Basic bike maintenance

In article <[email hidden]>, Patter
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Martin Dann said:

The tyres on both my current bikes need tyre levers to get the tyre on
and off when flat. either that or someone with a lot stronger hands than
mine. The wheels on a previous bike did not need tyre levers to remove
the tyres.

You want to get metal tyre levers not plastic ones. Plastic levers bend too
easily when you need them.

I have two sets of plastic levers that look virtually identical, only
one set is made of cheese.
Metal levers can damage tyres and rims.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Rob Morley said:

Metal levers can damage tyres and rims.

I must have damaged a lot of tyres and rims in the last 40+ years
then.

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Rob Morley said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Roger Burton
West
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I'm a bit curious about this, having started riding a few months ago.
Why would I actually need the tyre levers? As I understand it, they're
for getting a tube off a wheel when it's fully inflated, but (a) usually
if I want to get a tube off it's gone flat anyway, and (b) if it has to
come on or off when it's not flat, I can just let it down half-way and
then pump it up fully when it's back on.

Why would anyone want to remove a tyre with an (even partially) inflated
tube? Apart from the fact that it would be extremely difficult, it
would probably explode as soon as a bit of tube could see daylight.
With some tyre/rim combinations the tyre can be removed without tools,
indeed with some the tyre will virtually fall off as soon as you deflate
the tube, but with others tyre levers are definitely required, and
sometimes it can even be difficult to re-fit the tyre without levers
(and even then it can be difficult).

yes indeed on wider montain bikes tires they can be right git to get off
and on, thiner ones can be very easy, i have some mud tires which being
thin things don't even need levers. though as they do tend to fling the
mud off, i may have to be careful in these busyer parts....

snip fine advice.

roger

Quoting Al C-F <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Apparently, bikes are supplied with pre-stretched brake and gear cables
nowadays so that they don't go out of adjustment.
They still stretch.

No, they don't. Steel brake and gear cables don't stretch under hand
pressure.

What they do is bed in.
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In article <[email hidden]>, Sandy Morton
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Rob Morley said:

Metal levers can damage tyres and rims.

I must have damaged a lot of tyres and rims in the last 40+ years
then.

I said 'can', not 'will'.

In article <[email hidden]>, Rob

Morley said:

Quoted message said:

I must have damaged a lot of tyres and rims in the last 40+ years
then.

I said 'can', not 'will'.

Correct - apology given.

--
T h e - e x t e n d e r ! ! ! !

Roger Burton West said:

I'm a bit curious about this, having started riding a few months ago.
Why would I actually need the tyre levers? As I understand it, they're
for getting a tube off a wheel when it's fully inflated, but (a) usually
if I want to get a tube off it's gone flat anyway, and (b) if it has to
come on or off when it's not flat, I can just let it down half-way and
then pump it up fully when it's back on.

But they are TYRE levers not tube levers, they are for getting the tyres
off (tyres SHOULD go back on without mechanical assistance, some
tyre/wheel combinations are so tight that they need levers to get them
back on but in general...).
Apologies if I have completely missed the point.

--
www.cheesesoup.myby.co.uk

soup said:

But they are TYRE levers not tube levers, they are for getting the tyres
off (tyres SHOULD go back on without mechanical assistance, some
tyre/wheel combinations are so tight that they need levers to get them
back on but in general...).
Apologies if I have completely missed the point.

No, apparently I had. I am new to all this. :-)

R