Patching Tubes - Bin/Replace or Use

4xsama

So I got a puncture the other day. First one for about 7 months. It was about 100m from work so I rode without having to change tubes (because I didn't realise I had a flat until I got to the EOT). When the penny dropped I changed the tube with a new one so now I have a tube with a patch. The patch I used is a glueless number (Reputable brand).

Given I haven't had a flat for so long I'm thinking why bother with a patched tube - just but a new one. Its a also a bit because I don't really trust glueless patches to be honest.

If you had an average of 1 puncture/6 months, would you bother with using patched tubes as a spare?

darkhairedlord

If it's glueless, ditch it. Proper glue on patches are ok but self adhesive ones IMHO are not reliable at road tyre pressures.

svetty

darkhairedlord wrote:

If it's glueless, ditch it. Proper glue on patches are ok but self adhesive ones IMHO are not reliable at road tyre pressures.

^ this

oxoman

As already said above if self adhesive patch,s. I always carry a spare tube or 2 depending on how far and which bike I'm riding. I tend to repair in batches in winter and use the patched one's as my spares. Don't get many flats tbh as most miles are done on my bike running tubeless.

webboo

Once I have repaired a tube I put it back on my wheel and carry the new unrepaired ones as spares. That way you don’t find out 40 miles from home how censored you are at mending punctured tubes.

Vino'sGhost

Svetty wrote:

darkhairedlord wrote:

If it's glueless, ditch it. Proper glue on patches are ok but self adhesive ones IMHO are not reliable at road tyre pressures.

^ this

^ and that

timothyw

It's a bit of a fifty-fifty situation really - repaired tubes often have patches fail (in my experience, both glueless and old school) but the patch does at least provide a degree of reinforcement to the tube in an area where the tyre is presumably damaged, and so a new tube might be more lightly to pinch/rub and puncture in that same position.

My view is that repaired tubes should be used straight away - that way the force of the air pressure inside the tube against the tyre helps stick and set the patch on the tube - 100psi of force is more than I can apply with my thumbs for any period of time.

If you try and fix tubes at home then roll/fold them up the patch will often slowly lift off the tube, and let you down when you come to use it - at least using it straight away you find out if the repair has worked!

So on a given ride I'll usually carry new tubes and instant patches - and use whichever is easier to fix a given puncture.

akh

I carry patches as a last resort, but I also carry a spare tube, forget trying to stick a patch at the side of the road.

I have a similarly low puncture rate to you so I just don't bother to repair tubes once I'm safely home. It might save me about 10-15 quid a year at most. If I was suffering from many punctures I'd be tempted to try tubeless anyway.

mercia_man

I find it difficult to understand why people would throw away an inner tube after suffering a typical pin-censored puncture caused by a thorn or shard of glass. I suppose it's a sign of our throwaway society.

I rarely get punctures but carry one or two spare tubes for roadside replacement. I then carefully repair the tubes at home using proper glue patches (Tip Top). I can't remember having a patch fail. Some of my spare tubes have three or four patches on and still work fine. Glueless patches work OK as a get you home measure but you can't rely on them as a permanent fix.

MiddleRinger

I always put a new tube in at the roadside, gets you back on the road faster. Then patch (with proper glue patches) at home and put that tube back in the tyre. Glueless patch at the roadside are a last resort as I don't really trust them.

I don't repair tubes as often as I used to though. Punctured tubes have good second uses, such as supports for plants in the garden. I'm getting old...

borisface

Always used to simply replace punctured tube with a patched one then patch up the punctured one at home. However, now that inner tubes are much cheaper than they used to be, I put in a new one and the old one I cut up into strips and use around the garden to tie plants up and that.

figbat

I put a 'new' tube in at the roadside and take the old one for repair and use later (I say 'new' but mean whatever spare tube I have with me - might be box-fresh or might be a previously-repaired one). I don't recall ever having a patch leak

TimothyW wrote:

My view is that repaired tubes should be used straight away - that way the force of the air pressure inside the tube against the tyre helps stick and set the patch on the tube - 100psi of force is more than I can apply with my thumbs for any period of time.

I tend to agree, but you might be surprised. 100 psi is 689,474 N/m2. I roughly measured the area pinched between my thumb and forefinger to be around 1 cm2, which would give a force of 69 N, equivalent to that applied by around 7 kg.

If you can squeeze your tyre when inflated, you can apply more than the force of 100 psi - whilst a road tyre does feel firm, I reckon I can just about deflect it with a good pinch. That said, I couldn't sustain it for any length of time.

darkhairedlord

figbat wrote:

I put a 'new' tube in at the roadside and take the old one for repair and use later (I say 'new' but mean whatever spare tube I have with me - might be box-fresh or might be a previously-repaired one). I don't recall ever having a patch leak

TimothyW wrote:

My view is that repaired tubes should be used straight away - that way the force of the air pressure inside the tube against the tyre helps stick and set the patch on the tube - 100psi of force is more than I can apply with my thumbs for any period of time.

I tend to agree, but you might be surprised. 100 psi is 689,474 N/m2. I roughly measured the area pinched between my thumb and forefinger to be around 1 cm2, which would give a force of 69 N, equivalent to that applied by around 7 kg.

If you can squeeze your tyre when inflated, you can apply more than the force of 100 psi - whilst a road tyre does feel firm, I reckon I can just about deflect it with a good pinch. That said, I couldn't sustain it for any length of time.

sandwich between your butt cheeks then imagine Julien Clarey is lurking in the bush behind you.

Moonbiker

Rema top tip make the best patches.Come in a the box of 100 patches.

Think I have have some inner tubes with half a dozen patches on, I only bin them if theres a hole too big to patch.

Also use them for the wheel barrow fleet.

4xsama

Thanks for the comments. Went to LBS and bought 4 tubes for $25 (about 14 GBP) or $10 ea (5.6 GBP).

Cheers

ridgerider

Just to pass on something I came across last summer. On a mountain top cafe, I rider came up to me asking for a spare tube to replace a punctured one. He had dealt with his puncture by tieing a loop in the inner tube to isolate the leak, refitted the tube and continued up the climb. He said he was surprised that the fix did not create a lumpy ride, but he did not want to test it at high speed going back down.

Interesting bodge if you are short of patches or spare tubes on a ride...

lesfirth

darkhairedlord wrote:

If it's glueless, ditch it. Proper glue on patches are ok but self adhesive ones IMHO are not reliable at road tyre pressures.

I also agree with this. ^^^^

If you are going to carry patches and a tube of glue out on the road. Make sure the tube of glue is unused and not years old. Glue that has set solid in the tube is not much use. Trust me , I know. :oops:

Hooptie

It just depends. Vulcanizing patch kits work great. As an experiment, I kept repairing the same tube over and over again, and the tube was still serviceable with seven patches on it. I continued to use it for another six months before hitting a big piece of glass at night and slashing my tire open.

cougie

I get Flats so rarely now that I don't even possess a repair kit. New tube in and go. I'd ditch the old tube or cut it down to use as big elastic bands.

The Rookie

I find the idea of binning tubes due to a pinprick hole a bit repellent to be honest.

I always patch the tube, refit and carry the nearly new as spare. That said I’ve only had 3 punctures in 10,000 miles commuting and my MTB tubeless, most punctures I get are on rental bikes overseas (take my own spare tubes).

4xsama

cougie wrote:

I get Flats so rarely now that I don't even possess a repair kit. New tube in and go. I'd ditch the old tube or cut it down to use as big elastic bands.

I use them as straps for swimming paddles.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

I was guilty of simply replacing punctured tubes with new ones for years, but I kept hold of the punctured ones... And have been repairing them to re-use during the last year or so!