(George F. Johnson) said:I had a puncture yesterday so I got out the patch kit only to find that (once again) the glue had
dried up, so I used one of my Park glueless patches only to have the tire go flat again in 5
minutes. On average I manage only one repair per tube of glue and the glueless patches I've tried
hold air for about 5 minutes. I've even opened at least one brand new tube to find it dried up. I
tried buying just the glue at the LBS but they only had it in larger tubes that cost more than a
patch kit so as a result I have an excess of patches but no glue. Has anyone found a better way? I
am g(c?)lueless.
George F. Johnson
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Single most important thing after using the glue tube is to roll up the bottom, expelling all the
air before capping. I have several partial tubes in different patch kits used over the past three
years and 20K miles of riding on 4 bikes. Never have a dried glue problem.
rambling on --
Currently I have 4 patch kits with 5 partial tubes, and have purchased approx 30 additional single
patches to replentish the kits along the way. I can't understand why many cyclists run out of glue.
I squeeze from the tube bottom, rub a thin film over the sanded patch area using the tube head,
recap quickly after holding the tube vertically, squeezing out any small amount of air from the
tube. Minimize the uncapped time as the solvent is volatile.
One only needs a thin, surface-covering film of glue to ensure a patch job that lasts the life of
the tube; more is not better. I often reinstall the tubes after patching, pump them up to 100psi
without problem.
Sometimes, e.g., when you find a goathead still sticking in the tire, it's easier to dismount a
portion of the tire while the wheel is still on the bike, pull out a section of the tube, repair
When possible I work the repair on a tube inflated approx to operating diameter, or somewhat larger.
(Don't ferget to pull the goathead out of the tire before reinstalling the tube!)
reporting from the land of the kevlar-defying goathead,
Bruce Ball Colo Spgs