Repairing a Puncture
Repairing a Puncture
Repairing a puncture can feel like a complicated task and you can wonder where to start. We cover the size of your tyre and inner tube, what valve you have, which pump to use and Repairing a Puncture.
How do I know what size my tyres are?
You can find the information you need on the tyre wall, the same as your car. The size is on the wheel circumference followed by the tyre width.Mountain bikes use inches and Road bikes use cm. So this mountain bike tyre is 26" by 1.95" wide and the road tyre is 700cm by 25cm wide.
Mountain Bike Road Bike
How Much To Pump a Tyre Up
Again it's on the tyre wall; you'll find the word "pressure" or "inflate" followed by a number. On road bikes tyres this tends to be two numbers say 110-125 the choice is yours going as high as 125 makes your bike fast but may make the ride bumpier. It's worth having a floor pump with a pressure gauge at home.
Mountain Bike Road Bike
Floor pump Hand Pump
If buying a pump you need to know the valves vary between bikes. Most bikes have Shrader valves, but Road bikes have Presta valves.
Schrader Valve 
Presta Valve
Shrader valves Presta valves
You need to have the right pump for the correct valve. You buy pumps that have a fittings for Bothe Schrader and Presta valves.
Inner Tubes
Now you know the size of your wheel which you'll use to get the right size inner tube too. All you need to remember is to get the right length valve to clear the rim of your wheel. You can see the length if the valve on the box of the inner tube. It also tells you the inner tube size and the type of valve.
How to Repair a Puncture
Repairing a Puncture you'll need tyre leavers. It's best to have three if you have large mountain bike tyres as they can be trickier to get off. Use the tyre leaver to get underneath the tyre. You can wedge this by clipping the hook end onto a wheel spoke. Repeat this process until you can run a tyre lever around the wheel. Revealing the inner tube now you can either replace it or repair it.
Pumping Up Your Tyres
- Remember to check inside your wheel for the culprit of your puncture or you'll end up with another.
- Replacing the tyre can be fiddly so take your time.
- We get one side of the tyre wall lined up in the wheel rim. Then pump some air into the inner tube this helps line everything up.
- Start to pop the other side of the tyre wall into the wheel rim. This part can get a bit tough.
- Some people use a tyre lever but be careful not to catch the inner tube between the tyre and the rim. If this happens you'll notice a bulge as you pump your tyres back up this could cause a blow out when pumping up or worse when riding.
- Take your time pumping up and give the tyre a once over for any misshaping before its fully inflated.
