I'm a list person. I like a plan. I feel as though I'm going to need to rehearse this bike tire changing over and over in my head before I actually attempt it. After watching the videos I gathered from my resources, I made a couple of lists.
First, I am going to need the appropriate materials: Pump, tire levers, tube. I also need to know the tube valve depth and rim hole size. This matters! I'll need to make a trip to my local bike shop to make these purchases.
List #2 consists of the steps I'm going to need to take in order to complete this task. I can't believe that this will, after time and many, many practices, become automatic. Right now it just seems like a daunting list that could almost be made into a PowerPoint.
1. Rotate pedals and change gears until back and front of chain are on the smallest cogs.
2. Remove wheel that needs tire/tube to be changed.
3. Deflate the tube so there is no air left in tube.
4. Use 2 levers 15cm apart to push down on and move tire. Go all the way around tire until you can pull the tire off the wheel.
5. Remove tube from wheel as well.
6. Find cause of flat. Is it the tube? Inner surface of tube damage means an issue with the wheel well. Outer surface of tube damage means issues with the tire. Inner tire vs outer tire should be checked, too.
7. Slightly inflate tube.
8. Insert valve of tire tube in valve hole in rim.
9. Use a circular motion to put tube in tire.
10. Firmly press second edge of tire in rim.
11. Check that the tube is not showing outside the tire.
12. Pump up tire tube to appropriate pressure
13. Replace wheel on bike.
2. Remove wheel that needs tire/tube to be changed.
3. Deflate the tube so there is no air left in tube.
4. Use 2 levers 15cm apart to push down on and move tire. Go all the way around tire until you can pull the tire off the wheel.
5. Remove tube from wheel as well.
6. Find cause of flat. Is it the tube? Inner surface of tube damage means an issue with the wheel well. Outer surface of tube damage means issues with the tire. Inner tire vs outer tire should be checked, too.
7. Slightly inflate tube.
8. Insert valve of tire tube in valve hole in rim.
9. Use a circular motion to put tube in tire.
10. Firmly press second edge of tire in rim.
11. Check that the tube is not showing outside the tire.
12. Pump up tire tube to appropriate pressure
13. Replace wheel on bike.
Further documentation will take place when I make that trip to the bike shop and purchase my necessary equipment. The challenges and limitations I anticipate might have to do with purchasing the appropriate size tube, so I may want to play it safe and bring my bike into the bike shop. I'm pretty handy overall and have successfully taken on a number of fix-it projects, but none of them as precise as changing a bike tire so that it doesn't immediately deflate or pop again. Usually, I'm cutting floor molding with a miter saw; if the measurements are a little off, I just use a little caulk after installation.