Patched tube ok?

cgk said:

I flatted for the first time last weekend (new rider...). My tire was
punctured by what might have been a small piece of glass that penetrated the
tire and tube--almost a pinhole. I patched the tube with a thick patch and
rubber cement that a friendly passerby gave me and the tube holds full
pressure. I have ordered new tires and tubes and will replace the tires, but
should I reuse the patched tube? Keep it as a spare? Keep it as a second
spare? Just throw it away?

TIA, Chris

You don't need to replace the tire, unless it's really damaged, which
usually don't happen. I suggest to keep the patched tube as spare in
your saddle bag or jersey pocket.
I don't know if you're less lucky than me, but I flat in average 2 times
a year so the cost of putting a new tube every time isn't that big.

Francesco

cgk-<< I patched the tube with a thick patch and
rubber cement that a friendly passerby gave me and the tube holds full
pressure. I have ordered new tires and tubes and will replace the tires, but
should I reuse the patched tube? Keep it as a spare? Keep it as a second
spare? Just throw it away? >><BR><BR>

Reuse it. BUT as punctures are not that uncommon, you should invest in a
seatbag for a tube, tire levers and a patch kit so you don't have to rely on a
freindly passerby.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

A properly patched tube will last ages. I've ridden tubes with a
dozen or more patches on them for months at a time. I'd say keep
using the patched tube and keep the new one as a spare, for a quick
swap out if you find yourself on the road without patches and glue.

cgk said:

I flatted for the first time last weekend (new rider...). My tire was
punctured by what might have been a small piece of glass that penetrated the
tire and tube--almost a pinhole. I patched the tube with a thick patch and
rubber cement that a friendly passerby gave me and the tube holds full
pressure. I have ordered new tires and tubes and will replace the tires, but
should I reuse the patched tube? Keep it as a spare? Keep it as a second
spare? Just throw it away?

TIA, Chris

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

cgk-<< I patched the tube with a thick patch and
rubber cement that a friendly passerby gave me and the tube holds full
pressure. I have ordered new tires and tubes and will replace the tires, but
should I reuse the patched tube? Keep it as a spare? Keep it as a second
spare? Just throw it away? >><BR><BR>

Reuse it. BUT as punctures are not that uncommon, you should invest in a
seatbag for a tube, tire levers and a patch kit so you don't have to rely on a
freindly passerby.

And a frame pump, of course 😉. Make sure that the pump fits the type
of valve you have, or is convertible. You also want a floor pump, for
pumping up the tire at home.

Tire boot patches, which cover large holes in the tire itself, are
probably not a bad idea. Otherwise, you the tube will just blow out
through the hole in the tire. You may never need them, but if you do,
they can help you get home where you can buy a new tire. You can get a
set of 3 from Park; they're all but weightless and occupy hardly any
space in your seat bag.

Regarding keeping the patched tube as a spare, I've never done that. I
guess the main reason is that I'm afraid that the other stuff in my seat
bag, like my cable lock, my multitool, etc., might abrade or poke a
pinhole in the tuble. I carry my spares, new in their original boxes to
protect them. YMMV.

The punctured tubes, I hem and haw, but eventually wind up throwing them
out.

Dave

I'm a veteran cyclist from the '70s and have fixed more flats than I
could shake a frame pump at.
Now that I've got 30+ years added on since then, I've finally decided
that I had enough of fixing flats.

When I got my latest bike about 4 years ago, after the 2nd day of
riding, I discovered a totally flat rear tire in the morning. So I
fixed the flat - and the experience really took me back, and then on
the next day, the same experience again. At that point, I really
wasn't in much of a mood to be taken back *there* anymore. In both
cases, the culprit was an extremely tiny glass shard - the kind that's
practically impossible to see and avoid.

That was when I went to the local auto parts store and bought a bottle
of Monkey Grip Tire Sealant. It has markings on the bottle for various
quantities for different kinds of tires and has an amount specified
for bicycle tires. So I put the sealant in both tires...AND I HAVEN'T
HAD A SINGLE FLAT EVER SINCE!!!
The stuff WORKS! And while I have never (and never will) see how much
glass I can ride through to 'test' the sealant, I have several times
inadvertently gone through some glass near the side of the road
(either that or get splattered by motor vehicle traffic) - and still
NO FLATS.

So unless you actually enjoy the hassles, mess, and general
inconvenience of fixing flat tires, I highly recommend this sealant.

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I flatted for the first time last weekend (new rider...). My tire was
punctured by what might have been a small piece of glass that penetrated the
tire and tube--almost a pinhole. I patched the tube with a thick patch and
rubber cement that a friendly passerby gave me and the tube holds full
pressure. I have ordered new tires and tubes and will replace the tires, but
should I reuse the patched tube? Keep it as a spare? Keep it as a second
spare? Just throw it away?

If the tube is holding air, you are set till the next flat. No need to replace
it. Keep the new tube handy so that next time you flat you won't have to do
a roadside patch. You can just swap in the new tube. Unless the hole in
your tire is quite large, I would not swap out the tire. Keep the new tire
as a spare. If you ride a lot, you will wear out your rear tire much faster
than the front.
--------------
Alex

The question is not in the patch or the glue but the preparation of the tube prior to application of said items.

The tube must have all the whitish-shiny mold release agent removed in the area to be patched. It should look like velvet, not shiny. You also need to flatten any seam ridges or at least remove the release agent.

Once this is done, then application of the cement will cause the rubber to bond to the patch. Over time, diffusion of the non-vulcanized cement and patch base into the rubber of the tube will cause the patch to completely bond to the tube. The bond gets stronger over time IF properly prepared.

If you fail to remove the release agent, repeated stretching from normal use will eventually cause the patch to fail.

RE/

Quoted message said:

I have ordered new tires and tubes and will replace the tires, but
should I reuse the patched tube? Keep it as a spare? Keep it as a second
spare? Just throw it away?

I keep them. After a half-dozen or so patches they acquire character....but
that's for MTB use, I can't comment on road use.

If you're new to this, buy one of those little under-the-saddle pouches and load
it up with a set of platic tire irons, a patching kit, a Presta-Schraeder
adapter (if you've got Presta valves) and at least one good tube...maybe two
depending on where you ride.

The diff between just finding the cause of puncture, removing it, and swapping
in a new tube vs repairing the old one can be significant - especially in rain
and/or mud.
--
PeteCresswell

RE/

Quoted message said:

I keep them.

But with one obsessive/compulsive variation: I always have a couple extras and
when I patch one that I've brought home after being swapped out, I inflate it
and hang it with the spares - substituting a spare for in in my little
under-the-saddle bag.

That way, if I've missed one or more of multiple punctures it'll show up while
it's hanging and not in the field after I've tried to use it.
--
PeteCresswell

"cgk" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I flatted for the first time last weekend (new rider...). My tire was
punctured by what might have been a small piece of glass that penetrated the
tire and tube--almost a pinhole. I patched the tube with a thick patch and
rubber cement that a friendly passerby gave me and the tube holds full
pressure. I have ordered new tires and tubes and will replace the tires, but
should I reuse the patched tube? Keep it as a spare? Keep it as a second
spare? Just throw it away?

TIA, Chris

This seems excessively profligate.

There is no need to replace a tyre after a puncture such as you
describe. Anything that cuts through the cords when you look from the
inside would necessitate a new tyre, but not necessary for just a
pinhole as you describe. In your posting you say you have ordered new
tyres - were you thinking of replacing both?

Certainly use the inner tube. I carry a spare so that I can patch it
at leisure later after a puncture, but a properly patched small hole
(as opposed to a large gash or tear) is no problem on an inner tube.

It sounds like what you really need to buy is a puncture repair kit!

Andrew Webster

Dave Stallard said:

Regarding keeping the patched tube as a spare, I've never done that. I
guess the main reason is that I'm afraid that the other stuff in my seat
bag, like my cable lock, my multitool, etc., might abrade or poke a
pinhole in the tuble. I carry my spares, new in their original boxes to
protect them. YMMV.

So keep the box, and put the punctured tube back in the box after patching!

Mark Janeba, most of whose tubes are many years and patches old.

quote='Mark Janeba'Dave Stallard said:

Regarding keeping the patched tube as a spare, I've never done that. I
guess the main reason is that I'm afraid that the other stuff in my seat
bag, like my cable lock, my multitool, etc., might abrade or poke a
pinhole in the tuble. I carry my spares, new in their original boxes to
protect them. YMMV.

So keep the box, and put the punctured tube back in the box after patching!

Mark Janeba, most of whose tubes are many years and patches old.[/QUOTE]
Or wrap the folded tube (after capping the stem) in paper towels, securing with a rubber band or zip lock baggie. Use to towels for cleaning hands, wiping sweat off the brow or any other use you can imagine (au natural).

Is it reasonable to think that a patch acts a little like a boot? I'm
thinking that if there is an unnoticed remnant in the tire (glass sliver or
tiny thorny point), then putting the tube back in the same orientation as it
came out would help prevent a recurrence? If this is true, then I see
patching as preferable to replacing. Any thoughts?

"cgk" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I flatted for the first time last weekend (new rider...). My tire was
punctured by what might have been a small piece of glass that penetrated

the

Quoted message said:

tire and tube--almost a pinhole. I patched the tube with a thick patch and
rubber cement that a friendly passerby gave me and the tube holds full
pressure. I have ordered new tires and tubes and will replace the tires,

but

Quoted message said:

should I reuse the patched tube? Keep it as a spare? Keep it as a second
spare? Just throw it away?

Unless they have a big gash in them you definitely don't need new tires.
As for tubes, someone just gave me a pack of 5 tubes for my birthday - so I
thought I'd use 2 of them. The tubes I took out had 23 patches (rear) and 17
patches (front). So compared to buying new tubes every time I'd saved about
200UKP.
Hmm...that means I can afford those carbon bars and seatpost...

--
Pete
===
850 Le Mans II, Marin Mount Vision, Onza Muni
Remove your spleen to reply by email.

Leo Lichtman wrote in message ...

Quoted message said:

Is it reasonable to think that a patch acts a little like a boot? I'm
thinking that if there is an unnoticed remnant in the tire (glass sliver or
tiny thorny point), then putting the tube back in the same orientation as

it

Quoted message said:

came out would help prevent a recurrence? If this is true, then I see
patching as preferable to replacing. Any thoughts?

True!

Trevor

Mark Janeba said:

Dave Stallard said:

Regarding keeping the patched tube as a spare, I've never done that.
I guess the main reason is that I'm afraid that the other stuff in my
seat bag, like my cable lock, my multitool, etc., might abrade or poke
a pinhole in the tuble. I carry my spares, new in their original
boxes to protect them. YMMV.

So keep the box, and put the punctured tube back in the box after patching!

Mark, basically I'm too goddamned lazy to patch a tube if I have a
spare. That's the real problem. Also, I think it would be hard to cram
a tube with any residual air in it back into the box. I'm too lazy to
do that either.

Dave

Leo Lichtman said:

Is it reasonable to think that a patch acts a little like a boot? I'm
thinking that if there is an unnoticed remnant in the tire (glass sliver or
tiny thorny point), then putting the tube back in the same orientation as it
came out would help prevent a recurrence? If this is true, then I see
patching as preferable to replacing. Any thoughts?

Yup, I've done that. Had a little see-through hole in my Specialized
Armadillo tire, and I could see it was going to admit more stuff to
puncture the tube. Ditched the tire right afterwards.

I've also put a tube patch on the inside of a tire. There was a partial
puncture, where the glass sliver made a little identation on the inside,
which would cause pinhole leaks. Dug out the sliver, but also stuck the
patch on over the identation site, just to make sure.

Dave

Get good tires so you don't get many flats and always carry equipment to
fix a flat with you (tube, patchkit, tools, pump).

Are you on a road bike? Try something with kevlar in. Unfortunately,
for road bikes they are usually at least $30 per tire, but worth it in
my mind. I haven't had a flat for over 3,000 miles riding on michelin
axial carbon. your actual results may vary.

cgk said:

I flatted for the first time last weekend (new rider...). My tire was
punctured by what might have been a small piece of glass that penetrated the
tire and tube--almost a pinhole. I patched the tube with a thick patch and
rubber cement that a friendly passerby gave me and the tube holds full
pressure. I have ordered new tires and tubes and will replace the tires, but
should I reuse the patched tube? Keep it as a spare? Keep it as a second
spare? Just throw it away?

TIA, Chris

cgk said:

I flatted for the first time last weekend (new rider...). My tire was
punctured by what might have been a small piece of glass that penetrated the
tire and tube--almost a pinhole. I patched the tube with a thick patch and
rubber cement that a friendly passerby gave me and the tube holds full
pressure. I have ordered new tires and tubes and will replace the tires, but
should I reuse the patched tube? Keep it as a spare? Keep it as a second
spare? Just throw it away?

I have patched tubes over 4 years ago that hold air just as well as when
they were new.

Even if a tube is damaged beyond repair, e.g. tear at the valve stem, do
not throw it out. The rubber can be used for various things such as
flexible shims, cover to protect a surface against rubbing, tie down
strap, etc.

--
Tom Sherman – Earth