Phil (ascentale)@ascentale@sfba.social

@elliek asks:

I had my first flat tire EVER this week! I've been riding for 71 years, so that's saying something.

The culprit was the screw in the photo. The holes (2 of them) were too big to allow me to ride home.

An e-bike is not an easy road repair, so we got it home to fix.

Q4a. Without a bike stand/lifter (expensive), any tips to repair a tire on such a bike at home?

Q4b. Has anyone used Slime (or similar)? What's your experience with it?

Photos: zeroes.ca/@elliek/116813148966

#BikeNiteQ #BikeNite #BikeTooter cc @bikenite

A screw with a sharp point is being held in front of a bicycle tire.zeroes.caEllie Kennard (@elliek@zeroes.ca)Attached: 3 images For #bikenitepq question: I had my first flat tire ever, EVER this week! I've been riding bikes on and off for 71 years, so that's saying something. (Get out your tiny violins, I know!) The culprit was the screw in the photo picked up as we were on a road with construction work going on. As it turned out, the holes (2 of them) were too big to allow me to get home, though we tried to pump the tire before we realized. An e-bike is not an easy tire repair on the side of the road, so we got it home to fix. Two flat tire related questions: 1. Without a bike stand/lifter (very expensive), has anyone any tips to repair a tire on such a bike at home in our garage? 2. Has anyone used Slime (or similar product) in their tubes? If so, what's your experience with it? @StevenKennard and I would love any tips on those two questions. @ascentale@sfba.social @bikenite@fedigroups.social #bikeTooter #fridayBikeNite #EllieKPosts
Jul 3, 2026, 23:24 UTCen
Phil (ascentale)@ascentale@sfba.social

Replying to @ascentale@sfba.social

@elliek @bikenite A4. Amazing that you haven't had flats until now! I thought I saw somewhere a cheap option for lifting an ebike for servicing it. I think it might have been something as simple as putting the bottom bracket up on a box or crate? I can't remember though 😩

Tire sealant, mixed success. When I've used it, it's probably prevented a couple of flats I didn't know about. But a couple of things:
I rode over a large piece of glass once, made a gash in my tire, and all of the sealant came out onto my leg and bike frame.
Other times, when the sealant wasn't able to seal the leak, it was very hard to patch because the sealant was wet, and I couldn't apply the patch to the rubber cement without sealant being in the way.
So I don't really use it anymore.

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Ryan@yantor3d@mas.to

Replying to an earlier post

@ascentale @elliek @bikenite A4a. If you can lift it, flip it over and put some scraps under the handlebars. If not ... a floor jack and some sort of DIY cradle around the down tube?

Personally, I use a bench mounted bike stand bolted to a piece of plywood, and clamped to my bench with quick clamps.

A4b. I use FlatOut in my tires - pull out the foreign object, spin the tire to let the goo plug the hole, and top off the air. So far it has worked pretty well for me.

multiseal.us/product/quick-str

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Akkana Peck@akkana@fosstodon.org

Replying to an earlier post

@ascentale @elliek @bikenite #BikeNIte

A4a: I've been without a bike stand most of my life. I just flip the bike over. It's especially easy if you have bar-ends; otherwise, put wood blocks under the handlebar grips.

A4b: I love Slime. We'd have a hard time getting by without it here in Goathead City. We've even taken to using it in tubeless tires instead of the special tubeless sealants: Slime seems to last longer and seal better. I'm not sure Slime would fix a screw hole that large, though.