Triumphrat

johnyC · 09-04-2004

Found a nail in my rear tyre today, forty miles from home and what to do? There I was outside my mate Al's bicycle shop with access to tools, tube repair kit, air line, etc but no (safe) way of getting the back wheel off the bike! Imagine trying to change a car wheel without a jack, so now straight to the top of my things to do list is FIT A CENTRE STAND. Another friend fetched a couple of cans of 'flat mate' from a garage which saved the day (I'll never leave the house by bike again without a can of that stuff) just horsed the stuff in and rode home. The tyre is still up but it could have been different, in the middle of nowhere with no phone signal I would have been right in the sh!te. Anybody else been marooned the same way?

Jodel · 09-05-2004

Lack of a centre stand on any bike is a real PITA I think. The first thing I did was put a stand on my TBird.

I put 'Ultraseal' in the TBird tyres to (hopefully) stop getting stuck somewhere. Last year I had a nail in the rear tyre and had to wait over two hours for Triumph's RAC recovery service to come get me from just outside Edinburgh - hardly the back of beyond.

I always carry a puncture repair kit on my Honda (tubeless tyres) and this worked a treat when I picked up a 6mm bolt through the rear tyre when riding in the Pyrenees last September. At least I could get to the next town to have the tyre replaced.

I'm not sure how feasible it is to try 'roadside' repair on tubed tyres - is it possible to get the tyre off the bike using tyre levers (without damaging the rims)? Fixing the tube would be easy enough, but I suspect it might be a struggle getting the tyre off the rim. If this is easy enough to do, then I'm happy to be advised accordingly since I'm off to France on the TBird at the end of next week and would gladly include tyre levers in the toolkit!

johnyC · 09-05-2004

About a quarter of a century ago I had a rear wheel puncture on my BSA A7 in Portree on Skye. I took the wheel off, removed the tube and patched it, put enough air in with a small bike pump to get me to a garage with an air line, then rode home to Eaglesham. That was in the days when you were scared to be out after dark with the Joseph Lucas 'prince of darkness' lighting set, but on a run I always took the kit to fix a flat. I tried to buy tyre levers in Halfords recently, it would have been easier to buy a bag of hobby horse sh!te. But if you're lucky enough like I was and the tube doesn't rip or the valve get pulled off, the magic foam works a treat. If I was going from Scotland to France on a bike with tubed tyres I would take spare tubes and the tools to change them, but on a Thunderbird you need a centre stand before you even kick a ba'. I must get one myself.

[ This message was edited by: johnyC on 2004-09-05 17:37 ]

Gerry · 10-15-2004

Johny
I had a rear wheel puncture (large fencing staple) and had to call out my breakdown cover(part of my insurance)
This was a huge relief as it was at 5pm on a Saturday.
I had fitted puncture sealant but it did'nt really work.
Triumph dealer had closed until Monday, took wheel in,needed a new tube, did not have one in stock!!!
Bike back on road on Wednesday!!
I have since purchased a tube for every wheel on my bikes, so if the same happens again i will hopefully be back on the road a bit sooner.