My new Genesis flyer road bike SS had a puncture on the way to work this week. I always carry a sapre tube however I could not remove the rear wheel nuts even though I had remembered to pack a 8 inch adjustable spanner. The sapnner was cheap and the nuts very tight!

A work collegue took pity on me and picked me up…later on I secured a 15mm ring spanner and was able to remove the nuts however I could not remove the chain because the chain would not slip off the cogs. There was not enough movement in the wheel position to let me do this. I ended up taking the chain off (luckily there was a quick link fitted).

questions…

Do i fit QR skewers to the rear (and front) wheels?
Or do I buy a quality 15mmm ring spanner and have to carry it around with me?
Do I fit puncture resistant tyre (to avoid faff with the chain if I get a rear puncture)?
What do other single speeders do with horizintal drop out chain tensioning arrangements do?

Extra link in your chain
Drop of oil on axel threads
Decent 15mm spanner

carry a 6″ adj. for tight nuts i just use momentum – ooh-er.

the wheel only needs to move a tiny bit to allow the chain off the sprockets.

I hate to say this but i think you’re doing it wrong. maybe a practise at home.

🙂

I am not doing it wrong, I am relatively experienced biker. I read on the genesis web site this can be a problem.

I think an extra link maybe a good idea…

I was wondering from SSers whether QR skewers is a good idea on chain tension rear wheels? Can you get it tight or secure enough to keep tension for example?

I would only use QR skewers with a chain tug. I carry a 15mm spanner and have taken the wheel out of my ss and fixed, so the extra link suggestion sounds good.

No, skewers won’t hold it tight enough in my opinion. I have a Surly spanner that I carry, with a 15mm hex slot in it. I added a link to run the axle further back in the dropout. Works for me, but this on my Inbred.

Horizontal dropouts I presume? You should be able to loosen the chain sufficiently if you remove chaintugs/bolts and shift the wheel forward as far as it will go. It’s usually easiest to drop the chain off the chainring rather than the sprocket, you’ll then obviously have plenty of slack to get off the sprocket and remove the wheel.

And yes, a decent spanner is always nice to have. Puncture resistant tyres are pretty essential on a commuter bike too.

Good advice above. I had similar problem but remembered my mate still has my funny wheel qr anti-theft five-sided allen key in his car not in my pannier bag, so I managed to fix the puncture roadside with a patch without removing the wheel. 8) and a healthy dose of ‘phew’!

Carry a couple of stubby 15mm rings. Final tighten with your foot. (Or ordinary length, and hand pressure enough)

I wouldn’t waste time using an open ended or adjustable for this job.

if the chain was too tight to get off, then how did they get it on? did you remember to loosen off the little bolts that enter from the front of the track ends (if you have them of course)?

QRs fine with a chain tug, not so fine without.

+1 for ring spanner or Surly Jethro Tool 😀

A good tip I was given is to use the same length spanner at home as you carry on the road. Otherwise you tighten the nuts with a 12″ spanner as tight as you can in the workshop and then can’t shift them when you’re out with you’re tiny lightweight spanner.