Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Tha annual flat repair thread

I got my annual flat this morning. Now that, that's over with.....

Okay, this really should be a poll, but

If you get a flat do you:

1) Call the household SAG wagon.
2) Add some air and home you can limp home.
3) Replace the tube with another, tossing the old one ( I will assume into a proper receptacle).
4) Replace the tube with another, take the old one home to patch.
5) Patch the tube and reinstall

Personally I put myself in category 4, I think 3 out of 3 of my spare tubes have now been patched.....

Number 3. I would toss the old one, just so that the new spare would be fresh as it sits in my trunk pack for an indefinite period.

I always have a spare tube, levers, and pump in my trunk pack.

Number 3. I would toss the old one, just so that the new spare would be fresh as it sits in my trunk pack for an indefinite period.

I always have a spare tube, levers, and pump in my trunk pack.

+1 all that, except I carry 2 tubes commuting, 3 for brevets.

I used to call for the wife to come get me, but I keep a spare tube and all the necessary items to replace the tube and inflate it. Then I just throw the old tube away.

It is interesting though. Back when I didn't carry a spare tube I got lots of flats. Now that I am prepared for them I rarely get a flat.

Around here though, there is rarely an instance where you can just re-inflate and limp home. If you get a flat here it was probably from a goathead and the air will come out almost as fast as it goes in.

#4
Hopefully with my new Armadillos it won't be a (almost) weekly issue for me anymore.

#3 - I usually stock up at REI, for 10% off when you buy 3 or more, plus the 10% member rebate. At that price, the effort/uncertainty of patching doesn't seem worthwhile for me.

#4. Unless it's an easy hole to find, then I patch it and reinstall.

I used to call for the wife to come get me, but I keep a spare tube and all the necessary items to replace the tube and inflate it. Then I just throw the old tube away.

It is interesting though. Back when I didn't carry a spare tube I got lots of flats. Now that I am prepared for them I rarely get a flat.

Around here though, there is rarely an instance where you can just re-inflate and limp home. If you get a flat here it was probably from a goathead and the air will come out almost as fast as it goes in.

Actually todays flat, I couldn't call the wife for a pickup, she was standing with her bike next to me, as I changed the flat....

#3

Actually todays flat, I couldn't call the wife for a pickup, she was standing with her bike next to me, as I changed the flat....

I have noticed that it doesn't matter if it is me or the wife that has flatted, she is still the one watching and I am still the one changing.

#4

I patch it, and that becomes the new spare. I've got 2 or 3 patches on both my spares; it's never been a problem.

#4

I patch it, and that becomes the new spare. I've got 2 or 3 patches on both my spares; it's never been a problem.



Same here...

I'm a #3. My patches never hold. So I gave up.

I'm a #3. My patches never hold. So I gave up.

You need an old fashioned glue in a tube patch, in order for patches to work well. You also need to do it properly, find the hole, scuff up the surface, apply the glue, let the glue get tacky, apply patch. I then apply a weight overnight, use the water test the next day to see if it's holding properly. Let all the air out and roll it up, it gets added to the pile-o-spares. Currently I keep one spare on my wifes bike, one on my bike, and one in the garage. If we are going further, I'll toss the spare in the garage into a pannier.

Yeah I know a tube is only $3 or so, but I can get a box of patches and two glue tubes for $3, which means I can fix 10 punctures for the same amount, a savings of $27.

I jinxed myself by saying I haven't been getting flats. Got one today. Some kind of metal shard that made it through the Gatorskin. It was a beeyotch to pull the shard out. It was really stuck in there.

6. Walk to nearest bus stop and thence to either
a. car
or
b. bike shop.
Option A is followed by a visit to Option B.

Depends... if I'm in a hurry, than #4, otherwise #5. Had to do #5 twice this year already. And did twice the #4 as well, one of them in the rain :(

I change to a new tube, and carry the old one home with me. I always carry a patch kit as well. That way, if I have another flat, I've got options. :)

#3, but I still carry a patch kit for those 3rd and 4th flats on a ride.

4 on first flat, 5 after

I rarely flat but seems that when I do, it happens multiple times. And no, i usually don't forget to find whatever flatted me the first time. I keep a couple of cotton balls in my kit to check for whatever caused the puncture. One ride last winter I flatted twice and my wife flatted once, my flats were on different tires. Totally bad day, even ran out of CO2.

4 on first flat, 5 after

I rarely flat but seems that when I do, it happens multiple times. And no, i usually don't forget to find whatever flatted me the first time. I keep a couple of cotton balls in my kit to check for whatever caused the puncture. One ride last winter I flatted twice and my wife flatted once, my flats were on different tires. Totally bad day, even ran out of CO2.

Have to grab a couple of cotton balls out of the wifes makeup kit.....

I've only gotten two flats in the my 10 years of riding.

1. The first one occurred while riding on vacation in Maine. I changed the tube (took me 45 minutes because it was my first real-world experience) -- then discovered that I was less than 1/4 mile from a bike shop (it was around the corner at the end of the street I was on).

2. The second one was a blow-out and occurred on entering the parking lot where my car was parked (maybe 30 ft from the car). I simply put the bike on the rack and drove to my LBS, which was on the way home.

I'm now riding with a new lady friend who is learning to ride. She is a glass magnet. We've done seven 20+ mile rides together, and she's gotten a flat on each one of them. Depending on how bad the hole is, I either change the tube or patch it so that we can finish the ride. She took a class at the LBS recently and dealt with the last two herself.

I don't keep patched tubes -- I've seen too many people on club rides have patches blow out on them (or at least start leaking). If I patch a tube, I replace it as soon as I can.

The problem with riding with your significant other is that -- if there is a flat -- there's no SAG wagon to call home to.

2 then 4 or 5 depending on time and type of flat
slow leak Monday morning but made it home and patched it.

5. I have to find the leak, so I can make sure there is nothing in the tire to cause a 2nd leak. If I replace the tube, then I seriously need to consider if I want to continue or take the shortest route home.

My first ride of the year had a flat. What a great way to kick things off. The sequence of attempted fixes was:

#4 Replace tube with carried spare. No wait, that's a used tube that had a slow leak that I forgot to patch when I got home last time.

#5 Patch tube using patch kit. Dang! The rubber cement in the patch kit is all dried up from last year, guess I have to replace it. Any self adhesive patches? Of course not.

#2 Put slow leak tube on wheel, pump up the tire and head home by the shortest route (2 miles). Success!

Did I mention I also found I had a broken spoke while "repairing" the flat? What a way to start the biking season.

Not one flat in almost a year of cycling. Not one ever in my life, actually, even when I was putting in an awful lot of miles as a kid. Weird. Despite this I carry a spare tube for each tire (20", 26"), a patch kit, and a Road Morph G. I have no SAG option - during commuting my wife is too busy to rescue me and when doing rides from work I wouldn't want to bother co-workers.

My front tire is a Primo Comet Kevlar, the rear is a Schwalbe Kojak.

4 on first flat, 5 after

i rarely flat but seems that when i do, it happens multiple times. And no, i usually don't forget to find whatever flatted me the first time. I keep a couple of cotton balls in my kit to check for whatever caused the puncture. One ride last winter i flatted twice and my wife flatted once, my flats were on different tires. Totally bad day, even ran out of co2.

+1 :)

#4

I patch it, and that becomes the new spare. I've got 2 or 3 patches on both my spares; it's never been a problem.

+1. This gets me on the road quickly and then I can take my time to patch the tire at home. When I had a flat on the way into work, I just kept my fingers crossed on the way home and hope that I did not need to perform #5. Last time the hole was tiny and hard to find. It would have been nearly impossible to patch at the road side. I had to use a bucket of water, look for the tiny bubbles and then hold my finger over the area with a problem. I then carefully dried the tire without moving my finger much and marked the tire. Only after some careful evaluation was I finally able to see the hole. After I could see the hole I knew exactly where to put the patch.

Happy riding,
André

<<Snip>>

I don't keep patched tubes -- I've seen too many people on club rides have patches blow out on them (or at least start leaking). If I patch a tube, I replace it as soon as I can.

The problem with riding with your significant other is that -- if there is a flat -- there's no SAG wagon to call home to.

Ok, I'm an idiot.... I misread/misunderstood. I don't keep/patch tubes either. I do take them home rather than leaving them on the trail. An LBS near us, patches tubes and gives them to poor who need them.

I AM the SAG wagon. 6 years owning a shop and 2 years working there before I bought into it I'm a pretty decent mech. Was a darn good one but havn't done any serious work on a bike in 12 years now so it's generally easier to take the bike to a shop than do more than field repairs or minor adjustments myself.

#4 for me but I keep a patch kit in case I hafta #5 too.

I change to a new tube, and carry the old one home with me. I always carry a patch kit as well. That way, if I have another flat, I've got options. :)

This what I do. I will patch it when I get home.

I also second the notion that "no glue" patches are worthless and have way too high of a failure rate to mess with.

I've only gotten two flats in the my 10 years of riding.

1. The first one occurred while riding on vacation in Maine. I changed the tube (took me 45 minutes because it was my first real-world experience) -- then discovered that I was less than 1/4 mile from a bike shop (it was around the corner at the end of the street I was on).

2. The second one was a blow-out and occurred on entering the parking lot where my car was parked (maybe 30 ft from the car). I simply put the bike on the rack and drove to my LBS, which was on the way home.

I'm now riding with a new lady friend who is learning to ride. She is a glass magnet. We've done seven 20+ mile rides together, and she's gotten a flat on each one of them. Depending on how bad the hole is, I either change the tube or patch it so that we can finish the ride. She took a class at the LBS recently and dealt with the last two herself.

I don't keep patched tubes -- I've seen too many people on club rides have patches blow out on them (or at least start leaking). If I patch a tube, I replace it as soon as I can.

The problem with riding with your significant other is that -- if there is a flat -- there's no SAG wagon to call home to.

Most of the patch problems are due to glue less patches, the older style glue on patches work very well, most of the time. I find once a patch has been on there for a while, it isn't coming off. I usually swap tubes and patch them at home, so the patch often gets years to cure before the tube is installed the next time.

#4 because I hate throwing things that can be fixed (I'm a friend of nature), and because:


a tube is only $3 or so, but I can get a box of patches and two glue tubes for $3, which means I can fix 10 punctures for the same amount, a savings of $27.