Video: How to fix a puncture on a road bike and mountain bike
By Victoria Hazael
Fixing a puncture is easy when you know how
Everyone who cycles will at some point have to fix a flat tyre. With help from our friends at BikeRadar, who are supporting Bike Week, we’ve put together these step-by-step guides to patching an inner tube on your bike
Punctures are among the most common problems you’re likely to encounter when cycling. However, with a little preparation, and the correct tools, they are easy to fix.
These easy-to-follow videos, prepared in partnership with BikeRadar, show you how to fix a puncture on either a road bike or a mountain bike. We also provide comprehensive step-by-step written instructions for those who prefer them to visual demos.
Starting at the valve, check all the way around the tyre’s tread to find the cause of the puncture. Remove any glass, thorns, nails or grit that you spot. Even if you find one possible cause, continue checking the tyre until you get back to the valve.
2. Remove the tube
Let any remaining air out of the inner tube and push the valve up into the tyre – unscrewing and retaining the valve ring, if fitted. On the side of the wheel opposite the valve, slip a tyre lever (available from all good bike shops) under the tyre’s bead (the part of the tyre that connects the rim to the wheel) and a further tyre lever about 5cm away. Pull the nearer tyre lever towards you, lifting the tyre’s bead over the edge of the rim.
Continue until one bead of the tyre is completely free of the rim. Pull the tube out. Remove the tyre completely from the rim – with most tyres this can be done by hand unless exceptionally tight.
Note: it’s not always essential to remove the tube from the tyre, as the video above demonstrates.
3. Inflate the punctured tube
Inflate the tube and listen for air escaping. Passing the surface of the tube over the lips is a favourite trick of mine. If the hole still can’t be found, re-inflate the tube and pass it through a bowl of water until you spot escaping bubbles. Then dry the tube before proceeding to the next step.
Take care – do not twist a push-fit pump on the valve. The pump should be pushed on straight and pulled off with a single straight pull. The stem nut can easily be broken off if the pump is twisted sideways.
4. Prepare the tube
Select the correctly sized patch – use a bigger rather than a smaller patch if in doubt. Roughen the surface of the tube around the hole with emery paper. Ensure that any moulding marks are flattened completely.
Apply one drop of tyre cement and spread it thinly with your finger over a 2cm circle around the hole. Allow to dry. Apply a second thin layer similarly. Once again, allow to dry – the rubber cement will change from shiny to matt.
5. Patch the tube
Inflate the tube slightly – this will help to highlight the position of the hole. Firmly press the patch into place after removing the backing foil. If there’s a thin cellophane backing on the patch, it can be left on. Dust the repair with chalk, talcum powder or road dust to prevent it sticking to the tyre casing.
6. Check the casing
Before refitting the tube, double-check the tyre casing from inside for the cause of your puncture. On one occasion after riding a canal towpath with hedge clippings, I found more than half a dozen thorns! Placing the tube over the tyre will help you to discover the position of the puncture. Run your fingertips carefully around the inside of the tyre to feel for the cause of the puncture and remove.
7. Refit the tyre
After repairing the tube and checking the tyre for glass, thorns or any other sharp debris, refit one bead to the rim. Slightly inflate the tube and refit it to the rim, putting the valve through its hole first.
Starting at the opposite side of the rim to the valve, use your thumbs to lift the tyre’s bead over the rim. Work around the rim until there’s just one small section of tyre left.
Push the valve up into the tyre and then, using your thumbs, ease the remaining section of the tyre’s bead over the edge of the rim.
8. Final checks
Ensure that the tube isn’t trapped between the rim and the tyre bead. Inflate to the point where the tyre feels soft but has maintained its shape. Check that the moulding mark around the tyre follows the rim evenly all the way around. If not, deflate a little and ease any high spots down and pull low spots up until the bead is fitted evenly.
Inflate to the recommended pressure and check once again that the tyre’s bead is still seated evenly and that the tyre isn’t lifting off the rim at any point. Finally, check that the tread is running reasonably straight by spinning the wheel. If not, deflate the tyre and start again from the beginning of this step.
Puncture fixing tips
When taking the tube out of the tyre, note which way the tube was around in the wheel. This will help identify the position of the hole in the tube once the position of the object in the tyre causing the puncture has been found.
With a ballpoint pen, mark the hole with a cross so you can pinpoint it accurately.
If you don’t have any emery paper, roughen the tube by rubbing it against a stone or the road surface.
For tyres that blow off easily: fit a thicker rim tape or a second rim tape – this prevents the tyre bead sinking into the rim well and blowing off the opposite side.
For tight tyres, fit a thinner rim tape if possible – this will make your tyres easier to fit and remove.
Be very particular with your technique. The last section of the tyre to be fitted to the rim should be at the valve. Make sure that the tyre’s bead is pushed as far as possible into the well of the rim. Some very tight-fitting tyres may need tyre levers to fit them. Using VAR 425 special tyre levers will help to prevent puncturing the inner tube when refitting the tyre.
Puncture identification
Two small holes in a tube placed fairly close together indicate a pinch puncture. This is caused by the tube getting trapped between the tyre and the rim when riding over a sharp object. Tyres not inflated enough are a frequent cause of this. Check that the tyre’s sidewall isn’t cut. If it is, you may need to use an emergency repair – see the ‘Emergency tyre repairs’ section below.
A hole on the inner side of the tube indicates that the puncture was caused by a spoke head. Check around the inside of the rim to ensure that the rim tape properly covers the spoke holes and no spoke end protrudes above the inner surface of the rim. If this happens it’ll need filing down.
A less common cause of a puncture is a rough edge to the valve hole rim. The puncture will be at the base of the valve and will not be repairable.
Create your own puncture repair kit
Feather edge patches;
Rubber solution;
Pair of plastic tyre levers;
Piece of fine emery paper;
Small adjustable spanner, if using wheels with hex nuts;
Allen key if using Allen-bolt-fitting wheels;
Reliable pump;
Keyring LED – useful if you’re riding in the dark with a dynamo;
Always carry a spare tube, too.
Pump aside, all this should fit in an underseat bag.
Weekly check-up
Check your tyres for cuts in the tread, swelling in the sidewall, or serious wear. Tyres with cuts, swelling or casing visible through the tread must be replaced. Remove any grit or glass embedded in the tread.
Check your tyre pressures with a proper gauge. Tyres inflated to the correct tyre pressure will have fewer punctures and a longer life. The recommended pressures are normally marked on the sidewall of the tyre.
Use your spare
Repairing a puncture is very difficult in the rain as the patch will not stick to the tube. Instead, use the spare inner tube that you always carry! The spare is also essential if a tyre blows off a rim, or if the tube is cut by the valve hole.
Emergency tyre repairs
Double over a largish section of heavy duty polythene. Trim off a piece 10cm wider than the gash and 5cm wider than the tyre. Remove the tyre from the rim. Wrap the double layer of the patch around the inside of the tyre casing centred on the slit or cut. With the patch overlapping each side of the casing, refit the first tyre bead, trapping the emergency patch.
Fit a new tube if necessary and inflate it a little. Refit the second tyre bead with the patched section last. Check that the patch is trapped at both sides. Reinflate the tyre and trim off any excess patch. The patch will be held in place by the tyre’s air pressure.
