Can you change a rear flat?

[Jones]

I know how. I did just what Susan said, it never dawned on me that changing a rear flat was more difficult than a front flat.

[Velocivixen]

I forgot to mention that during my class with the hands on the bike was upside down and that made it very easy because the bike supported itself. I stood behind the bike and used my left hand to pull the derailleur back toward me and used my right hand to grab the wheel and pull it up out of the dropouts.

[Susan]

I can change a rear tire and fix a flat. I think I learned a lot this stuff, like finding the hole in a flat tire and putting it on or oiling or cleaning things, from my grandpa when I was 3 or 4. My family still laughs about how I always wanted to "operate" my scooter and my first bike when I was small.

Still, I always have to find out how to put the chain in the right spot again if I have to change it or the tire or the jockey wheels, it's a bit confusing.

[OakLeaf]

Glove or no glove, how do you do it without getting your handlebar tape dirty? Once the new tube is in, you still need to pick the bike up to put the wheel back in, and touch the chain afterward. Having a clean rag between hand and handlebar is probably the way to go, but it just seems like an extra level of hassle. Anyone?

[Crankin]

Good morning everyone.
I was surprised to see this thread continuing.
I don't think it's a flame war. I feel like I've done some education, on something that is mostly invisible. Maybe I spoke a little more loudly than Bicciclista, but she also said the same thing!
I do carry a cell phone, Cataboo, but I think I have a better chance of just practicing more with my hands than the picture. Looking at pictures and diagrams is notoriously worthless for me, or I would have done it long ago. Funny, I am good with directions and finding my way around; my issues are pretty specific. And I had a great female role model for being mechanical: my mom. She could do everything. She once fixed my garbage disposal after she had mistakenly put artichoke leaves down there and green ooze was escaping from under the sink. I get this from my dad, who I have seen hit his hand with a hammer while putting in a nail, shut his hand in the car door, as well as perpetually winning the last place prize at a golf tournament every year. My older son inherited some of it and had occupational therapy for a year, to help him, when he was little. He is much better than me at this kind of stuff, but then, he also inherited DH's super mechanical genes.

[tulip]

Oakleaf: black handlebar tape.

[OakLeaf]

Oakleaf: black handlebar tape.

<----- But ... but ... but ... it has to match my blue tires ...



ETA - there's one thing I really suck at, and will go crying to someone else (male or female, that doesn't matter) to do it for me, given half a chance. Wrapping fat handlebar tape. I was fine with the cloth tape we had back in the day ... even the thinner cork I eventually graduated to ... this synthetic stuff is comfortable, durable and pretty, but I just canNOT get it started without leaving a big lump at the bar end, plus I always wind up having to unwrap it and do it over five or six times to get the winding even around the bends.

[zoom-zoom]

But ... but ... but ... it has to match my blue tires ...

My next tires will be blue to match my handlebar tape...

[OakLeaf]

My next tires will be blue to match my handlebar tape...

Well then you will want to know that the Conti GP4000 blue is a perfect match for the Spec' S-Wrap (looks like they've changed the tape styles a bit from what I have, but the colors look the same on the website, anyway).

[zoom-zoom]

Well then you will want to know that the Conti GP4000 blue is a perfect match for the Spec' S-Wrap (looks like they've changed the tape styles a bit from what I have, but the colors look the same on the website, anyway).

I have the metallic blue Sidi tape, but my cables are that same blue as the Conti tires. I can't wait to have enough miles on my bike to replace my tires! I probably need to log another 1500-2k miles before I'll be due. Gotta get pedaling!

[OakLeaf]

Look at about 1:30. This is the video I used when I did the 1.5 rolls of tape on my Miyata. It was easy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs7BY4wKHTM

Well ... if you look at 7:20 or so, he does wind up with a bit of a lump, although admittedly not nearly as much as I usually get. When I let the LBS do it, there's NONE. There must be some trick he does at 1:30 to keep from having the fattest part of the tape at the edge of the bar where it gets folded over - but he doesn't say anything about it. Either that or the tape just isn't as fat as the kind I use.

Also with an ergo bar there's a lot more finessing around the bends, but that's just a matter of practice. Avoiding the lump at the end, there's got to be something I'm not doing (or something I'm doing that I shouldn't ).

[tulip]

<----- But ... but ... but ... it has to match my blue tires ...

My bike is red with a black fork and black seat stays. My tires are black with red stripes. My handlebar tape is black. There are very practical reasons that handlebar tape and cycling shorts should always be black.

[hebe]

This is a very useful thread, thank you everone for all the links and advice. I haven't changed a flat yet. No excuse, but my errand rides are still so short that I could walk the bike home in less time than it would take to fix the flat, and my off-road rides are a 5mile loop from my front door. That won't always be the case though and I should really fix this gap in my knowledge.

Crankin and others, I get the whole spatial awareness thing. I turned my bike upside down to unjam the chain, and it looked like a completely different thing to me. Swapping pedals between bikes was a real moment of enlightenment as I tried to work out which way to turn the wrench for each pedal.

[Norse]

Once upon a time I was out for a solo ride and had a rear flat. I did not know how to remedy this, DP was unavailable and I had to sit and wait for a cab to take me and the bike back home. I was determined that this would never happen again. I looked at several "DYI" websites and then had the guys at the LBS show me, several times, how to do it. I went home and practiced. The first time, I think it took over 1/2 an hour. I have since had to change several rear flats and it takes me about 15 - 20 minutes usually, 10 if I get lucky. I have even helped one of the guys I sometimes ride with and he said he was glad I was there because it would have taken him forever!

[Susan Otcenas]

Glove or no glove, how do you do it without getting your handlebar tape dirty? Once the new tube is in, you still need to pick the bike up to put the wheel back in, and touch the chain afterward. Having a clean rag between hand and handlebar is probably the way to go, but it just seems like an extra level of hassle. Anyone?

That's why black bike shorts were invented.