Front tyre and tube change – part 1:
Now since I bought new front and rear tyres for the Sutherland trip I had this bright idea to teach myself how to change a tyre and tube all by myself.
You can not always depend on having a backup vehicle with you with all that nice tools in it. Never mind having Trac Mac's nice tyre changing machine with you too.
I started removing the front wheel within a minute. After all it is only 2 bolts that you need loosening. Pulled out my new valve removal tool and proceeded removing the valve. Got my 3 new tyre levers out and started on the tyre.
A tip for those who never did this before. First get yourself a beer and not a small one either. A 750ml worked for me here. This job is quite vigorous.
My mat from Sheratons
Now get yourself a nice nylon blanket to put the wheel on. You can get one from Sheraton’s in Diepriver. They call it a dog blanket but for R30 who is complaining. It is semi splash proof and it has a very light inner inside it.
If you are 100kg's and more like myself you can stand on the tyre so that the seat of the tyre can break. This is the portion that keeps your tyre on the rim. If you are less than 100kg's then call a friend or alternatively get ready to work up a sweat. You can use the tyre levers to work the tyre loose.
Once you accomplished the above take a sip of your cold beer. Take all 3 tyre levers and start working the tyre loose from the rim. The secret here is to take small pieces at a time. I was told that Sunlight liquid works well here but I never bothered with it.
The tools that you will need
Now that half of the tyre is loose of the rim proceed in loosing the valve. As per Warren's advice I went and bought a no. 12 spanner. Those nuts around the valve are quite tight. Start removing the tube from the tyre. Once completed you can now start removing the rest of the tyre.
Now take another sip of that lovely beer. You just removed a tyre and tube.
Check the rim for any damage and start proceeding putting the new tyre on. Make sure you put it in the correct direction that it is suppose to operate at. There are also markings on the tyre to show you where the tyre must correspond to the valve. In my case it was 2 red dots. Once you have sweated and swore by putting half the tyre on you can the insert the tube. Preferably a new one should be used. My one was still perfect with no damage at all.
The valve puller
You use this magic tool called a valve puller. Believe me when I say there is no one with small enough fingers to insert the valve by themselves. It is R90 by Trac Mac in Belville and you will need it. Again thanks to Warren for advising me in getting one.
You insert the copper head of the puller through and then proceed in coupling it up onto the tube. You can now pull that valve nicely towards that exact size hole. Put the little nut on as quickly as possible. Now continue pushing / inserting the tube in. Get it in as deep as possible.
The valve puller and the red dots
Start by the valve and push the tyre back. Be aware of pinching the tube. Now when you get to the last portion stand up and have another sip of your beer. Get ready for some swearing and cursing. Now that you managed to pop it over and mentioning so many curse words which I can not repeat here you can have another sip of that lovely beer.
Blow the tyre up without the valve in it. This is to get the tyre seated nicely onto the rim. If you are happy that everything looks good then insert the valve and blow the correct amount air into it.
The finished product
Now finish the beer and pat your self on the back. You have just removed the front tyre and tube. The above took me +- 30min to do
