General Cycling Discussion - Do you fix flat tires or just use a new inner-tube?

I was wondering how many of you bother to fix flat tires instead of just using a new inner-tube. I've read a lot about how to fix flats (sand the area, put on the glue, put on the patch, etc.) so it seems like some people do this. Whenever I get a flat, I always replace the tube on the spot and throw the old one away.

I carry patches with me on the road just in case 2 tubes are not enough and its a BAD day. But when I get home the flatted tube or tubes are garbage.

When I got tubes on sale for $2, I replaced them (also I was getting rid of slime tubes anyway, which aren't patchable when they come apart). I figured I'd continue to replace them, but then I found out the regular price is like $5... so last flat I had I patched. Also I got it when I was nearly at home, so I just walked home and was able to work on the bike in my basement. Had I been changing it on the side of the road, I probably would have just replaced the tube. And if I replace the tube, I'm throwing out the old one. I'm not going to swap tubes again when I get home, and I'm not going to carry a tube with an untested patch as a spare.

None of the options really apply to me. I put a new tube in (if it's a side-of-the-road job) then patch the old one when I get home and put it back in my saddle bag for the next flat. I'll keep swapping until the patched tubes stop holding air as well as a new one.

Normally I fix them, but today, we just were in too much of a hurry, plus I got a hole in the patch I'd already patched. So now, I have to patch the patch. I figured I'd do it at home.

Koffee

use slime tubes...they fix themselves! I have had 3 times when it sounded like somebody depressed the air valve and within seconds it was sealed and I kept on truckin! I figure once the tube stops fixing itself I will replace it since it will probably be out of slime.

throw away 2 beers worth of money per tube? no way?

why throw them away? THey are still good, and a patch only makes one spot stronger.
I keep one or two extra tubes handy on rides, if I get a flat I use the extra tube to roll me home. At home i fix the tube and use that as the spare.

Since I ride 700c x 32 tires, I've never had a flat...

None of the options really apply to me. I put a new tube in (if it's a side-of-the-road job) then patch the old one when I get home and put it back in my saddle bag for the next flat. I'll keep swapping until the patched tubes stop holding air as well as a new one.

yea thats what i do :)

None of the options really apply to me. I put a new tube in (if it's a side-of-the-road job) then patch the old one when I get home and put it back in my saddle bag for the next flat. I'll keep swapping until the patched tubes stop holding air as well as a new one.

I save them up til I have 3 or 4 to patch, then do a batch of them. Either I'm lazy or efficient, take your pick. That way I can also take the time to be sure there is only one hole and I also test after patching to make sure the patch is good and no slow leaks. Somewhere around 5 or 6 patches and I decide it is time to retire a tube (unless if has an unpatchable hole before then).

I carry 2 tubes on the bike. They often have several patches each. WHen I flat on a ride, I replace the tube and patch the flat one when I get home.

My record so far is 6 patches on one tube. That tubes failed when I pulled the stem out of it because my pump head stuck on the valve.

Throw away a perfectly good tube?!? I've been known to pick up other people's tubes, patch them, and then get a free tube! 1.50$ for a patch kit will yield me 6 'new' tubes. Try to beat that price with your 'sales'. I've got a few tubes running with more than 5 patches, that have been in the bike for about 8 years without trouble.

I only throw a tube away if it has an unpatchable hole, like a tear. Sometimes seam holes can be touchy to patch, too.

peace,
sam

Since I have learned that patching tubes and tires hold and work well, I have been patching both. I had a problem with Conti Gatorskins getting holes in the sidewalls, but I have been using Park Emergency Tire Boots for the smaller ones and they work great. I heard you can even put a dollar bill or power bar wrappers in there and they work, although I have not tried it yet.

Where I bike there is a guy across the street who fixes them for free for me and my friends. But it's not te greatest pacth job so we always get new inner tubes in a about 3 days after. I get all ny stuff from the
<BLINK>Norco<BLINK>shop just down a couple of streets.

On the one hand, I disagree with the notion that it's a "bother" to patch a tube. I got a flat the other day, and the shard of glass sticking out of the tire told me where to find the hole in the tube. I pulled out that section of tube without even having to remove the rear wheel from the bike, and slapped a patch on in under 5 min, and got to work in time. I would have been even faster but it was my first time inflating a tire with a Presta valve with my mini pump, and I had to take the pump head apart and study it to see how to make it work.

On the other hand, I don't find patches reliable. Maybe it was an old patch that didn't adhere well, or maybe it was that this one time I forgot to roll it in my fingers to really seal it down although I did press tightly, but in any event, at the end of the day it was flat again so I walked to an LBS, got a new tube and put it on before riding home.

Robert

I can never seem to get patches to stick on. So I never use them anymore. I do bring a patch kit if worse comes to worse though. The glue in the tubes gets hard over time too. I hate patches!

I buy a new patch kit every year no matter what. That way, I don't have to worry about the glue hardening (thanks to Joe Gardner's story years back about giving away his last inner tube, only to get a flat and finding out his glue was hardened!).

Koffee

use slime tubes...they fix themselves! I have had 3 times when it sounded like somebody depressed the air valve and within seconds it was sealed and I kept on truckin! I figure once the tube stops fixing itself I will replace it since it will probably be out of slime.

I used a slime tube on my rear tyre once. Unfortunately it was no good to me when I did finally get a flat as I got 3 peices of glass through my tyre. Two of the holes sealed up ok once I got all the glass out, but one hole was too big and it leaked the slimey stuff into my tyre; very sticky, very hard to clean off.

I've heard that slime can be difficult to work with. I won't touch it.

Koffee

I fix the flat tire, and go on subsequent rides with it.

None of the options really apply to me. I put a new tube in (if it's a side-of-the-road job) then patch the old one when I get home and put it back in my saddle bag for the next flat. I'll keep swapping until the patched tubes stop holding air as well as a new one.

Ditto.

I find patching a tube such a brain-dead simple task that it's more hassle to replace it with a new tube then stow the big, floppy used tube somewhere to patch it at home. I only carry the spare tube if the punctured tube turns out impossible to repair.

I don't like throwing out old tubes as it generates unnecessary garbage.

I think my record is 12 patches on one tube. I even patched a hole on the valve stem (schrader valve tube), and then I drilled the valve hole on my rim larger so that the patched valve stem could go through. Then I had a blowout, so I couldn't patch that. Blownout tubes are made into rubber bands for all kinds of uses.