By Kristin Kinnamon, Sharing Wheels board member
There’s a snking feeling you get when you realize the reason you are going slower and slower on your bicycle isn’t a lack of energy or effort. I was two miles from home recently when I realized the sluggishness was from the slowly deflating back tire of my bike, not from me.
Flat tires are the Number 1 reason people visit Sharing Wheels for help with a bike repair.
Fixing a flat is (usually) relatively easy with the right tools and knowledge. But that doesn’t mean you want to do it during a bike ride.
Flat tires often happen when riding in the rain – wet roads help pokey things stick to your tires. Or on the side of a busy, unpleasant road. Or near the start of a group ride with friends.
For my recent flat, I limped along for a bit knowing my gravel-style tires are made for lower pressure. Eventually I dismounted and walked the last few blocks home – you don’t want to ride a bike with a really flat tire for fear of damaging the tire itself, or the rim of your wheel. Sometimes with a slow leak, people simply try to air up the tire and ride fast to outpace the flat.
Of course, the first time I got a flat tire on my bike commute to work years ago, I simply stopped riding and called home for a pickup. Perhaps I knew in theory how to fix a flat, but I had no intention of doing so. That is not a surefire solution to roadside problems.
I have since fixed dozens (hundreds?) of flat tires, both on the road and in the comfort of my home.
And I know when to suspect them – when I want to go faster but my bike insists on going slow.
If you’d like to learn to fix your own flat tires, Sharing Wheels offers a free Fix A Flat class on the second Sunday of each month. RSVP on the Sharing Wheels Calendar.
Flat fixing is also covered in the more extensive Basic Bike Maintenance Class offered on the second and fourth Wednesday evening of each month. Advanced registration is required.