A Kid's Life: Bike Repairs

Emergency Bike Repairs

By Alex Nixon

Usually, your bike will break down when it's raining. It always works out that way.

How to Change a Flat Tire on Your Bike. Three pieces of gear any regular bike rider should own:

A hand air-pump, the kind that can be mounted to your bike's frame. About $20.00, this is an essential item for any serious bike riding.

A patch kit, which costs around $3.00 and contains rubber cement. small pieces of sandpaper, and patches - usually 10 or so.

Tire levers, which are usually sold in groups of three, and also cost about $3.00 for a set.

Here's what to do:

Move far off the road to repair the flat.

Remove the tire from the bike.

Make sure all the air is out of the tire. Locate the side of the tire that's opposite from the valve. That's where you'll be working.

Putting your first tire lever on one side of the tire, pry gently. Be as careful as possible to avoid pinching the inner tube. Take the second tire lever and repeat the procedure about 3 inches away-on the same side of the tire. Keep repeating until one side of the tire is outside the rim.

Pull the stem of the inner tube out of the rim. Remove the inner tube from the wheel. Leave the tire half on, half off the rim.

Very carefully, run your finger along the inside of the tire to find and remove any sharp objects that might have caused the puncture.

Patching the Inner Tube:

Blow the inner tube back up. Listen carefully to hear air hissing out of the leak area. If you can't hear anything, you'll need to use the water method: dip the inflated inner tube into some water, a section at a time, and look for air bubbles. They will indicate the leak area. Be sure to dry the tube off before proceeding.

Once you've found the the hole, use sandpaper to scrape all around the puncture area-clear about a one-inch radius.

Apply rubber cement to the area. Let it dry for about a minute.

Put the patch over the hole, making sure all sides of the patch are down smoothly. Press tightly against the patch area for a good minute.

Wait another three minutes.

Using the hand-pump, put enough air in the inner tube to make it firm-don't over-inflate.

Final Steps:

Stick the stem of the valve back into the hole in the wheel rim.

Put the tube back into the tire. Make sure the tube isn't bunched up.

Using the tire levers, tuck the tire back into the rim. Be extra careful not to pinch the inner tube.

From a height of about two inches, bounce the tire all around to make sure it settles

Reattach tire.

Putting a Bicycle Chain Back On:

There's no way to avoid getting your hands dirty with this job. If you have a ten-speed, put the chain on the smaller ring. If you don't have a ten-speed, lift up the back tire and move the peddlals forward half a rotation to get them out of the way while you work. Replace the chain in this order:

Thread the chain through the hub in the back.

If you have one, thread the chain through the derailler.

Bring the chain to the top of the front pedal sprocket.

Rotate the pedal slowly and the chain will fall into place on the sprockets.

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The book has a lot of directions about fixing your stuff.

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