Can you change a rear flat?

[GLC1968]

That's why black bike shorts were invented.

Or socks. I've been known to remove my shoes and socks, wipe my hands with my socks and then redress my feet before continuing. And I have white bar tape and it is still bee-you-ti-ful!

I haven't clicked on all the links included here because I can change flats on bikes or cars faster than most people, but if you are flipping your bike over and putting the rear wheel back on, please make sure to put it right side up and THEN tighten (or release and then retighten) the skewer lever. It is possible (and easy) to put a tire on slightly uneven when it's upside down that that makes riding really difficult (speaking from experience here!). If the bike is right-side-up, the weight of it will straigten it out with little effort.

[spokewench]

Of course, I can change a rear flat or any flat for that matter. My husband taught me years ago when I first started riding. I've raced for 15 years so many times and have been a "bicycle instructor" so I've probably changed more men's flats than anyone elses. They are notorious for never having the stuff to change their flats!

[MomOnBike]

Back when I was a sulky pre-teen and dinosaurs walked the earth my long suffering father insisted that I learn how to fix a flat before I was allowed to ride. This was back in the days when you needed two crescent wrenches to remove a wheel - and God help you if you used pliers.

So, yes, I do indeed know how to change a rear flat. What I don't understand is how I can get chain grease on my nose by simply thinking about the deed.

As for wrapping handlebars, I gave up on the tape thing and sewed leather covers onto my project bike's bars. No lumps, and they are lovely. Black too, so flipping him upside down is no problem.

[PamNY]

Does anybody remember how we lived without the internet?

I did take a short class, but my bike repair skills would not have developed without TE, Sheldon Brown, and a couple of people on Youtube.

[OakLeaf]

What I don't understand is how I can get chain grease on my nose by simply thinking about the deed.

Now you know why I don't work on anything with more than two wheels. There's something just wrong about 10W30 in your hair.


Okay, I will change the oil in the lawn tractor. If I have to. If batting my eyes at DH doesn't work.

[GLC1968]

Does anybody remember how we lived without the internet?

I did take a short class, but my bike repair skills would not have developed without TE, Sheldon Brown, and a couple of people on Youtube.

No kidding.

Without the internet, I never would have met my husband, found our last three homes or successfully helped our goat through a delivery gone wrong in 2009. Oh, and I'd probably have long since given up on biking because I wouldn't have known that I didn't have to HATE my saddle without TE!

[sfa]

I'm one of those cursed by fate to only get flats in my rear tire. Usually while riding fully loaded on tour in the middle of nowhere (seriously, it's been years since I've gotten a flat--last one I had to change was while touring). Changing the rear tire is messier than the front, and slower, but not really any more difficult.

I keep a few baby wipes in a ziplock baggie on my bike at all times for when I end up covered in grease.

Cars are a different matter entirely. I know how to change flats on them in theory, but never in practice. The only time I was alone with a flat was on the side of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in the middle of the night while five months pregnant. I got out and started the process and could not get the lug nuts to loosen. At all. I had just had new tires put on the day before and they tightened those lug nuts down with such force that even the service I called for help couldn't loosen them. Ended up getting towed back to their shop, they got the tire off there and discovered that the spare in the car was for a Ford. I was driving a Toyota. So they had to break into the tire store attached to their shop (actually they called the owner who came over to open up) to get me a new tire that fit. Turns out that when we last drove with the spare, we took the car in to get a new tire and the mechanic ended up putting someone else's spare in our trunk (so somewhere was a Ford with a Toyota spare).

That was a rear tire and it was MUCH harder to change than any front flats I've gotten.

[Biciclista]

well, actually, I can change the tires of my car (if i can move those #$%#$% over tightened lug nuts) and have done it myself.

and with bikes, what I excel in is finding holes in tubes. I'm going to be 60 this year and if i don't feel like dealing with tight dirty tires/wheels I don't have to. Further, if my DH is not available, I am less than 5 miles from 3 bike shops, an easy bus ride to two of them. I can afford to pay someone else to fix my flat tire.

I am pleased to see all the women here that CAN do this, but honestly, I proved my womanhood and independence in a thousand other ways. My hands don't need the abuse.

[zoom-zoom]

Does anybody remember how we lived without the internet?

I never would have had the support to lose weight, start running and subsequently biking. I imagine that I would be one of those slow-moving, obese, miserable 38 year old women who I see...the ones who look 38 (or older) and have seemingly "given up." I am thankful every day for my wise friends who live inside my computer.

[Kerry1976]

I never would have had the support to lose weight, start running and subsequently biking. I imagine that I would be one of those slow-moving, obese, miserable 38 year old women who I see...the ones who look 38 (or older) and have seemingly "given up." I am thankful every day for my wise friends who live inside my computer.

Couldn't have said it better.

[Catrin]

I never would have had the support to lose weight, start running and subsequently biking. I imagine that I would be one of those slow-moving, obese, miserable 38 year old women who I see...the ones who look 38 (or older) and have seemingly "given up." I am thankful every day for my wise friends who live inside my computer.

I WAS one of those women who had given up - until I turned 50 I am slowly meeting new people who are road and mountain bikers who are supporting my efforts but for most of last year the only support I had in my efforts to find health and lose weight via cycling and strength training were the good women of TE. I am so thankful for this forum! Even now most of my family and friends think that I've gone off the deep end with my love for riding and other activities.

[Triskeliongirl]

It's clear that what I am trying to explain is not understandable to a lot of people. I can't "just look at it" because I don't remember anything about it after a second. I don't see how parts work or are situated in relation to other parts. I don't see how things work together.
Mechanical aptitude is a skill like anything else. Most people can learn some of it, and others are very good at it.
You might not believe the list of things that are extremely difficult for me, or down right impossible. I have overcompensated all of my life with my speaking, writing, organizational, and social skills.

Please don't get offended but I want help. What i am hearing sounds to me a lot like math anxiety, women are often conditioned that they can't do mechanical things or mathematical things so they don't really apply themselves. When I said look at, the goal isn't to memorize it, it's to reason in your mind how it works. I never memorize anything scientific, I learn concepts that let me reason what I need when I need it.

[Crankin]

Elaine, I do believe you want to help. You are right in that it is like math anxiety, because I can't do math, either. But, this is not just a case of social conditioning. I believe that occurs quite frequently, too, but my issue is a learning disability, perhaps compounded by the anxiety that is made worse by the fact that I have always been surrounded by people who are good in *everything.* Women have been conditioned to think that they can't do certain things, but in my case, as in most learning issues, it's inherited, and it is my dad who has the same exact learning issues as me. Non-verbal learning disabilities are invisible in most cases, as you can survive in this world without being able to do algebra. It becomes more visible when the poor social skills part are involved, which, I hope we can agree, does not apply to me! I've generally been happy with my writing and my books .
It's funny, my new field is comprised almost entirely of people like me. And in the two internships I've done, it's always been the men who can barely use a computer and refuse to do their notes that way. I actually am a whiz with some of this stuff compared to them, which is really quite laughable.
I am all for encouraging girls to go into math and science, and I did a lot of that when I was teaching middle school.
Eventually, I will perfect the tire thing, but I am still not sure that someone who does all of this stuff intuitively can understand how my brain works. I don't mean this directed at you, personally, I just think it's hard to envision. The same way I can't understand how someone doesn't like to read.

[TrekTheKaty]

I can change my rear tire, but it does cause anxiety. For some reason, it is hard to picture how the wheel goes back on. Once I reach for the chain, it all becomes clearer.

I became more comfortable by putting new tires on in the comfort of the living room, with the Team Estrogen handout. (I also carry it in my handlebar bag). Do it over and over with no pressure. It helps.

Of course, simply carrying the right equipment with you goes a long way. I've frequently stopped to help people who didn't have a spare tube (and a different size from mine).

[Crankin]

I do find it interesting that you all "reach for the chain," use a glove, etc. I was taught (by many different people) that you should never need to touch the chain; if you position it correctly and pull the derailleur back the right way, it pops right on.