Repairing punctures successfully

dhobiwallah

Not a biking newbie - but relatively new to lycra and this problem is specific to my road bike.

On my MTB I have repaired numerous punctures without a second thought. On my road bike I just cannot seem to manage it successfully.

One issue is the use of a mini-pump. Last ride I punctured and when it went down again I re-repaired it. Didn't get decent pressure after the repair so pinch-flatted. While trying to get the next repair up to a decent pressure I managed to snap the valve core :evil: I also bent the core on the spare tube so ended up binning the ride and riding home v-gingerly on a pretty soft tyre.

So - I have bought a mini pump with a hose attachment to solve that issue. But - even after using a track pump the tyre deflated overnight.

I realise the pressures from road to MTB will make a huge difference, but are some patches just not man enough for 100psi?

I am using park tools self-adhesive patches, but ultimately they always seem to end up with a slow leak. I have also tried old school glue patches with a similar lack of success.

Have just purchased some slime 'skabs' to see if they are any better.

Any tips?

homers_double

Yes, use a new tube every time.

Possibly not the most economical way of doing things but when I get up at 5.45 to go on a pre work loop I dont want to be changing tubes.

mercia_man

Old school Tip Top glue patches work fine for road tyres at 100 psi. Never had one fail. I carry one or two spare tubes for roadside replacement and patch up punctures at home.

dhobiwallah

So not much love for self-adhesive patches at high pressures then?

Bobbinogs

I only ever use patches when I don't have a spare tube as I see them as a 'get you home' option. I know some folks have had a much better experience with them... but I haven't.

Hence, I always carry 2 spare tubes (on the rationale that if I hit something with the front tyre then it is likely I will hit it with the rear too) and carry patches just in case.

Repairing at home is no problem at all if using a decent repair kit and can give perfect results providing the hole is not too long or the patch won't cover two snakebite holes. I think it is just a case of following the basics (scuffing first, allowing the glue to cure slightly before applying the patch, etc.) and then waiting overnight with a well placed weight. The TT kits are great.

A decent pump for the roadside is a must, Topeak's morph range is excellent although many Lezyne models are also good. CO2 is a good option for winter but I always have a pump, in any case.

Conti tubes usually come with an unscrewable valve...so I avoid them like the plague.

Daz555

I tend to swap out the tube and then promise to myself that I'll repair the puncture later.............. :?

drlodge

Mercia Man wrote:

Old school Tip Top glue patches work fine for road tyres at 100 psi. Never had one fail. I carry one or two spare tubes for roadside replacement and patch up punctures at home.

+1 just make sure you glue the entire area where the patch will go, and let the glue dry before applying the patch.

dhobiwallah

Waiting overnight with a well placed weight :shock: That kind of puts a kibosh on roadside patch repair!

It looks like my MTB plan of patching with a spare tube in case the old one is unrepairable is about to be turned around with a new tube as the primary option with a patch kit as a back up.

And none of the above seem to use adhesive patches so that looks like it has answered that one!

CiB

Self-adhesive patches might work for some but for the effort saved and their propensity for failure it hardly seems worth bothering with them. Here's your free handy cut out & keep guide to fixing a puncture at home.

You will need: patches, glue, not too coarse emery or sand paper, tyre levers, track pump and or CO2 canister.

Wip the tyre & tube off, inflate the tube enough to spot the leak. If it's a slow one, go for the old tube in a bowl of water routine to identify it. Mark the location with a ball point pen, either a circle round it or arrows pointing to it.

Lightly roughen the area around the hole making sure to cover an area bigger than the patch to go on. Do this with enough air in the tube that it's roughly tyre sized, if it holds air for long enough.

Dob a bit of glue on the roughed area and smear it round to leave a thin film. Ideally the hole will make itself known by creating an air dot in the glue. Put the tube to one side. If it's cold and your patches have been outside with you, put the one you plan to use on a radiator or somewhere warm.

Examine the tyre to find the cause. It might be a 6" nail, it might be a tiny shard of glass. Find it, remove it. Don't be scared of finding it with your fingertips and drawing blood.

By the time you've done this the glue will have gone off enough; put a bit of air in to make it tyre shaped again if necessary, peel the foil off the patch, line it up centrally and press it on from the centre outwards then roll it down firmly with the tube & patch flat between thumb & forefinger.

Drop the tyre back on the rim on one side only, slot the valve in then start working the tyre onto the rim. When you get to the valve, push it up to make sure the tyre beads sit in the rim properly. If you can, roll the tyre on bit by bit with your hands till it drops on. Only use levers if you really have to as it's easy to trap the tube & flat it again with them.

Put a bit more air in the tube to fill it out, then hold the wheel vertically in front of your face and spin it up - watch the tyre bead / rim to check that it's level and even as it rotates. Do both sides. If necessary let the air out, reseat the tyre and repeat.

Pump it up to the required pressure and drop it back on to the bike. Job done.

rolf_f

And just in case CiBs long instruction puts you off, it would take a similar amount of words to describe how to make the cup of tea that you make whilst waiting for the glue to dry. It really is a very easy process but one that isn't helped by glueless patches (which should be banned as a pointless invention).

If you can't fix an inner tube such that the repair is stronger than the tube itself then really you aren't safe to be allowed out on your own...... homers double; are you reading this?

dhobiwallah

Shall have to go old-skool again.

Been using self adhesive patches for years at 30 psi with no issues at all. (I'm not so sure they are pointless. Ever found yourself in the wrong place on an MTB after an area has been hedge cutting with hundreds of thorns all over the place - doubt I would have been carrying 6 spare MTB tubes! Would have been even more of a faff than it was if I was using vulcanising solution at the side of the trail...)

Apparently if the hole is next to a seam in the tube or you roughen it too much then you may get an air leak according to park tools themselves...


Thanks for the replies

drlodge

A temporary patch at 30psi is one thing, a permanent repair at 110psi is quite another. I carry some self adhesive patches in my Topeak rescue box as an emergency but I've never had to use them yet....always replace with the inner tube on the road, and repair if it makes sense to do so, when home.

rolf_f

dhobiwallah wrote:

Shall have to go old-skool again.

Been using self adhesive patches for years at 30 psi with no issues at all. (I'm not so sure they are pointless. Ever found yourself in the wrong place on an MTB after an area has been hedge cutting with hundreds of thorns all over the place - doubt I would have been carrying 6 spare MTB tubes! Would have been even more of a faff than it was if I was using vulcanising solution at the side of the trail...)

Apparently if the hole is next to a seam in the tube or you roughen it too much then you may get an air leak according to park tools themselves...


Thanks for the replies

The trouble is, that traditional patches are really pretty much as easy to use as self adhesive ones - hence why self adhesive are pointless. The only difference between them is that traditional should make a permanent repair whereas self adhesive are likely to fail at some point. The problem is the rubber contracting under them when they deflate - you get a new puncture and potentially find your old puncture now needs re-repairing.

I'd agree though that this is likely to be less of an issue for low pressure MTB tubes. But IMO it still comes under the heading of 'if a jobs worth doing, it's worth doing properly'. Put it this way, if my frame cracked I'd get it welded - not try to fix it with a sticker*!

*This is a tongue in cheek comment not meant to be taken seriously.....

larkim

Ref the making a cup of tea whilst the glue cures - I went back to a traditional fix this last weekend, and the weldtite rubber solution instructions said to wait for 1 minute for the glue to cure. Is that a cuppa's time? Or have I just "fixed" four inner tubes in a manner which will cause immediate failure?!?

(I was also confused by the transparent plastic film that covered each of the patches - I now know that they are in lieu of the old grated chalk dust (I think), but I did spend a while trying to pull it off!)

redvee

Daz555 wrote:

I tend to swap out the tube and then promise to myself that I'll repair the puncture later.............. :?

I do that but wait till I have 5 or 6 tubes to repair and repair them in bulk and a final check is to dunk them in the bath before the OH gets in

rolf_f

larkim wrote:

Ref the making a cup of tea whilst the glue cures - I went back to a traditional fix this last weekend, and the weldtite rubber solution instructions said to wait for 1 minute for the glue to cure. Is that a cuppa's time? Or have I just "fixed" four inner tubes in a manner which will cause immediate failure?!?

I just make sure that the glue isn't slimy to the touch. In the past, I've done everything from waiting for exactly 60 seconds to forgetting all about the repair and coming back to it half an hour later! Sometimes I've then put a second coat on but usually not.

dhobiwallah

I agree that glue seems to be the way ahead for high pressure.

For MTB use there may not be much in it if you are pottering around in the garage - I beg to differ if it is hosing down with rain at the trailside.

Hence why roadies all seem to favour the tube option when out and about. I only carried a 26" one as an emergency backup in case I'd ripped it and it was unrepairable - an easily accessible self adhesive patch was about as quick as digging the tube out from the bottom of my pack....

larkim

I suspect it's the experience of MTBs that one spare inner tube isn't enough to ensure a whole day of riding if the puncture gods have got it in for you, so a quick instant stick-on is a decent option to avoid having to carry 2 or 3 spare inners, particularly if your hands are covered in crap from getting the mud-splattered tyres off your bike in the first place. Plus a MTB'er might be less concerned perhaps having to stop in 30 minutes for a small extra hit of air into the tyres if it leaks a little bit, whereas I suspect that is less palatable for a roadie out for a 7 hour endurance fest!

Cygnus

dhobiwallah wrote:

Not a biking newbie - but relatively new to lycra and this problem is specific to my road bike.

On my MTB I have repaired numerous punctures without a second thought. On my road bike I just cannot seem to manage it successfully.

One issue is the use of a mini-pump. Last ride I punctured and when it went down again I re-repaired it. Didn't get decent pressure after the repair so pinch-flatted. While trying to get the next repair up to a decent pressure I managed to snap the valve core :evil: I also bent the core on the spare tube so ended up binning the ride and riding home v-gingerly on a pretty soft tyre.

So - I have bought a mini pump with a hose attachment to solve that issue. But - even after using a track pump the tyre deflated overnight.

I realise the pressures from road to MTB will make a huge difference, but are some patches just not man enough for 100psi?

I am using park tools self-adhesive patches, but ultimately they always seem to end up with a slow leak. I have also tried old school glue patches with a similar lack of success.

Have just purchased some slime 'skabs' to see if they are any better.

Any tips?

I tried them and had the same problem as you, I ended up going back to the basic patches and glue, problem solved. I'll never use the self adhesive patches again.

simon_masterson

Self adhesive patches can work but there's really no good reason to use them - the only possibility I can think of is making repairs by the roadside and that is something you should not need to be doing. Carry a spare tube and a good quality pump. If you need more than one (certainly two) spare tube(s) then you have the wrong tyres, and a good pump will provide the pressure.

Also, a patch properly applied with rubber solution is stronger than the rest of the tube. If you can remove it without destroying the tube then I'll be prepared to consider the possibility that binning tubes rather than patching them is a sensible practice. Until then, it's for idiots.

danlikesbikes

larkim wrote:

Ref the making a cup of tea whilst the glue cures - I went back to a traditional fix this last weekend, and the weldtite rubber solution instructions said to wait for 1 minute for the glue to cure. Is that a cuppa's time? Or have I just "fixed" four inner tubes in a manner which will cause immediate failure?!?

(I was also confused by the transparent plastic film that covered each of the patches - I now know that they are in lieu of the old grated chalk dust (I think), but I did spend a while trying to pull it off!)

You up the patch on the inner, leave the film on and push out from the centre and air bubbles and helps to ensure and smooth and tight bond then peel off the film.

See the link for GCN's how too Gide as an example and check out the hint for not taking out the value too quickly find the corresponding part of the clincher.

http://youtu.be/lDNiD-QiFSM

larkim

That's interesting, because the "official" weldtite video says to leave the backing on!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhrzHi-opQg

danlikesbikes

larkim wrote:

That's interesting, because the "official" weldtite video says to leave the backing on!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhrzHi-opQg

I've always removed myself after pressing the patch down, but can't see it doing any harm by leaving it on. Guess it's user choice as the third option.