Tires

Solution: Check the tube carefully. Are the holes in one area? If they're on the bottom, the rim strip may he out of position, allowing the tube to get cut by the spokes. If they're on top, there may be some small sharp object still stuck in the tire. Find it by running a rag around the inside of the tire, and get it out of the tire.

Problem: The tire loses air slowly.

Solution: Put some spit on the Schrader valve and watch to see if a bubble forms, indicating a slow leak. Tighten the valve, or remove it and apply a drop of oil on the rubber seal, then reinstall. If it's not the valve, remove the tube, inflate it, and hold it under water to find the hole.

Problem: You keep getting pinch flats.

Solution: Put more air in your tires. Or install wider tires.

Problem: It's hard to install the tires because the tube gets in the way.

Solution: Tire installation is easiest if you use a tube that's narrower than the tire. So switch to thinner tubes or wider tires.

Problem: You got the tire on but it won't sit right on the rim.

Solution: Let the air out, wiggle the bad spot around, reinflate to about 30 psi, and roll the bad spot into place with your hands. Then inflate fully. If this doesn't work, try letting the air out, applying a soapy solution to the tire, and reinflating.

Problem: The patch won't stick to the tube.

Solution: Put on enough glue and let it dry completely (about five minutes). Never touch the sticky side of the patch with your fingers. Don't blow on the glue to get it to dry faster, because you may get water on the glue.

Problem: You can't get air in your aero wheels.

Solution: Get tubes with long enough valves (they must protrude enough to get the pump on) or get valve extenders. And be sure to leave the presta valve unscrewed when installing the valve extenders.

Problem: You finish repairing a tubular tire and find that you've created an S shape in the tread.

Solution: You stitched the tire up using the wrong holes. Cut your stitches and try again. Next time, mark the casing so you'll know which holes to use when restitching.

Problem: You keep breaking spokes.

Solution: Usually this is because the wheel is built of poor quality spokes. Replace them with better quality spokes such as DT or Wheelsmith stainless-steel models.

Problem: It's always a struggle to install the wheels after removal. The wheel doesn't seem to want to fit into the frame.

Solution: Remember to place the chain on the same cog it was on when you took the wheel off (usually the smallest cog). If you're doing that and it's still difficult, the frame dropouts may be bent, which can make wheel installation a pain. Have a shop check and align them with special tools.

Problem: The wheels won't stay true.

Solution: True them and make sure that the spoke tension is sufficient and uniform. If the spokes continually loosen, add a round of tension to the spokes, which should stabilize the wheel.

Problem: You're about to head out on a ride when you realize your only spare tube has a presta valve. Trouble is, your bike is set up with Schrader valves.

Solution: Take the tube along. The valve will fit loosely in the Schrader-sized hole in the rim, but it will still work fine. In fact, you can get rubber inserts to downsize the rim's valve hole if you want to switch to presta valves permanently. Or, if you have presta-drilled rims and want to switch to Schrader, just drill the rim holes with a%4-inch drill bit to enlarge them.

Problem: You're trying to upgrade wheels and you discover that the new wheels won't fit into the frame. It seems like they want to go but something is getting hung up.

Solution: In order for any wheel to fit in a frame, the over-locknut distance on the hub (measured from locknut to locknut on the axle) must match the dropout-to-dropout distance (the distance between the inside faces of the front or rear dropouts) in the frame. Most front wheels are 100mm, while rears can be 120, 125, 127, 130, 135, or 140mm. If you're trying to fit a toowide hub, have the frame re-aligned by a shop so the wheel will slide right in (this works on steel frames only).

Problem: You want to change a bike that has 27inch wheels to 700C wheels because that's what everyone has today.

Solution: Proceed carefully. Before you spend any money, try a friend's 700C wheels on your bike to make sure that your brake pads can be lowered enough and adjusted to strike the 700C rims property. The brakes may not reach, because 700C rims are smaller in diameter than 27-inch rims. If your brakes don't reach, stick with 27-inch wheels. There's no big advantage to 700C anyway.

Problem: There's a creaking sound from the wheels.

Solution: The spokes may have loosened. Tighten them slightly. If they're tight, the spokes may be moving slightly at the cross causing the sound. Lubricate each cross of the spokes with light oil and wipe off the excess.

Problem: You have a radial spoked wheel (the spokes travel directly from the hub to the rim without crossing other spokes) on which the spokes continually loosen.

Solution: Try adding tension to the spokes. If the spokes loosen again, it's probably because of the spoke pattern. Radial spokes take shocks more directly than spokes that cross others, so they're more apt to loosen. To keep them tight, loosen all the nipples, apply a light thread adhesive to the nipple, and re-tension the wheel. Your loosening troubles should cease.