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Puncture on a Bike with an Inner Tube: What to Do? – TUTORIALS

How many times have you gone out and punctured in the middle of the excursion? Or to find the hole wheel at home? If you are a real biker, here are some tips.

Puncture in MTB punctured wheel

Punctures remain the most frequent inconvenience of a bike ride: at the moment there is no solid tire solution that solves all problems. The inserts inside the tire have brought safety but they are not to be seen as anti-puncture systems (read more about the topic).

HOW TO SOLVE A PUNCTURE WITH TUBELESS

Many beginners (and not only) get into a crisis in the event of punctures, yet you don't need any special technical skills to change a punctured inner tube.

Drilling in Mountain Bike

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO REPAIR A PUNCTURE?

We must have with us:

  • 2 Tire levers (to remove the tyre)
  • Pump to inflate the inner tube (or Co2 + adapter)
  • Inner tube of the correct size 🙂

Such tools are easily found in any bike shop. As you can see, it takes very little to solve.

HOW TO CHANGE AN INNER TUBE

1. REMOVE THE WHEEL

In the case of a front wheel, it's simple: either it's a through axle or a quick release. If it is a through axle, with an Allen key the through axle is removed and we find ourselves with the wheel comfortably in hand. In the case of a quick release, just loosen it (do not open it completely, it is not necessary) and the wheel slips off.

In the case of a rear wheel, position the chain on the smallest sprocket (hardest/longest ratio) to facilitate the extraction and subsequent reinsertion of the wheel. In the case of V-Brake brakes (not disc brakes), you must release the brake cable and move the brake pads as far away from the rim as possible to prevent them from touching the rubber when you remove the wheel.

NOTE: If we have a Cannondale with a Lefty fork and we have punctured the front wheel, you can also replace the inner tube without removing it from its seat.

2. REMOVE THE TIRE

Using the tire lever (or 2 if the tire is substantial and we are in difficulty), remove the tire from its seat (on one side only) in order to extract the inner tube.

TRICK: if the tire is hard to remove, you have to break the bead, which means that you have to press on the walls (inwards) so that it comes out of the edge of the rim. If it remains on the edge, the operation may be difficult because it remains "in range".

3. CONTROL

If we have drilled, does it mean that something has happened: have we pinched or has a thorn/sharp object entered? We have to feel the tire by hand (from the inside) to see if we find a pin, a nail or some foreign object that caused the puncture. Watch out that, if there is a nail, not to cut yourself: careful control but without ardor.

Check with your hand that there are no nails or anything else inside

4. CHANGE THE INNER TUBE

After extracting the old inner tube, let's replace it (my advice is to keep the old inner tube and then go and repair it with a patch if the extent of the damage is slight). With the help of a pump, insert a minimum of air inside the new inner tube so that it comes out of the "vacuum" and has a more natural shape to be inserted.

air chamber

Reposition the slightly inflated inner tube inside the tire and rim by first inserting the inflating/deflating valve in its seat. Then screw the screw into the valve so that it stays well in place and out of the circle.

With the help of your hands, insert the tire inside the rim. CAUTION: Try not to use the tire lever/puncher as it is easy to pinch the tube when new.

Bike inner tube
The operation is the same also on road bikes

TRICK: To insert a tire with only the help of your hands, you need the same technique you used to remove the tyre. Basically, if the tire is hard to insert in the final part, you have to release the bead along its entire surface, which means that you have to press on the walls (inwards) so that it comes out of the edge of the rim. If it remains on the edge, the operation may be difficult because it remains "in range".

5. INFLATED AND FINAL CHECK

Reinflate the inner tube. You can use the classic pump or even a can of compressed air (CO2), with a special fitting, to make less effort and limit the time. But be careful not to make a mistake with the can otherwise you'll be stuck. You can never go wrong with the dear old pump.

By final check, we mean checking that all the tire has beaded correctly. How do you check? You have to check that the raised edge, always visible on tyres, is outside the rim as in this photo. If it doesn't, the tire will spin wrong and you risk pinching the inner tube once you set off again if you underestimate this aspect.

Rubber beading
You have to check that the raised edge, always visible on the tyres, is outside the rim as in this photo)


Written by

[email protected] I am a fan of everything that has 2 wheels: at a young age I practiced road and track cycling (Italian Allievi champion). At the age of 18 I passed into the cross country competing at national/international level as an Under23. Past Elite, I made the choice to take things more lightly from a training point of view, and my love for gravity disciplines was born, training me as an FCI MTB instructor and guide. Now I have made passion my profession by managing 2 MTB centers on the island of Elba (Bike Center Elba and Elba MTB), creating the FANTAmtb and telling in an ironic but professional way everything that revolves around MTB thanks to 365mountainbike and 365TV (YouTube'PULITI dentro BIKER fuori').

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