LAS PRINCIPALES CRISIS DE MORTALIDAD EN CATALUÑA

The greatest advantage of clincher tires is the ease of repairing a flat. Any at-home mechanic can quickly patch or replace a tube or tire. The tools for patching can easily be carried with you while you ride.

1

Remove Wheel From Bike

It will be impossible to fix a flat or repair a tire if the wheel is still on the bike, so you must remove it.

2

Unhook Bead

Using a tire lever or your bare hands to pry the tire, unhook the bead from one side of the tire.

Insert the tire lever between the rim and tire and pry the bead up.

When the bead is unhooked, slide the tire lever forward to continue unhooking the bead.

Continue until one side of the tire is off the rim.

Note: If you cannot unhook the bead with one tire lever, you can use two. Most tire levers have a hook so that you can pry up a section of bead and then hold the tire lever there by hooking it to the spokes. Then use a second tire lever, about 4 or 5 inches (10 or 13 cm) from the first, to pry up the

bead and continue unhooking the tire.

3

Remove the Tube

Start at the valve hole and pull the tube out of the tire.

4

Determine What Caused the Flat

Figuring out what caused the flat is important because something may be stuck in the tire, like a thorn, or some damage have been done to the rim that may cause your new tube to immediately flat after installing it.

Pump up the tube until it swells. Find the hole by visually inspecting the tube and by listening for escaping air. If you cannot easily find the hole, you may need to rotate the tube directly under your nose—the fine hairs of your upper lip (even if you have a great big Burt Reynolds mustache) are very sensitive and can feel even the smallest stream of air coming from a hole. When you locate the hole, figure out what caused it. If it’s on the top of the tube, then something

punctured the tire. If it’s on the bottom, then there may be damage to your rim or rim strip. A pinch flat occurs when the tube is pinched between the tire and rim, often when you strike an object forcefully or the tire is not inflated enough. A pinch flat has two small holes next to each other; this is often why pinch flats are called “snake bites.”

Place the tube next to the wheel and find which part of the wheel corresponds to the damage to the tube. You may easily find what caused the flat, whether it’s a tear in the rim strip or a nail sticking through your tire.

If you can’t find what caused the flat, stick your thumb or finger into the tire and run it along the entire inside of the tire’s casing. You may feel a piece of glass or other sharp thing sticking into the tire that may not be visible from the outside. Remove anything you find.

5

Patch or Replace Tube

If the hole in the tube is smaller (less than 3 mm), you can patch and reuse the tube. If you’re on a ride, it will be faster and easier to replace the tube (you did remember to bring one, right?) and save the patching until after your postride latte.

Scuff the area immediately around the hole with the sandpaper or scraper supplied with the patch kit.

Apply the supplied glue lightly and evenly to the area around the hole, making the diameter of the cement slightly larger than the patch.

Wait a minute or two for the cement to dry, and then press the patch firmly over the hole. Hold the patch there for 20 to 30 seconds until you’re sure it’s adhered well.

Pump up the tube a bit and check that the patch is holding air.

6

Inflate Tube and Install in Tire

Put a small amount of air in the tube (just enough to give the tube some shape—maybe 5 psi at most), and place the tube’s valve in the valve hole. Push the tube into the tire around its entire circumference.

7

Install Tire’s Unhooked Bead

Starting at the valve hole, use your thumbs to install the tire’s unhooked bead. Hold the wheel in front of you, and pry the bead up and over the lip of the rim in incremental steps. If you become efficient at doing this, you may be able to install the entire bead with just your hands. If the last bit becomes too difficult to do by hand, use a tire lever to pry the last bit on. Be very careful not to pinch the tube between the tire and tire lever because this will tear a hole in the tube.

8

Check That the Tire Is Seated Correctly

Put a bit of air in the tire, around 30 to 40 pound per square inch. Check that the bead is seated correctly in the rim. If the bead is seated correctly, there should be no place where the bead is coming off the rim or where the bead is stuck down inside the lip of the rim. In either case, deflate the tire and adjust by hand.

9

Inflate Tire

Inflate the tire to full pressure (the recommended pressure is usually labeled on the tire), and recheck that the tire is properly seated in the rim.