Can you change a rear flat?

[OakLeaf]

Ha, I'm just like lph. I don't remember ever not knowing how to fix a flat ... and I don't remember my parents owning so much as a screwdriver. They must have, I suppose, but it wasn't part of our home culture. When I was about 15 I disassembled a freewheel, down to the pawls that went flying everywhere, just because. And got it back together and working, with nothing but a kid's perseverance, cheap hardware store tools I bought for myself, and some paperback book that I don't even remember the title.


I let the LBS replace my freehub last summer, although when I found out that the guy used YouTube to learn how, I kind of wished I'd just gone ahead and done it myself. And I'm a little intimidated by bleeding hydraulic lines - I don't have any on my bicis, but I always get DH to supervise when I change the brake fluid on my motos.

I haven't had a headset, bottom bracket or hub apart since I was in my 20's. I'd probably be a little shy about doing it now.

[Bluetree]

Everyone should know how to change both tires and do routine emergency maintenance on the road. Seriously.

For all the feminism promoted on this site, not being able to change your own tires smacks a bit like "poor little girl" syndrome. If you don't know how...learn. Call your friends. Call your LBS. Watch online videos. Practice at home. Stop making excuses.

Buck it up, TE'ers. I know you can.

[OakLeaf]

Help is always welcome - a tire change happens a lot quicker with two people. Once the wheel's off, one person pulls the tire off and the tube out, while the other gets the supplies out of the seat pack, prepares the new tube and CO2 inflater, etc. I've never had a guy act like he thought I couldn't change a tire.

Except, the last time a guy stepped in to help me change a tire he put it on backwards. I didn't notice until I aired the tire the next time.

Fortunately it was the front tire, so all I had to do was reverse the wheel in the dropouts. Fortunately or unfortunately, I never got another flat on that tire, and I think I ran the wheel backwards for another 2,000 miles until the tire wore out (yeah, I know I could've taken it off and put it back on the right way). It's good for the hub to run the other direction sometimes, right?


ETA: thanks everyone for not pointing out to my idiot self that all I would've had to do was reverse the skewer...

[redrhodie]

I can change rear flats, but the horizontal dropouts on my red Merckx are frustrating, and it can take me a long time to get that wheel back on, and there might be some hair-pulling and throwing of things . Since I just got new wheels for that bike, the other night I practiced taking it off and on a couple of times with the best results ever, so I think I finally have a handle on it. I think it helped that I was in the right frame of mind to practice. It was not stressful, and it went right on.

[nscrbug]

I can and have done both a front and rear tire change, but I agree with Oakleaf...in that help is always welcomed. It goes much faster with a helping hand. And since the majority of my riding is always done with at least 1 other person, I'm pretty much covered.

[Crankin]

Bluetree, the fact is that some of us have a hard time learning or doing this. It's not that we "won't." I can do every part of the tube/tire thing, but I cannot get the rear wheel back on. I know what gear to put the derailleur in before taking it off, but by the time I do that and lay the bike down, I am lucky if the chain isn't totally disengaged from everything. If I manage to not do that, it is almost impossible for me to hold the rear end of the bike up, position the chain over the ring, pull the derailleur back, and get the bike into the drop outs at the same time. It's like I need 3 hands. I have actually pulled my back out, twice, from trying to do this. And my bike weighs less than 15 pounds. I am totally uncoordinated, have really bad fine motor and spatial skills, and while I want to be independent, if there's someone else there to do this, at this point, it's fine with me. Of course, I have only had 3 flats in 10 years. Two were at home, thankfully. My DH can change a flat in like 2 minutes, and I am not exaggerating. He can also do it without tools, if need be. So, believe me, it's extremely frustrating to not be able to do this. And when I've tried to practice at home, I just end up with my bike in pieces and me crying, pretty much. Frankly, I don't want to break my bike by bending something while "practicing." I am not kidding when I say that sometimes, I can barely zip a zipper. For me to be riding 3,000 miles a year is a miracle in itself.
I hope this gives you a perspective on why some of us have trouble.

[Susan Otcenas]

but I cannot get the rear wheel back on. I know what gear to put the derailleur in before taking it off, but by the time I do that and lay the bike down, I am lucky if the chain isn't totally disengaged from everything. If I manage to not do that, it is almost impossible for me to hold the rear end of the bike up, position the chain over the ring, pull the derailleur back, and get the bike into the drop outs at the same time.

Turn your bike upside down and rest it on the handlebars and saddle. (You make need to take your computer off. I do.) This is my strategy for not having to balance anything. Plus, gravity is your friend - it helps the rear wheel slip into the drop outs correctly.

With the miles I ride, flats are inevitable. I had one just this weekend in the middle of nowhere. I carry TWO tubes, a spare TIRE and a patch kit (which I check regularly for glue consistency.)

I ride alone a lot, especially at night on long brevets, so knowing how to change a flat is critical. And knowing how to do it well enough when I'm tired, hungry, it's cold or dark (or all 4 of those things at once! ) is really important.

I've trained myself to change my tires without the aid of tire levers. You can to. It does NOT require great strength (I'm a wimp.). It requires technique. We have a very good " how to" on the TE website. I've had gals print it off and then practice in their living rooms until they get it down. Doing it at home when you don't NEED to is way less stressful than when you are out on the road and HAVE to.

http://www.teamestrogen.com/content/asa_levers

Try it!

[tulip]

Everyone should know how to change both tires and do routine emergency maintenance on the road. Seriously.

For all the feminism promoted on this site, not being able to change your own tires smacks a bit like "poor little girl" syndrome. If you don't know how...learn. Call your friends. Call your LBS. Watch online videos. Practice at home. Stop making excuses.

Buck it up, TE'ers. I know you can.

My sentiments, exactly. It's not rocket science. Practice until it hurts and then practice some more. There is no excuse for being stranded because of one doesn't know how to fix a flat. Same thing goes for cars, by the way.

[zoom-zoom]

Same thing goes for cars, by the way.

Ha, the one time I had a flat on my car while by myself I couldn't get the lugnuts to budge and decided that a stretch of divided highway with cars whizzing by at 75+mph was no place to dicker-around with a flat tire on the traffic side of the car (especially as I had my kid with me...seeing mom get pasted by a semi didn't seem like the best memory for him to have). I wasn't far from home and called my hubby...even his 250# self struggled to get them off. That's what cell phones are for, IMO.

I have been lucky to not have a single flat while on my bike in nearly 5k miles of riding. *knocks on wood* I know I could change the front tire on my own...and the back. Like others, I have simply struggled to get the back tire back on and wish I had 3 hands.

[abejita]

Ha, the one time I had a flat on my car while by myself I couldn't get the lugnuts to budge and decided that a stretch of divided highway with cars whizzing by at 75+mph was no place to dicker-around with a flat tire on the traffic side of the car (especially as I had my kid with me...seeing mom get pasted by a semi didn't seem like the best memory for him to have). I wasn't far from home and called my hubby...even his 250# self struggled to get them off. That's what cell phones are for, IMO.
.

When I got my first car, my dad gave me a cheater bar (I pipe really, you slip it over the end of the wrench that comes with the car) With the extra foot and a half of leverage, I can always get the lug nuts off. I've had one in every car since (and hubby's car too)

[nscrbug]

So...guess what all this talk about changing a rear flat got me??? A rear flat on my ride this morning. But since I was with my riding partner, I only "assisted" in the tire change...he did most of it. Mainly because we were trying to be at a certain destination point by a certain time. It still took the two of us, at least 15 minutes. I always worry about flatting again at some point in the ride...and this time, I had good reason to since we were about 35 miles from home. But I always carry 2 tubes, and 2 C02 cartridges...plus he had an extra tube and 2 cartridges so I think we were in pretty good shape. Despite my flat, we continued on to complete our first 100-miler of the season...which is always a major accomplishment for me. I'm sore and achey, but I'm proud of myself.

Linda