yea, im thinking that might be the better option. thanks

 

If you're going to be riding much on trails, learn how to do it yourself. Easier to learn in your garage than on the trail. Good tutorials around...just search.

 

Here is a link to a tool that REALLY helps make tube changes easier. Saves the knuckles!

http://www.whitehorsegear.com/valve-stem-fishing-tool

I've got one as part of my kit I always have along. Attaching a picture of it isn't co-operating.

 

You aren't going to hurt the rim having it sit on a flat tire. You may eventually hurt the tire (after a year or many severe heat/cold cycles), but, it won't hurt the rim.

I'm thinking you should change the tube on your own. That is, unless you always have someone that knows what they are doing around to change it for you. There are a few tricks to it, which will leave you frustrated and beat up, but, done correctly, it isn't very hard, even if you have stiff side-walled tires.

There are three keys to getting the tire off. First, put the sprocket side down, as you don't want to cut yourself on the teeth when you slip. Second, have available THREE tire irons. Third, BREAK THE BEAD! Use clamps, your feet, the kickstand, whatever you have available in order to break that seal and get the edge of the tire to sink to the middle of the rim....the rimlock should be loose before you do this.

Now that the bead seal is broken and the edge of the tire is located in the middle of the rim, start near the rimlock area, and pry up the edge of the tire nearby. Here is when you'll see why you break the bead and shove the edge of the tire to the center of the rim....it gives the tire much more "slack" as you begin to pry it off! It's not even hard when you do it correctly like this!

Use a valve-snake tool which makes it MUCH easier to guide the new tube into place. See OLKLX'er's post above! Get one, read the instructions. Now, all you have to do is stuff the tube in place...a LITTLE bit of air in the tube makes this easier. I'm talking about 2-3 strokes of a small airpump when I say a LITTLE bit of air.

The Two keys to getting the tire back on after you've replaced the tubes is: First, to AGAIN get the tire edge to the middle of the rim opposite the last place you are forcing the edge of the tire over the rim. Secondly, use a lubricant of some sort on this last section...water works. Soapy water works better. I just use water from my backpack when out on the trail. It's NOT HARD if you have positioned the tire in the deep center of the rim opposite where you are working on the last bit.

If you don't really ride far off-road, and always have someone that will come pick you up if you have a flat, I guess you don't need to know how to do this. After all, you can ride most flat tires a long way, albeit very slowly, off-road if you need to. Otherwise, it's not advisable to NOT know how to do this. Besides, once you learn how to do this, other riders won't look at you like you're a wimp.

Look, when I buy a tire at my local spot, I almost always have them mount it, as I get such a good price after taxes/mounting/balancing/new tube, I'm still paying less than the list price for the tire. AND, it's quick. But, I know how to do this chore, and can do it fairly quickly out on the trail...so, I don't need the practice.

Oh, one last hint....when on the trail, if you can't high-center your bike to get the back end off the ground, get a buddy with his bike on the right side of yours. Put your kickstand on a firm surface, and pull your bike to the left until the rear is off the ground. Have your buddy shove his front wheel right behind your right footpeg and wedge it in there tight. This will keep your bike tilted over so you can take the rear wheel off. If I have to warn you to not get under the bike in case something slips and the bike then falls, you shouldn't be out riding off-road anyway.

Best of luck as you are learning how to take care of your bike, and yourself, off-road. May you obtain the experience you need prior to getting stranded, hurt, or worse!

 

thats for the words of wisdom-pretty much described exactly what I saw on a youtube vid. of a motocross tire change-except this guy made it look easy =P.
My only other main concern (besides checking if I have the proper tools for the job) is making sure I dont bend or break anything getting the wheel off and back on the bike-as well as the balance/alignment. Since I use this bike to commute on the road as well I would have to take a nasty spill from some novice mistake I make getting the wheel on and off by myself. Do i really need a torque wrench for when I put the wheel back on?-one thing I know i do not have in the garage right now

 

also-Im pretty sure the "bead" on the tire is already broken from when I got the flat riding-had a nice family out on the trail help attempt to re-inflate the tire and spray some soap water along the rim(seal was def. broken in spots).all of which was BEFORE we found the big nail sticking out =P. great people none the less.

 

Yes, it worked this time. Valve stem fishing tool. It also has a deflator function and a valve core remover.

 

[QUOTE=tankbb;435519] My only other main concern (besides checking if I have the proper tools for the job) is making sure I dont bend or break anything getting the wheel off and back on the bike-as well as the balance/alignment. Since I use this bike to commute on the road as well I would have to take a nasty spill from some novice mistake I make getting the wheel on and off by myself. Do i really need a torque wrench for when I put the wheel back on?[QUOTE]

There's not much to bend or break. As long as you line up the rotor in between the brake pads, and don't force it, there's just nothing else you're going to hurt. Don't ever force-fit the wheel when you're putting it back on, and nothing is going to bend.

I'd say you do NOT need a torque wrench on the axle...it just needs to be tight when using a normal length wrench. You're not cranking anywhere nearly as hard as you can....rotor bolts and sometimes countersprocket bolts are the only things that take that much force. Besides, if you put the cotter pin in it after the axle bolt is snug, and you have the adjusters snug, the axle is not going to move anywhere. This ain't rocket-surgery (if I may mix metaphors).

Balancing probably isn't needed, if you want to do it, just do it before you put it back on the bike...put the axle in, rest it between whatever two spots you have available (couple of concrete blocks on end would work), and see where the heavy side is. Put a little weight just opposite and check it again. Rinse, repeat until it seems neutral. That's going to be close enough.

If in doubt, get an experienced person to help you once. You'll see it's very simple and easy!

 

Ahh, don't be too concerned about that. Remember to put a screwdriver in between teh brake pads and gently leverage them apart so the brake disc slots in easily. Also remember to pump the back brake pedal several times before riding off so the pads marry up with the disc surface again otherwise you'll get a nasty surprise first time you hit the brakes to stop.

As far as lining the wheel up properly, get yourself a Motion Pro Chain Alignment tool (pic below) - someone else on this forum put me on to it and it is simple but brilliant!



As for torquing the bolts, if you use a decent spanner and give it a fair tweak you should be fine. No need for expensive tools like that just for the wheels.

 

since the brake disk stays on the wheel how does it fit past the pads/braking mechanism? it looks like the the whole brake is on a slide rail-does that mean the whole thing pushes forward when you move the wheel up a bit to get the chain off?-also-can i bend the cotter pin back out to use it again?