Punctures and tyre fitting

November 17, 2009 by mike.cox

Puncture repairs.
Most of us know how to take a tyre off and put back on again, but some don’t, or if they think they do, do it wrong.
First I would never recommend repairing an inner-tube that has a puncture. Inners are so cheap in relation to an accident when the patch pulls off, it’s not worth the hassle.
Second, don’t use the cheap Taiwanese tubes, they are made of polypropylene and tear when a puncture occurs. The better makes are made of rubber and the hole closes up as the pressure drops.
The biggest hassles most owners have is not having the correct tyre levers and second, not moving the tyre itself into specific areas of the rim to make things easy.
 
Tyre levers.
We have all used the spoons and forks from the kitchen, but there are much better tools available for small money.
The most common many years ago was the tyre lever that had a 90 degree bend at the opposite end and a hook device.
This is something you can make very easily.
 
You levered the tyre rim upwards and by pushing down on the lever, used the hook end to slip around a spoke. This left you with both hands free to continue.
You then went around the rim, lifting the edge of the tyre over the wheel rim until the one side was away completely.
This brings up other often unknown hassles that make this a very difficult job because a few small actions were not carried out beforehand.
Use soapy water to allow the rubber of the tyre to move easily over the steel or aluminium rim.
Leave just enough air in the tube to keep the inner away from the tyre levers.
Push the opposite side of the tyre into the wheel well. This gives plenty of spare movement to the side you are trying to lever off.
That’s about it. Easy to do and a doddle to carry out.
 
When re-assembling a tyre onto a rim the same process is carried out but in reverse.