The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 02, 1972, Page Page 3, Image 3
'Dor
BY JOHN KARRAS
(Second of a five-part serie
Over the last 10 years, our fami
of six has owned a nice round tot
of 20 bicycles, all of which I hal
repaired, maintained and adjusti
largely without professional he
by the trial-error method.
All those trials and errors (the:
have been a lot), have taught n
two important things:
First, most bicycle repairs ci
be done by the amateur with
minimum number of tools.
Second, don't drink beer whi
taking a bicycle apart. I car
count the times I've found mysc
on hands and knees amid the tra:
of our garage floor at midnigt
cursing and searching fuzzily for
ball bearing that had just slippf
through my fumbling fingers in
the dirt.
If I can repair a bike (my collei
major was English), so can yo
You'll need a couple pairs
pliers, a few screwdrivers, a set
openend wrenches, a tire-patchir
kit, a tire-pressure gauge (bil
stores have them), and a har
pump (also at bike stores). If y<
can find them, buy a set of bicyc
tire irons, too. You'll also need
supply of rags and couple of cofff
cans or the equivalent.
Flat Commonest Repair
The commonest repair job you
face is the flat tire. If a puncture 4
a slow leak occurs, figure <
repairing the inner tube. If
blowout occurs, figure on replacir
both the tire and inner tube.
Rea(
tkisLt
CATHEDRAL Ar
Ar
SURF STAR Pe
Cu
wit
gu
REBNO l
e/lrt 4
From the makers of
i423 MAIN ST. DOS
PHONI
Locally Ow
Vt drink b
Be confident. Anyone can fix
s) flat tire.
Flats on the front tire are easi
to fix than flats on the rei
Assume this flat is on the front
d Turn the bike upside down so
Ip rests on the seat and handleba
find the correct open-end wren
re and unscrew the axle nuts of t
ie wheel with the offending tire (t
to do this on a paved driveway
in some other clear space whe
a you'll be able to find easily I
parts you drop; never on gras:
le As you remove the axle nuts ta
't careful note of the order in whi
if the various washers are placed
ih the axle in relation to the foi
t, because you have to put them ba
a in the same order later.
" Remove nuts and washers, X
to them in coffee can, and remove I
wheel.
;e
1. If the flat is on the rear wh
)f and your bike is a three-speed, y
f have to dissemble the cal
ig connection near the rear ax
:e Take your two pairs of plie
Ld You'll see small chain coming c
u of the axle nut. The chain is
le tached to a threaded rod. Screw
a on this rod are a small lock nut a
e a cylindrical sleeve. Hold t
sleeve firmly with one pair
pliers and turn the lock r
counter-clockwise with the oth<
11 Now unscrew the sleeve from t
r rod.
n
a Unscrew the axle nuts as befoi
g put them in the coffee can and 1
out the rear wheel.
iefore
ou buy
L diamond
ing
Carved sees to it that you
t your money's worth. Every
Carved diamond is
aranteed for quality and
rat weight. Further
surance of the diamond's
ue is the ArtCarved
rmanent Value Plan (PVP@).
ich lets you apply the full
rrent retail value of the
imond in trade for a more
mensive ArtCarved diamond
g. Anytime In the future.
me in. We'll be happy to talk
h you about the ArtCarved
arantee and its
ny benefits.
Lenox China & Crystal
L td.
'NTOWN COLUMBIA
E254-5377
ned & Operated
& Phoenix Furniture
eer while t
a
er
"itDU
ch
he Shift the Chain
ry
or If your bike is a ten-speed, shift
re the chain to the smallest rear cog
he before removing the axle nuts and
) lifting the wheel out.
ke Find the valve-the threaded
ch cylinder sticking out through the
on rim-and unscrew the dust cap if it
-k, has one. Then with a fingernail,
ek twig or the corner of a crewdriver,
depress the valve stem (that's the
little wire-like thing inside the
out valve) to get as much of the
he remaining air out of the tire as you
can.
el Starting at the valve and
ou working around the wheel, pinch
le the tire to unseat it from the rim.
le. Then, starting at a point on the rim
rs. directly opposite from the valve
iut (we won't go into why), insert a
t- tire iron between the rim and the
ed tire and try to nip just the edge of
nd the tire (you'll see it in there) with
he the end of the tire iron.
of Don't try to get too much of the
ut tire, or you'll get some of the tube,
r. and that means another puncture.
he Having worked the old iron into
Tickets
USC students will be given
priority to the tickets for the Jethro
Tull Concert October 19 at Carolina
Coliseum.
Tickets for the Tull concert will
be available to all USC students
and staff one week prior to the date
of general public sales. Advance
tickets wil be on sale only at
Russell House September 25
through October 2.
Ticket prices are set at $5.50 and
$5.00 and will go on sale to the
general public October 3 at
Carolina Coliseum Box Office and
usual Coliseum ticket outlets.
Ru
Oct.
Factory ring
Wed n.sda)
and 5th. S
be availabl<
have 75 ho
The
a'king bikE
T TIRES
I'T BIND
the proper position, use it as a
lever against the edge of the rim,
pulling it back until the slot in the
handle catches a spoke and the
edge of the tire is visible above the
rim.
Take the second iron and insert it
between the tire and the rim about
three inches from the first. Repeat
the nipping and prying process.
If you don't have tire irons, use
two screwdrives, but with extreme
care. If the sharp corner of the
screwdriver blade catches and
pinches the inner tube, you'll have
another puncture to repair.
Be Careful
All the experts say you should
never use two screwdrivers for this
job, but l've been using them for 30
years and have yet to poke a hole in
a tube. Just be careful.
If successful, you'll have enough
of the edge of the tire over the rim
now so that the tire will not snap
back inside the rim. Remove the
second tire iron and repeat the
process about three inches further
along the rim. Now remove both
irons (the first one has probably
fallen on the floor by now) and free
the rest of that side of the tire from
th rim with your fingers.
Now remove the tube. Just pull it
out until you get to the valve. Push
the valve through the opening in
the rim and pull the tube all the
way out.
Pump the tube up with your hand
pump until it looks like a Polish
sausage, fill half of your double
kitchen sink with water and sub
merge the tube, a portion at a time,
until you find the leak. Circle the
spot with a crayon or piece of
chalk. Patch it up according to the
directions on your patch kit (if you
can read this, surely you can read
the directions on a patch kit).
MG DA'
4th .a
representatives w
and Thursday, Oct
amples of all ring :
a and orders taken,
irs to qualify.
Campus S
RUSSELL HOUSE
apart'
While the patch is drying,
examine the inside of the tire. If a
nail offends thee, pluck it out. Or a
shard of glass, or a pebble (yes,
they can cause flats), or whatever.
Just be sure that whatever caused
the puncture is no longer there to
cause another.
Now reverse the process. Shove
the valve into the tire (half of the
tire is still on the rim) and then
through its hole in the rim. With
the valve in place, work the rest of
the tube back into the tire, then
with your fingers, work the tire
back onto the rim starting at the
valve and working away from it in
both directions. The tire should be
muscled all the way back on the
rim with the fingers.
At this point there is one thing
you must absolutely, religiously
remember to do: Before putting
air in the tire, put a finger on the
end of the valuve and shove it back
ip into the tire. Don't ask why, just
lo it. If you don't, you'll probably
have another flat as soon as you
infalte the tire. Never, but nev"r,
attempt to poke any bit of exposed
tube into the tire with a
screwdriver. Disaster.
Home Free
If a section of tube is showing
(not at the valve; you've just taken
are of that by shoving the valve
ip into the tire), try pumping a
Little air in with the hand pump. If
the section disappears into the tire,
you're home free. If it doesn't,
:arefully, very carefully, free the
tire from the rim-as you did
earlier with the irons near that
section, work the tube into the tire
and muscle the tire back on the
rim.
(please see Tires, p. 4)
THE TIRE PRESSURE GUIDE
Tire Size Air Pressure
12, 16 inch x 1% inches 30.40lbs.
18 inch x 1% 35-45lbs.
20,24,26 inch x 1% 45-50 lbs.
2, 235 lbs.
20, 24, 26 x 1 35-45lbs.
20, 24. 26 x 14 75.85Ilbs.
27 x I',. 90.100 lbs.
27 x l1'/
(S
5th
ill be here
Dber 4th
styles will
,You must
hop