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How to Fix a Flat Tire  - Step by Step


1. Remove your tools and flat fixing supplies from your kit. After you turn your bike upside down; these will be hard to access.

2. Open your brake calipers with the release lever.

3. Place your bike in gear ratio "small - small" (only needed when you have a flat on the rear wheel)

4. Flip the bicycle upside down, undo the the quick release lever and remove the wheel.

5. Using your tire levers, completely unseat one side of the tire from the rim. Start opposite the valve (as this is the point where your tire is loosest). Do not remove the tire from the rim completely.

6. Remove the punctured tube from the tire.

7. Inspect the tube and determine the cause and location of the puncture. You may need to put some air into the tube to find the cause of the flat. Once you have found the puncture, line up the valve with the valve hole on the wheel to determine where on the tire the puncture occurred. This is why you leave the tire on the wheel when removing the tube. If you remove the tire from the rim, you have no reference as to where the puncture occurred. Remove the obstruction from the tire. If you fail to solve the cause of the puncture, you will likely flat again.

8. Inflate the new tube with a little bit of air. Just enough to give it shape; that way it does not fold or twist when installing it. You can either do this with your pump, CO2 or even with your mouth.

9. Seat the new tube into the tire starting at the valve and working round.

10. Once the tube is inside the tire and there are no folds or bunches; begin to seat the tire onto the wheel rim. Take extra care NOT to pinch the tube between the tire and the rim. You should start at the valve and work your way around both sides, pushing away from you and finish opposite the valve.

11. Fully inflate the tube to the recommended tire pressure.

12. Install the wheel and close the quick release lever. (If you are installing your rear wheel, be sure to align the chain with the smallest gear on the wheel. Flip the bicycle over again to be right side up.

13. Close your brake caliper with the release lever. Never ride with this open! It greatly reduces braking power.

14. Spin the wheel to ensure that your wheel is in straight. If your wheel is rubbing on the brakes, flip the bike upside down again and reinstall the wheel.