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Getting a flat tire whilst out on the bike always seems to happen at the most inopportune times. It is one of those little annoyances in life that it pays to be prepared for. If you are riding out of walking distance from home, it pays to carry the essentials; a reliable pump, a spare tube, tire levers and/or a puncture repair kit.

The puncture is usually caused by glass going through the tire, or even a thorn if you are mountain biking. It pays to investigate the outside of the tire first, as you may find the perpetrator still stuck in the tire. You may also find a rip in the tire which is big enough that even a new tube won't help. At this point, if you don't carry a tire boot (hardly anyone does, it is a thick strip to line the inside of the tire in the damaged area), you can either phone home or use paper money to line the inside of the tire and stop the tube bulging out.

Most of the time it is just the tube that needs replacing. Getting the wheel of is the first problem. Most modern bikes have quick release, so it is just a matter of undoing the lever on the left hand side of the wheel. If it is the front wheel, you will have to unwind the nut on the right hand side a few turns to get the wheel out of the fork dropouts, which are tabbed. If it is the rear wheel you are removing, place the bike in the smallest rear sprocket (hardest gear) first, to facilitate removing the wheel from the chain as it comes out. You will have to release the brakes to get the wheel though them unless you have disk brakes. On mountain bikes, squeeze the brake calipers together and unhook the metal noodle that feeds the cable in between them. On road bikes, there will be a little rotating lever on the right hand side of the brakes, or with Campagnolo gear, there is a button on the brake lever/shifter. Once the wheel is out, follow these steps:

-To get the tire off, it is much easier with tire levers. You will need two; hook the flattened edge of one under the bead of the tire (this is the part of the tire that hooks in onto the rim), which will pull it off the rim at that point. Most levers will have a loop or hook at the other end which you can place around a spoke to hold it in place. A couple of inches away from this, further down the bead of the tire, slot in the second. The bead should pop off the rim between your two levers. Slide one of the levers along the tire/rim, you have now unhooked the tire which can be pulled off.

-Inspect the inside of the tire! If there is

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