Commuting - Patch kit failure rate

In your experience, how often do patch kits actually work? I've tried them twice, and twice they have failed as I was reinflating the tube. Last time was two days ago. I had a pinhole puncture, which seems ideal for patching, but air started escape from the same hole (patched) at about 30 psi.

Am I just doing it wrong? Or maybe do I have a lousy patch kit?

Did you sand it off well and give it time to dry? I always put on a new tube then patch the old one to use later. I've never had a problem with them. I have tubes with three or four patches on them.

Did you sand it off well and give it time to dry? I always put on a new tube then patch the old one to use later. I've never had a problem with them. I have tubes with three or four patches on them.

Damn. I'm probably just doing it wrong. Yeah, I sanded, and gave it about 20 minutes to set (this was in the comfort of my own home... mysterious overnight flat).

I don't remember how long I waited the first time I tried it.

2 is not a large sample space. I'll give it another shot.

Park Tools GP-2 Super Patch kit

Self adhesive patches, comes with sanding square, $3.00 (approx.) Works 100% of the time, in my experiences. I've only needed to patch 1 tube for myself, and the rest have been karma boosters. For $3.00 on 6 patches, it's not going to break the bank giving them away to other riders who need a patch.

I've had some failures with the pre-glued patches. The ones with real glue and a real rubber patch, I've never had a problem.

let the glue dry slightly before you patch it together.
As in.. put glue on the tyre and the patch.. leave them separately for about 5-10 minutes.. then stick them together.

haven't really had a patch fail.. except for this one time where i didn't use the right glue.

I've had some failures with the pre-glued patches. The ones with real glue and a real rubber patch, I've never had a problem.

Mine are pre-glued. Maybe I'll try the other kind. (I'm guessing the tube with the faulty patch on it is now a lost cause though.)

Whatever. Tubes aren't that expensive either.

I use the glue type. I wait about 2 min after appling the glue. Have had no problems with them at all.

i've had some patches curl up after a while, but it was due to not putting enough glue over the whole surface area of the patch. i usually use more glue than is probably necessary now - keep that SOB down.

I carry the PARK TOOLS "Super Patch" kit, aprox 1.5" square & thin plastic box. Self adhesive patches have worked for me mountain biking. I was wondering if you have considered having a spare tube with you? There are small triangular seat bags that could hold it and after a while, you'd hardly notice it on the bike. :commute:

I commute with a trunk bag, so I've always got a spare tube & patches. My mountain and road bikes have the little triangle shaped seat bags.

Pre-glued patches just don't work that well. Whether they work seems entirely dependent on the patch, with little to no user error issues.


"traditional" glue patches always hold if installed correctly. Installed correctly being the key. They're not for impatient people.


The ideal scenario is to have an extra tube, put the new tube in and patch the old tube with a traditional kit in the comfort of your living room.

Did you sand it off well and give it time to dry? I always put on a new tube then patch the old one to use later. I've never had a problem with them. I have tubes with three or four patches on them.

Three or 4 patches? Is the tube still new?;) Mine seem to have that many right out of the box:rolleyes: 15 to 25...now you're talking.

I use the glue type. I wait about 2 min after appling the glue. Have had no problems with them at all.

Ciggie! where ya been, bro? long time no see! ...still riding that Denali?

...oh yeah, I use a regular glue & rubber el-cheapo patch kit, let the glue set for a minute or 2 before putting the patch on, never had a problem. I always carry 2 tubes and patch at home (unless I score 3+ punctures on any one commute - has happened twice in 20 years)

I carry the PARK TOOLS "Super Patch" kit, aprox 1.5" square & thin plastic box. Self adhesive patches have worked for me mountain biking. I was wondering if you have considered having a spare tube with you? There are small triangular seat bags that could hold it and after a while, you'd hardly notice it on the bike. :commute:

I commute with a trunk bag, so I've always got a spare tube & patches. My mountain and road bikes have the little triangle shaped seat bags.

I always carry a spare tube in my saddle bag. But since this flat occurred over night while it was just sitting in my front hallway, I thought I'd give the patch kit a shot.

When done correctly the glue type don't fail (not the glueless type). They also set in a few seconds. You might not be letting the glue dry before putting on the patch, that's important. I have not had a failure in 20 years, unless I did not let the glue dry long enough. Maybe one failure, but it was my fault.
Once done they last as long as the tube. Are you sanding the area before patching too?

Park Tools GP-2 Super Patch kit

Self adhesive patches, comes with sanding square, $3.00 (approx.) Works 100% of the time, in my experiences. I've only needed to patch 1 tube for myself, and the rest have been karma boosters. For $3.00 on 6 patches, it's not going to break the bank giving them away to other riders who need a patch.

:thumb: Never had a problem with these!

I"ve had a 50% fail rate with the slime scabs. 100% success rate with glue. I've got park pre-glued in my bag now and I'll probably give one of those a stab this weekend on the slow leak on my front tire.

I try to find (edit: and remove) the cause of the puncture while the glue dries. It usually times out just right to apply the patch. If possible I try to avoid dismounting the wheel from the bike and simply pull the tube out at the hole.

Never had one fail, the glue type that is. I always sand the area smooth, removing any mold marks near the hole, glue, dry, patch, insert in tire, inflate to 85-100PSI.

And, my tubes have a LOT OF PATCHES on them. I buy patches in bulk. 100 of them for like $9. Glue is available in most automotive supply stores.

I try to find (edit: and remove) the cause of the puncture while the glue dries. It usually times out just right to apply the patch. If possible I try to avoid dismounting the wheel from the bike and simply pull the tube out at the hole.

This is a skill I need to learn. I imagine it's only doable if the cause of the puncture is evident from outside the tire. (Or am I wrong?)

This is a skill I need to learn. I imagine it's only doable if the cause of the puncture is evident from outside the tire. (Or am I wrong?)

Reinflate somewhat, enough to hear the telltale hisssss...

Your training is complete. May the force be with you.

I use an alcohol swab to clean the tube after roughing it up. This ensures a clean surface for the glue.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31JEBP00Y6L._SL500_AA200_.jpg

My failure rate is 0%, never had a patch fail. I buy my patches from the dollar store so they're pretty much the cheapest possible. You get real good at patching when you run Continental Ultra Sports.

I've tried the park glueless patches, failed every time. They would pump up fine, but within 48 hours, they'd be flat again. Never tried the Glue types. I've tried many techniques with the glueless ones, never had success.

I've only screwed up a few patches, but those were on snake bites with 700x18-25 tubes, so I guess I was asking for it.

on fatter tubes it's way easier to fix punctures.

I've also had trouble with the pre-glued type. The latest one worked for about a month before it separated from the tube. I had the wheels in my car and it got pretty hot, so that may partly be to blame. The worst part is that after a pre-glued one falls off, you can't re-patch that same spot because of all the glue crap leftover.

Park Tools GP-2 Super Patch kit

Self adhesive patches, comes with sanding square, $3.00 (approx.) Works 100% of the time, in my experiences. I've only needed to patch 1 tube for myself, and the rest have been karma boosters. For $3.00 on 6 patches, it's not going to break the bank giving them away to other riders who need a patch.

I use these exclusively. They're great and have never failed.

I've never had a patch fail - I only use the nickel sized Remas

My patch kits always work. The glueless self-stick patches have essentially never worked for me though. I don't think they were the super-duper Park Tools ones but I've been burned enough, the rubber cement isn't so hard to use.

The only time I"ve had traditional patches fail is when I've been too impatient to let the glue dry or I managed to miss the hole.

I try like mad to avoid punctures in the first place. I average about 1 a year. I use the Specialized Kevlar tyres on road/mountain bike. They are very puncture resistant. I used to commute at 6am in the pitch dark in winter and didn't fancy trying to fix up a tyre in the dark.

Guys, the preglued patches are SUPPOSED to fail! They are only designed to be temporary (ie. get you home). That's why I never bother with them.

+1 for carrying spare tube and patching the tube in the living room. I always keep a patch kit in the saddle bag just in case the are multiple flats.

Guys, the preglued patches are SUPPOSED to fail! They are only designed to be temporary (ie. get you home). That's why I never bother with them.


My pre-glued ones fail as soon as I inflated the tube to about 30-35 psi :(

Glueless patches from both my understanding and experience on road bikes should not be aired up to typical pressure. I made this mistake once, so the next time around I put 60 or 70 % of what I normally use and it got me home (all they're for...) just fine.

I have never had a glued patch fail. I even use tubes that have multiple 3 year old patches that are still like new. Have never tried one of those pre-glued ones though.

I use the pre-glued patches and have several tubes with multiple fixes on them.

They have failed exactly three times.
Twice when I didn't let them sit overnight, under pressure, (I usually apply the patch and then put that part of the tube under a heavy book, for the night).
And once when the puncture was on the side of the tube.

My conclusions from this are that if you want to patch the side of the tube, use the ones requiring glue.

One last point here, don't let anyone tell you that patching, in general is ineffective. Every tube in use has been patched. How do you think they get the stems onto the tubes?

I use the glue type. I wait about 2 min after appling the glue. Have had no problems with them at all.

Same.

I use the glue type. I wait about 2 min after appling the glue. Have had no problems with them at all.

BTW, you still riding the WalMart Denali? :p

I make my own pre-glued patches out of my old innertubes...
chop up old tube, sand it, put the rubber cement on, let it dry a minute or so, put aluminum foil on it.
Haven't ever failed.

Are you remembering to sand the hole and put rubber cement and let it dry Before applying the patch?
Rubber cement is a little counterintuitive from other glue in that you want it to be dried before sticking the two pieces together...

Maybe 1 in 10 failure rate or less, it's not that common. Harder to patch successfully on the inside of the tube. This is with 26x2.125, which gives you more surface to work with, and that may help.

Something else is that some tubes are quite a bit smaller than the tire they go in. In that case, I try to inflate the tube to about the finished size before sticking the patch on. It kind of dimples when the tube is deflated, but then doesn't have to stretch when installed. After sticking the patch on, knead it good with your fingers. Good luck.

I have had pretty good results from patching, even when I used super glue when I ran out of rubber cement. The failure rate in my case was equal to that of installing a new tube.

I only use the old fashioned glued patches and have had no failures... mind you I have only had 2 flats in the last 20,000 km of riding and most of my patchwork happens at the bike shop or on the road where I have helped countless riders.

I've had problems with cheap Chinese patches which tend to be rather thick and don't want to adhere properly while inflating. I've never had a problem with Rema TipTop patches.

I've had some failures with the pre-glued patches. The ones with real glue and a real rubber patch, I've never had a problem.

Since I switched over to glueless patches about 2 years ago I've have had zero problems. I like these glueless patches BETTER then the glue type now.

Is that samuel L. whereing a bike helmet in your avater?

In your experience, how often do patch kits actually work? I've tried them twice, and twice they have failed as I was reinflating the tube. Last time was two days ago. I had a pinhole puncture, which seems ideal for patching, but air started escape from the same hole (patched) at about 30 psi.

Am I just doing it wrong? Or maybe do I have a lousy patch kit?
For me if the patch works initially it never fails later. But I have had a few problems where the patch does not hold right away. This usually happened when peeling off the plastic on the top of the patch - some people leave this on. I like to take it off to see that I have a well-sealed patch. But I think I get impatient. Steps seem to be rough up the spot, apply glue liberally, wait until glue is tacky but not overly dry (about 5 min), apply patch pressing really well, wait about 5 min, remove plastic preferably from center having broken the plastic by scrunching the patch before applying it. Sometimes when I peel the plastic up from the edge I bring the edge of the patch up with it.

Never had one fail, the glue type that is. I always sand the area smooth, removing any mold marks near the hole, glue, dry, patch, insert in tire, inflate to 85-100PSI.

And, my tubes have a LOT OF PATCHES on them. I buy patches in bulk. 100 of them for like $9. Glue is available in most automotive supply stores.

Where do you get the 100 patches for $9.00.
Thanks

I use park glueless patches as described in earlier posts. They work well temporaily. Later (at home) I replace them with REMA patches. I sand/clean the area, apply a thin film of REMA cement, allow it to dry to tackiness (3-5 min.) and apply the patch.

I have never had a REMA patch fail. They're from germany and used to be available all over the place. Now I buy them in a box of 100 for $14.95 and a can of glue for $7.95 at biketoolsetc.com - They're located in Oregon and have great customer service.

I use these patches on everything from MTB tubes inflated @ 45psi to road bike tubes inflated to 115psi.

I live in Idaho, land of the famed goathead thorn and I fix a lot of flats on the family fleet of bikes. I highly recommend REMA patches. They have transformed my life.

This is been a paid infomercial for REMA patches... The facts are true - the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

I use the same $14.95 patches. They work good as long as they are properly applied.

CLEAN is the key !
Clean area + heavy coat of glue that has dried first = 100% success rate :)