Facing Flats:

If you ride enough, it's a fact of life.

Whether it's a tiny piece of glass in the road; one of the dreaded goats head thorns on the trail; or a pinched tube from under-inflation, every cyclist knows the woes of a flat. But there's no need to dread flats. They're not convenient but they're easily and quickly repaired with the right tools, a little knowledge and some practice.

The right tools:

A little knowledge:

   For most riders, rear flats are the most common - and the most feared. While the wheel comes off the bike the same way - loosen the brake, open the quick release and pop the wheel off - the addition of the chain and rear derailleur make it look more complicated.

To take the rear wheel off, shift your bike to the lowest gear (small ring) in the front and to the highest gear (smallest sprocket) in the back. This makes the chain the loosest and gives you an easy reference when you reinstall the wheel.

Deflate the tire completely. Insert the "spoon" end of your  lever under the bead (edge that hooks on to the rim) of the tire. Work the lever all the way around the wheel. If it's too difficult to push around, put the hook end of the lever around a spoke to keep it in place and grab another lever and continue around the wheel until the bead on one side is completely free. Reach up into the tire and remove the inner tube.  Remove the second side of the tire bead and take the tire completely off the rim.

With friends waiting, it's often tempting to quickly reinstall a new tube and hit the road. Resist this temptation and take the time to thoroughly check the inside of the tire for debris or damage. Something caused the flat and you want to remove it before installing a new tube.  If you don't find anything, put some air in the old tube, look for the hole and try to reference*  it to where it was inside the tire. Double check that area of the tire.  Also check the inside of the rim to be sure the tape or rubber strip is covering all the spoke holes.

Whether you are patching the old tube or using a new one, inflate the tube until it begins to take shape. Place the tube inside the tire. To help with future flats, line the valve up with the pressure rating on your tire. This helps you remember how much pressure to put in. It also gives you a *reference point to look for debris when you have another flat.

Insert the valve stem through the valve hole in the rim. Starting at the valve stem, install the first bead onto the rim. Next, push the first bead and tube over so the tube is safely tucked up inside the tire. Again, starting at the valve stem, carefully push the second bead into the rim well using your hands. As you near the end, there's often a section of the bead that's near impossible to get onto the rim. Start at the bottom of the tire, opposite the tough section, and squeeze up from both sides. This usually gives you enough slack to pop the final section on.

Inflate the tire to about half pressure. Look along the bead of the tire and make sure it is "seated" in the rim. If it's not, the bead will not line up and could blow off if you continue to inflate. Once tire is seated, inflate to pressure imprinted on side of tire and enjoy the rest of the ride!

A little practice: