F5 HOW-TO: Patch that bike flat! from Dan Conover on Vimeo.
In the first of two additions this week to the Friday 5 Channel on Vimeo, I provide a How-To guide to fixing a flat bicycle tire. I know a little bit about this procedure, too: Until I upgraded to Armadillo tires on the Trek SU-100 that I ride to work, I was fixing two flats a month on average. That's because I live in the North Central neighborhood, and for whatever reason the city seldom gets around to cleaning Upper-Upper King Street.
I don't give a demonstration of how to remove the rear wheel, partly because there are so many ways that chains and shifters can be set up, but also because it's just kind of annoying compared to removing the front wheel.
And yes, if you're in a big hurry you can strip the tire off the rim, remove the tube, patch the puncture, re-inflate and go -- all without taking the wheel off. But that' kinda like showing off for most of us.
I know this is kind of basic for some people, but here's the truth: I was in my 40s before I fixed my first flat, and people pay good money every day to have a bike mechanic fix their flats. You can do this.
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