How to fix a flat bike tire {bicycle repairs}

Spring has sprung (at least in Texas)! Pull out the bikes, fix your flats, and get your legs a peddlin’, baby! Bike riding is one of Andy and I’s favorite activities. Our super favorite thing is riding the trails at Walnut Creek, an awesome bike park in Austin. With bike riding comes flat tires, and Andrew is a pro! He can fix a flat in t-minus 25 minutes. And now you can too.

1: Turn bike upside down, oh and make sure you have a new inner tube and a tire lever. TIP: The size of your inner tube is labeled on the side of the tire.

2: Remove the wheel that has the flat tire. This step has varying degrees on difficulty, which will be determined by whether you have “quick release” lugs or an actual nut that secures your lug to the bike frame. Rear wheels are also more difficult than front wheels because you have to navigate the chain and sprocket on the rear wheel. If you have disc breaks, your job is a little easier because you don’t have to release any part of the braking system. This tutorial is assuming you have quick release and disc brakes.

Here’s Andy Vanah White-ing the quick release lug.

3: Take off the cap on your valve stem and release any air that is still left in your inner tube.

4: Stick tire lever in between the rin and the rubber tire to pry the tire over the edge of the rim.

I attempted a little video to better explain this:

5: Once you get the tire off, pull the inner tube out of the tire.
6: Fill the old inner tube with air and stick it in the sink to try and find the leak. If you find the leak and it is a small hole, patching is a cheaper option. Our hole was big, patching wasn’t an option! Moving on…