General Cycling Discussion - glass in tire - how to fill the hole it left?

I'm sure you folks around here have gone over this so feel free to redirect me to a previous thread. I picked up a flat on the steed last night in my rear tire. Dug a triangle shaped piece of glass out of the center rubber. The hole isn't all the way through the tire and patched the tube and rode it tonight. My question is that there is still a small but noticeable hole in the tire...well, if you go over your ride with a meticulous eye. Should I fill the hole? Is it a problem? What should I use? I think I've seen folks recommend Crazy Glue or Animal Glue.

Thanks for the wisdom.

these are couple options, or if the whole its too big just get a cheap new tire and dont even bother, if money is an issue you can make your own "tire shoe" out of an old tire or a leather piece from an old shoe.

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=2527&subcategory_ID=5412
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=97&subcategory=1057&brand=&sku=11374&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=

I had this happen too. I moved the tire to the rear. I put about six layers of electrical tape of the hole on the inside of the tire. There is no bulge where the tape is and I haven't had any problems since February.

Edit - Your hole doesn't go all the way through, never mind. --- Do you believe that lightning doesn't strike twice. Move it to the back and forget about it.

Same thing happened to my front tire about 500 miles ago. I left the big hole open, next ride I see something in the hole...grit from the road working it's way into the tire. I dug out the rock and filled the hole with Shoe goo. That worked great! I can't find the spot now! Any flexible glue that will stick to rubber should work, lots at the hardware store. Good luck

Shoe goo works great. I am patching all the holes in my tire soon, as the rear is holey, and I'm too cheap to buy a new tire.

Tiny holes I hit with a little bit of super glue. Holes big enough to potentially catch another stone in get a dabble of Shoe Goo. If I feel the tire is comromised I just mount another, always keep a couple cheapies hanging from the rafters.

A dollar bill on the inside works in a pinch.

Any hole in the tire that is big enough to be seen should be taken care of immeadiately since dirt will work through and ultimately cause another leak in the tube. One boot that worked sucessfully for the life of the tire was made as follows. A one inch sqare of heavey duty kitchen aluminum foil secured in place by a two inch square of cloth tape.

when i first got my pursuit bike (early '02), i was riding around an old vittoria tubular in the front. after a while, the tire developed a small gash in the rubber. the inside and the casing was still good, but there was a gap in the rubber in this one spot. i was only riding it for a couple weeks until i got my new front built up...anyway, to sort of correct this gap, i filled it in with rubber cement. the rubber cement melted some of the rubber, which got soft and putty-like, and never re-hardened. fortunately, i got wise and stopped riding the bike before it became a problem. about a year and a half ago, i decided to play around with that front wheel and tire to practice my tubular mounting technique. the spot where i rubber cemented it was still like putty.

moral: never EVER use rubber cement. just because it says rubber in the name, doesn't mean it's good to use on rubber products.

I's just patch the inside of the tire with a large glue tube patch. Those things are thick and should work pretty well. Put a small piece of sheet metal between the patch and tire.

Park makes a boot (http://www.parktool.com/tools/TB_1.shtml). I've never used it, but I do carry one around in my tool bag. I think it was like two bucks at Performance.

I still swear by the inch-long strip of cotton hbar tape. Usually I have lots left over after taping my bars, so I just throw what's left of the roll in my bag and use it to patch up any tears in the tire. I don't worry about holes in rubber, just torn threads...rubber is the least important part of the tire.

I second the recommendation to use some Shoe Goo, that stuff is super-duper.

Put something on the inside of the tire like some cloth tape (though it doesn't matter what, really, just something that isn't stretchy, and won't abrade the tube, like mentioned, dollar bills are good 'quick fixes' for this on the road. Then goop some shoe goo to fill in the hole. The tire will be good as new, or maybe even better, since you now have a mini-flak-jacket on that one tiny part of the tire. ;) Someone should just make an entire tire out of dollar bills and shoe goo sometime.

peace,
sam

Save those extra bits of Velox rim tape - it works great as a tire boot. The adhesive holds it in place and the material is stout enough to last a long time. Easy to carry in your repair kit and practically free! (Save the dollar bill for coffee ;) )

What is shoe goo, so I can find an equivalent in Oz?

Need to know more about this shoe goo stuff. I would use a boot but this shoe goo is interesting.

Shoe goo:

http://images.rei.com/media/81659.jpg

Its kinda like a caulky/sealant stuff. Pretty durable on tires.

In the US, most hardware stores carry the stuff.

Is it silicone based or rubber/latex based? I was thinking of using some silicone sealant after reading this thread, but perhaps someone has tried that and found it to be a dumb idea?

I's just patch the inside of the tire with a large glue tube patch. Those things are thick and should work pretty well. Put a small piece of sheet metal between the patch and tire.

Have you done this and put many miles on the tire afterwards?

Have you done this and put many miles on the tire afterwards?
I have done the same but without the metal, it was for a pinch flat that damaged the side wall on a road tyre, it's done well over 1,000 klm's since with no dramas.

Have you done this and put many miles on the tire afterwards?
I have done the same but without the metal, it was for a pinch flat that damaged the side wall on a road tyre, it's done well over 1,000 klm's since with no dramas.
I live in Oz and have used Tazans Shoe glue with great success for craters left by glass, just force in as much as you can, wipe of excess and reapply if not completely filled when dry.

I's just patch the inside of the tire with a large glue tube patch. Those things are thick and should work pretty well. Put a small piece of sheet metal between the patch and tire.
Are you talking about a patch like the ones that come in tire patch kits for tubes?

I tried that on my cheapass tires, and the tube sealant/cement/solvent didn't react or whatever, so the patch didn't stick.

You guys saved my tire.

I thought I was going to throw away my old tire(about 500 miles old) because of a hole in the side wall. I have tried a tire patch from the inside but didn't work, the hole was too big. After I read all the posts in this thread, I decide to try something else. I picked up the old tire from the trash can, patch it with duct tape in 2 layers. It seems like holding up pretty good even though I haven't gone out yet since I replaced it.

Shoe goo:

http://images.rei.com/media/81659.jpg

In the US, most hardware stores carry the stuff.

I buy mine at Sport's Authority. I agree it works great.

You guys saved my tire.

I thought I was going to throw away my old tire(about 500 miles old) because of a hole in the side wall. I have tried a tire patch from the inside but didn't work, the hole was too big. After I read all the posts in this thread, I decide to try something else. I picked up the old tire from the trash can, patch it with duct tape in 2 layers. It seems like holding up pretty good even though I haven't gone out yet since I replaced it.

The glue in the duct tape will react with the tube and eventually cause a hole.

The glue in the duct tape will react with the tube and eventually cause a hole.

Thanks for the tip. I'll replace it.

Any suggestion with something readily available?

Here's a post from a friend on another cycling forum that looks like a great idea:




Having done this quite a few times with very successful results on quite a few brands of tyre i though i'd pass this tip on.
Have you ever got a slice in a tyre from a piece of glass or other unknown object that has left you with a substantial split in a tyres outer casing. Well instead of placing a patch inside the tyre or buying a new one, which really is a pain when the one you got is still quite new, try this instead.
Deflate the tyre and clean out the slice with some rubbing alcohol, then you will need to go to a hobby shop and buy some of the modelers 'super glue' as used for gluing the parts of model planes etc.
I have had very good success with a brand called Flash or Zap, the type to buy is medium gap filling formula, this is so it can cure a bit slower and fill any small discrepancys in the area.
Do not buy the generic stuff from regular stores since they usually dont last long and really dont work anyway.
The modelers glue is supposed to work even on oil soaked surfaces,this happens with the fumes from the castor based oils the planes use for the engines as a lubricant, and since the tyres use a release agent to help remove them from the mould this also tends to be an oily residue impregnated into the rubber.
Now squeeze the glue in a SMALL drop into the split and hold it together carefully till it cures, this is usually about 30 secs to a minute tops. Once its cured inflate the tyre to about 50psi and leave it till your next ride, then inflate to your regular pressure as normal before you go riding. If its all happened correctly the split should not reopen again, well at least none of the ones i did have ,,,, yet, and its been quite a while, at least till the tyre finally died.

OK so I am in the same boat here with two brand new tires in about two weeks. They are actually sitting in my trash can because I really thought they are hosed but now I think differently. But one of them was so bad that you could actually see the tube bulging through the cut. Do you think that could be repaired? The other one is not quite through to the inside of the tire.

Do you think that could be repaired?

That modeler's super glue stuff is pretty gnarly. Why not give it a try, you have nothing to lose but a couple of bucks for the cost of it.