Flat Resistant Tires & Riding Alone

[Catrin]

I am very careful to air my tires before every ride - generally before it goes on my bike rack.

I have arthritic hands so changing a tire is very hard for me - the problem is getting those last 6 inches of tire back on the rim. When I practiced it actually took me something like 2 hours from beginning to end for that reason.

Now I have a trunk bag, I understand there is a tool that is safe to use to assist getting the tire back on the rim

[OakLeaf]

I've never been shy about using levers to get a tire back on (plastic ones, so I don't mar the rim, and they slide a bit better on the tube as well). It's rare enough that I trap the tube, that it's totally worth it to me to go ahead and use levers when a tire is being balky. All you have to do is be careful, and check the bead carefully both before you air the tire and after you've got a good amount of pressure in the tire. I've never holed a tube during installation with plastic levers.

I think lubricating the tube with corn starch or baby powder, besides letting it slide freely inside the tire, helps avoid pinching during installation also.