I dusted off the cobwebs of my bike last week and discovered a puncture or not properly pumping innertube on one of my wheels. This week, I took delivery of my new supplies and was ready for the next maintenance job on my bike, 2 tyre changes with new inntertubes.
This gear set me back around €35 including postage, which I think is a pretty good deal. I did consider some more expensive tyres, but I was unsure about them without seeing them first and being sure they were suitable and could give me some extra performance, therefore I stuck with the Schwalbe ones.
Lucky, the weather was great today so I could get to work on my bike with this super weather in the garden.
First of all I threw the bike upside down so I could take the wheels off easily enough. I am lucky they are the quick release ones that don't require any tools to remove. I guess that can also be a bad thing if someone wants to steal them.
After removing the front wheel first, I got ready to start to remove the existing tyre and innertube. To do this, I first deflated the existing tyre as much as possible so that I could get the tyre-lever in there.
Here are the tools I prepared ready for the job. In the end, I needed only the tyre levers, the tyre fitting liquid and of course my handy air pump, which is a dream tool and I recommend you grab one if you can!! Before I had a huge air pump which I plugged in. Now I have this smaller USB one which is so much more handy!! I need to check I still have the car one, but it was mainly for my bikes I bought it, I like to have freshly pumped up tyres.
With all the tools ready, I was ready to remove my first tyre and innertube. First I put the first tyre lever in and then with the gap created, used the second one to extend the gap working around the tyre. First on one side and then I could remove the innertube.
With that removed, I could then do the second side and remove the tyre completely. It takes just a few minutes, but needs some hands on work. I used the liquid for the edge between the tyre and wheel, so that it was not dirty and dry for remove the tyre and causing any damage.
Here I show you the next steps but with the 2nd wheel as I didn't photo the first one, but it is the same process. To put the new innertube and tyre on the wheel, I first took the innertube and placed it in the hole. You can see the innertube is quite lose and doesn't keep its shape around the wheel, so I blew it up a little bit to give it some shape.
I could then put the tyre over it more easily. I then to fix the new tyre in place within the wheel rims, used the tyre levers again to fix the tyres in place. First going round one side and then the other. I blew the innertube up a little half way through to help fix things in better.
Here you can see the old tyre versus the new one and how worn the old ones look. I also noticed the new tyres had some white line around which the old ones didn't. I am not so keen on it, but its too late now. I also chose the innertubes with AV valves as this is for cars and is easier for me to pump up without any adapters.
Once the tyre is in, I blew up the innertube to the maximum and put it back on the bike before moving onto the rear tyre.
The rear tyre is more tricky to get on and off because of the chain. With quick release, it is also still relatively easy and fast though.
The process is the same though and here you can see me battling to get the tyre in properly.
In the end though, it was simple enough and a good practice. I should have done this last season, but with the crank change and other things, I thought I would leave the new tyres until this season. With the puncture, it speeded up that replacement for me and I am glad I finally did it and so quickly.
Overall I am happy with the changes and the new tyres look great and the bike a more new look. I of course had to take her out for a spin straight away and see how she rode.
I can confirm she rode really great. Nice and firm ride with the tyres and new innertubes. A not expensive upgrade that will keep my bike running for many more kilometers. I have upgraded nearly everything on the bike so far and it has been great fun to do. I think the next upgrade should be a new seat and maybe some brakes? Brakes are always fiddly for me, so I am not sure I would enjoy to do that so much! haha
Are your ready for the new bike season?
Credits:
All images and photos are my own.
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I don't have my own bicycle but my brother have bicycle. I also ride the same bicycle. These days it's chain is missing. I have to go to repair shop but you gave a motivation to do it by yourself. I should mention this post to my brother so that he will also get motivation to do cycling things by himself.
`___
Yes, it is a nice fun thing to do, when you can do your bicycle repairs yourself. I am having some good fun to do it. Thanks for picking my post!
Well done, I couldnt do this. Never understood why there is no easier way to change bike wheels 😅
It has always been something that I hate doing too. I usually have to force myself! 😆😅 This time was totally fine though.
I will definitely make a lot more mess if I am the one changing that tire. : )
nice that you have a new tire for the bike. ready for some bike riding. : )
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I did get my hands dirty in the end and got the latex gloves out to get the wheel on at the end. It is great with the new tyres though now.
Just yesterday finished my preparation to the new bike season. And hope today I can try it 🤞🤞🤞
Nice one! I love the start of the bike season! Especially cycling when we have good weather! 😀👍
Yeah it gives me great feeling that something new is waiting you ahead!
Looking good! About a year ago I had a tire I needed replaced. I took it down to the local bike shop after getting it off fairly easily. Brought it home, pumped it up, then tried to put it back on the bike. Big mistake! Like an idiot I didn't realize it wouldn't fit while inflated, so I had to let some air out then try again!
Getting the back wheel back on can be tricky sometimes, I saw some of the professionals use latex gloves, so I grab them if I want to not get covered in oil or grease! Glad you got the bike sorted in the end.
Yeah, it slid in okay once I let some air out. With the air in though it was way too wide!
I was half owner in a bicycle shop for 4 years. Your post brought back many memories! My favorite part was selling a shiny new bike for a youngster and seeing their excitement!
Oh didnt know this, so you are a bike professional lady 🙂
That sounds really cool. It is lovely to visit bike shops and pick up a new bike. With the speed at which kids grow, they need new bikes quite often too!
Wow, I didn't know you owned a bicycle shop, how cool!
I can understand that that was the coolest part of your job.
As a 'grown up' I still feel excited when buying a new bicycle 😂
@friendlymoose
Well done
The Godoy thing is that you could do this by yourself and you won’t have to spend extra money paying an expert
Good job!
Thanks, yes it was great to do it for myself! I didnt change any tyres for a couple of years, so it was a little memory jog to get it done!
You did everything in such a manner that it looked so easy the whole time but I know it wasn't.
Btw how often do you do this thing? Like repairing your bike..
Thanks, it gets easier the more you do it. I usually do some bike repairs or upgrades each spring season for some fun and maintenance of the bike.
Replacing tires looks like a really tough job to do, but it's actually quite easy to do yourself as you show in your blog.
Schwalbe is a good quality brand indeed. I have Continental GP's on my road bicycle because they have extra protection against punctures. That makes them a bit more expensive too unfortunately.
Thanks for sharing this with us!
I hope it inspires more people to DIY
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Yeah, I agree. Once you start, it is a relatively easy and quick job. Getting the back wheel back on was the hardest part on this bike navigating the chain lol. I wouldn't repair any punctures like we used to do as kids, as that is then just extra work, just replace the innertube and ready to go! I like continental gear too, I did consider their tyres, but opted for schwalbe in the end, next time I might try them.
Schwalbe are excellent tires in my experience. Most of their tires have some kind of puncture protection, they have excellent grip and very little rolling resistance. Great choice, I wish you many miles with them!
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Thanks! I have been happy with the performance of Schwalbe so far although I am keen to try out some Continental branded ones at some point.
The amount of ppl who don't cycle because of a simple puncture is outstanding. Hopefully thei'll feel inspired by your post.
Learning some simple bike maintenance is really useful. Especially when trying to fix issues for my kids bikes! 😀
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