How to Change A Flat Tire on Your Mountain Bike

For today’s “Camp Fun At Home” activity, learn how to change a flat tire on your mountain bike! For an extra challenge, try to change it in under 5 minutes as practice for your “Explorer” progression in our mountain bike program. Shocktaw!

Tools needed: tire levers, pump, & new tube

Scroll down to watch the video and read the step by step instructions!

• Step 1: remove the wheel This is exactly the same for either wheel, but sometimes the rear wheel is a little bit trickier to figure out how to get off with the cassette. One tip I like is shift down to your lowest gear, so that the chain is in the smallest cog on your cassette. That makes it a little bit easier to take the wheel on and off since the chain has more slack. Then you’re going to want to loosen the axle, and you can pull on the derailleur pulley a little bit to let your wheel just drop right out.

• Step 2: unseat the tire bead from the rim You can push the tire in to pop it off the outer rim bead, and make it easier to insert the tire lever.

• Step 3: use the tire levers to remove the tire from the wheel Hook the tire lever on the tire to pull it out over the rim, and do that all the way around. You don’t have to take the tire all the way off to replace the tube (you can just take one side off and keep the tire on the rim), but this makes it easier to check for thorns and debris. If your tire is slashed and needs to be replaced along with the tube, you would also need to take it all the way off.

• Step 4: Remove the tube by pulling the valve stem out You may have to unscrew the valve nut too, which is the little metal circle keeping the valve in place. You might have a schrader or a presta valve, so make sure you use the right kind of pump to fit your tube’s valve.

• Step 5: check the rim, tube, and tire for the cause of the flat, and remove any thorns or debris Make sure nothing is out of the ordinary on the wheel - no spokes poking out or splintering from the wheel - and also feel for any debris that may have caused the flat. You don’t want to go through all this trouble only to have your new tube be punctured from a thorn that might still be lingering in the tire!

• Step 6: determine the proper tire rotational direction If you took the tire all the way off the rim, or you are putting a new tire on, make sure to check the sidewall to see the correct rotational direction. Tire tread is usually directional for optimal riding conditions, and the arrow will be pointing in the direction the tire should be rolling.

• Step 7: reinstall the tire on the rim Start with one side at a time, and put the edge of the tire into the center of the rim to give yourself as much room as possible.

• Step 8: insert a new tube between the tire and the rim Start by putting the valve into the valve hole on the wheel first, and then tuck the rest of the tube into the tire. This is easier if the tube has a small amount of air in it.

• Step 9: push the open side of the tire back over the rim until the tire is completely on the wheel again Sometimes this is the trickiest part - the tire doesn’t always want to go back onto the rim easily because the edge of the rim is wider than the middle of the rim strip. So sometimes if you push the tire in by starting at the side farthest from you, and you work your way up and around, you’ll have a small amount left at the top to push back in with the tire levers. You can also push the edges of the tire into the center of the rim strip to give yourself as much room as possible.

• Step 10: pump up your tire to the psi recommended on the tire’s sidewall For mountain bike tires, we usually pump tires up to 25-30psi, but if you are running tubeless tires (with sealant instead of a tube), you can ride around 20psi since there is no risk of pinch flats.

Have fun on the trails!