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Video: Lance Armstrong shows you how to change an inner tube

New career as a mechanic for notorious former pro?

Here’s one of the more bizarre videos we’ve seen recently. Not for its content, which is a reasonable attempt at showing you how to change a tube, but because it features Lance Armstrong.

You’d think after being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and other race wins, Armstrong woud be keeping his head down. He’s still the subject of several lawsuits and his testimony from one of them recently became public and implicated several prominent figures as being involved or aware of his doping.

But no, here’s Armstrong in bike mechanic mode, showing the world how to change a tube, courtesy of Outside magazine. We’d award Outside this week’s 'What Were They Thinking?' prize if US Airways hadn’t already hit it out of the ballpark for all time.

It's obvious what they were thinking, anyway: ‘Let’s get some publicity by doing a video with the man everyone loves to hate’. And here we are falling for it, so there’s that.

Twitter reactions to the video have been darkly funny.

Blogger the Broom Wagon @broomwagonblog said: “Surely Lance is fixing punctured tubes now, not simply throwing in a new one every time. Every $ counts.”

ESPN writer Bonnie D. Ford @Bonnie_D_Ford said: "Next installment: How to fix the last 20 years."

CBS Sports producer Charlie @charolyn_ said: “Good heavens... more hot air? Guess barista job is out. #beans"

John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.

He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.

Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.

John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.

He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.

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62 comments

Avatar
acwaite | 9 years ago
1 like

For all that Lance did with regards to be caught using illegal methods/drugs for enhancing his performance, I still regard him as one of the most influential cyclist in his time, he is probably responsible for 100's of thousand people to take up road cycling if not millions!

I believe he was one of many cyclists cheating, but one of the few that got caught!

A lot of people and companies made a lot of money out of Lance, perhaps they should hand back their profits too!

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Flying Scot | 9 years ago
0 likes

One way of looking at Lance, is that he was the best at cheating.

That's the optimistic view!

Also a proven sociopath, the Lemond and Andrieu stuff is utterly unforgivable and above and beyond any cheating, this guy would have done similar stuff had he chosen a career other than cycling.

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RichEvans7 | 9 years ago
1 like

This is fantastic, great to see a former world champ hasn't forgot about the little guys. I for one, think the sooner all this brouhaha about who said what and stuff blows over, the better.

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daddyELVIS replied to Flying Scot | 9 years ago
0 likes
Flying Scot wrote:

One way of looking at Lance, is that he was the best at cheating.

That's the optimistic view!

I find it amazing that people think that LA had little natural talent. One of the youngest road world champions, but no talent? Regarding the doping, there were teams with just as 'sophisticated' programmes as the USP team.

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Flying Scot replied to daddyELVIS | 9 years ago
1 like
daddyELVIS wrote:
Flying Scot wrote:

One way of looking at Lance, is that he was the best at cheating.

That's the optimistic view!

I find it amazing that people think that LA had little natural talent. One of the youngest road world champions, but no talent? Regarding the doping, there were teams with just as 'sophisticated' programmes as the USP team.

Absolutely, lots of talent, don't disagree on the doping at other teams either.

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darrenleroy | 9 years ago
0 likes

He looks a bit sad at the end. Like he's trying hard to please but inside he's dying.

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unclebadger | 9 years ago
0 likes

Well I thought it was funny

Curse me for having a sense of humour eh?

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andyp | 9 years ago
0 likes

'Just LA or should anybody else in cycling's past or present join him to rot in obscurity? '

I can't speak for allez neg, but I am unaware of any other dopers, current or past, who tried to destroy others' lives and bullied, perjured and sued their way to millions whilst hiding behind a 'charity'. So, until I hear otherwise, just him.

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daddyELVIS replied to andyp | 9 years ago
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andyp wrote:

'Just LA or should anybody else in cycling's past or present join him to rot in obscurity? '

I can't speak for allez neg, but I am unaware of any other dopers, current or past, who tried to destroy others' lives and bullied, perjured and sued their way to millions whilst hiding behind a 'charity'. So, until I hear otherwise, just him.

The problem is the unique circumstances that LA found himself in. As the story continued to write itself, the need to protect his position got greater, until he was at the point where his and stakeholders' losses would be so great they would say and do anything. Never in cycling has so much rested on one man's shoulders. So to compare his actions to the actions of other dopers (of which there are many) is wrong.

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Joestralia | 9 years ago
0 likes

Very F'kn funny! I don't hate the guy at all for doing this skit; Heck I think he can have a career in non athletic entertainment if he so desired.

I still feel that he has huge presence and not diminished at all by doing something like this. But I guess if your near bottom, there's only one way up.

Can a Dave Z (who I thought was quite funny ) have done this video? Tyler Hamilton ~ no way.

By the way; I would have taken off the tire and inspected it mm by mm . That finger sweep would have missed the tiniest near invisible , glass or what not.

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JeevesBath replied to Joestralia | 9 years ago
0 likes
Joestralia wrote:

Very F'kn funny! I don't hate the guy at all for doing this skit; Heck I think he can have a career in non athletic entertainment if he so desired.

His Radioshack and Dick's Sporting Goods TV ads (before the downfall) were actually very funny at sending up his persona, don't know if they're still on YouTube but made me laugh at the time....

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silver-surfer | 9 years ago
0 likes

Come on guys leave him alone, Doper so what, everyone doped. Da think Brad Wig was sitting forth wheel in the mountains clean, behind lance and Contador, you guys are funny!!!

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Flying Scot | 9 years ago
0 likes

His lawyers are apparently Widdicombe and Pump.

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IHphoto | 9 years ago
0 likes

Is this not a family friendly oriented comments section?

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landcruiser | 9 years ago
0 likes

Loved it...!

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landcruiser | 9 years ago
0 likes

Loved it...!

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hairyairey | 9 years ago
0 likes

US Airways? Surely you mean BA? I even tweeted them that a poster of escaping the commute to the Indian Ocean (no fishes - just water) was in bad taste at any time. No response

I'm still waiting for "Dodgeball:The no cheaters allowed cut"...

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allez neg | 9 years ago
0 likes

Its a genuine sentiment. I think he's a cheating, bullying conniving cunt and I wish he could just fuck off into obscurity, get a normal job and forget cycling and let cycling forget about him.

Not a very christian attitude, but I'm not a christian, so fuck him.

Has that clarified things?

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daddyELVIS replied to allez neg | 9 years ago
0 likes
allez neg wrote:

Its a genuine sentiment. I think he's a cheating, bullying conniving cunt and I wish he could just fuck off into obscurity, get a normal job and forget cycling and let cycling forget about him.

Not a very christian attitude, but I'm not a christian, so fuck him.

Has that clarified things?

Just LA or should anybody else in cycling's past or present join him to rot in obscurity?

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hardyt replied to allez neg | 9 years ago
0 likes

Perhaps a few lessons for you in expressing your feelings in a less than colourful way might allow us to warm to your feelings about the man. Whilst I would agree with your sentiments, the manner in which you make them puts you a little behind the very man you speak of! Now I know why cyclists get a bad name in so may places. Perhaps cyclists don't need the likes of you also?

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Gotta Ride | 9 years ago
0 likes

This is obviously a new skill Lance has had to learn since his fall from grace. If you will remember, he had to finish the Leadville 100 on a flat tire because he did not know how to change a flat at that time. Funny how you are forced to learn new skills when you no longer have a pit crew.  24

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Kapelmuur replied to Gotta Ride | 9 years ago
0 likes
Gotta Ride wrote:

This is obviously a new skill Lance has had to learn since his fall from grace. If you will remember, he had to finish the Leadville 100 on a flat tire because he did not know how to change a flat at that time. Funny how you are forced to learn new skills when you no longer have a pit crew.  24

Shortly after I bought my first road bike I went on a basic maintenance course at Evans Cycles. A fellow attendee claimed to be an international triathlete and when it came to the bit about mending a puncture he said he didn't know how to get a tyre off, "because I have a mechanic to do that".

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don simon fbpe | 9 years ago
0 likes

Lance who?

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Skylark | 9 years ago
0 likes

Is this video tongue-in-cheek? Honestly can't say.

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Karbon Kev | 9 years ago
0 likes

the cheekiest bar steward out there ....

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SteppenHerring | 9 years ago
0 likes

Of course, you're more likely to get a puncture if you leave sharp objects around - e.g. needles.

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daddyELVIS | 9 years ago
0 likes

Throw the dust caps away - good to see the champ* doesn't break the important rules!

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allez neg | 9 years ago
1 like

Dear Mr Armstrong,

Fuck off into obscurity, there's a good chap.

Yours,

Everybody.

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daddyELVIS replied to allez neg | 9 years ago
1 like
allez neg wrote:

Dear Mr Armstrong,

Fuck off into obscurity, there's a good chap.

Yours,

Everybody.

why watch it then?

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allez neg replied to daddyELVIS | 9 years ago
0 likes

I didn't!

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