Road Cycling - How many are too many?

Just wondering here how many patches on a tire before it becomes too many, I'm somewhat cheap and since 6 patches are cheaper than a new tube i ride both tires with six on them, bad idea?

Personally, one is too many. I just use patches to get home, then I change the tube.

I'll patch a tube twice. Then it's history.

I've ridden several hundred miles (maybe more) with a patch or two on a tube. If it's a good patch job it will hold for a long time.

if you are using the hot patches, (meaning the Patch is heated and allow to melt on the tube) 6 patch on a tube is okay, but if your using the cold patch type, then 6 is to much....

if you are using the hot patches, (meaning the Patch is heated and allow to melt on the tube) 6 patch on a tube is okay, but if your using the cold patch type, then 6 is to much....


If it still hold air, why not use it

If it still hold air, why not use it

That is my idea. Tubes are not pretty. If it works, use it. Also you can impress your friends when you have a flat and they see your tube riddled with patches :p .

Personally, one is too many. I just use patches to get home, then I change the tube.

Wow, this really surprises me. I don't see what's wrong with riding
on a tube with a couple of patches.

I use Coninental Supersonic tubes (mainly because they're so narrow,
it makes it much easier to mount my 20/21mm tyres), which cost me ~$11 US.
I run pretty high pressure, and would get at least one puncture every two
weeks, and one of my tubes has 9 patches!! :eek:

So, there you go; by patching the tube, I've saved about $100!!

A HUNDRED BUCKS, I TELLS YA :)

Even cheap tubes cost about 4 or 5 bucks, US

Unless you are racing and every gram counts, what's wrong with having 6, 8 or even 10 patches on a tube? A good patch is as reliable as the tube itself. Besides, 7-8 patches might cost more than a new tube, but the argument is only valid if you need to apply the 7-8 patches at once. In my case, it's typically 1 at a time, which means I would have had to pay for 7-8 tubes...

So when do I replace a tube?
- Broken valve or broken tube too close to the valve (that's obvious);
- Patches that would need to be applied on top of eachother, as I had no success in gluing a patch that way.
- Too many patches on the same side of the tube. I'm not there yet.

BTW, my current maximum is 3 or 4 patches and I have done quite a few thousand km that way. No leaks, no bumps, no problems...

Tubes are what - 5 to 10 dollars? Even when I rode 5000 miles a year, I only flatted three or four times. Even in my poorest days, I could afford new tubes.

Just one guys opinion.