for me it was a revelation. Yet another example of the great info on this site...

[RoadRaven]

*bowing* to all those who have fixed a flat. Bravo! I'm waiting for my first. Actually looking forward to it.

Hey there Blue, if you've never ever changed a tyre its probably a good idea not to wait til you are on the road... practice this weekend at home. If you are changing and do something like accidentally pinch the tube as you are putting tyre back together, then not long after you get back on to ride, you will have another flatty.

[MomOnBike]

Reading this, I'm so grateful for my Dad. The very firstest thing he did when he gave me my first bike was to show me how to change a tire and fix a flat. (This was in the days that one needed a wrench or two to remove a wheel, remember.) 'Course, the bike needed it, but still, he could have done it for me and left me ignorant.

That was the way of things, though. He gave us kids the tools we needed and plenty of profanity-laced advice, and turned us loose to make our own mistakes.

Gosh, I was lucky. Sure wish he were alive to tell him that.