Tyre
problems
(c) 1999
m.s.gerritsen
Pump
Even if you never
have punctures,
you will need a pump to top up your tires. Try at home if this works:
will
the pump head fit the valve or do you need an adapter? And can you
inflate
the tires hard enough. The maximum operating pressure is usually
imprinted
upon the casing in bar (atm.) or PSI. (100 PSI equals 7 bars). Pump the
tires with a track pump and find out how hard your tires could be. Not
enough air in the (rear) increases the rolling resistance, increases
wear
and makes the occurrence of snakebites much more likely. If you go with
a group on tour, you can save some weight and space, as not everybody
needs
to carry a pump.
Tyre levers
With most
combinations of rims
and tyres you will need one or two tyre levers. My favorite levers are
the yellow plastic ones by Michelin. which not only work okay, but are
also easy to find once you've dropped them in the verge. But an
inferior
steel tyre lever is always better than an inferior plastic one.
Puncture kit
A small piece of
emery cloth,
a tube of tyre cement (not dried out) and several patches in varying
sizes
should speak for themselves. However many a cyclist has been able to
limp
home by using a postage stamp or even a knot in the inner tube (don't
forget
to bring a spare next time). I try to avoid patching tubes on the road,
preferring to carry a few spares and repair the tubes at home or in the
tent. But this only works if you know how to remove your wheels.
For the rear wheel
(the
most difficult one) the procedure is as follows.
-
shift the chain
on the smallest
sprocket, i.e. the one the furthest on the right
-
open the brake:
most racing
bikes have a button on the brake lever (Campy) or on the brake itself,
and with cantilevers and V-brakes you can hang out the brake cable. (if
you forget this and force the tyre past the brake pads, make sure you
check
the alignment before you have sawn your sidewalls in two.
-
open the wheel
skewer by folding
the lever open (180 degrees) pull the derailleur rearward and push
/slam
the wheel down or forward, depending on whether you have vertical or
horizontal
dropouts.
-
The wheel will
probably be caught
by the lower chain run, and can be removed towards the left side after
you have lifted the cog out of the chain. With some practice you can do
this to a loaded touring bike if you lay the bike on the LH
pannier.
If you put the wheel
back note that:
-
you will have to
pull the derailleur
back to open the chain loop so that you can engage the first cog in the
chain
-
you cannot
position the axle
in the dropouts if you have accidentally closed the skewer, or if the
skewer
isn't centered left-right on the axle (that is where those little
conical
springs are for)
-
you will never
get the axle
near the dropouts if the tyre catches in the brake
-
the correct
adjustment for the
wheel skewer is finger tight with the lever in line with the axle
(adjust
with the nut on the opposite end) and closing the skewer a further 90
degrees.
-
don't forget to
close/connect
the brake, and check to see whether the chain has dropped from the
chain
ring.
Inner tube
Always take a couple
of spare
inner tubes on tour. If the valve gets torn out or the tyre explodes,
you
can forget about patching. Make sure you take tube that fit. A tube
fitted
with a Schraeder valve (car valve) is usually to big for a rim drilled
for Presta (french) valves. And, on the reverse, a vulcanized Presta
valve
will not take kindly to being forced through an oversize hole (avoid
this
by using a thin washer)
And are the valves
long
enough for the rims used? And don't get fobbed of with racing inner
tubes
if you run wide tyres. Admittedly, a 21 mm tube fitted in a 35 mm cover
will probably not explode on the doorstep of the shop you got it from,
but it will fail.
Replacing the
inner tube
This seems terribly
complicated
(for instance when you write down all the steps involved) but a
sensible
approach helps.
-
Remove the wheel
and deflate
the inner tube completely. Push the valve inwards to break it free
-
The tyre beads
are often stuck
to the rim: go round and push both beads towards the middle of the rim
-
Insert two tyre
levers 2" left
cq right of the valve (Some MTB tyres have so much clearance that bare
hands will suffice)
-
fold the tyre
levers over (one
at a time), if you need a lot of force, retry after you have pushed the
tyre bead back in the rim well
-
If the tyre bead
is still tight,
remove one lever (hold on to the other one) and use it to fold back
another
1-2"
-
If you have
levered enough of
the tyre bead over the rim, the tyre levers will slide out and you can
use your fingers to pull rest of the tyre over the rim.
-
Pull the inner
tube out of the
casing, push the casing aside and remove the valve from the valve hole
-
Inflate the
inner tube and find
the leak. Measure the distance of the leak from the valve hole (two
chances)
and check the casing for damage or foreign matter. Two narrow slits
close
apart, indicate a snakebite, often caused by to narrow a tyre for the
weight
or low inflation.
Fitting
-
Put some air in
the inner tube,
just enough for the tube to attain its shape. Push the tyre aside to
gain
access to the valve hole and insert the valve. Lay the rest of the
inner
tube in the casing, if the inner tube appears to be to long you put in
to much air. Insure that the valve goes through the valve hole straight.
-
Go round the rim
and ease the
inner tube over the rim wall in the rim well.
-
Now fit the tyre
bead, starting
opposite the valve, and working your way up symmetrically. Use the ball
of your thumbs, never a tyre lever! With 8" to go the process becomes
very
difficult
-
Go back to where
you started,
(opposite the valve) and start pushing the tyre bead towards the middle
of the rim. Push the valve up, to avoid trapping the tube under the
tire
bead, let perhaps some more air escape and work the remaining tyre bead
over the rim wall.
-
With extremely
tight rim-tyre
combinations you might have to repeat the process a few times. Do not
use
a tyre lever, at the risk of pinching the inner tube.
- Push up the
valve to ensure the tube isn't trapped by the bead
-
Put some air in
the inner tube
if you had to deflate it entirely, pinch the beads together all the way
round to check that the inner tube isn't trapped (check both sides) and
inflate the tyre. Halfway, check that the tyre is seated properly and
doesn't
wobble.
Cover
A casing failure is
not 100%
avoidable if you travel on rough roads. Nor do you need long to split a
side wall with a misaligned brake pad. Tears can be temporarily
repaired
with strong thread and a curved needle, but the tyre will never be as
good
as new again. (other fixes include wrapping a roll of tape around tyre
and inner tube before fitting the assembly back to the rim, or covering
holes with a section of another tyre from inside etc.).
On long trips you
will have
to take a spare tyre. That could be a narrow (folding) emergency tyre,
if weight and or space are paramount. Fit this to the front, and move
the
front tyre to the rear if applicable. Swapping tyres halfway could also
help to extend their longevity, but don't do this if the rear tyre has
worn very square, or your steering will suffer.
Most modern rims
have a
retaining groove inside the rim wall and will accept folding tyres with
a kevlar bead. These tyres come already boxed or in a plastic bag,
ready
to throw in the pannier bag. Conventional tyres with a steel bead you
will
have to fold yourself. Grab the tyre at two opposite sides. Bring your
hands together and cross them so that the tyre is divided in three
equal
circles. Fold the outer circles on top of the middle one and tie the
three
rings together.
Patching inner
tubes
The most durable
method is with
vulcanizing patches and rubber solution. Glue less patches could be
convenient
on the trail (if they work at all) but are never as durable as the old
fashioned way. Patches are available in many sizes, basically you use
the
smallest possible. But, because you cannot glue patches over another
patch,
with several holes close together, you might have to be flexible about
this.
-
Start with
finding the hole.
Inflate the tube and listen for the hiss, hold the tube close to your
lips
to feel the rushing air, hold the tube under water or in really
stubborn
cases use soapy water. Mark the spot with ball-point or crayon, and get
out the emery cloth. You will need to remove the outer texture of the
tube
because it is covered with releasing agent. For the glue to adhere,
you'll
want a mat finish.
-
Coat the area
with a thin even
film of cement
-
Let it dry
thoroughly, a dry
film on wet cement is not good enough.
-
Put some air in
the tube, remove
the aluminum foil from the patch without touching the sticky surface,
and
push it firmly on the spot required
-
Remove the
transparent backing
only if the patch has cured, if you are in a hurry, install the tube
and
remove the backing the next time you puncture.
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