Fitting road tyres

kpr1969

I've just got my bike but its fitted with x-country tyres. Most of my riding is gonna be road while I get a bit of fitness up so was wondering about changing the tyres. Front wheel no problemo...back wheel however? Never changed the back wheel of a bike with a deraillier on before. How do I change the tyre any chance of a few tips on what to watch out for or would I be as well takin it to a shop who would probably do it in mins.
thanks hopefully

dav1

there is a nack to it but its very simple. You need to pull the derailleur out of the way whislt lifting the wheel out of the dropouts, you will find the spring allows for quite a lot of movement.

To get the wheel back in you will need to mpove it in a similar way.

mediamonkey

Yep as Dav1 says it is very easy. I find the best way is to turn the bike upside down, undo the quick-release and loosen, then push the body of the derailleur (just above the jockey wheel) backwards with one hand while pulling the wheel forward and out (you'll see the direction of the open dropouts).

You don't have to take the chain off the bike or anything - just try to make sure that as you put the wheel back on, the chain goes around the correct rear sprocket for the position of the derailleur (if you see what I mean - e.g. if the bike was in highest gear, make sure the chain goes around the smallest sprocket). In any case as soon as you have the wheel on and turn the pedals the chain should sort itself out if it's not on the right sprocket.

ride_whenever

Also don't forget to get 26" tyres and skinny tubes to go with them.

gthang

some good video on the bikeradar home page, click on wheels and watch the short films on how to remove and refit.