Puncture Repair Issues

roypsb

Looking for some opinions on self adhesive patches.

Limped home from my ride at the weekend having had 2 punctures (fortunately was carry 2 spare tubes) but the crappy spesh mini pump I was carrying also broke! Bikes shops along route kindly helped out - thanks to The Road & Mountain Bike Shop (Sunningdale) and The Bike Company (Staines).

So I've invested in a Lezyne mini pump and some self-adhesive patches from Wiggle. I tried to repair a puncture in 3 tubes yesterday evening. 2 of them were on the seam so I did a bit of sanding to get as flat a surface as possible, applied the patches, inflated a bit and left them overnight in the garage. This morning, all 3 were flat!

Perhaps I'm doing something fundamentally wrong - any thoughts? Or, should I just go back to the old-fashioned glue, patch, chalk method?

Roy.

zx6man

It seems self-adhesive patces tend to be a "get you home" thing, then you fix them properly

danlikesbikes

I have never had an issue with these patches myself. Though some are better than others in terms of their ability to stick and in being a permanent fix.

Did you leave the inners inflated with the patch on outside of the wheel/tyre? Only reason I ask is if they were either not stuck down properly or a poor quality set then the pressure of the air could leach out from the patch. But if you have them in the tyre you should find the pressure of the inner against the inside of the tyre helps to bond the patch to the inner better creating a much stronger seal.

jameses

They vary a lot between makes. FWIW, I've used halford's patches and they have held up to almost two year's use, but had topeak flypaper patches not even manage to get me home.

Bobbinogs

I would only ever use the self adhesive patches for 'getting me home' as my tests with different makes have never been great (fortunately, I have not needed to use them in anger having always had enough spare tubes on rides to date). Once home, I always use a decent kit to fix tubes.

slowbike

I've not had good experience with the self adhesive patches so I just use the glue'n'patch method at home after the ride.
I don't inflate it until it's had plenty of time to dry though ...

I would guess the self adhesive patches would be similar - or don't inflate outside a tyre ... ?

pride4ever

I never fix tubes I just chuck em....sorry.

sungod

rema tiptop tt04...

http://www.probikekit.com/uk/tyres-tube ... r-kit.html

...proper patches patch pesky punctures properly

Bobbinogs

Yep, Rema, top tip

Frank the tank

zx6man wrote:

It seems self-adhesive patces tend to be a "get you home" thing, then you fix them properly

This.

stueyboy

I use self adhesive patches and they have worked fine for me. You need to make sure you have a really good bond before pumping them up so apply lots of pressure when fixing and as mentioned, sand down the seam so there is conteact ofer the whole patch

rolf_f

pride4ever wrote:

I never fix tubes I just chuck em....sorry.

You should be sorry - waste of natural resources and all that. Why not give them to someone who gets paid less than a pound a minute and is therefore going to find repairing tubes worthwhile- there'll be plenty on here who would be only too happy to have them. But try fixing them - it is quite theraputic and really only takes a minute or two. Binning them is like emptying a full pint of beer down the sink for the fun of it

As for stick on patches - assuming a metal frame, would you choose to have your frame glued or welded together? If the latter, go traditional for patching!

I did try self adhesive for a while. I found they take longer to apply than traditional because usually it takes a couple of patches to get one that seals. Once on most lasted a fairly short while. One lasted a couple of years until the tube got punctured elsewhere and the deflation caused the self adhesive patch to lift through the middle. That's the worst of it - if you are out of spare tubes and get a flat, you might find you are having to fix more than one puncture....... The benefits of self adhesive are miniscule and the advantages of traditional huge. Self adhesive patches ought never to have been invented.

majormantra

Properly repaired tubes should go for years. However, I've had bad experiences with patching at the seams - sometimes they split even with a good patch job, so in that situation I'd be inclined to chuck the tube.

The_Slowboat

Further to the original question, does anyone carry any kind of lube/grease with them on a ride for puncture repair? Like many I find getting the tyre back on a pain in the backside, however if I'm at home I hop some fairy on the rim and it glides on. My on ride kit pretty much extends to mini pump, multi tool, levers and tubes.

Monty Dog

The_Slowboat wrote:

Further to the original question, does anyone carry any kind of lube/grease with them on a ride for puncture repair? Like many I find getting the tyre back on a pain in the backside, however if I'm at home I hop some fairy on the rim and it glides on. My on ride kit pretty much extends to mini pump, multi tool, levers and tubes.

Rub talc on the inside of the tyre when new, it helps the bead slide over the rim and also means the inner is less likely to stick and get punctured.

The_Slowboat

Interesting, never heard that one, thanks Monty dog will give it a shot.

jgsi

Seriously, you are standing at the roadside faffing about looking for where it is punctured?
Stick a new tube in and get on... we ARE all getting cold and pi55ed off
Only in extremis resort to patching to get you home.

nawty

Sorry, I'm a new tube kind of guy.

A tube costs what, the same as a pint? and I get few enough punctures that it makes little difference (famous last words!).

Besides, once the new one is in, it's in. I'm not going to take it out to put a broken one back in.

Yes its not THE most enviro friendly way of doing things but hey, I grow my own veg, buy local food, cycle to work a few times a week so meh :P

nawty

nawty wrote:

Sorry, I'm a new tube kind of guy.

A tube costs what, the same as a pint? and I get few enough punctures that it makes little difference (famous last words!). Also, at this time of year especially, standing around freezing waiting for someone to patch is not very nice.

Besides, once the new one is in, it's in. I'm not going to take it out to put a broken one back in.

Yes its not THE most enviro friendly way of doing things but hey, I grow my own veg, buy local food, cycle to work a few times a week so meh :P

edit: oops, pressed the wrong button but the above contains an edit

roypsb

Thanks for the replies gents. I'll get one of those Rema kits pronto and revert back to proper patching.

rolf_f

nawty wrote:

Besides, once the new one is in, it's in. I'm not going to take it out to put a broken one back in.

No, you put the repaired on in when you take the new one out after that one gets a puncture. I've never had a traditional patch fail on me so there is no reason to put a brand new one in rather than a used one.

Not sure I understand what you are on about re standing around freezing though! Normal people repair the tubes when they get home!

Bustacapp

From my extremely limited experience I found that good old vulcanising solution and standard patches work well over ridges.

Be sure to only apply the patch when the solution becomes tacky to the touch.

slowbike

JGSI wrote:

Seriously, you are standing at the roadside faffing about looking for where it is punctured?

Too bluddy right I am - cos if it's a flint sticking through it's just going to puncture the new tube ...

JGSI wrote:

Stick a new tube in and get on... we ARE all getting cold and pi55ed off
Only in extremis resort to patching to get you home.

Ah - yer, don't bother patching on the roadside ...

slowbike

nawty wrote:

Besides, once the new one is in, it's in. I'm not going to take it out to put a broken one back in.

No - you don't put the patched one back in - you patch it and keep it as the next spare ...