Punctures. Some lessons learned.

1964johnr

Before my ride this morning I had been on a great run, not a single puncture in over a year. Something which I had never achieved previously. Then it all went wrong big time. The plan was to be out by 9, a short 30 mile ride and back before 11 to watch the cricket, Grand Prix and Tennis, not all live of course. Eight miles in dead on the half hour mark and it happened, a puncture. No problem, I had a repair kit with patches, glue and chalk. I hadn't seen it for a while because I hadn't used it. So out of the saddle bag it came. I turned the bike upside down, chain in the smallest cog, quick release and the wheel was out. Tyre leavers to get the tyre off, all in less than 5 minutes. This is where it began to go wrong. Located the puncture hole, cleaned it and roughed it up. Took the glue and put it over the hole, big enough to take the patch. Glue looked a little strange, but never mind. Took a patch and peeled off the backing which didn't come off as easily as usual. Placed the patch over the glue and firmed down, well I tried to firm it down but it kept peeling off. No Problem, i'll try another patch. Exactly the same thing happened. Maybe it's the glue I thought. I have a spare one, i'll try that. It still would not take a patch. By this time I had already refused at least 5 offers of help from passing cyclists. It still wasn't a major issue because I had a spare new tube still in its cellophane. Out it came, put a little air in it to get the right shape, but it went down. The new b....y innertube had a hole in it. By this point I was in danger of the same riders who offered me help earlier, coming past me on the way back. The upshot was that 1 hour and 45 minutes after the initial puncture I managed to get a patch to stick, just. I got on the bike, more than a little irritated and went flat out for half an hour to get home. The lessons I have learned, which may help others are as follows.

1. Puncture patches and glue degrade after a certain amount of time and need replacing.
2. Carrying a new spare tube doesn't always mean it is in good condition, check it before relying on it.
3. If you attempt to fix a puncture on the side of the road along the olympic road race route on a Sunday morning,
be prepared to accept or decline help from dozens of good willed cyclists.

Darius_Jedburgh

Think using tyre leavers didn't help.
Tyre levers would have been better.

orraloon

Or go tubeless.

Midnight

orraloon wrote:

Or go tubeless.

Why don't they get punctures !!!

imposter2.0

Franco di Banco wrote:

Think using tyre leavers didn't help.
Tyre levers would have been better.

tyre leavers or tyre remainers...?

orraloon

Midnight wrote:

orraloon wrote:

Or go tubeless.

Why don't they get punctures !!!

They can but self seal. Or if flint / glass / etc slash, then worm it / glue it. And I am not going to tempt fate now...

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Did you let the glue cure for 3mins+ before applying a patch? Your tale reads to me like you didn't, I have many an experience from years ago at being impatient after spreading glue around the roughened puncture hole and trying in vain to get a patch to stick.

amrushton

Spare tubes (x2) and inspect these regularly - they seem to perish after a while. A tyre boot to repair a slashed tyre (this could save you a £60 taxi ride - trust me). Good quality levers (Var?) and the ability to use them. A good quality pump/CO2 system. A chain tool and ability to use it and a spare link suitable for the chain (some eg Campag may be narrower). A ( speed link will work on 10 speed and 10 on 11. Tyres changed when they get that flat spot

pilot_pete

amrushton wrote:

Spare tubes (x2) and inspect these regularly - they seem to perish after a while.

I’ve never seen a tube perish. What I have seen however is a tube left in a saddle bag for months on end get hole(s) worn in it from moving around in the bag constantly and the edges wear against other items of the inside of the bag.

The solution is to wrap your spare tube in cling film (roll it at least three times in the cling film to make a thick enough casing) before packing it tightly into your saddle bag. If it rattles around then either your saddlebag is too big or you need to pack it out with something - a second tube would be a sensible option to fill the space. Being tightly packed in and wrapped in cling film prevents chafing and holes in unused tubes. Check periodically to ensure continued integrity of your wrapping.

Two things spring to mind as possible reasons why the OP could not get his patches to stick - as he says, glue could have deteriorated, but in my experience as long as it hasn’t dried out it usually works. The second possible is was the OP peeling off the correct side of the patch and trying to glue it to the tube? Maybe he peeled the wrong side off and this just didn’t stick due to its surface, material or compatibility.

PP

pblakeney

Pilot Pete wrote:

If it rattles around then either your saddlebag is too big or you need to pack it out with something - a second tube would be a sensible option to fill the space.
PP

I use a J-Cloth for packing. Useful after the fact too.

carbonclem

Buy the shrink wrapped inner tubes, pretty well protected.

Patches and glue on the side of the road? Not a chance!

andy9964

CarbonClem wrote:

Buy the shrink wrapped inner tubes, pretty well protected.

/\ This /\
And a couple of rubber gloves wrapped round it, saves transferring any oil/gunk from the chain if you have to handle it

keef66

When I rode as a kid / teenager neither I nor my mates carried a spare tube, just a puncture kit. Spent many a happy 15 minutes at the roadside patching tubes. Being permanently skint probably had something to do with it. Looking back I think we were probably quite fortunate not to end up stranded miles from home. No mobile phones back in the 70s. Well, no way of contacting home since the house didn't have a landline either. And if I'd been able to tell them I was stranded, we had no car so there'd be no chance of a recovery lift.

Funnily I don't ever remember worrying about it at the time. Blind optimism of youth...

Midnight

orraloon wrote:

Midnight wrote:

orraloon wrote:

Or go tubeless.

Why don't they get punctures !!!

They can but self seal. Or if flint / glass / etc slash, then worm it / glue it. And I am not going to tempt fate now...

Can any tyre be replaced with tubeless Thanks

keef66

Your rim needs to be tubeless ready / compatible.

thistle_

Pilot Pete wrote:

amrushton wrote:

Spare tubes (x2) and inspect these regularly - they seem to perish after a while.

I’ve never seen a tube perish. What I have seen however is a tube left in a saddle bag for months on end get hole(s) worn in it from moving around in the bag constantly and the edges wear against other items of the inside of the bag.

I've had very old patches on tubes perish (crack and leak), the tube itself was fine and could just be re-patched

slowbike

I never bother trying to repair a puncture at the side of the road.
Just extract the wheel, lay the bike on it's side, extract the damaged tube, inflate to see if I can see what caused the flat & remove the offending item from the tyre, pop new tube in, reseat tyre, inflate, pickup bike, pop the wheel back in, put everything away and off we go.
Fastest time was during a TT - 5 minutes - but I did use CO2 ...

I do carry 2 spare tubes and some quick patches as well - just to be sure....

Midnight

Slowbike wrote:

I never bother trying to repair a puncture at the side of the road.
Just extract the wheel, lay the bike on it's side, extract the damaged tube, inflate to see if I can see what caused the flat & remove the offending item from the tyre, pop new tube in, reseat tyre, inflate, pickup bike, pop the wheel back in, put everything away and off we go.
Fastest time was during a TT - 5 minutes - but I did use CO2 ...

I do carry 2 spare tubes and some quick patches as well - just to be sure....

Is carrying patches not enough, 99.99999% of the time, why the need for a tube,..............learning, thanks

bongobiggins

Midnight wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

I never bother trying to repair a puncture at the side of the road.
Just extract the wheel, lay the bike on it's side, extract the damaged tube, inflate to see if I can see what caused the flat & remove the offending item from the tyre, pop new tube in, reseat tyre, inflate, pickup bike, pop the wheel back in, put everything away and off we go.
Fastest time was during a TT - 5 minutes - but I did use CO2 ...

I do carry 2 spare tubes and some quick patches as well - just to be sure....

Is carrying patches not enough, 99.99999% of the time, why the need for a tube,..............learning, thanks

Because it's quicker? For the cost i'd rather get it swapped within minutes rather than messing repairing it. I always carry repair kit as a last resort but haven't had to use it yet.

davep1

Several manufacturers make self-adhesive patches, so you don't need glue as well, although these are a bit smaller than the variety of sizes you get with the glue ones.
I went through a phase of not patching tubes at the side of the road, just stick a new tube in and patch the punctured one in the comfort of your home. I then ended up with maybe 10 inner tubes lying around the garage unable to remember if I had patched them or not! If you can find the hole then it doesn't take much longer to patch it, and you still have the new tube for when you REALLY need it.
Lots of my friends have gone tubeless, but they have all had problems, either fitting them initially or with them constantly leaking. I can't see the advantage with tubeless, you still need to take a pump and spare tube out with you, and if you do have a problem there's a good chance you won't be able to fix it at the side of the road. My wife doesn't drive so I need to be able to get myself home, and touch wood, with inner tubes there's always a fix.

keef66

Like most I now carry spare tube(s) but also have a repair kit as a fall-back / doomsday option. Unopened tube of adhesive is a must. 2 or 3 times when I've been patching batches of tubes at home I've discovered the adhesive I've used once before is completely dried out.

slowbike

BongoBiggins wrote:

Midnight wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

I never bother trying to repair a puncture at the side of the road.
Just extract the wheel, lay the bike on it's side, extract the damaged tube, inflate to see if I can see what caused the flat & remove the offending item from the tyre, pop new tube in, reseat tyre, inflate, pickup bike, pop the wheel back in, put everything away and off we go.
Fastest time was during a TT - 5 minutes - but I did use CO2 ...

I do carry 2 spare tubes and some quick patches as well - just to be sure....

Is carrying patches not enough, 99.99999% of the time, why the need for a tube,..............learning, thanks

Because it's quicker? For the cost i'd rather get it swapped within minutes rather than messing repairing it. I always carry repair kit as a last resort but haven't had to use it yet.

yup - far quicker to whack another tube in, rather than mess around with patches - even quick patches - 2 tubes, just in case (although if riding with my wife then we'll probably have 3 tubes between us). Quick patches are carried because just in case ... what I have found though is that long term, quick patches fail - invariably leading to the ditching of the tube - whereas the "proper" patches last longer than the tube (when applied correctly) - so it depends on your view on longevity of consumables such as tubes ...

lesfirth

keef66 wrote:

When I rode as a kid / teenager neither I nor my mates carried a spare tube, just a puncture kit. Spent many a happy 15 minutes at the roadside patching tubes. Being permanently skint probably had something to do with it. Looking back I think we were probably quite fortunate not to end up stranded miles from home. No mobile phones back in the 70s. Well, no way of contacting home since the house didn't have a landline either. And if I'd been able to tell them I was stranded, we had no car so there'd be no chance of a recovery lift.

Funnily I don't ever remember worrying about it at the time. Blind optimism of youth...

Back then you could "thumb" a lift from a passing car or lorry. We never thought about being picked up by a paedophile and the driver never thought about being accused of being one. Was life very innocent then or am I having a bout of nostalgia again?

PhilipPirrip

lesfirth wrote:

keef66 wrote:

When I rode as a kid / teenager neither I nor my mates carried a spare tube, just a puncture kit. Spent many a happy 15 minutes at the roadside patching tubes. Being permanently skint probably had something to do with it. Looking back I think we were probably quite fortunate not to end up stranded miles from home. No mobile phones back in the 70s. Well, no way of contacting home since the house didn't have a landline either. And if I'd been able to tell them I was stranded, we had no car so there'd be no chance of a recovery lift.

Funnily I don't ever remember worrying about it at the time. Blind optimism of youth...

Back then you could "thumb" a lift from a passing car or lorry. We never thought about being picked up by a paedophile and the driver never thought about being accused of being one. Was life very innocent then or am I having a bout of nostalgia again?

Way off topic but Jimmy Saville was very popular in the 70's and not being accused of being a paedophile was rather useful for him.

In the 70's I don't think I ever thought about carrying a pump or repair kit. Just being out on the bike was all that mattered.

Now it's tubes, pump, repair kit and multitool as a minimum. Now getting back is just as important.

keef66

lesfirth wrote:

Back then you could "thumb" a lift from a passing car or lorry. We never thought about being picked up by a paedophile and the driver never thought about being accused of being one. Was life very innocent then or am I having a bout of nostalgia again?

I suspect the risks were the same but nobody talked about them so it felt safer. I hitched thousands of miles as a student in the 70s and only regretted one lift (couple of mechanics driving somebody else's car at stupid speeds) Often I'd get drivers happy to go out of their way, and one little old lady even bought me lunch!

pilot_pete

keef66 wrote:

When I rode as a kid / teenager neither I nor my mates carried a spare tube, just a puncture kit. Spent many a happy 15 minutes at the roadside patching tubes. Being permanently skint probably had something to do with it. Looking back I think we were probably quite fortunate not to end up stranded miles from home. No mobile phones back in the 70s. Well, no way of contacting home since the house didn't have a landline either. And if I'd been able to tell them I was stranded, we had no car so there'd be no chance of a recovery lift.

Funnily I don't ever remember worrying about it at the time. Blind optimism of youth...

Bloody hell, we weren’t bezzie mates in the 70’s were we? That sounds uncannily like my 1970’s childhood!

PP

keef66

Pilot Pete wrote:

Bloody hell, we weren’t bezzie mates in the 70’s were we? That sounds uncannily like my 1970’s childhood!

PP

And thousands like us I suspect. Simpler times! My cycling chums were Roy and Colin, so if you are in fact Pete, probably not.

svetty

It certainly wouldn't go down well with me or my mates if any of us started farting around at the road-side trying to patch a tube. Also not sure I'd want to do this when it's pissing down or freezing cold. Just fit a fresh tube and repair the puncture in the comfort of your warm safe home later.

pblakeney

lesfirth wrote:

Back then you could "thumb" a lift from a passing car or lorry. We never thought about being picked up by a paedophile and the driver never thought about being accused of being one. Was life very innocent then or am I having a bout of nostalgia again?

Nostalgia. As a youngster in the early 70s I once spent my bus money on sweets and hitched a lift. The guy that gave me a lift was a colleague of my Dad. I got what-ho for putting myself in a dangerous position.

Matthewfalle

keef66 wrote:

lesfirth wrote:

Back then you could "thumb" a lift from a passing car or lorry. We never thought about being picked up by a paedophile and the driver never thought about being accused of being one. Was life very innocent then or am I having a bout of nostalgia again?

I suspect the risks were the same but nobody talked about them so it felt safer. I hitched thousands of miles as a student in the 70s and only regretted one lift (couple of mechanics driving somebody else's car at stupid speeds) Often I'd get drivers happy to go out of their way, and one little old lady even bought me lunch!

this - we used to hitch everywhere, all the time. never had a problem and even managed to get a job out of one lift

#employment

amrushton

Punctures generally happen at the worst time, miles from home. Trying to put patches on in the rain/wind, heat etc is time lost. Wheel out, pack open and lay your tools out AFTER getting shelter from rain/wind/sun if possible. Disposable gloves on, inspect tyre for debris and then tube out. New tube unwrapped from cling film (good tip there!) and semi inflated. Tube in, tyre seated then pumped up. Wheel in, tools put away, fold used tube up or dispose of in a bin. Wipe gloves and bike with J-cloth (another good tip). Throw gloves away (in a bin). Have a drink - get going.
Why shelter? When my chain broke the other week it was hot in the sun, so a local bus shelter allowed me to get shade and provided a stand for the bike using the seat for waiting passengers. When another rider punctured on a ride recently, it was raining hard so into a bus shelter to stay dry HOWEVER - he tried pumping the tyre with the valve at 6 o clock when it should be at 12 (your knuckles won't scrape the ground and your pump is at a better angle.