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The Flat

10/22/2013

9 Comments

 
This weekend, while Big Brother and I were rolling around on the Bullitt, Jose and Little Brother were galavanting on the Mundo elsewhere. I missed the nine phone calls and text messages because it turned out that about four miles from home, the Mundo had a total blowout. Jose pushed the bike home with Little Brother on the back (I will note that they were across the street from a bike shop when the flat happened but Jose doesn't like it so he continued on). 

They both got home safely but the Mundo's rear wheel was covered in blue slime (thanks, self-sealing tubes...). 

Today, feeling emboldened by my success at replacing the Linus's newly respoked rear wheel (thanks, Tim!) and connecting the Nexus hub, I was ready to take on the Mundo's mondo wheel. 
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She's back in business!
First challenge, taking off the Peanut Shell to flip over the bike and get at the wheel. Our children have totally decimated our entire socket wrench set so I was stuck using an adjustable wrench. I got the two bolts off of one side and was able to slide it off the deck without too much trouble.
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Over she goes!
Next, again with the adjustable wrench to get at the giant nuts for the Mundo's giant hub. Sadly, when I tried to take the wheel off a few days ago, I realized that my Antload Yuba tool was made for the Mundo's "standard" 18mm hex nut, mine was one of those rare ones with a 19mm. Luckily Mike Cobb is going to cobble a new one together for me as soon as he can (which unfortunately is not very soon but he's still pretty awesome). 
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This would have made the job much easier.
The wheel skirts also got in the way of taking the wheel out but eventually I got it off. It does make it easier to shift down to the lowest gear first. 
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Next, the fun part. Goo. 
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The ENTIRE tire looked like this. It required a hose down. It was gross. 
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This photo is supposed to show the floppy valve stem.
A quick blast of air made the hole super easy to find. The valve stem had torn about 3/4 of the way off. That explains the explosion of slime. I still did a thorough check of the tube to see if there were any other holes, checked the inside and outside of the tire, and cleaned everything up. Nothing else noticeable. 

I got out a new tube (heavy-duty, super thick, and self-sealing, again), got the tire back on the rim (it took me about 10 minutes to figure out which direction it was supposed to go and I still had it wrong when I put the wheel back), pumped the tube up slightly to shove it back into the tire, replaced the tire liner, and eased the tire bead back into place. One more massage around the tire to make sure the tube wasn't pinched or twisted anywhere then I pumped it back up to 60psi. Before I put the wheel back, I decided to clean out the cassette a bit, too. It was gross. I can now see why Cassidy recommends wearing gloves while attempting to do this on your way to work or some other "fancy" location. 
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Finally, with a few finger-pinching and knuckle-gouging attempts, I "eased" the wheel back into place. Again, it was much harder to get the bolts tightened down without a socket wrench but I managed. So far, it's held air although the tire is still on backwards (I may bring it into Practical Cycle before the rains show up to have this fixed) and after riding the bike a bit, I noticed that the brake might be rubbing a bit. I've heard that disc brakes are supposed to be easier to adjust but I haven't had that experience.  
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And I did it all in a skirt...which is now pretty filthy...but I did it! 
9 Comments
Family Ride (Madi) link
10/22/2013 02:18:06 pm

I'm so impressed! I haven't changed a flat since college. But mostly I just wanted to write to say MIKE COBB IS THE BEST!

Reply
Elle
10/23/2013 11:16:41 am

When I emailed Mike about the problem, he got back to me almost immediately and was very apologetic. He's all over the place right now but assured me that he would get back to me ASAP and gave me a time-frame. Super awesome guy, Madi!

Reply
Elle
10/23/2013 11:17:18 am

Also, I usually defer my flats to Jose or Practical Cycle but I realized I need to be a bit more self-sufficient.

seth
10/22/2013 04:52:13 pm

nicely done! it took me two hours to change a tube on the bakfiets! these heavy duty bike take some heavy duty wrenching!

Reply
Elle
10/23/2013 11:18:25 am

Seth, you do have some crazy extra wrenching needed for the bakfiets. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes to change that wheel! Whew! We should have a flat class for cargo bikes as one of our Kidical Mass rides.

Reply
Neil Thomson
10/23/2013 12:31:24 am

There is nothing I hate more than a flat tire and fixing them, I would rather re-build my entire bike than fix a flat! It shuts down a ride instantly yet it doesn't seem to be a priority for the bicycle industry. I couldn't give a #%&* about ultra light weight carbon fiber, 10 speed electronic shifting or all the other supposed advances in bicycle technology, I just don't ever want to get a flat again. It must be the same attitude that decides we need to go explore space before we make sure everybody on this planet is fed and healthy.

Reply
Elle
10/23/2013 11:19:48 am

Seriously, Neil! I agree! I tested out some interesting solid tires at the Mobic shop and they definitely have potential but are a beast to put on (and then you only have to deal with it again when it wears out). I'm surprised that no one's come up with a better solution...

Reply
Peter
3/18/2014 03:27:11 pm

Ouch. Next time try just laying the Mundo on its side, with the Peanut Shell still installed. I had no problem getting my rear wheel out (after returning to the auto parts store for a 19mm socket) with the bike on the kickstand (I put weight in the front basket to lift the rear wheel), but I couldn't lift the bike onto my work stand after fixing my flat. So I put the wheel back in with the bike laying on its side, and it went in pretty easily (another detail Yuba got right -- the dropout is a little "wide", so it's easy to get the wheel in place).

Also FYI, Mike says he now has 19mm Yuba Tools built & ready to ship.

Reply
Elle Bustamante
3/29/2014 06:23:19 am

Ah! Thanks! I did get my new Cobb tool. It makes all the difference having the right tools.

Reply



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