Two and a half hours later, several blisters, and one popped tube…. I changed both of the tubes and one of the tires on my bike!
I watched this video and I read this article before I started.
Replacing the front tire and tube was really easy (well, it took me about 30 minutes). But… then I had to take the back tire off, which meant I had to mess with the gears. This made me really nervous! I took a picture of it before I dismantled it so I could refer to it later…. It definitely came in handy!
The back tire was a lot harder!
(Concentrating face).
I don’t know what was wrong with me or the tire, but I could NOT get the tire back on the wheel. It was the right size and everything. I tried for AN HOUR to get it onto the tire, and then I accidentally popped the tube!
ARG! That’s when I stopped and ate a snack of yogurt and cereal.
My "dinner" urges were all thrown off by our late lunch.
I eventually decided it might be better to just put my old front tire onto my back tire then to risk popping another second tube. So, I have a new front tire and tube and a new back tube. Whew!
It’s really fun to learn more about how my bike works and how to do my own maintenance. I kind of LIKE being a newbie and figuring stuff out — it’s exciting and challenging!
After the tires were done, I ate an orange:
Tomorrow, I’m going on an awesome 40-mile bike ride with my friend Kelly. I’m so pumped! It’s my last long ride before my Metric Century… whoooo hoooo!
Have a wonderful evening!
Do you consider yourself to be handy? I’m not a natural at this kind of stuff, but I will STICK TO IT until I figure it out!
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Wow I love your determination! I am the same way- when I set myself out to doing something I stick with it (I’m verrry stubborn at times!). I don’t consider myself too handy though, although I did pick up the use of our ride on fairly quickly! LOL.
Have a great night!
Wow! Good for you. There are some things that I have to figure out myself and others I give to my husband. think that I would have let him change my tires! Otherwise I probably would have had to buy myself a new bike!
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Good for you! I really need to learn how to change a tire and figure out all the bike stuff too!
You unlocked your trunk with olive oil – you are definitely handy!
I know nothing about bikes! I don’t even know how to put air into tires.
That’s awesome that you are learning all this stuff about your bike, I probably should too! Keep up the determination!
Haha..I’ve (several times) accidentaly put my back tire spoke onto my front tire, and my boyfriend has to keep instructing me that it belongs in the back lol
We are doing a 40 mile ride tomorrow too! Hope yours is great!
Lol I am not handy at all! My dad used to do that kind of stuff, but now that I am on my own, I just figure it out. Eventually it gets done!
Nope, not handy at all. I leave it to the bike shop people to tune up my bike! I’m nervous that I’ll make a mistake and my brakes won’t work, or I’ll reverse the gears or something else that will somehow leave me in a bike accident with a broken nose…
I am not handy. I would not want to attempt anything more complicated than opening a beer without someone else present to make sure I don’t poke my own eye out. But way to go!
I have that Target bowl (that your yogurt and cereal is in).
Just thought I’d let you know that reading your blog inspired me to go on a long bike ride tomorrow on a trail along the Mississippi River that I’ve been wanting to go on for a long time! Thanks for the inspiration!
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I’ve totally popped the tire on my bike, and I had the HARDEST time getting the back wheel back on. You are certainly not alone in tire-changing difficulties!
Whew that looks like hard work. I think I am going to need a lot of instruction when it comes to things like that for my bike. I love reading your posts about biking because you are experienced compared to me.
I don’t consider myself handy, but I can learn (or try anyway)
have fun on your long ride!
I like to think I’m handy, so I try things. Then I end up breaking it, calling my dad in a panic, and he helps me over the phone. He helped me change my tire in the snow via picture message once!!
Good job! I don’t consider myself too handy but I’m like you and stick to it until I figure it out. I do it a lot with my computer and internet stuff at home. I just keep playing around until I get the desired result.
I’m totally the same way. I wouldn’t call myself handy but I have yet to come across something that I wasn’t able to figure out after a certain amount of time and concentration!
oh man. the first time i had to change a tube myself (my boyfriend is a HUGE cyclist. cycling to him is like running for me X 100) it took me an hour. i’ve had several tutorials since and my total time has come down to maybe 30-45 minutes, but it’s a pretty frustrating time still! i’m not handy at all so sometimes i will just give in and let jon take care of my bike for me, but i usually give it a good valiant try first.
Wow! Great job! That sounds hard! I wouldn’t consider myself “handy” but I like to figure stuff out and do it on my own!! Good luck on your ride!!
I’m loving your blog for all the cycling stuff! I’m a newb to cycling and it’s really helpful. I just got my bike and will eventually start to do a lot of the work on it myself too. I’m going to check out those links for how to change a tire. When out riding do you use a mini pump or the CO2 cartridges for flats?
CO2! They are great and easy to use.