We’ve all been there: you’re riding along happily, when something suddenly doesn’t feel right. Your bike feels floppy, like a piece of wet spaghetti. You look down and see a bulge under your wheel where there shouldn’t be a bulge, and when you hear the telltale hissss, you know: puncture.

For many cyclists, this is one of the main stresses of heading out on a ride, especially a group ride. The last thing you want is six people standing in a semicircle, watching you fail miserably while your bike rests upside down on the side of the road. (First mistake, BTW.)

But fixing a puncture needn’t be such a scary thing. If you have the right tools and you know what to do, you’ll be back on the road or trail in no time. Here’s everything you need to know about how to change a bike tyre, including some repair tips that might come in handy.

First things first: for tools, you should always carry tyre levers, a correctly-sized spare tube and an inflation device, be it a mini pump or a CO2 cartridge. (Even better, multiple CO2 cartridges…) You may also want to consider a patch kit or tyre plug. If you’re running tubeless tyres, skip to the section on how to plug a tubeless tyre. 

When you’re ready to go, here’s your step-by-step guide.

Step 1: Remove the Tyre

Start by removing the wheel. Don’t flip your bike onto its seat and handlebars – doing so can scratch the shifters, grips or saddle. Keep the bike upright, and shift your drivetrain into the hardest gear. If your bike has rim brakes, which many bikes still do, you may need to loosen the brake.

Next, position yourself on the non-drive side of your bike (opposite the chain), and either open the quick release or unthread the through-axle to remove the wheel. You might need to help the derailleur by extending it to give the chain some slack.

Now you can remove the tyre. Hook the rounded end of one tyre lever under the bead (the outer edge) of the tyre to unseat it. Fix the other end to a spoke to hold the lever in place and keep the unseated tyre from popping back into the rim. Then hook the second lever under the bead next to the first, pushing it around the rim clockwise until one side of the tyre is off. You don’t need to completely remove the tyre.

Step 2: Find the Culprit

Once the tyre is loose, pull out the old tube (if applicable) and look for the source of the flat, which could be a thorn, piece of glass or some other sharp object. Carefully run your fingers along the inside of the tyre and along the rim, making sure nothing sharp is left behind – otherwise, you risk getting another flat. Also inspect the outside of the tyre, again looking for any foreign object that might still be stuck in the rubber.

If you’re using tubes and you want to do a little detective work, pump some air into the old one to find the leak. Two holes side by side indicate a pinch-flat, where the tube gets pinched between the tyre and the rim. A single hole is a sign that your flat was most likely caused by a sharp object. By lining the tube up with the tyre using the valve as a point of reference, you can double check the area where the hole is to ensure the culprit is removed.

Step 3: Patch the Problem

If you’re the thrifty type who likes to reuse old tubes, or if you’ve already had multiple flats on your ride and you have no more spares, you can patch your tube with a patch kit. If you have a new tube, skip to the next section.

Start by cleaning the punctured area and roughing the surface with an emery cloth. For a glueless patch, simply stick it over the hole and press firmly. For a patch that requires glue, add a thin layer of glue to the tube and patch. Wait for the glue to get tacky, then apply the patch and press firmly until it adheres.

Step 4: Install the Tube

Inflate your new or patched tube just enough so that it holds its shape. This makes it easier to place inside the tyre. Next, with the valve stem installed straight through the rim’s valve hole, position the tube inside the tyre. Work the tyre back onto the rim with your hands by rolling the bead away from yourself. 

Try not to use levers to reseat the tyre, as you could accidentally pinch and puncture your new tube. When you get to the valve stem, tuck both sides of the tyre bead low into the rim, and push upwards on the stem to get the tube inside the tyre.

Check to make sure the tyre bead isn’t pinching the tube by gently pushing the tyre to the side as you work your way around the rim. Then inflate to the appropriate pressure, and check that the bead is seated correctly.

Step 5: Inflate the Tyre

Using a mini pump takes some effort, but going slowly at this point is not a bad thing. As you pump, check that there are no bits of tube sticking out along the rim edge, indicating a pinch. Pump and pump some more. If you’re riding on the road, you want your tyre to be as hard as possible to avoid getting more punctures. 

If you’re using a CO2 cartridge, first check that the adaptor is in the off position – you don’t want to screw in the cartridge only for it to lose all its air in seconds. Then attach the cartridge to the adaptor, and finally attach the adaptor to your valve. Open the adaptor slowly, and your tyre should start filling with air. 

Sometimes the air release causes the adaptor and cartridge to freeze. Before you remove the adaptor from the valve, squirt it with some water from your bottle to melt the ice and prevent the valve core from coming away with the adaptor. If that happens, you have to start all over again…

Tool bag essentials if you ride with tubes
Spare tube
Tyre levers
Patch kit
CO2 cartridges
CO2 cartridge adaptor
Mini pump (always a good idea, even if you have CO2 cartridges…)

Step 6: Reinstall the Wheel

If everything looks good, reattach your wheel. If you had a rear-wheel flat, lay the top of the chain around the smallest cog on your cassette and carefully push the wheel back into the frame. Close your quick release (and rim brakes if applicable), or insert the through-axle back into the frame and hub and thread it closed.

Finally, lift the rear wheel and spin your cranks to make sure everything is back in place and operating smoothly. If all is good to go, get back on your bike and enjoy the rest of your ride.

How To Plug a Tubeless Tyre 

For tubeless set-ups – pretty much standard in mountain biking these days, and becoming increasingly popular on gravel and road bikes – your sealant should fix small punctures without you even realising it. Be sure to check your sealant regularly (about every three to six months) to make sure the tyre has enough and that it hasn’t dried out.

In the event of a bigger puncture or side-wall tear, you may need a tyre plug to stop air loss. Plug kits come with a small strip of rubber and an insertion device, allowing you to plug a hole without removing the wheel. 

Find the puncture, insert the rubber plug and re-inflate your tyre to the appropriate pressure to see that it’s holding air. If it’s holding, start riding again and check the repair every so often to make sure it’s doing its job. You could also add more sealant, but then you’d need to carry a valve core removal tool and a small bottle of sealant.

Tool bag essentials if you ride tubeless
Spare tube
Tyre levers
CO2 cartridges
CO2 cartridge adaptor
Plug tool and plugs
High-volume pump (as a backup…)

If air loss is coming from a puncture bigger than a plug fix, you could try a patch or a boot on the tyre. Warning: it will probably be difficult to get a patch to adhere to your sealant-coated tyre without thoroughly cleaning the area. Adding more sealant or a patch could create another problem, too, by letting all the air out and breaking the seal between rim and tyre. If that happens, it’s sometimes difficult to reseat the tyre bead with a trail pump or CO2 cartridge. 

The easiest way to ensure your tyre holds air at this point is to simply use a spare emergency tube to get through the ride, then address the problem at home or at a bike shop.

 

 

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