Ran Over a Screw

[Chim]

So, okay, I have an extremely stupid question. On the old tube, there were two nuts, one at the bottom of the stem that went inside the rim, and one on the outside of the rim.

On the new tube, there is only one nut, and that rubber plug you see in the picture. Am I supposed to take off that nut, put the tube in, then tighten THAT nut onto the part of the valve sticking out of the rim, or leave it where it is, put the tube on the rim, and grab one of the nuts from the old tube to tighten down on the valve outside of the rim? I have no idea what that rubber plug is for...

@mrlmd1
Thank you for all that info; I went and checked the date on the tire... yikes. 1402 (the bike is an '03, after all...) on the rear. The front one ain't much younger... I guess once this is all taken care of, I might be learning how to replace a front tire as well. :roll:

[Chim]

Sorry! Been meaning to post for AGES, just been so busy with work and all.

Well, it took me a month and a half or so (yikes), but I managed to change my rear tire. Been riding to and from work, and everything seems to be going alright.

I just wanted to stop by and say THANK YOU to everyone that helped, and for all the awesome advice! :2tup: You guys are truly awesome.

Happy riding!

[mrlmd1]

So how did you mount the tube to the rim - put the nut on the outside of the rim? That rubber thing you called a plug is probably a grommet or spacer for a rim with a larger hole in it where the valve stem passes through.

[Chim]

Yeah, I took the old nut off the old tube and used that on the outside of the rim. I asked a friend of mine who rides what he thought, and he also said the plug was meant for a bike with a bigger hole.

You mean there's a bike out there bigger than a gz250? No way!

[mrlmd1]

So you have a nut on each side of the rim, you're not pulling on the tube attachment to the valve stem with tightening the outside nut? That's the best way to do it if it all fits well inside the rim.