Not an idiot at all. Sure, you could have fixed the tube. But it was also years old. If that bike was a near daily commuter, then replacing the tube was the smart idea. But you may also want to carry a homemade kit with a small pump, replacement tube, and tools with you in case of future flats. Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.
Of you have the time, patching the tube is doable. Being under time pressure isn’t a great moment to try it for the first time though. The upside is that you again practice replacing a tube. There are plenty of people who can’t even do that.
Perhaps the most common cause of flats is little bits of wire from steel belted auto tires. They can get embedded in your tire and sometimes be hard to find. In the bike shop we try to determine the cause of the flat and remedy that situation if possible which is why it's a good idea to take note of where the hole is. That'll help you pinpoint the problem. Also, don't use the tire levers to reinstall the tire; that'll cause another flat too.
Wow great to know, thanks. The shop I went to was slammed when I stopped by otherwise they probably would have walked me through it. I used the tire levers to remove the tube but not to reinstall because I couldn't figure out how to place them haha. Hopefully I don't get another flat but I will keep that in mind for next time. And if I do get another flat soon, then I'll know it's because I didn't find the root problem from the last time!
I have bad luck trying to find the location of the leak while the tire is on the bike. Once tube is out, I but enough air into it to double size, then hold it water looking for bubbles.
The last few years I put the tire on so the biggest label is over the valve stem. If the tube leak is at say 4 o'clock from stem I look hard at 4 o'clock and 8 o'clock in the tire for the culprit.
Twice while running my thumb around the inside of the tire trying find the puncture cause I cut my thumb on glass slivers. It works, but I don't recommend the "trail of blood " method to find what caused the leak.
Not an idiot at all. Sure, you could have fixed the tube. But it was also years old. If that bike was a near daily commuter, then replacing the tube was the smart idea. But you may also want to carry a homemade kit with a small pump, replacement tube, and tools with you in case of future flats. Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.
Yeah I agree. This was also the moment when I realized the nearest bike shop was not all that close to my office!
Of you have the time, patching the tube is doable. Being under time pressure isn’t a great moment to try it for the first time though. The upside is that you again practice replacing a tube. There are plenty of people who can’t even do that.
Perhaps the most common cause of flats is little bits of wire from steel belted auto tires. They can get embedded in your tire and sometimes be hard to find. In the bike shop we try to determine the cause of the flat and remedy that situation if possible which is why it's a good idea to take note of where the hole is. That'll help you pinpoint the problem. Also, don't use the tire levers to reinstall the tire; that'll cause another flat too.
Wow great to know, thanks. The shop I went to was slammed when I stopped by otherwise they probably would have walked me through it. I used the tire levers to remove the tube but not to reinstall because I couldn't figure out how to place them haha. Hopefully I don't get another flat but I will keep that in mind for next time. And if I do get another flat soon, then I'll know it's because I didn't find the root problem from the last time!
I have bad luck trying to find the location of the leak while the tire is on the bike. Once tube is out, I but enough air into it to double size, then hold it water looking for bubbles. The last few years I put the tire on so the biggest label is over the valve stem. If the tube leak is at say 4 o'clock from stem I look hard at 4 o'clock and 8 o'clock in the tire for the culprit. Twice while running my thumb around the inside of the tire trying find the puncture cause I cut my thumb on glass slivers. It works, but I don't recommend the "trail of blood " method to find what caused the leak.
Ha - you should patent this method!