As we expected, this year when the bike was brought out of its hiding place it was obvious that it was time to replace the front tire.
Armed with a trusty 1/2" wrench (to loosen the axle nuts) and some trusty tire spoons, Grandpa flopped the bike upside down onto it's handlebars and seat and proceeded to remove the front wheel. With minimal effort the old tire and tube were removed from the rim. Then Grandpa opened the box that contained, so it's markings said, a 20" tire. If you are familiar with this process, the new tire is kind of all wadded up and tie-wrapped to hold it in a small enough shape to cram into the box. After cutting the tie-wrap and unfolding the tire that came from a box plainly labeled 20" tire, a cursory visual inspection determined that there was no way in a very hot place that the tire held in hand would fit on rim lying on ground. Even with application of extraordinary force.
It seems that the box plainly labeled as containing a 20" tire was packed by some product of the modern American edumakational system who is challenged in the area of reading with comprehension, for the actual product that the box plainly labeled 20" tire really contained a tire that self-identified as a 16" tire...
So Grand-daughter's bike now with a bare front rim was returned to its hidyhole awaiting a trip by a human to Wallyworld to purchase the correct tire. (We determined that the smallest of the kid's bikes was a 16", and so we put the 16" tire aside for possible future use.)
I went to Wallyworld last night and loaded the cart with stuff that was written down on my portable memory device (aka 'list') and brought the stuff home. And carried it all inside.
So today I'm mulling over in my head (while indulging in a caffeinated beverage) my plan of action for the day. Somewhere on the list along with 'tie up the tomato plants that are drooping on the ground' was 'fix the bike'.
About half way through the 24 oz mug of caffeinated beverage my brain flashed a 'wait a minute - cannot complete task' warning.
A 20" tire was NOT on my portable memory device. So it was not purchased. Matter of fact, I didn't even wander past that area in the Wallyworld site which might have triggered a flash of activity from the volatile memory stack.
Son #2 has informed me that he is going to Wallyworld today and will pick up a 20" tire. If he remembers...
I wish Walmart sold household help. I want to hire a full-time toilet-trainer.
James, on the other hand, has forgotten how to do subtraction.
Your kind of tire-changing luck sounds like mine. And I hate when that happens.
When I went to Wallyworld this morning, the blue hairs were starting to show up. I was able to find a parking place by the main door, though, and that was good, but I had to stop and wait for folks with The S-l-o-w-s to make it from one side of the walkway to the other.
Walmartians are pretty daggone funny!
Couldn’t you convince the tire that it was really a 20” tire in a 16” tire’s body and then install it?