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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Chi-town
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    3,265

    Flat tire, losing mind

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    My wonderful new Bianchi Veloce has its first flat tire. I think it happened when I rode over too-rough pavement. Anyways...I've changed bike tires before. Just not on these wheels.

    I cannot get the tire irons in!!!

    Losing my mind!

    I will not take a screwdriver to it, but I want to! I just can't pry the darned thing up.

    The wheels are Campy, the tires vittoria rubino tech. Any tips? I'll probably figure this out before anyone posts, but hey, I got to vent. Back to it. arghhhhhh..... L.
    Run like a dachshund! Ride like a superhero! Swim like a three-legged cat!
    TE Bianchi Girls Rock

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Chi-town
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    3,265
    ummmm....I hadn't let all the air out of the tire. The magic internet taught me this. I am a moron. Back to work...
    Run like a dachshund! Ride like a superhero! Swim like a three-legged cat!
    TE Bianchi Girls Rock

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    I'm the only one allowed to whine
    Posts
    10,557
    Not that this would have changed your air in the tire issue, but.... I've become quite fond of the Crank Brothers Speed Levers for messing with tires.

    Simple and fast and one piece. And only $7.
    "If Americans want to live the American Dream, they should go to Denmark." - Richard Wilkinson

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Chi-town
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    3,265
    It's not over yet, but thanks for the info. I broke one tire iron, just snapped the head right off trying to pry this bead out of the rim. I got the thing off with the two remaining tire irons. Got the tube out. The tube is fine. The valve was broken, as far as I can tell. I have another tube. Got that in. Now I cannot get that last foot of bead back onto the rim.

    I feel like such an inept moron and fraud of a cyclist at this moment.

    Back to it. I put on some gospel music and ate three Thin Mints.

    L.
    Run like a dachshund! Ride like a superhero! Swim like a three-legged cat!
    TE Bianchi Girls Rock

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Chi-town
    Posts
    3,265
    OK, that's it. I am done for tonight.

    I got the tire back on. My thumbs are killing me. And the brand new tire won't fill with air. The problem is not with my tube. Is it with my PUMP? I'm taking old tube, new tube in tire, and pump to LBS tomorrow. I do not care how moronic I look or how simple my mistake turns out to be. I am frustrated. Or, as my three year old nephew once said:

    Fer-US-ter-a-ted!

    Thanks, kn, for the suggestion. I have never had such difficulty getting a tire off (and on) a rim.

    L.
    Run like a dachshund! Ride like a superhero! Swim like a three-legged cat!
    TE Bianchi Girls Rock

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Marin County CA
    Posts
    5,936
    Make the LBS walk you through the process. Don't just give them the wheel and walk away. Ask them to explain it to you. Bring your OWN Pump to make sure you are using it right.

    You are not a moron. You are learning. We are all learning.
    Sarah

    When it's easy, ride hard; when it's hard, ride easy.


    2011 Volagi Liscio
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  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Chi-town
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    3,265
    Quote Originally Posted by maillotpois
    Make the LBS walk you through the process. Don't just give them the wheel and walk away. Ask them to explain it to you. Bring your OWN Pump to make sure you are using it right.

    You are not a moron. You are learning. We are all learning.
    I will, Sarah, thanks for your kind words. I thought I knew how to change a bike tube. It's really not a big deal, but I felt like--"those real riders know how to do this, it's easy for them"--and, "who are you kidding, Lise? You can never do a 1/2 IM! You couldn't even change a tire if you flatted!"

    Whoa.

    That's when I knew I had to stop. I can handle pain a lot better than embarrassment. Well, we'll refer all newbies to this thread, eh? They'll feel better.
    Run like a dachshund! Ride like a superhero! Swim like a three-legged cat!
    TE Bianchi Girls Rock

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Posts
    2,609
    Lise, you are NOT crazy, a moron, or even mildly unsure of how to change a tire!

    Campy wheels are NOTORIOUS for being a complete pain in the a$$ to change. Numerous threads on bikeforums.net of big, beefy guys who struggle with them. THEY'RE REALLY HARD TO CHANGE! I spent a good hour trying to remove my first tire, and a good 30 minutes trying to put it back on. Speed levers will crumble instantly with these wheels. I can only use steel or Pedro's stubby yellow levers. They're the only ones that you can really get enough strength behind them to get the bead off/on. I just have to use more power than you would ever imagine.

    It's not you! Trust me on this!

    Edit: It gets easier as the tires stretch out!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Chi-town
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    3,265
    Quote Originally Posted by Pedal Wench
    Lise, you are NOT crazy, a moron, or even mildly unsure of how to change a tire!

    Campy wheels are NOTORIOUS for being a complete pain in the a$$ to change. Numerous threads on bikeforums.net of big, beefy guys who struggle with them. THEY'RE REALLY HARD TO CHANGE! I spent a good hour trying to remove my first tire, and a good 30 minutes trying to put it back on. Speed levers will crumble instantly with these wheels. I can only use steel or Pedro's stubby yellow levers. They're the only ones that you can really get enough strength behind them to get the bead off/on. I just have to use more power than you would ever imagine.

    It's not you! Trust me on this!

    Edit: It gets easier as the tires stretch out!
    Thank you SO MUCH for telling me that!!! That will help me sleep tonight. I was on the verge of doing it all over again to figure out what was wrong, but my thumbs are so sore from lifting that last 6" of tire back on to the rim that common sense over came me, and I stopped. It was like my entire triathlon career was on the line. Lise vs. Tire. I will be interested to see what the problem is. Tire valve? Dunno. In the meantime, I am glad this happened at home, and NOT on the road. I must have the tools to do this on the road. These little plastic tire levers are not sufficient. One just snapped. The other two held, and I did get the tire off and back on again...imagine the frustration when, after all that, the tire gauge on the pump reads "120 psi", and the tire is still completely flat. I'll bring the update tomorrow post-LBS.

    Thanks you guys. L.
    Run like a dachshund! Ride like a superhero! Swim like a three-legged cat!
    TE Bianchi Girls Rock

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    I'm the only one allowed to whine
    Posts
    10,557
    Soma makes steel-skeleton tire irons. www.somafab.com

    Remind me not to get Campy tires... I have enough swear-words with my Kona Cheapos and my Speed Lever!
    "If Americans want to live the American Dream, they should go to Denmark." - Richard Wilkinson

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    Folsom CA
    Posts
    5,667

    If it's any help ...

    This past Saturday my husband Lee & I went on the metric century graduation ride for our club's road riding academy. We hung in back with the newer riders.

    One of the riders got a flat. She was having a hard time getting the tire off the rim so Lee offered to help. Mind you, he's very good at changing flats.

    After several minutes of sweating and grunting and one plastic lever broken, he still didn't have the tire off the rim.

    I then pulled out my trusty Crank Brothers Speed Lever and innocently asked, "Sweetie, would you like to try this???"
    (you see, if I had offered it right off the bat he would have refused it. After 17 years of marriage I have learned a thing or two).

    "Sure, why not?" he grumbles.

    Click. Zip. Plunk. Tire off in 10 seconds.

    "Hey, this is great!!!" he says.

    Putting the tire back on again, I let Lee struggle for a few moments and then I innocently piped up "um, the Speed Lever is really good for putting tires back on the rim too..."

    Click. Zip. Plunk. Tire back on in 10 seconds.

    "Hey, this is great!!!" he says again.


    A couple of lessons learned:

    Some tires really are a pain to get off the rim. It's definitely not you !!!

    Crank Bros. Speed Levers work really well (er, can't say I've tried them on Campy wheels though).
    Last edited by jobob; 06-12-2006 at 08:05 PM.

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  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Chi-town
    Posts
    3,265
    Thanks for the story, jb! I'll ask the LBS guys what they think of the speed tool. I want to ask them why they didn't WARN me about these wheels! Again, glad to learn the lesson in my dining room, and not on the road.

    Night, all--L.
    Run like a dachshund! Ride like a superhero! Swim like a three-legged cat!
    TE Bianchi Girls Rock

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Vancouver, BC
    Posts
    3,932
    I don't know about Campy wheels, but the tricks described here will certainly help you, no matter what.
    http://www.teamestrogen.com/articles/asa_levers.asp

    I follow these guidelines and only use the levers when I feel lazy, only to pull the tire off, only with one lever, only after I've nicely loosened up the tire and taken one bit out of the rim. I'll then insert the lever and zip down.

    I've never used a lever to put the tire on (actually I have no idea how I would do that).

    Park Tool blue plastic levers are pretty good at not breaking, from what I've heard, but I have no experience with others...

    By the ways I love those Rubino tires, and they're rather easy to take off, so I'd totally blame the wheel. There also might be something wrong with the pump....

    Now that I think about it: I think you already had that pump for your other bike, which probably had Shraeder valves, right? Did you change the configuration of the pump to adapt to presta?? You probably did that already, but just in case, that could help...

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    WA State
    Posts
    4,364
    Quote Originally Posted by Grog
    By the ways I love those Rubino tires, and they're rather easy to take off, so I'd totally blame the wheel. There also might be something wrong with the pump....
    Hmmmm I don't know if its a Rubino or not, but I have one Vittoria tire that I got as a door prize and used this winter. Let's just say that I am really really glad its a tough tire and it never got a flat because it was so tight that it took both my husband and myself pushing and pulling on the thing to get it onto the rim. I think that tires can vary in size a little bit and sometimes you can get a tight one.
    "Sharing the road means getting along, not getting ahead" - 1994 Washington State Driver's Guide

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  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Massachusetts
    Posts
    2,556
    Reading this thread made me glad that I ride sewups. Common practice for mounting a sewup, which may possibly be useful here (not really sure but maybe worth a try) is to stretch the tire first. Either put your foot on it and pull up, or put it behind your back, grab it from both sides with your hands, and rotate your shoulders forward.

 

 

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