Ride On: Everything You Need to Know About Bicycling and Spinning

How to Fix a Flat

DIY roadside assistance for newbies.

1. Take the wheel out of the bike frame by releasing the brakes (lift the lever by your seat) and flipping open the quick-release lever -- that little latch attached to the wheel's axle -- then turn your bike over.

2. Wedge the scooplike part of the tire lever from your repair kit in between the wheel's rim and the tire to lift the tire off the rim. (Right, Deluxe Repair and Inflation Seat Bag kit, $33, genuineinnovations.com; innertube sold separately.)

3. Pull the innertube out and, with the patches and rubber cement in the kit (or duct tape, in a pinch), patch any punctures you feel inside the tread.

4. Grab the new innertube from the kit, use your mouth, a mini pump or a CO2 cartridge to slightly inflate the tube, and then feed its valve back through the wheel rim. Stuff the semi-inflated innertube inside the tire.

5. Use the tire lever to gently tuck the tire tread back into the rim; hook the mini pump or CO2 cartridge onto the valve again, and inflate it all the way.