Bicycle Mechanics - Which Tube Patch?

I'm a big rider and the guy that stores everyones bike at my house. I've been buying little patch kits pretty regular. I'd like to buy more than 6 patches at a time.

First Question is:
Which is the best brand of patch, Innovations, Velox, Rema, or do they all work about the same?

I just bought a patch kit private labeled for a sporting goods store, and the patches are super thin and completely black. Very flexible, are these better patches or worse than the two layer Rema type?

Where can I get a larger supply, maybe 20 patches bulk in each brand? Or do I have to buy a case of little kits?

My LBS sells patches for 20 cents ea. I usually buy like five bucks worth whenever I need more....

I've heard rema patches are very good, the glueless ones i've not had very good luck with. As a fix onthe road they seem to work well for me but for extended lengths of time don't seem to hold up they are about the thinnest you can get. Only difference I've noticed in some patches vs others is some vulcanize and others seem not to.. I could be wrong though.

Biketoolsetc you can buy 100 rema patches at a time then the glue separately..

I trust Rema patches, but only the glued type. If you're going to trust a glueless patch, you might as well just cut little squares of duct tape. They work about as well.

I'd already aborted the glueless patch. I figure, if i'm gonna go to the trouble of dismounting and remounting the tire and find the leak, and scuff it up, the extra step of putting a little fluid on the spot and waiting a couple of minutes far outweighs having to go to the trouble of dismounting and remounting the tire and find the leak, and scuff it up, AGAIN.

So does anyone know what brand the "very thin" and not very stretchy but "very flexible" patches are? They are all black, single layer, something other than plain butil(?) rubber.

If you are friendly with your LBS personnel, all LBS have a huge book of bike
parts that they are given by one or both of the two major US wholesalers.
In this book are boxes of patches 100/box with price to be determined by the LBS, and should be in the $15-20 range. They come in 20 and 25mm diameters and rectangles. If your shop is as accomodating as Fixers and Kevs is then if they don't sell patches each then they should be able to order a box for you. You can then get an 8oz brush cap can of tire glue for $4-5 at an auto parts store or Walmart auto dept and fix tubes until they burst or the valve rips out.
Steve

I buy a BIG square patch sheet which is 6 by 4inches and then cut circular patches from that. The whole sheet is only a few dollars. It is just a generic brand, red in colour.

CHEERS.

Mark

yep. I NEVER buy patches from a bike shop. I go to the automotive section of Fred Meyer or some other large store that seems to sell EVERYTHING under the sun. I buy the 'rubber repair kit' and cut my patches from that.

you can also use an old tube and rubber cement. works just as well. but if your putting them on a road bike, where the wheel can feel out of balance with a small amount of weight on it, off centered, you may want to go with a 'light weight' patch.
and only put one patch on the tube. I've personally had over 20 patches on one tube before. that's alot of extra rubber.

I think you guys are crazy -- I hate messing with glue and patchs. I now always use the Park brand Super Patch glueless type (although I think they call it pre-glued). They have never broken seal on me and I commute daily. (other brands haven't worked quite as dependably.)

I've always had problems with my glueless patches stretching too much (and coming off the tube) if applied while deflated, or shrinking up and then losing it’s seal if it’s first pumped up, applied, and then loses air again.. Do patch + glue kits have this problem, or does it not matter when the patch is applied?

Patch plus glue almost never fails for me. Patches are designed to stretch some and the tube, inside the tire really doesn't expand all that much. The
Park patches IIRC dont expand as much. I had a near 100% failure rate with Park, and haven't used them in several yrs as a result. They do make good
tire boot patches for carcass punctures. Of course if you use 18-22mm tubes in 28mm tires the tube will expand more than if appropriate tube sizes are
used. Steve

Another vote for Remas. I don't have to patch very often... a little box of patches lasts me years. (I guess I'm lucky!) The problem I run into is the glue dries up before the patches are used up. Buying a new patch kit is less expensive than just the glue. The patches accumulate, albeit slowly.