Many apologies for asking such a dumb question, but:
On prepping my bike this morning for a ride, I notice the back tyre is flat. I found a screw embedded in the tyre. So, I remove the screw, take the wheel off and lever the tyre off the rim. So far so good. But, I can't take the inner tube out as there is just not enough space to get my hand in to pull it out. I am probably missing something really obvious. Any suggestions on what I've done wrong/should be doing? Thanks, and sorry again for being so dumb.
(cross posted in "travel hints and tips")

__________________
无名-傻子老外！

my boots, knee pads and gloves for this work.

Thanks for that. I found it much harder to break the bead on the second side; are there any tips/techniques to make this easier? Like you say, I need more practice; I'll try and find some more screws to ride over. I found a good thread over on ADVRider which others may also find useful for this problem.
Neduro's Tire Changing Class - ADVrider

__________________
无名-傻子老外！

Ned's instructions are good.


Flat less riding!

Try some tyre sealant

Welcome to Punctureseal - The Revolutionary Puncture Prevention System

If you want some give me a call or pm me

Mobile: 07812 344740

__________________
ChrisC

hi chris does it work?
does it prevent fitting a tube or tyre shop fix if the hole is too big for the stuff to seal?

jason

A bit of background. I used to work for a truck brake supplier. From the pneumatic side they wanted to supply a bag with the liquid (I believe there is only one European manufacturer but lots of brands) plus a set of hoses that use the truck air supply to inject the stuff AFTER the puncture and re-inflate. In the test workshop we drilled holes in old tubeless truck tyres to make a demo video for the salesmen. I also had a puncture in a tubed bike tyre that was filled with Ultraseal.

It works, but there is a limit. A single hole in the tread of a tubeless tyre (or through a tube I guess) can be sealed at the massive diameters (5mm) the makers quote. If there are multiple holes close together but smaller they still seal. What defeats it is a series of medium sized holes (2mm) placed close (over an approximate 1-inch circle) together or a single medium sized hole in a area that flexes or rips, so the sidewall of the tubeless or seam of a tube.

What happened to me in France was that the nail made small holes as it worked about which were sealed. It then found the tube seam which tore and the tyre went flat over a few hours. The V-shaped rip was 3-5mm long but not a neat hole supported all the way round. Knowing this in the workshop we found we could defeat the liquid by drilling in the right places and using a small drill like a milling cutter.

It's not a cure all but it's useful.

If you get the big puncture though it makes a ****** mess and Ultraseal will stop a patch sticking until you wash it all out. Most UK truck operators won't use it for this reason (half an hour wait for the man in the van is worth less than a tyre the safety elves won't let you touch without a chemical/disposal certificate), while operators heading into Russia or Turkey really rate it.

You pays your money and.....

Andy

There are always many ways to look at a problem.
As I see it you have to be able to remove (and reinstall) your tire if you go to remote places because there are situations where chemicals don’t work or you might want to change the tires because they wear out.
If you are not familiar with this task it’s smart to practice before you leave, it’s not difficult when you have done it a few times.

So personally I don’t use chemicals, just heavy duty tubes and Tip-Top.

[quote=wuming;207530]Thanks for that. I found it much harder to break the bead on the second side; are there any tips/techniques to make this easier? Like you say, I need more practice; I'll try and find some more screws to ride over. I found a good thread over on ADVRider which others may also find useful for this problem.

Keep an old tire handy, somewhere in your garage or shop. Could be car or bike if bike and you only want to keep one, keep a rear. When you have the wheel off the bike, put the old tire on the ground flat, and lay the wheel on top. A mounted spare from a car works good for this as well.
Deflate the tire by removing the valve stem. Stand on the tire you are removing so that your feet are on the tire (but not on the rim) at about 4 Oclock and 8 Oclock. Bounce up and down. Apply soapy water to the rim and tire. This always worked for me except once, in that situation I clamped the tire in a black and decker type work mate so that the clamping part squoze the tire just below the rim. I had to then wiggle the wheel a few times and finally it busted loose.

All of the above applies to tube tires mounted on rims that must have tubes. Tubeless tires I take to the tire shop. Tubeless rims have a different construction that makes it harder (impossible) to break the bead without a proper tire machine. An automotive tire shop can break the bead if they are careful should you need this done and there are no bike shops handy. A machine for breaking beads and mounting tubeless tires is not horribly expensive IF you are going to do lots of tires. Local bike shops charge 20 bux on average, so here, after about 15 tires you have paid for a machine YMMV.

Not the case at all, you can break a tubeless bead at home in many ways (have a search), car jack, plank & car, bike side stand, commercial bead breaker etc,etc.
My favourite way is a "G" clamp, through the wheel, on the rim at one side with a piece of wood or something to protect it & spread the load, the other side the threaded part against the tyre.
A "G" clamp can even be carried as part of a serious tool kit.