P****ure repair kits that work

daniel_b

Hello all,

as I am going to be commuting a fair distance and regularly, I thought for frugality (if that is a word) it would be advisable to repair some of my tubes now and then.

I have used the Tesco value repair kit to some success, but recently can;t get them to bond properly - admittedly I always seem to forget to let the glue go off, but then I clamp the thing down onto the tube overnight, and stil get no joy - they just seem to inflexible and do not want to bond to the surface - this is after sanding the crap out of it.

So if I am to initiate repairs regularly, can anyone recommend a kit that works, and secondly a sound how to guide that would enable me to confident in a repair?

Cheers

Dan

dhope

These have worked for me
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/park-tools-punc ... per-patch/

As for the how to - you just give the area around the puncture a quick rub with the emery paper, peel off the patch and stick on. Unless there's some special stretching the tube over the knee slightly or throwing salt over the left shoulder first that I've not heard about.

gbsahne001

Rema Tip-Top, never had a problem with them at all; almost into double figures this year

Sharkyssurfers

I have used the park tools and patched my tubes within two weeks of using the tubes, the patches seem to let air out of one corner, leaving me with flats, so not impressed so far with them, they are nearly as bad as the Halfords glueless patches.

CiB

Use the Tesco ones, but use them properly. You're not asking for a kit that works, you're asking for one that'll do the job even if you don't patch it properly.

The glue doesn't work by drying, it works by vulcanising - effectively becoming part of the tube. Do it properly and the patch will be as good as or better than the original. Tesco patches are as good as any.

stuj15

Repair kits? I just by a new tube.

the_fuggler

+1 for the Park Tools patches - never had a problem with them.

mudcow007

CiB wrote:

The glue doesn't work by drying, it works by vulcanising

i thought due to H&S the glue in kits are now a contact adhesive an not vulcanising?

im probably wrong though

CiB

mudcow007 wrote:

CiB wrote:

The glue doesn't work by drying, it works by vulcanising

i thought due to H&S the glue in kits are now a contact adhesive an not vulcanising?

im probably wrong though

Regardless, if you don't do it properly it won't work. Asking for something else is a waste of time as something else probably won't work either if the patch isn't applied properly.

As for buying a new tube every time it gets a flat, that's a bit wasteful. Up to you if you want punctures to cost £4 or £5 a pop but I prefer mine to cost 20p.

lockstock666

I use a Via Velo set I bough from Tesco. Works very well, lots of different size patches, two levers and a small multitool that I have used on several occaisions.

Are you doing the following? You must follow the procedure:

Locating the puncture and cleaning/degreasing the area. Tubes get dusty and dirty.

Abraid the surface of the area to be patched using sandpaper. This increases the surface area of the inner tube giving the glue more to cling on to. Rub away loose particles afterwards.

Apply glue and rub in with your finger to cover all of the abraided area. You can wait for the glue to go off a little and become tacky, but you can speed it up by blowing on it.

Once the glue is tacky, apply the patch, removing foil etc first.

I always then apply more glue on top of the patch and rub it in and around the edges.

A firm pinch is all I have ever needed to get a seal.

Then you use the piece of chalk to chalk the patch and stop the glue sticking to the tyre.

Then you put the the tube back in, attach the pump, break the presta valve and go and buy a new tube.

DF33

Tip Top are good. Loads of touring cyclists use them too, Spa cycles kit of choice and not expensive.

stuj15

CiB wrote:

As for buying a new tube every time it gets a flat, that's a bit wasteful. Up to you if you want punctures to cost £4 or £5 a pop but I prefer mine to cost 20p.

Ahhh but :

CiB wrote:

Regardless, if you don't do it properly it won't work.

I prefer peace of mind over having to change a slow puncture because of my own incompetence.

OneForTheRoad

The Fuggler wrote:

+1 for the Park Tools patches - never had a problem with them.

+2

Have used these more times than I would like to have and found them to be very good.

Only other bit of advice I can offer is that if the patch is to go over a seam in the tube then sand the seam flat or it may provide a little ridge that the air can escape from.

vermin

I've never got a self-adhesive patch to hold more than about 80psi; above that they always leak for me, despite following the tube-preparation instructions. The Park ones are good to get you home at low pressure, but I've given up on using patches as a long-term repair. I had some Bontrager stickies that came with the Air-Rush kit which were about as sticky as a postage stamp - so steer clear of those!

sparky.2002

tesco kits for me. just leave it to dry for a good 5 mins. then apply patch. Only problem is .... you only get 3 patches.

willy b

Another vote for the Park Tools patches. Think my current tube on the commuter has 3 patches on 8)

Although Poundland patches seem to work well, only used one though so far.

mudcow007

i use tesco (proper repair when i get home)

an carry Park an muc-off patches

they struggle in really cold weather to stick to the tube an i have found if its really warm they dont stick to well

+1 on sanding the tube to give the patch something to grip

wgwarburton

stuj15 wrote:

CiB wrote:

As for buying a new tube every time it gets a flat, that's a bit wasteful. Up to you if you want punctures to cost £4 or £5 a pop but I prefer mine to cost 20p.

Ahhh but :

CiB wrote:

Regardless, if you don't do it properly it won't work.

I prefer peace of mind over having to change a slow puncture because of my own incompetence.

I would struggle to achieve peace-of-mind if my mind knew I was incompetent to fix a puncture.... That probably says more about me than you, though... :-(

I have never tried the self-adhesive patches- I prefer to carry a tube and use a Tip-Top (or similar; feathered patches seem to be a good indicator of adequate quality) later. Having said that I recently picked up a bit of swarf and discovered I hadn't returned my "fixit kit" to my commuting bag after the weekend (D'oh!)... In the next village I bought a cheapo corner-shop kit (cost a pound or so) and it did an adequate job.
I just can't convince myself that self-adhesive ones will provide a permanent fix and the occasional reports of failures on this board reinforce that!

Cheers,
W.

CiB

I tried self-adhesive once and they failed so never bothered with them since. Carry a spare tube for out on the road repairs but all tubes get repaired back home unless beyond salvage.

I don't get this incompetence thing though. Just how simple-brained does anyone have to be to be incapable of locating the hole and the cause, rubbing a bit of sand paper then glue over it, spend a couple of minutes locating the pointyness and then sticking a bit of rubber designed exclusively for that purpose over the hole? S'ardly rocket science; professing to be incapable of fixing a puncture is akin to admitting that you had to get a man in to beget the children. Sort of.

stuj15

Okay, change incompetence to "can't be bothered'. Does that work?

davmaggs

I bought a job lot of patches off eBay (from China)a week ago and already deployed one, and whilst they are cheap they work. I get the glue separately or use the half tubes left from kits (tesco is fine) where the patches ran out.

I have to say that I agree with the other points above, it would appear that you aren't following the procedure correctly.

CiB

stuj15 wrote:

Okay, change incompetence to "can't be bothered'. Does that work?

Yup. Apathy is a valid reason for anything. Good spot.

flimflam_machine

Another +1 for the Park Tools self-adhesive patches, but with the caveat that I'd be less confident if I had 2 of them close together e.g., for a snake-bite puncture, since overlapping them might create a channel for air to flow out. Take care when using them not to touch the glue side as this may stop them sticking. Make sure you press them on from the centre to the outside so that if the edge does peel up they won't fail. If you do that I've generally found that the pressure against the tyre prevents any possibility of it coming off.

Underscore

gbsahne wrote:

Rema Tip-Top, never had a problem with them at all; almost into double figures this year

+lots. Never had a problem on any bike and you can buy patches on their own if you haven't used all the vulcanising solution - including smaller patches (F0) for smaller, e.g. road bike, tubes.

_

beverick

gbsahne wrote:

Rema Tip-Top, never had a problem with them at all; almost into double figures this year

+1 for TipTop. I use the touring pack and buy additional patches as needed.

However, as long as you use self vulcanising patches (ie ones that effectively "weld" onto the tube) I dare say you'll get similar performance from any manufacturers kit.

Bob

rolf_f

Self adhesive = temporary repair. Proper patches = permanent repair.

You don't even need to use proper patches - a bit of old inner tube works. Self adhesive is a repeat puncture waiting to happen - they lack the flexibility of the rubber so the repair is put under stress when the tube is deflated. But really there is no point in self adhesive - they don't really save you any time anyway.

Hoopdriver

gbsahne wrote:

Rema Tip-Top, never had a problem with them at all; almost into double figures this year

+1 for Rema Tip Top

asquithea

Rolf F wrote:

Self adhesive = temporary repair. Proper patches = permanent repair.

You don't even need to use proper patches - a bit of old inner tube works. Self adhesive is a repeat puncture waiting to happen - they lack the flexibility of the rubber so the repair is put under stress when the tube is deflated.

In theory. But I've only ever used self-adhesive patches over the last 5 years, and never had a repeat puncture. So in practice, I think they work pretty well.

rolf_f

asquithea wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

Self adhesive = temporary repair. Proper patches = permanent repair.

You don't even need to use proper patches - a bit of old inner tube works. Self adhesive is a repeat puncture waiting to happen - they lack the flexibility of the rubber so the repair is put under stress when the tube is deflated.

In theory. But I've only ever used self-adhesive patches over the last 5 years, and never had a repeat puncture. So in practice, I think they work pretty well.

Mostly they probably do but a glued patch failing is probably a lottery win odds. The point is that the sole advantage of glueless is they take up a tiny amount of extra space up on the bike. Is that really worth taking the risk for?

FWIW I tried a few glueless - had some initial failures to stick and the one that did take failed after about a year - fortunately at home. I honestly just don't get the point!

CRAIGO5000

Rema Tip-Top. I've found I only have to leave the glue for around a minute or two before applying the patch, leaving for another minute and then I'm good to go. If you find the source of the puncture or are sure nothing is still in the tyre, it's sometimes quicker to just repair the tube on the spot over replacing it and then having to repair it at home.

Halfords ones are t0ss, the glue doesn't vulcanise to the patch.

bunter

I was so glad to have some Topeak glueless patches with me when I p****ured for the second time in the middle of nowhere last week. The tube of glue that seemed to be full turned out to have nothing but a dried up lump at the nozzle and the rest was air! The glueless patch has held so far - never used one before.