any bike repair experts here?

[gaseousclay]

my wife and I tried going for a bike ride yesterday but we discovered that her front tire has a leak somewhere. She's ridden her bike less than a dozen times . my question is, can I just pop the front tire off and take it in to the bike shop and have them fix it, or do I need to bring the entire bike? I know this may sound like a dumb question but my guess is that if the rims need truing or if the tire needs replacing they can do it without the bike, right?

 

[ouch]

I'd bring them the front wheel with the tire attached. You should have a quick release lever that allows for removing it in seconds. This way they can find the source of the leak.

 

[vigorous.elbows]

Having replaced a couple front tires I'd say you can just pop it off and bring it in. That's unless it's some sort of high end precision tuned bike I've never worked on.

 

[vigorous.elbows]

Oh, sorry, I meant WHEEL, I wouldn't take the rubber off the rim, but you should be able to take the whole thing off and bring that in without any problems

 

[superbleu]

All you need is the wheel, no need to bring the entire bike in.
You can learn way more than you would ever want to know about bikes on this website
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/flats.html

Anyone that rides a bike should learn how to replace/patch a flat.

 

[galopede]

You can take them to a bike shop to be fixed? Never thought of that. I've spent the last 50 years fixing them for myself, my kids, neighbours, their dog...!!

Gareth

 

[joshgambit]

All you need is the wheel, no need to bring the entire bike in.
You can learn way more than you would ever want to know about bikes on this website
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/flats.html

Anyone that rides a bike should learn how to replace/patch a flat.

+1

It's actually quite easy to patch a flat. But, if you live close to your bike shop - they should be more than happy to help you out.

 

[Groat]

+1
It's actually quite easy to patch a flat. But, if you live close to your bike shop - they should be more than happy to help you out.

Yes, I would recommend fixing the flat yourself. You can buy a patch kit ($3 to $5) and fix it that way, or you can simply buy a new inner tube ($5 or $6) and replace the old one. You'll probably want a tire lever (maybe $3) to help get the old one off, but that will likely cost as much or less than the bike shop will charge you to fix it. It's painfully easy to replace an inner tube, especially if your wheel uses large tires. You simply put a few PSI in it, seat it in the wheel and inflate. If you do change it yourself, don't forget to check the tire for whatever caused the puncture to begin with.

 

[gaseousclay]

I ended up taking the wheel to the bike shop. it only cost $15 and took 10 minutes