3 Punctures in 2 Days!!!

fromage

After only having 1 puncture in a year (4000 miles) I now have managed to get 3 Punctures in 2 Days on the same tyre (only 1 month old)

It seemed to have made a hole in the middle of the tyre about 1-2mm big but havent been able to find any debris each time.

Is it worth maybe putting a piece of old inner tube cut up where the little holes are to stop little bits of grit getting in ?

Or is it worth just buying a new tyre?

Wallace1492

Check where puntures are, and look at corresponding point on tyre. I had a bit of glass embedded i did not find and got 2 "extra" puntures from that.

Not the best......

fromage

Yeah have been taking the tubes and tyres out together, and only seems to be a tiny puncture mark, bloody annoying specially as I ran out of inner tubes things morning so had to walk the rest of the way.

sarajoy

Have you given the tyre a good squeeze, sort of pinched/rolled it between your fingers?

Some small holes can hide larger pieces of glass inside them that need digging out... On one of my tyres after I'd dug them out I sealed the hole with a little super-glue to keep a new one worming its way in... That was the lesson I learned after two punctures in as many days...

fromage

Just attacked the tyre and the amount of small holes that have gone right through the tyre with little pieces of glass in them was a joke.

Going to drop a little bit of super glue in the hole too to try and seal it and stop other buggers getting in there.

fenboy369

Super glue goes all hard and spiky when its dry, try some RTV or bathroom sealant instead. Comes in all sorts of colours for the tarts amongst us! A tube from B+Q will last for ever and it stays flexible.
But finding the bits can be a right painus in the anus! Goodluck!!!

will3

You have an infestation of rubber worm.

fromage

I have always just bought new inner tubes out of lazyness seeing as I have 3 x 1 day old inner tubes with tiny holes in them will it be worth buying a puncture repair kit and fixing them up ?

I just dont know i would trust a repair kit at 100psi ?

Wallace1492

Try these: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Park_Tools_Puncture_Repair_Kit_Super_Patch/1620887595/

Best repair patches I have found.

fromage

Thanks for that, will try and hunt out some at lunch, seem a lot less messy than the ones I used to use as a kid!

Wallace1492

They are.... and I should know, the fairy seems to be a regular in north Glasgow!! All have held fine at 80-90 psi, subsequent punt*res been at different bits, they are as strong as an ox....

sarajoy

fromage wrote:

I have always just bought new inner tubes out of lazyness seeing as I have 3 x 1 day old inner tubes with tiny holes in them will it be worth buying a puncture repair kit and fixing them up ?

I just dont know i would trust a repair kit at 100psi ?

Yeah just patch them up My bloke uses old fashioned patch rubber that you just cut from a sheet, and contact glue - he'll patch a tyre up to 5 times, and he rides daily without fail (much less of a wuss than me).

Don't forget that a tyre under high pressure will only push REALLY HARD against the tyre, actually compressing any patches making the seal even better - as long as they're glued well this should be fine! It's not like it stretches very far as it's held in by the tyre.

itboffin

The PF is a wicked mistress and very hard to please :twisted:

fatherted

fromage wrote:

I have always just bought new inner tubes out of lazyness seeing as I have 3 x 1 day old inner tubes with tiny holes in them will it be worth buying a puncture repair kit and fixing them up ?

I just dont know i would trust a repair kit at 100psi ?

I patch my tubes , throw them away when i get 6/7 patches on them or the tube gives up some other way. I inflate to 100psi with no probs.
For £10 buy a NEW tyre e.g vittoria rubino , for your own sanity and peace of mind.

Jamey

You can patch tubes way more than six or seven times. The only limiting factor is how long the tube lasts before the valve breaks or it splits somehow (eg pinched between tube and tyre) but as long as neither of those things have happened you can patch infinitely.

The reason being that the 'glue' isn't really glue in the traditional adhesive sense, instead it's a rubber vulcanising solution that breaks down the chemical bonds on the surface of the rubber so when you use it the patch actually becomes part of the same rubber on the tube at a molecular, chemical level, or something like that.

Basically the patch becomes part of the tube itself as long as you've done the job properly, so you don't need to worry about re-using the tube.

That's why you need to grate some chalk (or use talc or general road dust) on the surface of the patch afterwards - to make sure the tube doesn't bond itself to the tyre.

If you find you start getting punctures because old patches peeled off then something must have been done incorrectly when the tube was patched, but this almost never happens.

Wallace1492

Jamey wrote:

You can patch tubes way more than six or seven times. The only limiting factor is how long the tube lasts before the valve breaks or it splits somehow (eg pinched between tube and tyre) but as long as neither of those things have happened you can patch infinitely.

The reason being that the 'glue' isn't really glue in the traditional adhesive sense, instead it's a rubber vulcanising solution that breaks down the chemical bonds on the surface of the rubber so when you use it the patch actually becomes part of the same rubber on the tube at a molecular, chemical level, or something like that.

Jamey, I was well impressed till the "or something like that" comment.....
Thought it was some sort of rubber specialist in full flow.

But agree with you. However, I probably would chuck after about 5 repairs, but, it is probably more the fault of the tyre. (Not the rider!!)

fromage

Patched all my tubes up and seem to have held theiir pressure and also did one on the hole in the tyre.

Cheers for the help people

emdeef

I patch my tubes. If the original hole in the tube is more than about 3-4mm though, it can sometimes gradually extend under the patch and then fail so maybe worth replacing the tube in this case.

The last flat I had was a failure in the inner tube - a crease in the moulding had blown out.

SimonLyons

I carry 2 spare inners when riding.

At home I repair old inner tubes using the puncture repair kit from wilkinsons -- 79p.
I found the trick is to use more glue rather than "the minimum" - not had any failures.

Someone I know used some instant patches but in his experience they fail after a while.

desweller

I use this and these. Basically, standard patches and standard glue. Never had one fail, even to well over 100 psi.

Just make sure you let the vulcanising solution go dry before you apply the patch!