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A student project has produced a lighthearted guide to changing a flat tyre. With a bicycle shop on every corner [i have over 20 within 1 km radius of my flat], it's easier and cleaner just to chuck the bike into the shop, but if you fancy doing it yourself, you can do it in style.
And the purpose of bouncing the wheel is what?
ReplyDeleteReseating the tire in the rim...
ReplyDeleteShe should get tire irons with a hook on the bottom that slips over a spoke,
ReplyDeleteBetter yet, one of them and a Speed Lever; although for many tire/rim combinations it's actually quicker and easier to just use your hands, once you acquire the knack of it.
Does she always carry that big adjustable wrench in her bag?
ReplyDeleteI get the point and I love the fact that she does it in a summer dress. I haven't seen a female (or a guy either) in a dress around here in years.
Sadly, I've had quite a bit of experience with this task recently. Since bike shops are few and far between here, it's important to know how to fix a flat! I've not yet had to do it with stockings and a dress on, as thankfully, it's not happened on my way to work and I'm glad to have quick release hubs! Cute film!
ReplyDeletegood point about the wrench, oldfool. nobody carries tools with them here. actually, while it's a cute video, it doesn't really represent reality, since there are so many bike shops you just get them to change your tyre.
ReplyDeleteMy nearest bike shop is 9 miles the next is in New Orleans (I think) 50 miles. So needless to say I carry tools and a cell phone (dreadful things but handy). This is in an area of over 100,000. Lots of bikes but the only lycra I have seen was a tourist passing through a year or so ago. Few adults here use bicycles and that's usually because they lost their driving license or they are just too poor to buy a junk car. Even the bike shop people drive cars to work (last I heard anyway).
ReplyDeletePlease don't think that I don't like the video because I love it. In fact I love everything on this blog. Keep up the good work.
Strangely it seems hardly anyone here (in LA) carries tools or knows how to fix a flat either, despite our notable lack of helpful bike shops within shouting distance. There was an organized ride a couple of weeks ago, late at night, on which there were a number of mechanical failures, including several flats (ah, blackberry bushes), and *nobody* had tools (I'd already peeled off from the ride and heard about it later). Nothing like a long walk across LA at 2am... or calling a friend with a truck who then ridicules you for riding a bike. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteCharming video. What I found somewhat nostalgic about it was actually patching the tube. It seems that these days most people and all shops just throw away the old tube and use a new one. Properly applying a patch seems to be a lost art. You really have to let that glue dry before putting the patch on.
ReplyDeleteWorse than that, many riders here now just toss punctured tubes to the side of the road/trail instead of disposing of them properly. If you develop a relationship with a local shop/rider (or just keep your eye open on the road), you can have all the tubes you want at the cost and bother of applying a patch.
ReplyDeleteI carry a spare tube (and the right size BOX wrench, which is both lighter and works better), patch the flat, but put the spare tube in the tire. The patched tube now travels as the new spare, while the glue has time to cure properly before I might have to avail myself of it.
I wish we had so many bike shops in the UK --- I usually end up having to transport my bike some distance to get punctures fixed. We have plenty of cyclists here who seem to think that you are not worthy to call yourself a cyclist if you don't fix your own punctures (they raise their heads now and again in places such as the Guardian's bike blog), but my previous attempts to do the job have usually ended in foul language and tools being flung around the garage. Eventually I decided it was in the interests of my health and domestic harmony to pay someone else to do the job.
ReplyDeleteAt this point I'm expecting "but it's easy!" It may be for you, mate, but not for me. I know the theory and I have done it in the past, but all that faff about taking wheels off and then having to sort out brakes and gears again fills me with despair. I am not a mechanical genius. I am not even vaguely competent mechanically. I just happen to like riding my bike to work.
i don't change my own flats. simply because when I walk out to get my bike i'm usually well-dressed and oily fingers don't mix well with clothes.
ReplyDelete'real' cyclists can do their own maintenence if they like to. the rest of us have bike shops.