Many of us are embarrassed to admit it but, despite many years on the bike, our basic maintenance skills aren’t quite up to scratch.  I have to confess to struggling when putting a tyre back onto a wheel with numb fingers after a puncture on the roadside. More than once I’ve reverted to using a tyre lever to get that last bit over the rim. Shocking, I know, and I’ve suffered numerous pinch punctures afterwards as a result. And, as for gear indexing and replacing brakes, I’m ashamed to say that I’ve usually left this for the bike shop pros.