I was patching my daughter's tube last night. I hadn't
patched a tube in a couple of years. I found that the rubber
cement had pretty much dried up. It had become very thick
and sticky. I couldn't spread it well. I tried to apply it
anyway. Then I put the patch on, and I applied heat. I did
it by putting the tube, patch side down, onto the electric
burner on my stove. I pressed for about a second, then I
pressed the tube onto my cutting board, which was cold. I
repeated this a few times. My aim was to make the edges of
the patch look bonded to the tube. I didn't exactly reach
that goal, but I came close.
I was a bit dubious that it would hold, but it was worth a
try. I put the tube and tire back on the rim and inflated to
40 psi. I figured if it held for the night, it might hold
for good. This morning, it was fine, and my daughter rode
off to school.
Interesting, huh? Back in the 70's, I saw a section in
Glenn's Bicycle Repair about hot patching, but I thought it
was silly. Of course, necessity made trying the technique
worthwhile.
Tom Reingold Noo Joizy