It is usual for bikers at some point in time to experience punctures of the bike’s tire in the middle of their biking activity. To experienced bikers, this situation is not a big issue since changing the tube, and the tire is easy to do, provided that all the tools in replacing the tube are available. But what if you do not have the tools, particularly the tire levers? Can you still proceed with changing the bike tube? Yes, it can be done, but you need to learn how to do it.
Learning how to change a bike tube without tire levers is an essential hacking skill that a biker must learn. Apparently, there will be times in your bike ride that you forget to bring all the essential biking tools needed in the ride. So, if you experience a puncture on the road or the need to change the bike tube suddenly arises, you can easily replace it without relying on the tire levers. Please check on the process below on how to do it.
Changing an Inner Tube Without Tire Levers
As I have said earlier, it is normal for a biker to experience puncture in the middle of the road. But this situation can turn into a nightmare if your rims are challenging to get off and you accidentally forgot your tire levers. To address this issue, you must learn how to change the inner tube using your bare hands and not rely on the tire levers.
Step 1:
The first thing to do is to get your tire off the rim. The key is to get the slack that exists between the rim and the tire position in one place. You will need to get the tire bead into the rim’s center by pushing it using your hands. Just make sure that the tire is position at the center of the rim.
Step 2:
Once your tire is off the rim, position your tire valve at 12’oclock or the top. Then, put the tire on the floor while holding it and supporting the wheel between the feet and on the floor. Starting at the top, push the tire all the way down to the bottom to the 6 o’clock position to give you a little bit of slack at the bottom. Use the palm of your hand in an outward pulling motion while exerting more force should the tire and the rim is stiff.
Step 3:
Once you have already put some section of the rim wheel, the best thing to do is continue pushing the tire all the way off. The next step is to flip the wheel round, similar to how you loosen the tire and then use your hands to push the tire off the wheel. Just make sure to remove the tube slowly not to damage the rim or the inner tube.
Once the inner tube is removed, you will need to check the inner tube and see the extent of the damage. The next thing to do is inspect the tire carcass for any flint, thorn, or any fragment of glass that might have caused the puncture. If you see one, slowly remove it away from the inner tube. But be careful not to make any accidental cut to your hands.
Step 4:
Once you remove the old inner tube, you may now proceed to replace it with the new one. The next step is to refit the tire on one side of the rim. Start by ensuring that your valve hole on the rim is at the top for easy positioning. Then, position the tire first to the rim before the inner tube. Starting at the valve hole, install and push the tire on the bead of the rim slowly using your hands.
Step 5:
Put some air on the inner tube just to unflatten it before the installation. This action will help in stopping the inner tube from twisting when installing it to the tire. Then start inserting the valve through the valve hole on the rim, then tuck the inner tube into the tire all the way around.
Step 6:
The next step is to push the tire into the rim. In doing this step, you must be extra careful not to pinch the inner tube by using only your tube in pushing all the way slowly around until the tire fits nicely into the rim. You may experience the tire pop off, but this is just normal since it can make the inner tube settle better.
Step 7:
The next step is to make sure that all of the tires fit into the rim securely. This step is probably the most challenging part since pushing the tire will need you to apply force to your hands to make the tire fit nicely into the rim. The alternative is to use your thumbs in pushing the tire all the way to the rim. Ensure that the tire is at its original position the same way before replacing the old inner tube.
Step 8:
The final step is to inflate the new inner tube with the right amount of air. You can do one last round of checking to see if there is still an inner tube that is trapped in the bead. But, this should not happen if you put enough air into the inner tube. After that, reinstall the wheel to your bike while proceeding with your ride.
Conclusion
Learning how to change a bike tube without tire levers is essential for every biker. You will never know what will happen while biking on the road, and accidental punctures might happen. If you are unprepared and without the tire levers, having this skill will make it easy for you to replace the old inner tube while proceeding with your ride quickly. Meanwhile, not using the tire lever will also give some upside to you as a biker in building your creativity and confidence in fixing bike problems and learning essential hacking skills.