The Dubliner said:Only 100km old and BANG! My new Veloflex Pave is punctured by a relatively soft piece of wood. It wasn't even particularly sharp but big enough to put a good rip in it.
Anyway, I quite like Veloflex tyres, and want to repair it if I can. I have heard that I can glue some rim tape on the inside of the tyre, and use some urethane to plug the hole from the outside.
Has anyone out there done such an operation, have any advice or horror stories? Should I just sling the thing and play it safe? Maybe change to another brand of tyre?
This is the second tyre I've trashed in 3 months. The other ripped on hitting a bit of rubbish on the side of the road whilst riding to a race. At current rate of puncture, my cost of racing has risen to Aus $1 per KM.
What I've done before is used duct tape and taped the inside of the tire as you described to cover up a damaged/torn sidewall. The tear was about 1 inch in length, but I wanted to play it safe so I covered up the tear and then some with at least 6 inch strips of tape. I taped over the lip of the tire hoping that the rim would help keep it in place. I used at least three ply of tape alternating 90 degrees with one ply to the next. On the outside of the tire I used glue to close the tear but it still opened up when I pumped it. At least it should help keep the tear from propogating further. At first I didn't think this would last very long, but I've ridden it for some time and for quite some distance and it held together. The tire was no longer round and it was noticable when I was riding, but when you're waiting for new tires to be delivered it sure beats sitting around at home.
Although, I've not had a problem with this very ghetto repair, I don't recommend it as a permanent fix. You're better off, and potentially safer, with getting new tires.
